READY FOR LOVE | JENLISA

Chapter 19

Lisa

The hot water of the shower sprays my back, and I turn to let it run down my face, willing myself to wake up.

After my shower, I lazily slip into a pair of jeans and shoes, tugging on a simple T-shirt over my head. With great effort, I sling on my backpack and trudge to the science building.

When I round the corner to the anatomy lab, I find majority of the class waiting outside, the door to the lab closed. Most of my classmates are sitting on the floor, their lab manuals in their laps as they study them. But one brunette in particular catches my eye.

Jennie sits on the floor, sandwiched between Rosé and rat boy as they all sit and look over their lab manuals. I walk over to them, standing in front of Jennie. Gently, I tap the toe of my shoe to hers to gain her attention.

"Hey, Finch." I smile once she looks up at me.

She flashes me that beautiful smile of hers. "Hey."

I kneel down to be at eye level with her. "Whatcha doing? Why is everyone out in the hallway?"

"Irene is setting up for our quiz." she informs me.

"Shit." I completely forgot about the quiz. Falling back on my ass, I take a seat in the middle of the hallway, struggling to rip off my backpack and pull out my manual. I hear rat boy let out a judgmental scoff, and I quickly flip him the bird while Jennie's face is buried in her book.

For the next ten minutes, I sit in the middle of the hallway, trying to cram all of what we went over last week in class. Kids come and go through the hallway, brushing past me as I sit nearly in the middle of the hallway. I scoot forward as much as I can, my knees inches from Jennie's as we sit crisscross, facing each other.

"Alright, everyone." Irene says in her usual, chipper tone, opening the door. "Ready?"

Everyone lets out grumbles, getting up and heading towards the door to go inside.

"Manuals away!" Irene orders before anyone can sneak into the room.

I gather my things and stand, extending my hand out to Jennie to help her up. She accepts, her small hand fitting in mine as I tug her up. I keep hold of her hand until I'm sure she's stable, fully standing, and catch hold of her warm honey brown eyes.

Someone loudly clears their throat from the floor, and we both tear our gazes away to look down at Rosé. She looks at me expectantly, jutting her hand out to me. With reluctance, I let go of Jennie's hand and extend my hand out to Rosé, helping her up from the floor.

"Thanks, Lisa. You're a peach." she says, patting my shoulder before brushing past me to head into the classroom.

I look over to Jennie, her eyes laughing at the whole situation. My lips curve and I extend my arm, gesturing for her to lead the way. I follow her into the classroom to our table, the smell of formaldehyde strong. Rats are placed on every table, little stakes with numbers sticking out of them, punctured in to some of their organs. A piece of paper lays on the table at every seat, a quiz of about ten questions. Taking our seats, I mentally groan, knowing I'm not prepared for this.

"Be sure to write your name at the top and answer all the questions." Irene instructs. "Some are basic questions and some will have you identify different parts of the cadaver so pay attention."

I stare at the questions blankly, not knowing a handful of them. Damn, I should have remembered to study. Discreetly yet guiltily, I strain my eyes to try to glance at Jennie's paper, but her long caramel hair creates a curtain as she leans forward to write, shielding her answers. I sneak a peek across the table, but Rosé has her forearm on top of her paper and rat boy is clearly hiding his answers by using his tiny hand as a shield. Asshole.