The Book at the Top of the Closet

Chapter Sixteen

I've been waiting to see Liam again since I left for break, and now I have to cancel our date tonight. Today has been one of those "I should've stayed in bed," days. This morning I crashed my bike on the way to class, and when I finally got there I found out we have a test coming up at the end of the week. I must've known this at some point, but in all my fascination with magic and Aria and everything else that's been going on, I forgot.

Sinking into the worn out sofa, I send a text to Liam explaining why I can't hang out tonight. I get all my study supplies laid out on the coffee table and start flipping through my notes, trying to gain some insight into the chapters I'm supposed to study. I've never really understood how studying is supposed to work, actually. In my experiences in high school, either I remembered what I learned in class, or I didn't. There really wasn't any special process to it. Usually, I remembered what I needed to. I'd read back over some of the less interesting stuff just to reinforce it in my head, but that's it.

College doesn't seem to work that way. I mean, for some of my classes, I still just remember whatever I've read or heard in the lecture. But some of the material is more complicated, and I guess it's time to learn how to study. I think that involves flashcards, maybe? And highlighters, I definitely need highlighters. Assemble the troops! It's time for a training montague.

#

Two hours and too many flashcards later, I'm no better off than when I started. I have some very aesthetically pleasing flashcards with way too much information on each one to really be effective, and my fingertips are stained yellow from highlighting things in the textbook. I started out just highlighting important things that I thought might be on the test, but now the pages are just screechy messes of yellow. Defeated and hungry, I dig my phone out from under a pile of loose leaf paper and check my texts.

Liam: Want company? I make a good study buddy :)

I briefly consider telling him I've sworn off studying and would like a pizza instead, but I know I need to focus.

Me: Only if we actually study. No funny business mister.

Liam: On my way

I pry myself off the couch to get a glass of water and freshen up a little before he gets here. No sense in letting him see the full scope of what a mess I am. By the time he knocks at the door, I've straightened all the papers on the coffee table and thrown together a pitcher of lemonade from one of those powdered mixes. It goes with the whole image I've got in my head of the cutesy study date. We'll talk, he'll quiz me, we'll share snacks and lemonade and I'll get a kiss goodnight. I'll get an A on the test, because that's how this is supposed to work. Deep breath. Deeper breath. Answer the door, dummy.

#

Liam might be an actual angel. He sauntered in with a tupperware container of peanut butter banana cookies, flipped through my notes and flashcards while I scarfed down peanutty goodness, then chunked the whole stack of cards into the garbage. I almost died of stress then and there. Can you die of stress?

Now he's sitting on my couch with his feet up on the coffee table, and my laptop in his lap. He found a youtube channel full of videos with information set to the tune of popular songs. For the last hour, he's been singing along with me through four chapters of information. We finished all the stuff I needed to cover for my test ten minutes ago, and ended up studying spanish just because we were on a roll. Apparently we're both in different sections of Spanish II, so we both needed to learn the spanish names for a bunch of body parts. His spanish rendition of Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes is endearingly enthusiastic, even if neither of us can carry a tune and we're both hoarse.