When a "Free Latte" Turned Into a Nightmare

Summary

My roommate was a scholarship student, a bit slow on the uptake when it came to people.

One afternoon, as we were passing the campus gates, her eyes fixed on a couple of drinks sitting on the hood of a car parked by the curb.

"Look, free drinks," she said, already starting to walk over. "They must be giving them away. I’m gonna grab one."

I quickly grabbed her arm, my voice a low hiss. "You can't just take those. Around here, a drink on a car like that… it’s a signal, it means something else..."