Everything was unreachable behind a stupid door that auto-locked because school administration took our safety seriously.
But who cared about safety when my sanity was at stake?
Desperate, I glanced up and down the deserted hallway before a lightbulb went off. Crossing my fingers and praying she was here, I ran six doors down from mine to our resident assistant’s room. I banged on her door, curling my toes against the dirty carpet.
No answer.
I knocked harder. “Sydney? Are you in there? I’m locked out!”
Nothing.
Each second ticking by was another second I should’ve been spending on my midterm. Giving up on Sydney magically appearing in her room, I booked it down the hallway and burst into the communal bathroom. Dental hygiene was apparently the only thing I could control this morning. After brushing my teeth at the speed of light, I found a few hair ties strewn about the sinks area. Grabbing one at random, I threw my rat nest up into something that resembled a messy bun.
Leaving my toiletries behind, I ran for the lobby in hopes of a student being on duty at the front desk who could unlock my room. But when I reached the front area, the desk was deserted. They wouldn’t open until classes were out.
I didn’t have that kind of time.
I looked down at my pajamas and weighed my options.
It usually took five minutes to walk to the music building, but if I ran…
There weren’t any other options.
Bracing myself, I beelined for the door.
A few freshmen coming back from breakfast did a double take as I flew past them out the door, and I barely made it past one building before a wolf-whistle sounded.
I kept running, and my bare feet smacked against the pavement with each stride.
By the time I made it to the music building, my breaths came in quick pants.
The coffee cart was sitting right outside the front doors, yards closer than its typical morning spot. I didn’t have my phone to check the time, but if there was one thing I needed to make time for before the midterm, it was caffeine.
I just didn’t have any money for it.
I ran up to the cart and skidded to a stop beside a student already chatting with Scott.
“Scott, I’m so sorry—” I wheezed, leaning over and pushing on a cramp that squeezed my side. “I don’t have—it’s locked in my—I’ll pay you back—”
“Here.” Scott pulled out an already-made cup from behind the counter. His brow pinched in concern, and he secured the coffee in a sleeve. “Noah called and said to have it ready. I put in an extra scoop for good luck. Nowgo!”
I paused at that—eternally grateful to both of them—before accepting the coffee and hobbling toward the door. “Thank you!”
Taking the stairs two at a time quickly caught up to me, and some divine power must’ve intervened to get me up the last flight. Or maybe it was just the adrenaline.
Jogging down the hallway toward Slade’s classroom, I blew into the cup’s mouth hole to speed up cooling the coffee.
This was a bad idea.
I made it a few doors down from Slade’s when a body darted out of a classroom, and we collided like two runaway trains.
Coffee exploded from my cup, spraying both of us. I hissed at the burn as it hit my arm and chest, and I moved the coffee to my other hand before shaking out the one that’d been hit.
Looking down, I groaned. Coffee splattered across my chest highlighted a certain lack of undergarments I was hoping to hide.
Cheese and fries.
The boy cursed, scowling at the mess on his jacket before looking up. He froze, and his scowl transformed into an apologetic grin when he saw my death glare aimed at him. “Shit, I’m sorry. I was in a rush to piss, and I didn’t see you.”
