Chapter 1
Aliyah was inside her small room, lying on her cozy bed, sleeping peacefully. Suddenly, her alarm rang loudly into her ears. Groggily, she reached up and slapped her hand over it, trying to shut it off. Pulling the covers back over her head, she murmured, “Just one minute, please,” while slipping back into sleep.
But then her phone started ringing. She reached out, fumbling to answer it, and her best friend’s voice blared loudly in her ear. “Aliyah! Professor John is almost in class, and you know how he hates latecomers — especially during project defending!”
Aliyah’s eyes flew open, and she jumped out of bed, her heart racing. She glanced at the clock — 9 o’clock sharp. “Oh my God! Okay, okay, I’m coming! Oh my God, I’m on my way!” she said, panic in her voice as she hurriedly threw off the covers.
She darted into the bedroom, quickly doing what she needed to do, threw on a hoodie, running her fingers through her big, cute, short-styled hair, and bolted out the house. She didn’t bother grabbing any food. She planned to get something at the school cafeteria.
Suddenly, she was standing in front of the big, buzzing school — the reason it was the second-ranking elite college in New York.
Aliyah ran inside, clutching her bag close to her chest, then spotted Kay and Mary. She quickly ran to them, breathless.
“Ali, where have you been? Were you on a night shift or something? You didn’t even wake up early!” Mary asked, fuming.
Aliyah sighed and replied softly, “Sorry, I was just tired.”
Mary folded her arms but said nothing more.
“Okay, guys, what we need to do now is close this topic and just get into class. Let’s be on Professor John’s good side,” Kay said, grabbing Aliyah’s hand.
“Come on, guys, let’s go.”
Together, they stepped into the crowd, swallowed by the bustling throng of students.
***
