Twice The Trouble

Chapter 28: Invisible Envy

Sophia

Thursday Afternoon. June 23, 2016.

The days passed by, and it had been uneventful.

With preliminary exams looming dangerously close by, I've been swamped with mountains of schoolwork. Deadlines here. Deadlines there. Deadlines everywhere!

It's been hectic and stressful, but I tried to manage the academic load without becoming too frazzled. Keyword: TRIED.

Currently, I am in the Humanities Building, climbing up the staircase in the direction of our dean's office for a meeting with Sir Archie Cortes, the dean of the Humanities Department.

I had set up an appointment with him three days prior, regarding a proposal about The Orion Arrow, Orion University's school newspaper, of which I was voted as Editor-In-Chief recently.

It was an honor to be E.I.C. of the college's paper, but I'd be lying if I said it was relaxing.

"Sir Cortes will be with you shortly," the dean's secretary, Mrs. Gil, politely informed me.

I nodded my head and smiled at her as she closed the blue door, then I sat down on a white plastic bench outside the dean's office and waited.

While waiting, I adjusted my oval glasses and flickered my brown eyes to my wristwatch.

4:15pm.

My right fingers drummed against my thigh, and I flipped my hand over so my palm was up.

I unzipped my green backpack, took out a black panda pen, and began to scribble on my hand.

It was much easier to remember stuff when I wrote it on my skin instead of sheets of paper.

Nat Sci 11-Three activity sheets, computations

Com Skills 11-Five-page essay

Orion Arrow-edit members' articles

Algebra-prepare collage of mathematicians

Social Studies-research paper on 3 historians

Computer Science-write down codes and programs

I tapped the head of my pen against my chin, wondering if I had forgotten anything. Technically, I didn't need to finish all of these in one swoop. I just hated procrastinating and cramming all my assignments and projects at the last minute. I would rather pull off an all-night-er.

Pursing my lips, I brought my vandalized hand closer to my eyes and squinted at the horrible scribbling, but if anyone was going to be able to understand my gibberish, it was me. Or Stacy.

Oh,right! It almost slipped my mind. I poised my pen over the skin of my palm and jotted down:

Do advanced reading in all my subjects

And review for the upcoming vocabulary quiz in--

I suddenly paused from my antics and stared into empty space, lost in my thoughts.

Before I could break my resolve, I unzipped my green backpack again, rummaged in my army print envelope for something, and peeled it out from the stack of papers and documents.

It was a printout of 50 vocabulary words that our professor distributed to us yesterday.

Might as well study now,with the opportunity present.

"What are you reading?"

I screamed, startled by the unexpected question. The white paper flew out of my fingers.