LPS High School AU

Deprivation

It was a very late Wednesday night. Usually everyone was fast asleep, following their sleep cycles!Well...there's a certain individual who was still up and working.

Russell Ferguson was at his desk, finishing the last of his math homework. It was nearly midnight, and the orange haired boy was nearly on the verge of passing out at any moment. This whole week, he was thrown many tests, quizzes,projects, etc. Of course he is trying his best to manage but at this point, he desired a break from it all. Plus, this load of homework meant spending less time with his friends. They had all been worried about his absence, only seeing him during class and lunch.

He let out a groan of frustration. The entire house was dead silent, and his father was fast asleep. Knowing Jerry, he's a very heavy sleeper.

"Maybe I'll just take a 5 minute break..." He laid his head on the table. His eyes became droopy and were about to fully close until suddenly, he heard his cellphone vibrate on the table, making his jump. The phone's brightness made him squint his eyes, for it was really bright.

"Odd..." He thought to himself, "why would anyone text me at this hour?"

Russell decided to unlock his phone and check the text message.

It was from one of his best friends, Minka. It read:

"Heyo! :3 I was wondering if I could borrow some scissors tomorrow! I let Penny Ling borrow my box FULL of them for some club thing she has and I really need some scissors to finish my art project! 🤗"

He chuckled for a bit but then he realized something, causing his smile to quickly fade. Instead of replying to the question, he texted back saying:

"What I would like to know is what the heck are you doing up at THIS hour?! It's already midnight!"

He let out a dejected sigh. He could determine possible reasons for her doing so. The best excuse would possibly be that she had forgotten to do her homework yet again.

"That's not important! -3-"

"Not important?! Minka! Depriving yourself from sleep is very unhealthy! It could affect you both physically and mentally! D:"

"Look who's talking! You do this just about every time you're loaded w/ homework! And that's been every single day this week...>^<"

"She's got me there..." He muttered, but he didn't want to admit that it was always such a hassle to even stay up past 10. She began to concern him. He didn't want her to begin to do this as well.

"The point is, I don't want you getting sick over this! I only have to do this for the sake of my grades... I know you're all worried, but the week is almost over! We'll all have plenty of time to hang out afterwards! So please get some sleep. 😴 "

Russell laid his phone down for a minute and rested his head on the table once more. He was really exhausted now. He had spent the entire evening studying for a couple of exams, followed by working on a model for the science fair that was coming up.

Russell kept looking at his phone. He awaited for a response but none came.

"She probably fell asleep..." He said to himself as he picked up his pencil and resumed in finishing his homework.

However, as soon as he started writing, his phone vibrated again. This time, it wasn't a text message. It was a phone call...from Minka.

Russell groaned again, "Why won't you ever listen to anything that I say?..." He muttered as he proceeded in answering the call.