Level the Playing Field

Awkward.

A/n: updating will take a while because I'm having a lot of doubts in the direction I want to take this in lol. Any who, enjoy ☺️

Sadé can barely stay awake in class. Her mood hasn't improved at all over the weekend and she wishes more than anything that she could've just spent all week locked away in her room, but she knows she can't. Failing classes because of a silly crush on a guy who just found out about her existence a couple days ago is so pathetic she doesn't even want to think about it. Unfortunately, it doesn't mean she isn't having a hard time focusing on a two hour long lecture. Also doesn't help that Ms. Summers keeps shooting nervous glances her way. Sadé is seriously not in the mood to deal with it. Any other day before that party on Friday and she would've been an anxious, jittery mess. Now, she just feels hollow and annoyed. Annoyed that they couldn't have been fucking anywhere else than in a fucking lab on campus. If she hadn't witnessed it, she wouldn't have been in this mess. She knows that's irrational to think, considering nobody forced her to blackmail Jude or to go to the party, but it's easier to think that way in the moment. The shuffling of bodies and the sounds of laptops being shut pulls her attention back to her surroundings. Class must've been dismissed because students are rising from their seats and heading for the exit. I'll definitely need to read the slides as soon as I get to my room.

Sadé is almost at the door when she's stopped in her tracks.

"Ms. Williams, could I speak to you just for a few minutes?" Ms. Summers' voice is timid and Sadé closes her eyes, huffing. Annoyed. She turns, facing the mahogany desk the woman is currently sitting behind. Bummer Mr. Smith has been out ill for a few days.

"Yes Ms. Summers?" she can't help the tinge of annoyance in her voice but she just wants to be in bed.

"H-how have you been?" The brunette nervously adjusts the glasses on her face, forcing a smile that only makes one side of her mouth lopsided.

"Look, I saw what I saw and what it was is none of my business. I won't tell a soul and that's all I can do for you. Any guilt or remorse you feel you'll just have to handle on your own, Ms. Summers. May I leave now?" The woman, clearly dumbfounded, only offers a slight nod of her head. Maybe in a week, Sadé will look back at this interaction and feel bad about it, but for now, she's just relieved she can head back to the sweet embrace of her unmade bed and cool, dark room.

**************

A series of gentle knocking slowly pulls her out of her slumber. She reaches out, blindly searching for her phone on her bedside table. 7:00 pm. She's been sleeping since one o' clock after thirty minutes of reading after class.

"Wake up Sadé. I made shrimp fried rice." Mikayla's voice floats through her closed door. Sadé curses quietly, Mikayla knows she'll never refuse her shrimp fried rice.

"I'll be out in five minutes." her voice is groggy with sleep still. Sadé unlocks her phone once more to check for the hundredth time for a notification. Just one notification from him. There's none. She isn't sure why she has been checking. Maybe he'll offer an explanation? An apology? Anything? But he doesn't. It's almost as if he's already forgotten she exists again. After he touched her so... whatever. She needs to get over it. And she has a feeling she knows where to start with that.

"It was Jude??!!!!!" The pair of eyes are comically wide. Sadé would laugh if she could be bothered to.

"Yea. I- um, blackmailed him with the Ms. Summers thing for us to get in."

Celine gasps so heavily she starts coughing and sputtering.

"You didn't..."

"That's not the worst part, we- at the party we, well he almost kissed me."