Chapter 37

Chapter 37

They went into the shower together.

"Don't tell me you guys are going to bathe together? You know what, I don't care. Just hurry it up, please."

They didn’t take much time bathing; they were soon out of the shower, and Lana watched them move with their towels.

As they got dressed and grabbed their things, Taylor asked, "Have you called Ryan yet?"

"No, why do I have to?" Lana responded. "You both should be the ones calling him for the shit you pulled yesterday."

The conversation naturally drifted to the events of the previous day.

"We don't have to call him. He owes us an apology for coming in here and talking like that to us," Taylor replied in a cold tone.

"Yeah, ours is understandable," Zach called out as he pulled up his jeans. "But why haven’t you? Even if it’s just to ask if he got to school safe."

"No, I don’t need to call him. I'm sure he’s fine."

"So… you’re really avoiding Ryan, huh?" Zach teased as he slipped on his jacket.

Lana sighed, running a hand through her hair. "I’m not avoiding him. I just don’t want to talk to him or Jessie today—at least for now."

Taylor shot her a knowing look. "Sounds like avoidance to me."

Lana didn’t reply.

Soon enough, they were all getting into Zach’s car. As he started the engine, she stared out the window, lost in thought. Maybe she was avoiding Ryan. Maybe she just wasn’t ready to face whatever awkwardness would come with seeing him again.  

   

Ryan woke up with a pounding headache, his head feeling like a deadweight on his shoulders. He groaned, squeezing his eyes shut before forcing himself to glance at the clock on his bedside table.  

9:30 AM.  

Shit.  

He had overslept—again.  

There was no Lana to barge in and nag him out of bed like she usually did. For the first time in a while, he had to wake himself up, and clearly, he had failed miserably.  

Sitting up, he ran a hand through his messy hair and let out a sigh. His mother’s words from last night echoed in his head. *She had warned Fix up or you’ll lose all the benefits you’re getting.*  

He knew she wasn’t bluffing. He couldn't afford to mess up again 

  He groaned in frustration, first lectures must have started already 

The thought sent a wave of urgency through him. He had to get to class, prove to his mother—and maybe to himself—that he wasn’t just wasting time here.  

With that in mind, he got up from the bed and stood up too fast, the room spinning for a brief second. That’s when the smell hit him. A strong, suffocating mixture of cigarettes, alcohol, and sweat—as usual the one from his roommates ,he had gotten used to it at this point and couldn't even think of protesting about it, his personal brand of self-neglect. It was so bad that he had to take a step back.  

His nose wrinkled in disgust. How had he even slept through that? Crazy 

For a split second, he considered just throwing on some clothes and heading to class without showering—he’d done it before yesterday,the Cologne would cover up.for it . But then, reality set in.  

*I didn’t even bathe yesterday,* he realized. *And I stink like a damn dumpster.*  

There was no way he could walk around campus like this, not unless he wanted people to keep their distance from him for all the wrong reasons.  

“Can’t be like this around people,” he muttered to himself.  

Dragging his feet, he made his way to the bathroom, stripping off his clothes as he went. The cold water would probably do him some good—wake him up properly, clear his head.  

As he stepped under the stream, he let out another sigh.  

    He thought of how he abruptly left Jessie , without waving her goodnight properly ,that was another conversation he wasn't looking forward too

   Then lana had also been acting weird towards him,  

What a day it's going to be ,he said under his breath 

  He got out of the shower and quickly changed into a different set of clothes, he had to hurry up , he knew the perfect excuse to give the professor today ,all the had to do was keep his cool

   He grabbed his phone and watch, didn't waste time to check himself out in the mirror then began moving 

    He stumped his feet onto the edge of the bed and groaned in pain , cursing under his breath 

Today had barely started, and it already felt exhausting.

        He began jogging slowly as soon as he got into the school compound, a little sweat was needed to make the story he was about to cook up for the professor a bit convincing 

    He had it all in his head.

Ryan arrived at class, slightly out of breath and feeling the weight of everyone's eyes on him. The room was silent except for the professor’s voice as he lectured, deep into his teaching. Everyone was already settled in, notebooks open, pens scribbling across pages.  

Ryan felt the sweat trickling down the back of his neck. He hated this feeling—showing up late, all eyes on him like he was some kind of unserious student, the jog had worked more than he expected,he was sweaty and out of breath. But desperate times called for desperate measures, and he had done the best he could.  

He barely had time to find a seat before the professor's voice cut through the room.  

"Mr. Walsh, I presume?"  

Ryan froze for a second, then turned to face him with the most apologetic expression he could bring up

"Professor, I’m so sorry I’m late to class," he began, putting just the right amount of guilt into his voice. "I would have been here earlier—actually, I was already close to class—when my stomach started upsetting me. It must have been something I ate last night." He placed a hand on his stomach for effect. It troubled me seriously 

The professor raised an eyebrow, listening.  

"I had no choice but to turn back quickly," Ryan continued. "I ran to… you know… take care of it. And as soon as I could, I ran all the way back here. I didn’t want to miss too much of the lectures." I am really sorry 

He let out a breath, hoping he sounded convincing enough.  

For a moment, the professor studied him. The pause stretched just long enough for Ryan to feel a twinge of anxiety. But then—  

"Oh, I see," the professor said, his tone softening. "I’m sorry to hear that. How are you feeling now? Do you need to visit the school clinic?"  

Now *that* was an interesting offer. Ryan thought to himself 

A free pass out of class? He wouldn’t have minded taking that opportunity on any other day. But he knew his mother would *not* be pleased if she found out he left a lecture to lounge around the clinic. She knew it would be false and nothing happened to him.That woman had eyes and ears everywhere.  

So, as much as the idea tempted him, Ryan shook his head.  

"It’s okay, Professor," he said, putting on his most resilient face. "I can manage. It’s not too bad now."  

The professor nodded. "Alright then. Just let me know if it gets worse."  

"Of course, sir. Thank you. And again, I really apologize for coming late."  

Ryan quickly walked to an empty seat, sinking into it and exhaling slowly. His heart was still beating a little fast from that whole exchange, but at least he had gotten away with it.  

His stomach hadn’t been upset in the slightest, but there was no way he was about to tell the professor that.  

He pulled out his notebook and flipped to a fresh page, pretending to focus as the professor continued his lecture. But his mind was elsewhere.  

*I really need to stop oversleeping,* he thought.  

As he settled in, he felt a tap on his arm. Turning his head slightly, he found a guy,one he hadn't spoken to or even knew shooting him a knowing look from his seat a few rows away.  

He mouthed the words, *Stomach upset? Really?*  

Ryan smirked slightly and gave him a small shrug, as if to say, *mind your business What else was I supposed to say?*  

   He knew most people wouldn't buy it , but it had worked for the professor that was the important thing  

Ryan exhaled, finally allowing himself to relax. Another day, another excuse  

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