Hukassa

29. A part of you with me

The sun had barely risen, casting a gentle light over the campus. Inside the dorm, the usual hustle and bustle began.

Eva's POV:

The blaring sound of Aura's alarm jolted me awake. I groaned, burying my face in the pillow. Why did she have to set it so loud?

"Aura, turn that thing off!" I mumbled, my voice muffled.

Aura, already up and energetic, laughed. "Rise and shine, sleepyheads! We've got a busy day ahead!"

I peeked out from under the covers, my eyes still half-closed. "You're too chipper for this early in the morning."

Aura grinned, tossing a pillow at me. "Come on, Eva. Time to face the world!"

Bella, ever the morning person, was already dressed and ready. "Come on, Eva, we've got this! Besides, there's coffee waiting for us."

"Coffee," I muttered, slowly sitting up. "Now that's a reason to get out of bed."

Just then, Serena stumbled into the room, her hair a tangled mess and her eyes half-closed. "Who invented mornings?" she grumbled, tripping over a pile of clothes.

"Whoa there, Serena," Bella said, catching her. "Rough night?"

"You could say that," Serena replied, trying to tame her wild hair. "I barely slept. My mind was racing all night."

I couldn't help but smirk. "Thinking about a certain someone?"

Serena blushed, muttering something as she headed to the bathroom.

"Oh, it's definitely about Kai," Aura teased, winking at me.

Serena spun around, her face turning an even deeper shade of red. "It's not about Kai! Nothing is going on between us!"

Bella raised an eyebrow. "Sure, Serena. That's why you're blushing like a tomato right now."

Serena huffed and pointed a finger at us. "Enough! Nothing is happening, okay?" But her flustered expression said otherwise.

With everyone finally up, we gathered our things and headed out. Aura was already talking about her back-to-back classes and lab, while Bella listed the assignments she needed to complete. I, on the other hand, was lost in thought about Asher.

"Eva, you okay?" Aura asked, nudging me.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Just... tired," I said, giving a weak smile.

Bella, ever the wise one, gave me a knowing look. "Missing Asher again?"

I sighed, nodding slightly. "Yeah, a bit. It's just one of those days."

Aura gave me a sympathetic pat on the back. "You'll see him soon, Eva. Hang in there."

Their support was comforting, and I couldn't help but smile at their concern. No matter how chaotic our mornings were, knowing I had friends like these made everything better.

As we made our way to the café for our much-needed coffee, Serena lagged behind, still flustered from the teasing. I glanced back at her and couldn't resist one last poke. "Hey, Serena, if you and Kai are just friends, why do you get so defensive?"

Serena rolled her eyes but couldn't hide her smile. "Because you guys are relentless," she said, finally laughing.

Serena's POV:

Later that day, I was deeply engrossed in my project for my software engineering class. I sat in the campus library, my laptop surrounded by piles of reference books and notes. The deadline for my coding assignment was fast approaching, and I was determined to perfect it.