Page 99 of And They Were Roommates

“So you didn’t zonk.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“Have you taken a break lately? At all?”

“A lot’s on the line,” I say, thinking about the impending last grade rank until the end of classes.

And right after is the mixer. With the intensity of exams,STRIP hasn’t even started discussing the delivery plan for the letters.

“We need to be perfect this week,” I go on.

Luis picks up his fork and stress-twirls his curls like spaghetti. Fear clouds his gaze. “Yeah, my massive calc exam is today.”

I stare at the fork. “You ready?”

“Dunno. Crossing my fingers that your tutoring saved me. At least I closed my eyes last night.” Luis’s gaze refocuses on my face. “Unlike you. Your dark circles have dark circles. I’m worried.”

I attempt to eat some Cheerios, but my stomach curdles. “I’m fine.”

Luis is spinning the fork through his hair faster now. “Don’t you have PE for first hour? Your fitness exam is in, like, a half hour.”

“Don’t worry, I can handle it.”

My arms won’t move.

I tug myself up on the pull-up bar again.Again.Nothing.

“Forty-five seconds,” Ms. Nallos calls, her gaze flipping between me and the stopwatch set on her clipboard. I can feel the line of students in the Pragma Recreational Center trailing behind her, watching.

Panic courses through me. I got three pull-ups easily last week while with Xavier.

“Fifteen seconds!”

No way am I failing this fitness exam. Ican’t. I flex my arms so hard that they burn, and I bite back a wince. I fight through the pain until my chin taps the bar.

My arms give out.

“Time!”

My sneakers hit the floor. Every bit of me throbs. One pull-up. After all that training.

For nothing.

“Next,” Ms. Nallos calls, signaling the next student in line to take my spot, her cheery polka dot braids bopping along her shoulders in the face of my defeat.

Before she can reset her stopwatch, my desperation makes me approach her. There must be something I can do. Anything.

Think.“Ms. Nallos, can I have a redo after class? Please?”

“No need,” Ms. Nallos says, dismissing me.

“I swear, I can get to three. I’ve trained—”

“You passed.”

“I can prove—I’m sorry?”

“I’ve seen you and Xavier train through these windows for weeks.” She points toward the doors, where the workout room resides deeper in the center. “In my opinion, that deserves a grade change.”

---