Devil's Soul

Chapter 30 (that moment when midterms didn't stop being a thing)

***Hey guys! I know it's been an eternity since I last posted, so thanks for sticking with me! I just got back from studying abroad in Denmark, so I will have a lot more time to write now. Since it's been awhile, I will just remind you of a couple things. This scene takes place the morning after the Halloween incident. Mavis has splinters in her hand because she grabbed onto an old wooden railing as she was falling down a flight of stairs. I think that's the gist of what you need to know. Enjoy!***

I couldn't help but feel that I had reached a low point in my life when the splinters in my right hand inspired only feelings of gratitude, as I desperately tried to cram for midterms in the library.

"I'm so lucky it wasn't my left hand," I muttered as I jotted another important concept onto my study guide. I was hunched over my notes with a sort of jittery intensity that may or may not have resulted from my decision to consume both coffee and Adderall earlier that morning.

"You keep saying that, but all your problems would be solved if you were to just remove the splinters," Abhinav commented.

I didn't bother to look up at him when he spoke. "I don't have time for that," I explained, wondering how there could be so many slides on my lecture print-outs that looked brand new to me. "Did we cover this in class? I don't think we did." I held up the sheet of paper for Abhinav and Chung to see.

Chung looked up from his computer, briefly, and shrugged. I don't know why I bothered asking him. It's not like he ever came to class. Abhinav assessed it a little more carefully. "Oh, yeah, we definitely did. I remember Professor Petros tried to use some sort of platypus analogy to explain it."

"What?" I asked, flipping the paper around so I could re-examine the slide. What did pebble bed high temperature gas reactors have to do with platypuses?

"I don't know either," Abhinav said. "Just forget the platypus. The book has a nice, straightforward explanation."

"Alright, thanks," I said, pulling the book closer to me so I could flip through it. "I can't find it in the index," I said, trying to keep my frustration at bay.

"Really? What term are you looking for?" Abhinav asked.

My cheeks flushed red when I realized my mistake. I really needed more sleep.

"You were looking for 'platypus,' weren't you?" Abhinav laughed.

"Nevermind. I found it," I said, avoiding the question as I flipped to the right page. When I found the page, I put my elbows on the table and leaned forward until I had to support my neck with my hands.

"You need help holding that?" Desmond asked, appearing by my side, bent over so that his face was level with mine. He placed two fingers beneath my chin and gently rotated my head so that I was looking into his blue eyes.

I smirked. "Thanks. My head was getting heavy from all the information I've been cramming into it." I didn't have very long to bask in my clever response before I realized how close our faces were, and I grew embarrassed. "So," I said, pulling away from him and making a show of stretching out my arms. Abhinav and Chung were both eyeing us warily, crushing my hope that the previous moment hadn't seemed suspiciously intimate. "I'm surprised you decided to wake up today," I said in an attempt to move away from the embarrassing moment. "You were practically comatose when I left my room this morning."

"I had a long night of talking to the police," he whined, plopping down into the chair next to mine.

I rolled my eyes. "We all did," I said, landing my gaze on Abhinav and Chung, expecting to commiserate with them. Instead, I was met with shocked expressions. "What?" I asked.