Have Mercy ♱ JesBible ♱

Fever and Fear

"Bible, what happened? You look like shit!" Fuaiz, as blunt as ever, greeted him as they walked into the university.

"I had a bad nightmare," Bible replied, yawning and rubbing his eyes, which were shadowed by dark circles. He felt completely drained.

"Was it that same nightmare you usually have?" Fuaiz asked, a hint of worry in his tone.

"No, it was different, but I can't exactly remember what it was about," Bible said, his voice heavy with exhaustion. He just knew he'd felt an unsettling presence all night, like someone was watching him. The fear had kept him awake, and it was only in the early morning that he managed to get an hour of sleep. Now, he had no idea how he was going to make it through the day.

As Bible entered the classroom, his eyes fell on the new teacher, Mr. Jespipat, already seated and glancing over a book. Bible gave him a nod as he walked in, but Mr. Jespipat only glared back, his expression unreadable. Bible sighed and took his seat, hoping for a simple lesson so he could relax a bit; his head felt heavy, and his reactions were slow.

"Psst, Bible," came a whisper. "Bible..."

"Uh, yes? Sorry, I'm so tired," Bible mumbled, finally turning to Fuaiz.

"I was just gonna ask if you'd come over with my friends to my place this weekend. We..." Fuaiz's invitation was cut off by a sharp clearing of the throat from Mr. Jespipat.

"Please open your books to page 45," Mr. Jespipat said, turning to the blackboard and beginning to write a set of complex math problems. Bible, struggling to keep his eyes open, propped his head on his hand, feeling the weight of his exhaustion bearing down. Before he knew it, he had drifted off, slipping into a light, unintentional sleep.

Suddenly, Bible sensed a presence beside him, accompanied by an impatient huff. "Am I teaching such boring material that you feel the need to sleep in my class?" came Mr. Jespipat's sharp voice.

Bible's head snapped up, meeting the teacher's intense stare. "Uh, I'm sorry, sir. I'm just not feeling well," he mumbled, his face flushing with embarrassment. This had never happened before—he was always focused in class, but today he could barely keep his eyes open.

"You can sleep at home," Mr. Jespipat replied, his voice a harsh whisper, before turning away and continuing to write down more formulas on the board.

Bible was startled by Mr. Jespipat's direct reprimand. After their encounter in the library yesterday, he'd thought maybe the teacher wasn't so bad. But this strict side left him feeling worse.

As the lesson ended, Mr. Jespipat called him over. "You'll need to stay longer and write down everything you missed 15 times," he said sternly.

Bible felt a wave of dread, but he nodded, knowing there was no way out. He'd just have to push through, despite his exhaustion. Fuaiz gave him a worried look as he left with the other students, leaving Bible alone in the classroom with Mr. Jespipat.

He sat down, took out his book, and began writing. The atmosphere was tense and unsettling, with the only sound being the steady ticking of the clock—tick-tock, tick-tock—echoing in the silence. Line by line, he copied out the material, feeling his hand grow sore with each word. The quiet of the room pressed down on him.

Bible could feel Mr. Jespipat's gaze drilling into him, like needles prickling his skin. He didn't dare look up, keeping his eyes fixed on his work. When he finally finished, he stood up and carried the paper over to the teacher's desk, where Mr. Jespipat sat quietly reading, not even glancing his way.

"Uhm... I'm finished," Bible said softly, stretching out his hand to place the paper on the table.

Mr. Jespipat's eyes flicked up for a brief moment, then returned to his book without a word.