𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐎𝐂𝐈𝐄𝐓𝐘- a labyrinth sequel

𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐘

𝐀𝐔𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐀 𝐒𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐍𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐐𝐔𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐈𝐍 𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐍𝐓 𝐎𝐅 𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐓𝐈𝐑𝐄𝐃 𝐄𝐘𝐄𝐒. What is the most likely pathway taken by a newly synthesized protein that will be secreted by a cell? Aurelia lazily bubbled in the third answer on her sheet. Endoplasmic reticulum, lysosomes, vesicles that fuse with the plasma membrane. She flipped the page over and internally groaned when she saw another page of short answer questions. She was suddenly aware of the fact that she should have tried to sleep for more than two hours last night. She ran a hand through her hair and scribbled down some answers, which she would have been able to answer with ease had she slept last night. 

Aurelia glanced at the clock, the numbers blurring together. Ten more minutes. She sighed and forced her mind to focus, but every answer felt like it was being pulled from a fog. Her eyelids drooped as she scribbled another half-hearted response, the dull hum of fluorescent lights above lulling her into a trance. The professor at the front of the room announced the remaining time, and Aurelia suddenly wished she could get out of here. She subtly glanced around the room, noticing the people that already started walking out with petrified expressions on their faces. 

Last night, her and Nicolas had been up until one in the morning while he quizzed her with the flashcards she'd made. She got every single question right, which made him feel like he had to reward her every time she got one right. Needless to say, it was difficult when her boyfriend took the time to kiss her every single time she said the right answer. And it was even more difficult to focus when he buried his head into her neck and murmured sweet nothings to her. "Why do you even need to study? You already know you're going to ace this thing," he'd pointed out to her. "You've gotten every single one of these questions right. I don't think there's anything else for you to learn tonight, Sunny." 

She shook the thought from her head and set the pencil down on the tiny desk, scanning over her work for a brief second before the proctors announced that the time was up. In an instant, her test was gone, and Aurelia pushed any thoughts of it from her head. Walking out of that room felt like a weight lifting from her shoulders, but the relief was only temporary, since she'd be buried in work by tonight again. But for now, she'd let herself take a break for a few hours. Even she wasn't stupid enough to try and get anything done when her brain felt like mush. 

As she pushed open the door to her room, she noticed Sydney standing at the edge of her bed, struggling to pick out an outfit. She placed a hand on her chin and hummed lowly, turning her head toward the door. "Oh, hey," she grinned. "How'd the big midterm go?"

"Pretty good," Aurelia admitted, setting her bag down on her desk chair. She threw herself up onto her bed and sat upright, glancing at Sydney as she went over to her closet and pulled out more clothes. "What are you doing?"

"Trying to pick out an outfit," she explained plainly. "There's a party tonight." Aurelia had heard mumblings of it, but it hardly seemed like her type of scene. "You should come. You could bring that smoking boyfriend of yours," she said, throwing a wink over her shoulder. Aurelia rubbed at the back of her neck, "I think I'll pass," she replied with an awkward chuckle. 

"You know, you've been holed up in this room for two months," Sydney pointed out, grimacing as she threw a skirt off the bed onto her ottoman. "You need to get out more. Come on, just this once. It'll be fun!" Sydney's pleading tone bordered on teasing, but Aurelia was too exhausted to entertain the idea. Although Sydney didn't seem like the kind of girl she usually hung out with, the two of them got along kind of well. Aurelia didn't expect to like her as much as she did. They had basically nothing in common, but strangely enough, that was what Aurelia liked about her.