Fly Away [Before You Exit]

Ten

Which of the following best summarizes the relationship between dehydration reactions and hydrolysis?

How the fuck am I suppose to know this? What the fuck is hydrolysis?

I sighed in frustration as I flipped through my Biology textbook, the countless words attacked my brain as I skimmed through the chapters. I need to take a break.

I climbed out of bed and walked out into the small kitchen. Bending down to reach the small refrigerator, grabbing a bottle of water. I got back into the bedroom, where my Biology textbook was waiting for me. Papers were everywhere: on the bed, on the floor, and on the chair. Off to the side was a copy of Catch-22, abandoned and untouched.

I grabbed my phone, which was on top of my luggage. I unlocked it and scrolled through my notifications. Then I heard the front door open slightly. Before my finger was about to double-tap a photo, it halted to a stop.

I didn't move a muscle, the guys and Kim aren't suppose to be back until later. They were going out to eat after the concert. My eyes stared down at my phone, it was a little past nine o'clock.

I watched as the bedroom doorknob slowly turn and my hands already grasped my textbook. I raised it up next to my head. Why am I even doing this? I look like some complete idiot holding a textbook above her head ready to fight off the demon on the other side of the door. Shit, but that thing was heavy.

"Stacy?"

And that voice I immediately recognized. I was relieved. I set down my textbook, it bounced slightly as soon as it landed on the mattress. I watched as Toby opened the door wider, his eyes widening as they grazed through the mess of papers.

"What happened here?"

I laughed nervously as I got off my bed to clean up the papers lying around everywhere. I bent down to grab my notes on the floor as Toby retrieved the other papers from the chair. I reached for the outlined notes, reading guides, and lecture notes.

"Wow, Biology?" He said in awe as he shifted through my papers, examining each sheet. He picked up the Catch-22 book.

"Yeah, Literature too. I have to read too many books during the school year," I muttered as I gratefully took the notes from Toby. He sat down next to me on the bed.

"You must be really smart," he said and I shook my head.

"If you think I'm smart, then my friends would've already graduated."

"Oh, c'mon," he said before lifting the massive textbook, "this is a college class."

I shrugged as I picked up my pencil. I opened up my textbook and I began to read the next questions on my worksheet. My eyes quickly skimmed through the book, looking for any terms and any other hints. As I made my way down the paragraphs, I felt a little uncomfortable. I felt Toby's eyes watching my every single move, again. This time, I spoke up.

"You're going to be bored just sitting here and watching me suffer through all this bullcrap."

Then I stopped myself for a second, where did Kim and the other two go?

"Why aren't you with everyone else?" I asked.

"I kinda ditched them," he began before leaving the bedroom. He came back with a bag of Chipotle.

"Gary dropped me off at Chipotle before he drove me back."

He opened the bag and handed me a closed container filled to the top. As he handed me a fistful of napkins, he pulled out a large burrito wrapped in foil.

"You're welcome," he exclaimed as he unwrapped his dinner. I smiled timidly.

"Thanks, Toby."

---

"Fuck it, I'll do this later," I cursed as I slammed my textbook shut. Why didn't I take Environmental Science? It was ten times easier and you get extra credit for going to the fucking bathroom. Also, I needed to get a tampon. I began to gather my papers together and shoved them into a binder I brought with me on the tour. Lifting the binder, I walked over to my duffel bag. But I stopped dead in my tracks.

My duffel bag was gone.

I huffed and turned to Toby, who was sitting on the chair next to the bed. I placed my binder back down on the bed. He had his feet propped up on the bed frame and his eyes glued to his phone. Not only he was not paying attention to anything else, he was wear a pair of headphones. You could hear his music blasting from the other side of the room.

"Toby?" I called out. And of course, he couldn't hear me.

"Toby!" I nearly shouted as I marched to over to where he was sitting, I ripped the headphones off of his head. He looked up at me with wide eyes.

"What?"

I pointed behind me, the empty spot where my duffel bag once was. I looked back at him with a suspicious look, and he returned it with an innocent smile.

"Where is it?" I demanded.

"What do you need it for?" He asked casually before getting up and leaving our bedroom. I followed close behind, what did he do to it? He better not burrito it, I have important things in that bag. We both stood in front of his bedroom door. He took a quick glance over at me and opened the door. The first thing I thought of when I saw that room was, what a mess. And I thought my bedroom was messy.

There were clothes everywhere, on the floor and on the chairs. They were lazily draped over the arms of the chairs. Other things like deodorant, toothpaste, and cologne were scattered around the floor. Their bed was unmade and their suitcases were placed randomly in the corners. And I can't imagine what the bathroom looks like. Among all that shit, I saw my duffel bag on their bed. How did it get there in the first place? It looked like a zoo in here.

"You were so concentrated on doing your homework, you didn't even notice that I took it," Toby said as he trampled over their stuff to reach the bed, nearly falling on top of a pair of jeans. He grabbed the duffel bag, and I was right on his track. I had my hand out.

In one second, Toby was already out the door with my duffel bag in his hands. I hear his laugh ring out through the hotel room. I buried my face in my hands with frustration. I swear to God, I will fucking kill him one day. I just need to put my fucking binder away and get a fucking tampon.

"C'mon Toby, give it back," I exhaled, already defeated. Being on my period only makes things worse. I watched him dodge left and right in the hotel room. He held it above his head. Honestly, I need that fucking tampon or else I will start bleeding like fucking Carrie. But I had an idea.

I walked towards him as he began to step back. He hide the bag behind his back. I managed to corner him, where he couldn't move a muscle. Slowly, I reached for his shirt collar and pulled him down to my height until he was only inches away from my face.

"Hand me my duffel bag and I'll exchange it for something else," I said quietly, trying my best to sound intimate and secretive. One hand still grasped his shirt, then other fingered the hair at the nape of his neck. I pulled him closer, to the point where our noses were almost touching.

He was so naive, he watched me with wide eyes and sighed in defeat. He set the back down before me. As he released the straps, I stood on my toes. In one quick move, I pulled him in and pressed my lips against his.

Toby stumbled back a little, but his hands wrapped around my waist after collecting himself. My heart began to beat faster as each second passed by. Slowly, I lifted my hands and ran them through Toby's chestnut hair. His grip tightened around my waist as I tugged lightly at his hair.

Things were going so well, until I felt a vibration in the back pocket of my jeans. I pulled away from Toby's embrace, pushing my hands from his chest. As I pulled my phone out of my pocket, I watched Toby as he gave me a slight pout. He ran his hand through his hair as he watched me, god why did he have to do that? It made me want to kiss him again. I flipped him off before pressing the green on my screen.

"Hello?"

"Stacy! Were you busy earlier?"

Shit, I forgot to call my mom today.