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Content Warning: This chapter contains profanity.
Note: This chapter will be shorter in length.
─── ⛧⋆⋅ ♰ ⋅⋆⛧ ───
The lecture hall was buzzing with that awkward first-day energy, half excitement, half dread. I sat on the edge of the group, legs crossed, watching as Eloise hovered nearby, looking like she'd rather be anywhere else.
Not that I blamed her. These were my friends, not hers. She was just here for the class, not the bullshit commentary that came with it.
"Honestly, what the hell is this?" Jessica groaned, slamming her notebook onto the desk like it had personally offended her. "Dr. Rosen was perfect. Why the fuck would they replace her?"
"Budget cuts?" Ethan offered, shrugging like the human embodiment of apathy.
"Budget cuts my ass," Jessica shot back. "They probably wanted to bring in some cheap-ass hire fresh out of grad school. I swear, if this dude walks in with a PowerPoint template from 2006, I'm leaving."
"You won't leave," I said, smirking. "You'll sit there and sulk like the professional whiner you are."
Jessica flipped me off without looking. "Don't test me, Mia. My tolerance for bullshit is razor thin today."
"Imagine how thin it'll be when the professor actually starts talking," Ethan muttered, earning a few chuckles from the group.
I glanced over at Eloise, who was sitting just outside the circle, flipping through her notebook. She wasn't saying anything, she never did around this group, but I could see the subtle tension in her shoulders, the way her pen tapped against the paper like a nervous tick.
I turned back to the group. "Okay, everyone needs to calm the fuck down. It's not the end of the world."
Jessica scoffed. "Easy for you to say. You probably didn't even like Dr. Rosen."
"Not true," I said, raising a hand in mock protest. "She was fine. A little boring, maybe, but fine. You guys are acting like she was Freud reincarnated or something."
"She was predictable," Ethan said, leaning back in his chair. "I liked that. You knew what to expect. None of this 'mystery professor' bullshit."
"Right, because God forbid you have to adapt," I teased.
Ethan narrowed his eyes at me. "You're awfully chipper about this. Did you bribe the administration to get rid of her or something?"
"Yep. Totally. Used my secret slush fund from all the underground cage matches I've been organizing," I said dryly, leaning back in my seat. "Jesus, Ethan, it's one professor. Relax."
