Bitter (wlw) (txs)

twenty-six

I spent the majority of my time in the following week studying for my exams, sometimes in Sam's or Mei's company or just alone.

Sam's exam was the first of three I had to take, and ironically it was on the day of our first month anniversary.

I'd specifically told her I didn't want her help this time, because I'd been taking decent notes and as much as I'd appreciated it, her helping me last time made me feel a bit dishonest.

Mei was going to take the full exam rather than the mid-term since she felt like she could have done better than last time, and Sam had to administer other exams during the morning, so I had to go alone.

But I made sure to arrive as soon as the previous exam in the room was finished to catch Sam alone for a while. I waited for everyone in the room to leave, and as soon as I entered it I found Sam sitting at the professor's desk, using her laptop.

"Hi" I quietly said as I approached her.

"Fancy seeing you here" she looked up, with a surprised look.

"Figured out no one would be here if I arrived this early" I shrugged.

"I know I've already texted you this morning, but...happy anniversary. I appreciate you a lot" she said in a much softer voice tone than what she'd said before.

"Happy anniversary" I smiled, looking around in case someone I didn't notice had entered the room. "I wish I could walk to your side of the desk right now"

"Don't worry, we'll get to celebrate later on" we were both basically whispering at that point. "Concentrate on the exam now. How are you feeling?"

"Not too bad. Pretty confident, actually" I said as I placed my stuff on one of the first row's desks and sat down.

"That's good. I know you'll do great. Also, it's so weird to see you in the first row instead of where you usually sit"

"And it's weird to see you so close in a classroom environment"

"Just don't let it distract you from the exam"

"It'll be hard but I'll make sure it doesn't"

"You'd better" she chuckled.

Soon after her assistant professor and other students arrived, so our fun little moment had to end before I wished it would. By the time the exam began I'd started to feel slightly nervous, but Sam's hint of a reassuring smile was enough for me to feel calmer.

It overall went well, even if in my mind I'd done better in the first part. But maybe that was because I'd done all the studying alone this time and I trusted Sam's knowledge much more than mine.

And that's exactly what she also told me, once we finally got to be alone in her office.

"You've been studying like mad, I'm sure you did great" she said as I'd expressed my worries to her, sitting in her lap. That had definitely become my favorite spot to be in.

"Studying a lot doesn't equal a good exam. I'm not even sure if I've got a bunch of the open questions right"

"I'll grade yours first if it'll ease your mind"

"Sam!"

"What?" she laughed.

"Don't do that. I'll wait for the grades with everyone else who took the exam today"

"Fine. But I'm also curious about yours more than anyone else's"

"You can grade mine whenever you want to, but I want to know the results once everyone else also receives them"