Chapter 9

OLIVER

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A persistent, annoying beep launched me out of sleep for the fourth time in a row.

I groaned as I turned in my bed, shutting my phone’s alarm.

What time was it?

I sat up groggily and grabbed my phone before being completely astonished by the figures I was staring at:

4:30 AM

My gaze fleeted outside my bedroom window into absolute darkness. There were barely any sounds, the air as calm and tranquil as the eye of a storm.

It was Monday morning, but my school alarm didn’t wake me until 6:30 am because I lived close to school. I didn’t need to wake up early.

So why did I set my alarm extra early today?

Hold on. Monday Morning. That means it’s been three days since…

All the sleepiness in my eyes vanished. My cheeks flushed. I buried my face in my hands, afraid that the imaginary ghosts in my room would see me blush.

It’s been three days. Three days since I straddled Judah Adams, a top athlete in my school, and sang to him. And later broke down in his bathroom.

Ohmygod. Did that happen? It feels like a fever dream. That might be right. It must have been a dream. I definitely didn’t straddle my friend’s brother who I despised. I definitely didn’t break down after that.

Or maybe it wasn’t. Maybe I have finally gone insane. Or maybe I’m still dreaming and it actually happened and I have not woken up and I…

Another beep on my phone cried out, startling me from my thoughts. It was a text notification from Casey.

Yoooooooh
Wake UP!!!!!!
STUDY SESH AT 7 REMEMBER????
Those exams won’t pass by THEMSELVES!!!!!!

I groaned. That’s why I’d set my alarm extra early. Exams were due in two weeks and Casey and I wanted to pass this semester extraordinarily, and in his words, we had to wake up at extraordinary hours to study.

A flurry of aggressive beeps followed. A text notification from Casey again.

PICK UP YOUR SLACK!!!
LAZINESS WON’T MAKE YOU RICH UNLESS YOU HAVE A SUGAR DADDY!!!

He’d sent me half a dozen of these. All in one minute. I was friends with a psychopath.

I wanted to smack him and my productive, motivated past self who had agreed to wake up at these mad hours to study.

Then I remembered my grades last semester and suddenly, a shock of energy went to my feet, propelling me out of bed.

I took a brief shower before selecting a baggy hoodie and…ripped skinny jeans?

I stared at the rest of my clothes which were piled in my laundry basket, almost toppling it over.

Urgh. Laundry. I’d promised my mom I’d do it yesterday but a combination of procrastination and short term memory loss resulted into this. What a pain.

I slid into the skinny jeans hesitantly, wondering why I bought them in the first place. I had pretty thick thighs so i tended to avoid wearing anything that made them pop out.

Is it too late to miss school?

Another more aggressive notification sprang from my phone. Casey wouldn’t approve.

Guess it’s school.