Page 21 of The Lost and the Found

Hayden

True to his words,Logan drove me to and from work the rest of the weekend, and when Monday finally rolled around, I stayed home in my pajamas.

Monday was my refuge.

It was one of the two days in the week that I didn’t have school or work. It was the day I looked forward to the most. But today, I felt restless.

I didn’t feel like myself, and the urge to leave the apartment was my constant companion throughout the day, even though I didn’t have anywhere to go, nor did I have the means to leave. So I was stuck trying to distract myself with homework and Netflix.

By ten o’clock that night, I turned in. Going to bed early wasn’t something I did often, or ever. I was used to functioning on less than four hours of sleep a night and taking afternoon naps when I could at the school library.But tonight I was ready for bed early, and even if I had convinced myself I wouldn’t be able to fall asleep quickly, I was out like a light the instant my head hit the pillow.

* * *

Tuesday morning,I caught the bus to school before the sun had even risen. It was a routine. I liked to get to school before the morning traffic and get caught up on any of the readings I might have missed out on the week before.

I didn’t have to look in the mirror this morning to know that I was tired, despite having gone to bed earlier than usual the night before. I needed at least a week of proper sleep before I could get rid of the fatigue that followed me around, I knew that.

My only consolation was that this was my last semester in school before I graduated, and soon, all of this would be a thing in the past.

No more late nights and early mornings. No more cold walks to work and waiting for the bus in the frigid cold. Just this semester to go. I was so close to the life I wanted, the life I’ve spent the last three years trying to achieve, I could taste it.

I just had to get through the school year. Then I was done. And hopefully, I would have more than enough in my saving accounts by then for a down payment on a cheap car and to pay the bills while I went job hunting.

But for now, my reality was hell, and I was doing no more than following a routine.

I didn’t enjoy the ease of college life like so many of my classmates who had parents to fall back on when things got bad. I envied their free time, their optimistic outlook on life, and more importantly, I envied the fact that they weren’t alone.

I walked into American Lit and took a seat in my usual spot. Putting my backpack in the seat next to mine, I prayed the chatty girl I had encountered last week had found somewhere else to sit. I had gone through an entire month without even realizing she was in the same class as me, and I hoped to continue the rest of the semester in relative peace.

I heard more students coming in, and I leaned forward until my head touched the desk, closing my eyes while I waited for class to begin.

The seat to my right, the one where my backpack was sitting, remained empty, but I could hear the seat to my left being pulled out and a body landing with a thud.

I resisted letting out a tired sigh.

When I lifted my head, expecting to see the chatty girl, I was surprised to see someone else. It was a boy about my age, my height, with a forgettable face. Gray eyes and curly auburn hair, he looked a little intimidated by me, but still, he shot me a shy smile, pulling out notes and the book we were reading.

My eyes went to the seat he occupied last week and found the chatty girl there.

So was this how it was going to be? The girl was gone, but now someone else took her place. Hopefully he would be less chatty than her.

I offered a polite smile and faced forward. Our haggard professor walked in moments later, carrying his huge backpack.

He looked like he’d hardly slept the entire weekend.I knew the feeling well.

Setting his bag on the desk in front of the classroom, he pulled out his laptop and began to set up. I watched him the entire time, my thoughts going back to the paper he assigned last week.

Once finished, he stood in front of the desk and clasped his hand together. “So, let’s begin our discussion about last week’s assignment, shall we?”

By the time class was over, I was starting to like my new desk neighbor. He took notes studiously, answered all the questions correctly, and was pretty damn insightful. If I ever missed class, I knew who I needed to ask.

I packed up my stuff quietly, liking the start of this day already.

Just as I was about to stand up, I noticed the boy staring at me. I turned to him, and he looked away quickly, his cheeks turning a soft pink.

Interesting.

I walked out of there without looking back.

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