Love Invasion

Chapter 26

The next day when I woke up; I felt knowledgeable. I had studied a lot last night, at least four hours and Nate had followed suit. Surprisingly, we hadn’t discussed anything else except textbooks and our course syllabus. We had kept our hands to ourselves too. I had drank four cups of coffee during the entire study session but the effort was worth it in the end. I felt like I knew something and if someone were to take a pop up quiz all of sudden; I wouldn’t panic.

Nate had passed out after three hours. I had covered him with a warm blanket and let him have his fair share of sleep. One hour later; I had been out as well.

To be honest, Nate as a study companion had been good. He hadn’t been a trouble of any sorts; rather we had done some constructive work together. He had helped me with Mathematics and I had helped him with English. By the end of it, we had been well versed with what we had decided to do.

Other than the feeling of knowledge; I felt fresh and active even after five hours of sleep. Nate still sleeping beside me peacefully just added to the equation. When I gazed up at him, a small, genuine smile graced my lips. The immobile, vulnerable state gave him the appearance of an adorable boy. He hadn’t ever looked more perfect to me. My fingers brushed against his chapped lips and trailed over to his chiselled jaw line. Since my head was resting against his bicep, my eyes were only able to capture one side of his handsome face.

After five minutes, I got up and slipped out of the covers to wash up. Heading inside the bathroom, I took out a towel from the rack above the mirror on the wall and placed it on the bathroom vanity. I brushed my teeth, washed my face and wiped it with the fresh towel. Then I did my business and headed out of the bathroom and room to get a cup of coffee. I had a feeling that I was going to become a caffeine addict all over again to keep myself from dozing off during the studious nights and days.

I decided to make me and Nate some breakfast with coffee. When I opened the fridge, all I found inside were some fruits, bread, butter and milk. I sighed in frustration and starvation while thinking of something creative to eat. In the end, I snatched out the bread, butter and milk while grumbling under my breath and made a mental note to go for grocery shopping in order to restock the fridge.

I made myself some coffee and just as I sat on one of the bar stools to have my morning coffee in a serene, non strenuous fashion, Nate appeared inside the kitchen sleepily. I hurriedly got up to make his coffee as he looked around the kitchen interior in a dumbfounded manner. When his eyes found an engaged me, he strolled in my direction lazily and pecked me on the cheek while mumbling “good morning” in my ear. I barely hummed in response and when the caffeine was ready, I passed the steaming mug to him.

“We studied a lot last night, don’t you think?” His voice was gravelly and hoarse due to underutilisation of the vocal cords.

I rolled my eyes at his exaggerated declaration. “We studied fine. In fact I think that we need to study more.”

I almost laughed when his eyes nearly jumped out of their sockets in disbelief. “But why?”

My eyes narrowed as I mulled over the fact that maybe mid terms weren’t as important for him as much as they were for me. I wanted to ace all the examinations and make my father proud. I wanted him to feel and witness my drastic social and academic transformation. “We have to pass these exams, Nate. I don’t know about you but I want to ace them.”

The word “ace” interlinked another word in my mind instantly, which was “Yale”. Why wouldn’t Nate give examinations much significance when he wanted to go to Yale University? Was he being pressured into going there? As much as I hated to admit it, but Shaline definitely looked like the kind of mother who would force her son into accepting her preferences just to keep up with the appearances. Was she compelling Nate into going to Yale or was it his own will?