LIOW Ch. 11

She awoke to her alarm and jumped out of her bed as she realized she was an hour late for her classes. She quickly brushed her teeth and put on baggy sweatpants and a crop top.

As she jogged down the stairs, she bumped into Mrs. Nelson on the way and spilled her coffee all over her sweatshirt.

"Oh my gosh, Mrs. Nelson I'm so sorry I didn't mean to-"

"It's fine Abby, I can see already that you're rushing to your classes, just try to be careful next time," She cuts her off while picking up her coffee cup.

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When she walked into her first class, everyone was staring at her awkwardly which drew the professor's attention toward her.

"Miss Winchester, would you please come into my office for a moment?" She takes off her glasses and places them on the neck of her shirt.

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"You have been missing important lessons these past couple of weeks. You know that won't be good on your record, right?" She lectures Abigail with her hands folded on the office desk.

She pauses while staring down at her feet watching them dance, "I don't know what to say."

"You're in college. Mrs. Nelson has already said that you need to attend class, otherwise, your assignments will pile up and it will be too much for you to even catch up. I need you to stay on track and take this seriously, we can't have you coming in late every other day, or else you'll lose your scholarship, and I don't think you want that." She explains to Abigail with a concerned expression.

"No, not really." She mutters.

The professor sighs, then steps into another room, walking back out with a deck of papers, along with a few thin books.

"These are your missing assignments, it will only take about four or more days to complete them, if not, then I'll have to email all of your professors and inform them that you are not well prepared to be taking this seriously." She hands them to Abigail and leaves the office.

She sat in there alone for a few minutes before going into her class, and all of the students looked her up and down when she sat in the front row.

Someone taps on her shoulder from behind and leans toward her ear, "Do you need any help with those papers? I could tutor you if you'd like, and I'll do it for free." He asks quietly.

"Oh no I'm fine, thank you for offering, though," She replies with a quick smile.

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She hurried through the doors before everyone came rushing down the hallways, but she failed and pulled herself back into the doorway of her class, waiting until they were all gone. Just before she left, the same person tapped on the back of her shoulder.

"Hey- um... I know this is weird but, could I maybe walk you to your next class? I don't really know anyone yet, and I think it'd be nice to be a friend of yours." He shyly asks, rubbing the back of his neck.

She hesitates and looks at him, "Sorry, but I don't really let people walk me to my classes. You could give me your number though if you ever want to talk... if you're okay with that."

A short frown appears on his face. "Nevermind... See you later."

She watched him slowly walk down the opposite hallway from her and raised an eyebrow. She didn't know what she did to make him seem upset. It wasn't her intention, she just felt uncomfortable walking alone with a boy she didn't know.

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While walking back to her dorm after her classes, she thought about the boy who was offering to tutor her for free. He was strangely odd. Nobody had ever offered something like that, and she felt bad for not accepting it. She wondered if that was what made him upset.

She propped herself onto her bed and opened up her textbook to begin working on the assignments, but she couldn't even get started because Jeremy had called her.

"What do you want?" She sighs dramatically.

"I just wanted to check up on you, that's all. Sorry for bothering." He mumbles.

"You're fine. I'm just trying to do these missing assignments and turn them in so I don't get behind more than I already am."

"Have you not been attending your lessons?" He asks.

"No Jeremy, I haven't. You can lecture me all you want, but I'm already aware of the consequences I have to face. You and Marissa have no say in what I do because you two are not my parents. I can do this on my own even if I'm not reminded to. Just leave me alone, please." She hangs up and tosses her phone.

She spent an hour and a half staring at the papers she had completed and was at the brink of crying. The only thing she could think about was losing her scholarship and having to live with her parents again, and she didn't want that.

Two more hours had passed and she had gotten through eleven missing assignments, but she had twenty-three more to go. After stopping to take a break and eat a snack, Cyrus stopped by to see her.

"Looks like someone's been skipping classes. How long have you been doing this for?", He welcomes himself into her room and closes the door behind him, propping himself onto the edge of her bed.

She readjusts all of the papers that were scattered across her blanket, "Maybe about 6 hours, I don't know. Why are you being nosey?" She leans back and places her papers on the nightstand beside her bed.

"Because I'm curious. Do you need any help with it?" He offers.

She grabs the assignments that she had not finished, along with a pencil, "This is my calculus stuff. That's what I have left to finish." She hands him the papers and leans back into her bed frame.

He shuffles them around as he looks through them and hums to himself, "I can help you with all of this and we can get it done in less than 3 hours or less." He pleads. He grabs the pencil and begins writing, and Abigail snatches it from his hand.

"You're not doing it all by yourself, I don't want to get in trouble."

He snickers, "I'm not, and you won't. "

She looks at the papers and then glares at him, "How do you know that?".

"Because I said we, not me. We're both going to do it. Now can I have the pencil back?" He tries to grab it from her hand but she pulls it back and he positions his hands behind himself flat on the bed. "Do it yourself then, if you won't let me help." He insisted.

She sits there silently for a moment before handing him the pencil and flashing a snarky smile.

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"There. We're done now." Cyrus drops the pencil onto the paper, lets out a deep sigh and lays back onto the bed with his arms out.

Abigail lets out a quiet laugh while gazing at him, "I didn't actually think we would get it done that fast. I'm impressed."

"I told you, two hours is all it would take. Now, do you just want to sit here and relax or do something else?" He sits up and places his hands in his lap.

She pauses for a moment and stares into nothing, and quickly returns her focus toward him, "Do you want to stay here tonight?"

His eyes widen and then he looks at her confused, "I don't know. Do you want me to?"

She hesitates before smiling, "I mean, I wouldn't mind if you did. I could use some company."

"Okay then." He chuckles under his breath.

After some time, Abigail and Cyrus both had fallen asleep together on her bed, with their school clothes still on and her schoolwork still lying around. It was a long night for both of them, and they had finally gotten the sleep they needed.