Toothpaste Thief

Oh the life of a college student. Strange sleeping hours, penny-saving meals, and of course, communal bathrooms.

With communal bathrooms come petty thefts, most of which are nothing more than a little annoying. But a month or so ago, a major case of the Toothpaste Thief haunted my hall. What was particularly annoying was the fact that the thief did such a poor job of stealing. I admit it--I've used someone else's shampoo before. Maybe even someone's toothpaste. But you always do a careful job of doing it, noticing which cubby the stuff came from and which position in the cubby. But no...this thief would often leave the cover off and place the toothpaste in a random cubby. I was particularly annoyed because my toothpaste supply was running precariously low and I didn't want to go buy a new tube for a mere 1 month. I also wasn't the only one victimized by the thief. Others had complained about similar incidences, and others noticed that their shampoo supply was dwindling much more quickly than normal.

Fighting the urge to send out an angry (or sarcastic) email to the dorm, I felt called to show some love to my enemies (since I was leading a Bible passage on that topic) so I bought a new tube of toothpaste and taped it to the bathroom wall, along with a note that said something along the lines of "Please stop using my toothpaste and use this one instead." I thought that this act would quickly bring an end to the matter. But then it only got more intriguing...

No one touched the toothpaste for two days. On the third day, however, the toothpaste was gone. Then, that night, I found that new tube of toothpaste in my shower tote (which was in my cubby). wtheck! I hadn't left my name on the note, so I doubt anyone would have known that 1) I had left the toothpaste and 2) that cubby was indeed mine. Then, the next day, the toothpaste appeared in someone else's cubby. Another day, it was on the sink. This was the pattern again and again. The toothpaste also dwindled at an alarming rate.

As the school year ended, I have a strong suspicion on the culprit--but the case remains unsolved, as I cannot prove anyone guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.