Leading Risk

There was this girl, right? She hated being the leader. Like, absolutely despised it. The thought of having to take charge? No thanks. Too many people to please. Too much judgment. Nope, not for her. But honestly, in today’s world, shouldn’t we be allowed to mess up without everyone coming for us? Even over the little things? "Ouch! That hurt!" Leyie complained, wincing as she rubbed the spot where Line hit her. She glared at her friend, squinting her small eyes. Maybe her love language is physical pain? "Aren't you the leader of group two? The professor’s calling you—he said to fix your chapter two," Line said, casually sorting through the papers scattered on Leyie's desk. Leyie frowned, rubbing her forehead in frustration. The pressure was mounting—she knew their group was already behind on their thesis paper. She couldn’t help but remember: I haven’t even submitted the paper yet! "The RRL is all over the place, and what even is that research design? Why are there flowers in there?" Line jabbed at the papers on her desk. "You guys are so dumb. Didn't you go to second grade?" Line teased, raising an eyebrow at a now speechless Leyie. Flowers? Leyie raised an eyebrow even higher, confused by the nonsense her friend was spewing. Leyie gathered the papers on her desk, trying to make sense of it all. "You're so noisy. And for the record, I haven’t even submitted our paper yet!" She unlocked her phone to update her rebellious groupmates. "And seriously, flowers? What am I, a kid?" she muttered. Honestly, if there were designs, it would make more sense to put cats since Madam loves cats, Leyie giggled to herself, distracted by her thoughts, while searching for the excuse letter her friend had given her earlier. "Ouch! Line, that hurts!" Leyie whined again, glaring at her friend, rubbing her now sore arm. Should I report this to Aunt Wendy? she pondered while plotting her revenge. "i***t! Get serious! I don't even know why she’s calling you. Just go before Madam loses her temper again," Line snapped. Leyie shot her a dirty look, but Line just glared right back. Wow. The nerve of this girl—hurting me and then acting like she's the victim. Leyie pulled at her hair in frustration. Why am I always the one dealing with this? "If Madam scolds me again for no reason, I’m seriously going to report her to the dean," she muttered under her breath, hurriedly gathering the rest of the papers. When they handed out bad luck, I must’ve gotten a whole bucket. "Just go already! Maybe she just wants to talk about your group," Line said with a smirk, eyeing Leyie’s still-messy desk. "You’re such a slob." "Yeah, yeah, I’m going," Leyie replied, rolling her eyes. "And don’t forget to save me a seat, okay?" "Sure… Good luck! Don’t be an i***t in front of Madam, alright?" Leyie grimaced, grabbing her bag as she rushed out to meet the professor who, let’s be real, totally loved her. Sarcasm at its finest. By the time she reached the fourth floor where the faculty room was, she was gasping for air. Once inside, Leyie immediately started scanning for her professor. "Good morning!" she announced cheerfully, waving at some other professors she recognized. "Good day, my prettiest and kindest professor in the world!" she added dramatically, still panting for breath. Why is Madam’s faculty office on the fourth floor? "Silence, Ms. Dela Merced. Remember you’re in the faculty room, and there are many professors here," her professor said, giving her a pointed look, scanning her from head to toe. Great, here comes the judgment. "Apologies, Ma'am. It's just really hot in here," Leyie muttered under her breath, fanning herself with the stack of papers she was carrying. It’s so early, and it’s already scorching! "Why did you call me, Ma’am? As far as I know, I haven’t submitted our thesis paper yet." "And why is that? The other groups are done. How many extensions have I given your group already?" Leyie pouted at her professor’s words, glancing at the mess of papers she was carrying. "My group is making it hard for me, Ma'am," she said quietly, a bit dejected. "They don’t contribute. And when they do, it’s wrong or messed up." She sighed heavily, feeling the weight of carrying the group and the paper alone. "In the end, I’m the one revising everything. It’s tough because I’m also the leader for other subjects." She risked a glance at her professor, who was still frowning at her laptop. I thought my group was decent, but apparently, they’re even dumber than I am. "But don’t worry, Ma’am! We’re almost done," she quickly added, trying to sound optimistic. "I just need to revise the last part, and I’ll email it to you by tomorrow." Leyie took a deep breath. There goes my plan to watch Wes’s game later. Ugh, bad luck strikes again. "Like I told you before, give me the names of your groupmates who aren’t contributing," her professor said, glancing at Leyie, then at the papers she was still holding. "How many times do I have to remind you? You’re only making it harder on yourself, Ms. Dela Merced." Her professor sighed, causing Leyie to straighten up in her seat. "Don’t worry, Ma’am. I’ll leave their names off the final submission. You’re the best, by the way!" Leyie gave her a thumbs up, flashing a big, bright smile. But her hand slowly lowered as she noticed her professor massaging her temples. Uh-oh, she did not like that. "I think I’ll head out now, Ma’am. I have another class," Leyie said, quickly trying to escape. But before she left, she handed her professor a paper. "Here’s Ms. Celosa’s excuse letter for your subject. She just needs your signature, Ma’am." Leyie handed the letter over, struggling to balance everything in her arms. "What’s going on with that girl? She’s always sick. Tell her to get well soon—we have lots of activities coming up this semester." Her professor signed the excuse letter and handed it back. "And make sure to pass your papers tomorrow. I need to check them before the final semester begins." "Thank you, Ma'am!" Leyie said, quickly making her exit. She scowled the whole way out. Why did I get stuck being the leader of this nightmare of a group? Honestly, why do professors even pick the groups? Let people work with whoever they’re comfortable with! The slackers should be grouped together—they're totally on the same vibe. "Psst, Leyie! Over here!" She looked up at the voice calling her and groaned when she saw who it was. "Thanks, Line, for saving me a seat," Leyie said, happily dropping her bag next to her. "You’re the best, that’s why I love you so much." Leyie smiled sweetly. She hated sitting in the front, even though her eyesight was terrible. She’d rather sit at the back and squint than be in the front row, where she’d have to make awkward eye contact with the professor. "Gross. Stop saying that. It’s disgusting," Line shot back, cringing at her friend. "What? Stop saying what? I’m sweet!" Leyie grinned, but Line just rolled her eyes. Ugh, this girl and her drama. "Where’s Mayue? She said she’d be here today," Line asked while Leyie rummaged through her bag, looking for her lip balm. "She can’t make it. She’s going out with her sister." Leyie finally found her lip balm and applied it to her dry lips. But she immediately felt thirsty. Well, climbing four floors will do that to you. "Line, can I have some water? I’m parched," she asked. Line handed over her tumbler, and Leyie gratefully took a long sip. She never carried her own because it was heavy and annoying to lug around. Carrying my useless group and all these papers is enough. After she drank, she handed it back. "Thanks, love!" she teased. Line just glared at her, but Leyie winked back, causing her friend to roll her eyes again. When their professor arrived, he just went over some rules for the subject, nothing major. Leyie checked her watch—it was already lunchtime. "Goodbye, class. See you next meeting," their professor said before heading out. Leyie and Line left together, ready to eat and head home. Tomorrow marked the start of their second year, and Leyie was excited to see all the fresh new faces. She squinted when she saw some freshmen buying uniforms. Run while you still can, she thought, laughing to herself. "You’re scaring me, Leyie," Line muttered. Leyie stopped laughing and glared at her friend. "Okay, okay. If that makes you happy, go ahead and laugh by yourself," Line said as she put on her black earphones, signaling her ‘do not disturb’ mode. Leyie pouted, knowing she’d be stuck staring out of the jeep’s window later since her Airpods broke last week.