Chapter 43: Broken
Jonathan stared from where he sat on the floor towards the desk. He didn’t know how long he’d been on the floor like this, staring at the tray. It was probably long cold by now.
And still, he didn’t know what to do.
His anxieties paralyzed him. The consequences of failure stretched out in front of him, endlessly. No matter what path he took in his mind, eventually, Dr. Page appeared in his mind, to tell him he was wrong, to tell him he had already failed.
The sun was fully out now. From the low angle, he could make out blue skies with only the occasional white cloud drifting past. He heard a bird, once, squawking as it flew past the house.
His body was tired. He was awake all night, sitting in the library, waiting for Dr. Page. All the professor had done was read, without acknowledging Jonathan once after his tirade.
And he hadn’t fallen asleep yet. He couldn’t let himself, he had decided, because that’s what the professor wanted.