Growing Up and Other Tall Tales

Chapter 21

I only realize that I had fallen asleep when I blink the blurriness of my eyes away. My hand rubs the back of my neck wincing at the tight and heavy knots my thumb digs into.

My eyes slowly and heavily travel to the laptop which is closed (I distinctly not closing it) and then to my right.

It takes me time to match the face to Lyra's name and some more time to realize that I had snored on her neck.

"Oh shit," I breathe out and she looks up from glaring accusingly at her calculator to me. Her eyes soften immediately and she smiles a little.

"I thought you might need a kiss to wake up," she says softly, like she is trying not to startle me too much

Oh shit indeed.

"How long was I—"

"Around an hour,"

"An hour?!"

She turns to me to look at me with eyes that give a minus amount of fucks.

"Yeah, you borrowed my neck for your little catnap,"

Words take a while to form.

"Wait so—but...why? Okay—"

And coherence is still stuck in traffic.

"I finished," she pushes the paper at me, "And I did some more because I'm dedicated and shit,"

Dedicated, my ass.

I look down at the extra sheets confusedly.

She didn't leave, my brains murmurs cautiously, she could've but she didn't.

And cue the chest pains. I wince and rub my chest trying to diffuse the discomfort that hooks around my heart tugging it to the pit of my stomach.

"Look, I didn't wake you up because you didn't drool and you looked like grass run over by a land-mower," she piles her pencils into her bag, getting ready to leave. And stops.

"When was the last time you had some shut eye, dude?" she asks tentatively, "It's none of my business." And yet... "I'm telling you, it's not health—are you alright?"

"Huh?" I ask like the dim, dense dumbass I am. She rolls her eyes and then pokes me in the chest and holds up a thumb questioningly. My speech clicks into place, "Yeah, I'm fine. And um, thanks for letting me loan your neck."

So, my brain responds to physical pain and sign language. It is official: I'm reverting eons of human evolution.

She pats me on the back almost sarcastically and then stands up.

"Go home, Aiden," she says and pokes my nose making me narrow my eyes down at the point of contact, "And if you have time, tell me how well I failed,"

She taps her index finger against the papers she had stacked under my laptop.

"Wait," I say, already standing up to stop her from rounding the table and inevitably leaving. She pauses mid action and retreats raising her eyebrows

My internal Missy flicks me on the forehead because say something dumbass.

"Bye,"

Nailed it.