Let Me Sleep

Chapter 5

I didn't know that the walls were that thin. How much has my neighbor heard all this time? Ok, I really have to be quiet now.

I tiptoed over my mess of books and clothes and skipped to my desk. I set the book down and placed myself in my chair.

What do I want to start with?

My eyes shifted to my laptop. I clicked on the tab for my email and saw a message from my professor. I unhappily opened the email.

Thank you for the help... blah blah blah... organic chemistry lab among the finest chemistry grad students and professors...

Professors? I'm not smart enough to work alongside multiple professors! I'm going to make an absolute fool out of myself.

I sighed, pushing my laptop away. I guess chemistry is the priority tonight. I'll start with reading the textbook. I flipped over the the chapter with the most basic organic chemistry principles.

I have a lot to refresh my memory on. How did I do all of this in undergrad? All of the vocabulary sounds familiar, but I don't remember how to do all of these different reactions! This is going to be a long night.

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My alarm went off but when I opened my eyes, everything was black and white. I put my hand on my face and realized I fell asleep with my notes on my face.

I don't remember how I got here. Last night... I was studying at my desk... then my butt hurt from sitting for so long... Oh right, I moved here after reading for the chem lab but was too tired to focus on my actual studies. I hope I absorbed all of the information on my notes by diffusion. If I could actually learn that way, I would be so well rested.

I sat up, walked over to my backpack and shoved my notes in. I was too lazy to pull out the designated binder for my notes and neatly organize them.

I did my morning routine quickly. There was no time to eat breakfast, but I made time for coffee. Coffee time was the most important time of the day. Plus, I didn't have money to go buy a coffee on the way to school since I spent it on a guitar.

I chose one of the new fancy Italian coffees that my dad sent me. It would have been fun to make a cappuccino, but I just made a black coffee for the sake of time.

The aroma was strong and that alone woke me up. I poured it into a tumbler, put my backpack over my shoulders, and ran out the door to my car.

I got to the stairs of my apartment building, paused, and took a sip of my coffee.

Ah, nice and strong. And now I have the strength to run down these stairs.

I flew down the steps with the help of the morning wind pushing me down. I unlocked my car, threw my backpack into the passenger seat, and tucked my coffee nicely into the cup holder.

I rolled the windows down. The wind felt so good as the warm coffee rushed down my throat and into my blood.

"I want to be in a good mood today," I said after putting the song "Stronger" by Britney Spears.

A man going into his car rolled his eyes at me for blaring my music. He slammed the car door shut to ignore me.

I felt bad and rolled my windows back up and turned on the AC instead.

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"Happy Friday!" Charlotte startled me by tapping me on my back.

I almost spit out my fancy coffee. It would have been a waste of a perfectly good gulp.