Stay With Me

Chapter 9

The blaring sound of an alarm clock brought Sierra out of her dream world. She tried to open her eyes but scrunched up her face after almost being blinded by the bright light. She covered her eyes and gradually opened them. As soon as her eyes adjusted to the light, she peeked at the clock on the wall, 7:20 AM. Leaving her cozy bed, she got up and rubbed away the sleep from her eyes. For how long was she out? It was happening frequently to her these days. She kept losing track of time. Sierra stretched and opened her bathroom door. The bathroom felt colder than usual. What was the temperature outside? She pulled her curtains and noticed the sky covered with clouds and the trees shedding leaves. Autumn had crept its way this year. Sierra had barely noticed it. But then again, she barely had to leave the house previously. Her only entertainment used to be walking or reading. She had all the time in the world to admire nature as much as possible. The scenery from her window made her miss her walks. Maybe she could manage to find time today for one.

Sierra turned on the tap and splashed her face with water. As she applied toothpaste to her toothbrush, she wondered what had happened before she fell asleep. Sierra was late for her first class and met her group mates for a meeting in the library. She prepared the presentation with Scott and had the final thing yesterday. Sierra immediately stopped brushing and recalled the previous day. She remembered standing in the auditorium with the projector's light flashing on her face as she presented her project to Scott. Oh my God. How could she forget about it? She got done with her first project! And the instructor gave good remarks about it as well. She also recalled Damien's stunt with her slides. That reminded her of the last thing he said to her. He had caused Sierra to react in a fight-or-flight manner. Sierra was so out of her senses that she ignored him. Sierra tried not to overthink about it. She had just gotten free from the project. Sierra should try and catch up with the missing lectures. She had skipped her last lecture because she was not well. Sierra recollected that the math instructor had created a website for uploading the latest study material. She finished brushing and patted her face dry.

She scanned the document as she exited the bathroom and drank a glass of water from her bedside. It was not difficult, and Sierra needed to practice a few questions to find out if she needed to go to the instructor for help later. Yesterday, when Sierra got home, she was beyond tired. So, upon reaching her room, Sierra was out like a light. She did not remember waking up in the middle of the night. Sierra was startled by the sound of her stomach rumbling loudly. She did not know what was the last meal she had. Hoping down the stairs, Sierra wondered what to eat for breakfast. She had half an hour to eat and get ready for university. Deciding on an egg and a toast, Sierra placed a slice of bread in the toaster and cracked an egg. She gently dropped the egg in a frying pan when she heard her mother.

"Good morning, darling."

"Good morning. How are you?"

"I am good. I was leaving for work."

"Should I make you an egg, too?"

"No, sweetheart. I will eat breakfast on the property. I have so much to do and so little time. My client expects me to finish my work as soon as possible."

"Do you need my expert advice on anything?"

"No, ma'am. Thank you so much for your offer, though."

"Hehe. Oh, Mom! Guess what?"

"What?"

"I gave my project presentation yesterday."

"Oh, wow. How was it? I am sure the instructor was delighted by your prototype."

"You bet! He loved it."

"Did he announce who got the internship?"

"No, not yet. We might find out today, I think."