001~ THINKING...
Seth
The harsh screech of the alarm drilled into my skull.
"Make it stop, Linda," ingroaned, hands over my ears.
It kept going. I hissed, rolled toward her side, and slapped it silent.
My head pounded. My mouth is dry.
How much did I drink last night?
I groped for the glass of water that should've been on the nightstand, and there was nothing. Not even an aspirin. Odd, she always left them there.
I sat up slowly, rubbing my eyes. The floor was unsteady as I stumbled to the bathroom. I drank water from the tap and splashed my face.
The man in the mirror stared back with an overgrown beard, bloodshot eyes, and skin the wrong shade of pale. I made a mental note to shave later.
I grabbed painkillers from the cabinet and swallowed them dry.
My stomach growled.
The smell of coffee drifted in from the hallway. I smiled, walking towards the kitchen. She was pouring coffee into a mug. I stepped behind her, slipping my arms around her waist, and rested my chin on her shoulder.
"Morning, honey," I murmured.
She jerked away. "Not this again!"
She turned, and it wasn't Linda. It was Chloe, my kid sister. She pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose and glared.
"What are you doing here?" I asked, taking a step back.
She scoffed, "I have been here for a week, and you still pull the same pathetic morning routine."
"A week?" My brain struggled to connect the dots. "Where is Linda?"
My heart is pounding for unknown reasons, and I get the answer when Chloe’s glare softened into pity.
Her lips pressed into a thin line. "She's gone, brother. It's been two months."
The words sat heavy between us.
Right, she left me.
I dragged a hand down my face. "I'm sorry, Chloe. Right now I'm just..."
... a mess.
"I made breakfast." She smiled at me, gesturing at me to have a seat.
She poured me coffee as I sat.
"What are you doing here again?" I asked, taking a sip of the bitter liquid.
"Since there was no available space in the hostel, you said I could come stay with you."
She pushed a plate of pancakes to me.
"Oh."
"Hurry and get ready," she said. "And shave, you look like a caveman."
"Get ready for what?"
She frowned. "You've a lecture by nine. It's 8."
I blinked. "I do?"
Oh, shit.
The break had ended in a blink of an eye.
The campus buzzed with too much energy, students laughing and shouting. They had the kind of annoying smiles you wanted to rip off.
My head throbbed harder with every sound. I can't tell between my hangover and the noise which would kill me first.
Maybe burying myself in work would keep Linda out of my head. I can't believe she still hasn't called. Was she a wreck like I was? Did she regret it?
I rubbed at my temple.
Fuck. I'm really not going anywhere near alcohol until further notice.
The noise from the lecture hall filled the hallway. Mondays and noisy kids, my personal hell.
Inside, a boy had his feet propped on a desk. Two girls sat on another, giggling like idiots.
"Quiet," I said.
They ignored me.
"Quiet!" I barked, and this time, they listened.
I scanned the scanty class, jaw tightening. First lecture of the semester, and this was all that bothered to show up.
"Pop quiz," I announced.
It took a beat for the words to land. Then the grumbling started, and the frantic tap of fingers on phones, warning the others who weren't in class.
"If you haven't read the syllabus, that's on you."
A girl in the front raised her hand. "Sir—"
"It's a thirty minutes quiz. And there wpuld be no makeups. If you don't want to write, you can catch the course next session."
Ten minutes in, the door creaked. Latecomers tried to slip in, giving one excuse or the other I wasn't bothered with. One look from me, and they understood I wasn't in the mood.
They shuffled back out of the class, murmuring under their breath.
Only if their curses would actually work.
I turned back to the class, and half of them were bent over their phones.
I chuckled under my breath, knowing they wouldn't get half the answers right. But maybe I could try being lenient since they attended class.
My phone buzzed in my pocket. My heart leapt as I took it out hurriedly, expecting a message from Linda. And all I got was a spam message.
I hissed, running my fingers through my hair. I should call her.
The door swung open again, boots clicking against the floor in an unhurried rhythm.
A girl with short silver hair strolled in withput a care in the world, her eyes locked on the phone in her hand.
"Stop right there," I ordered.
She kept walking, her thumb moving lazily over the screen.
"Hey, you."
I was completely ignored.
I crossed the room and caught her arm.
Her head turned slowly, like she was granting me the courtesy of her attention. Her forest green eyes swept over me, irritated at first, then shifting into amusement.
She slid one earbud out. "Sorry. Didn't hear you." Her smile said otherwise.
"Then hear this. Get out," I said.
"I'm here for this class."
"And you are arriving at this time?"
She shrugged. "Something came up."
"That's what they all say when all you guys do is drink and party."
She chuckled softly. "That's rich, coming from someone who reeks of alcohol."
The air between us thinned. I stared her down and she didn't so much as blink.
She was annoying.
"Leave," I said. "And don't show up to any of my classes again."
Her brow arched. "Why?"
"Because I said so."
"I feel... targeted, Professor Blackwell."
"What's your name?"
"Ivy Carter."
"I'll remember that. Out."
Her smirk deepened. She stepped in close, my nose catching the faint smell of her perfume. Her fingers curled into my tie. She tugged it suddenly, pulling me down so her breath brushed my lips.
"I'll make sure you don't have a reason to forget it, Professor Blackwell," she whispered.
