23
1107 Words
LAUREN MOSS
It was class after class, with short but intense breaks.
And for someone who was craving a bed, it was pure torture, you have no idea.
My eyes are burning with sleep already, right after dinner. But here we go, heading to the field they have here to take a test.
I’m trying my best to stay awake. After all, this might be the test that determines which three members of Blake’s team will be eliminated.
In the end, belonging to the best team doesn’t count. Here, they’re not eliminating people from best to worst overall, they’re eliminating by group. Which means cuts happen on all sides.
But obviously, for a position this important, they weren’t going to keep fifteen people from each group.
I think this requires a level of competence higher than I ever thought I had, and I’m starting to realize this might be too much for me.
I am very sleepy, and apparently this position requires resisting sleep and loving coffee, something I definitely don’t.
And loving coffee seems practically impossible for me. I don’t enjoy coffee and I don’t drink it by free choice.
Never.
Only in extreme necessity.
We sit down, and the test seems similar to the ones we took the other day.
“Don’t fall asleep…” I murmur to myself.
The agent explains, and well, we’ll have a test that covers everything and then some, with only twelve questions.
An exam of practically all subjects.
In other words, I’m going to have to do everything properly and not let myself drown in sleep, or I’m going under.
I know I’m not that competent for this, but I can try to be, or even be incompetent while I’m still here.
Although I have another problem: getting away from the media and my family. Because if I have to go back, I’m doomed in that house.
The question would be:
Don’t you have money?
I do—but is it mine?
No, it belongs to my father.
If it were mine, I’d pay, run away, and rent a farm. At this point, it’s obvious to you that I’ve already tried. But unlike my siblings, who don’t care about me, my parents want to keep me there.
Because whenever I’m out of their sight, according to them, I cause too much in the media.
The fact that I go to college and get photographed is already enough reason to become a media case without any plausible reason…
So that means the money is controlled.
What I used it for and where I used it. They might not even notice it’s missing , of course, but because it was taken by me without their consent, it becomes a whole problem.
But I’ll figure out what I can do. I always manage somehow.
I paid as much attention as I possibly could to the test and, clearly, it was more complex than the traditional ones or the ones we’ve taken before.
So complex that it managed to wake me up out of fear. The clock was ticking.
But with just a bit more focus, I managed to solve them one by one. They required a lot of attention…
I finished at the exact moment the alarm went off, because every answer demanded real elaboration.
I’m almost sure I did everything that was necessary. I hope it was enough.
I turned in the test and stood up. Ápia had already left. I didn’t even see who finished first, but this time, I was among the last.
I left the room, and a few colleagues were talking on the way about how easy it had been and how they were the first to finish. I didn’t care. I just need a shower and a bed now.
Tomorrow is a new day.
I walked toward my little house.
When I suddenly feel someone squeezing my hand, making me look to the side, waking me up, because I was basically walking like a sleepwalker from how tired I am.
“Jennifer, are you crazy?” I ask, irritated, pulling her completely unnecessary grip off my arm and stepping away from her.
“Your journey ends tomorrow,” she says, staring at me with mockery, and I sigh.
“I thought this weird behavior of yours towards me had ended yesterday,” I say honestly, no longer understanding why she’s treating me this way.
“Why do you pretend to be clueless?” she asks, actually serious.
“What do you mean, clueless?” I ask.
“You act like you don’t know Noah likes you,” she says and something clicks in my head. My immediate reaction is to smile.
“That’s why?” I ask, and she tilts her head, still staring at me.
“That’s why, what?” she asks.
“Now you’re the one pretending to be clueless,” I say, and she takes a deep breath, storing all her excessive hatred inside herself.
“That shouldn’t be a reason for you to like or dislike me. Noah has zero interest in me. He’s extremely friendly, he was friendly with me and not only with me, but with most of the girls here, if not all of them,” I say.
“There’s no reason for you to act like this. Even if he were interested in me and I in him, that still wouldn’t be a reason for you to mistreat someone who hasn’t done absolutely anything to you,” I make clear.
Because seriously…
One thing would be if she and Noah were dating and I desperately wanted him to the point of turning into someone’s sister and destroying their relationship.
But I didn’t even know she liked him.
“I hope you leave me alone now. Good night, Jennifer,” I simply say and continue walking, leaving her behind.
“Good Lord…” I mumble as I go inside and lock the door.
I hope no other agent comes in here to drag me somewhere, because I’m dead tired.
I went straight to the bathroom to take a nice shower and do all my skincare. I even have a lot to tell Miriam, but I’m extremely sleepy and tomorrow we’ll have that so-called mission.
I really hope I wake up with energy and in a good mood. I didn’t even set an alarm. Tomorrow I’m not drinking coffee—I’m sleeping.
The moment my body hit the bed, I fell asleep.
Tomorrow seems like it’ll be a day that will demand too much from me… and could put all of this at risk.
And I’m not willing to lose.
- Writer
