'Dr. Zhang, I'm submitting to The Lancet. I've never submitted an article before. The chief wants me to ask you to double check it for me.' Luo messages me with a PDF attachment of his submission.
The Lancet.
Ambitious.
The author's guideline is all too familiar. I remember submitting to The Lancet. I never dreamed it would be accepted, I just wanted some feedback from the reviewers.
I double check Luo's manuscript, it's just as I translated.
I double check the figure legends, they're just as I wrote.
I double check the tables, they're still as I reorganized.
The references need to be restructured.
I check the author's list and acknowledgement list. I'm not on either.
I pull out my laptop.
Day 14:
It was 51 days before the college entrance exam, Friday.
"Hey Teach, I gotta tell ya! Our classes were sick yo, 80% of these questions we've covered before!" Luo said when we met up at Mr. Min's office.
"Duh, it's off the test syllabus. Did you think they'd be asking us questions from NASA recruitment?" I said, rolling my eyes. "Don't you ever check the syllabus?"
"Nah, not really... That's why I got you teach!" He said, thrusting an arm around my neck.
"Get. Your. Hands..." I struggled to wriggle out of his grasp.
"Am I interrupting?" A head stuck out from behind the door.
"Tee! Come in!" Luo said, laying back in his chair with his arms still comfortably wrapped around me.
I took a quick duck out of Luo's embrace.
"You here for the lesson?" I said.
Tee looked to both of us, "Um... You sure that's a good idea?" He said.
"Please. Do." I said firmly.
"Yo, it's kinda crowded in here ain't it." Luo said.
"I actually came here to give you this." Tee set a bottle down at the corner of the table. "You left it by the bench yesterday."
"Thanks,"I said hesitantly. I didn't remember seeing him on the tracks.
As if he had read my mind, "I was working out by the bench, didn't run." He said.
"Oh," I remembered the last time we ran together and my eyes fell on Tee's jaw lines.
Luo let out a cough and pulled up his chair closer to mine. "We gonna start this class or wut?" He said impatiently.
"Um...yeah, the mocks." I opened my bottle. It was full to the rim. "How'd you do?"
"Not great." Tee said.
"Hang in there. Only..." I checked my phone. "51 days till it's over."
"Yo! 51 days till your boy's in MIT!" Luo gleamed.
YOU ARE READING
When He Strangled Her--a story about love
General FictionWhat if your success is attributed to something or someone wrong? What if you can't appreciate who you are today without giving credit to an abuser? What if the abuser is your father and the inflictor your mother? Would you still call the place you...
