One Door Away

Chapter 19

I was cramming my notes while walking down the hallway at seven in the morning. The tests were supposed to start at eight, but I was here early to study for one last time. An overstretch, some people might think it is even though it's not. This routine has helped me perfect three exams last year.

As usual, in every examination period, there would be people who would go to their respective buildings in the early hours. We're basically a cult of studying and worrying whether we would pass or get high marks. Every year, leakage of exam papers is unavoidable, but for this semester, almost every answer sheet in every department were spread out.

I'm not much of a saint because I kept the copy of the email they sent to every student. The chancellor of our university still had no clue about the identity or identities of those who hacked into the system and investigations are still ongoing. Professors from every department were outraged at the event, but they could only redo the whole test in silence.

The students, on the contrary, were in high morale, despite the tests being revised and edited, as they finally once and for all had an idea about the exams for this semester. I also used it as a reference point for the topics I studied, not that I felt no guilt. For each student, any chance of having leverage against the university is a win, no matter how shallow it was.

Back to the hallway that I walked on, the designated room for the subject I was taking was in Rm. 403. There were a couple of students studying inside the room, including me. I placed my book down and went outside for the comfort room.

Before I turned left, Henry had appeared in front of me. He wore a yellow hoodie, with his hands in the pocket, and some pants on.

'Hey, buddy,' he waved with his right hand. 'How are you?'

For the past couple of days, I turned off my phone and told my friends that I wouldn't want any contact with people so that I could focus on studying. Seeing Henry now was a shocker to my introverted soul. My head panicked from some time, and my heartbeat raced.

'Henry!' I said out loud, annoying the hell out of the students studying in the hallway. 'Didn't expect you here. Actually, no. Why are you here this early?'

'To study,' he said. My gaze shifted to the book and papers he was holding. 'If you're wondering why, it's because I've been like this since high school. I go to school early in the morning to study, or it's just that my mom rode me to school early.'

'No wonder,' a smile of joy and satisfaction lit up on my eager face.

'What about you?' He leaned forward, curiosity burning in his eyes.

'Me? Oh, I-I,' my voice stuttered. 'Same reasons as you. Sorry for that, I had two cups of coffee.'

'That's insane,' he pulled me in his embrace, his arms around my shoulder. 'Come with me, let's study somewhere else. I know a spot.'

'I have to get my stuff first,' I rushed back into the room.

Henry waited for me outside, standing next to the door. After going back to him, I gave him the books I was carrying and said, 'Sorry. I really need to go to the bathroom.'

The boring hallways suddenly gave the impression of being alive, brimming with energy and enthusiasm. The dim lights above us had shone brighter than ever in my entire duration of stay; even the disgusting teal lockers didn't seem so gross after all.

We went to the back of the building, a place not crowded by students nor teachers. There were quite a few students here, but it was nothing compared to the amount occupying the hallways and rooms. This place had a lot of trees and flowers, it had been truly worth it to follow him here.