Story: Two students and a cat (chapter 9)

Authors: Anarya

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Chapter 9

Title: Chapter 9: A Rude Awakening

[Author's notes: This took much longer to write than I thought. Life hasn't been too good to me this past two weeks, and I ended up writing two future scenes. But I can't post them, for it would ruin the ending. So here is the chapter 10 scene you've been waiting for. I've been dying to write about her classes for awhile now, so this chapter focuses on them a bit. It also gives a hint of other aquaintances. She isn't fully alone. (Who of my readers were thinking that? Raise your hand now? :D ) She does have other people she occasionally talks to, but as you may notice, she's still a bit skittish around even them.]

Lyn became conscious of a warm body next to her.  Her head was tucked against the soft fabric of a shirt, and an arm was half draped over her torso.  She blinked and turned her head to see Shari lying atop the blankets, her golden hair spilled onto the shared pillow.  She still wore her clothing from yesterday, but what alarmed Lyn was her close proximity.  Lyn sat upright and jerked free from the blankets that covered her.  She fell off the bed, bumped her palms against the floor, and hit her head against the bottom of the windowsill.  Shari stirred in her sleep with a soft snort, but she didn’t wake. 

How did this happen?  The question spun through Lyn’s sleep fogged mind.  All she could remember was crying and being held by Shari, and then waking up next to her.  She pulled at her shirt and picked at her pants, the same clothing she had worn the day before. 

Don’t panic.  Lyn forced herself to her feet, rubbing her aching head with her palm.  Nothing had happened.  Shari and her must have fallen asleep, and yet Lyn had been under the blankets and Shari atop.  Lyn’s feet brought her to her desk and toward the kitchen.  Rumi meowed from his place at Shari’s feet.  Lyn spun on her heel and walked toward him.  So Shari must have placed a blanket on her, but then why was she still here?  Why didn’t she leave? 

Rumi stretched and meowed again.  He hopped off the bed and curled around Lyn’s legs.  She stopped, bent over, and stroked his back with the tips of her fingers.  He curled his body upward to increase the amount of space her fingers touched.  Purrs vibrated his throat. 

Lyn glanced at the clock and frowned.  It was ten minutes to nine.  She barely had time to get ready for her first class.  Straightening, she walked into the kitchen and grabbed Rumi’s water bowl from the floor.  Cleaning it, she carefully refilled it as Rumi meowed and curled his body around her legs again. 

“Patience, Rumi,” she murmured as she placed his bowl next to his dish.  Some food was still in it from last night, and so she didn’t bother to refill the food dish.  He butted his head against her hand, and she allowed herself two head scratches before she left him to breakfast. 

She glanced at the bed.  Shari hadn’t moved.  Rubbing her eyes with a soft groan, she walked into the bathroom, slammed the door, and focused on her shower.  This morning was something that was best forgotten.

Each scrape against her skin hurt, but she didn’t let up.  Her green mesh sponge was a frilly ball of net that felt soft to the touch, until one smashed it into against one’s skin and rubbed as hard as possible, which Lyn did with vigor.  She winced as the hot water poured over the raw skin on her arms, but she continued to scrub, the soap lather growing with each back and forth motion.  Tears pricked her eyes only to be washed away by the water that sprayed over her body and hair, and dripped down her face and back.  No matter how hard she tried empty her mind, the thoughts of Shari wouldn’t leave.  She scrubbed harder, desperately trying to scrub away the thoughts and wash them off her like the soap the water rinsed from her slender body. 

She tightly closed her eyes as she scrubbed her right knee fiercely.  Shari’s golden hair piled atop her pillow a few strands mixing with Lyn’s own dark brown.  Her peaceful expression with that slight smile upon her full lips, and the way her arm draped limply over Lyn’s side.  It had been comforting until the terror of being found like this struck.  If anyone in the program knew… 

The sponge dropped from her hands, and she stood, head bent in the shower, the water cascading over her body, pounding into her shoulders and head. 

 

A deep weariness had settled into Lyn’s bones by the time she was dressed and standing at her door with her shoulder bag.  Shari still lay on her bed, and Rumi sat near her head, his head tucked into his tail.  It was still an hour and a half until the culture class they shared, and quietly she had set her alarm for her friend. 

She opened the door and winced as her knee scraped against the inside of her jeans.  Her skin still felt raw from her vigorous cleaning in the shower and her sweater, despite its softness, rubbed against her skin.  It had taken two handfuls of lotion to stop the itching, and now a dull ache had spread through her arms, legs, and shoulders. 

Sighing, she locked her door and descended down the stairs, head bent, and her fingers tightly clenching her bag’s shoulder strap.  The air outside was cool and a light dew covered the grass and sidewalk.  A few students hurried by with backpacks and only a small number of cars traversed the streets.  She walked silently to the music building, and toward her first class of the day: Music Theory. 

It only took her two minutes to realize that she had forgotten something.  The students around her held the ear-training exercise in their hands, and small talk about it echoed softly in the small room.  Lyn dropped into a chair at the back of the room, and placed her back atop the table in dismay.  It still sat on her desk untouched since the moment she had gone for the walk and met Shari. 

As class started and the TA gathered the assignments, she slid lower into her chair.  She had never missed an assignment before.  Her face reddened when the TA paused at her desk with raised eyebrows.  She shook her head and pressed her hand against her forehead.  The TA nodded and walked back to the front of class, where she lay the assignments next to the professor’s lecture folder.  He nodded at her and turned to the projector where he placed a musical score transparency.  As the score appeared on the projector screen, the professor began his lecture concerning the technicalities of musical analysis.  Lyn sat stiffly, her notebook open before her, but her hand motionless.  His words entered one ear, but didn’t seem to register.  The image of her assignment on her desk and the raised eyebrow of her TA stuck in her mind.  She tried to focus on the topic, tried to write something down that she could use for review later, but she just couldn’t focus. 

The minutes passed slowly, too slowly.  Lyn’s leg began to bounce as her anxiety rose.  The professor spoke of ear-training now, stressing its importance, and then he paused.  Lyn shifted in her seat.  He had asked some sort of question.  One student near the front called out an answer.  She couldn’t hear what he said.  The professor nodded and began again.  The cycle repeated for what felt like days to Lyn.  When the professor finally turned off the projector and ended class, she felt exhaustion swamp her.  She rested her head against her palm and waited for the surge of students to exit. 

“Lyn?” 

The voice startled her, and she jerked upright.  The TA stood before her with furrowed brows.  “You didn’t hand in your assignment.” 

“Not done.”  Lyn’s voice was soft.  Too soft, for the TA frowned. 

“What?” 

Lyn flushed and struggled to speak louder.  “Not done.” 

The TA tapped her chin.  “Kinda unusual for you.  You’re usually done early.  Anything wrong?” 

Her fingers tightly clutched the strap of her shoulder bag.  “No.”  She shook her head for emphasis. 

“Alright.  How about this.  If you bring it to discussion tomorrow, I’ll only take off five points, okay?” 

Lyn nodded.  “Thank you.” 

The TA smiled.  “You’re welcome.  Just try not to be late again, alright?  You know Professor Jenkins.  He’s a stickler for stuff like that.” 

She smiled tenuously and gave a half wave in response.  Before the TA could respond, she rushed out of the classroom.  The door had just shut behind her when a hand clamped down on her shoulder. 

“Finally!” 

Lyn jumped.  It was only Ana.  She felt confused for they had just talked yesterday.  Usually they only spoke before or after Wednesday’s services. 

Ana raised her light brown eyebrows.  “Jumpy today?” 

Lyn nodded shyly. 

“I see.”  She smiled and began to walk down the hallway.  Lyn automatically fell into step beside her.  “You know, the professor today sure was long-winded.  I didn’t hear half of what he said.  I bet you wrote down everything.”  She laughed.  “You always do.” 

The words were a heavy reminder of her unfinished assignment.  Not only had she not finished that she also hadn’t taken a single note in class.  Lyn shoved her hands into her pockets and watched her feet as the pair sauntered down the hallway toward the exit. 

“I was thinking too.”  Ana adjusted her backpack straps.  “Maybe before worship on Wednesday we can meet up and review our notes?  You know for the quiz on Friday.  I totally meant to ask you yesterday, but I forgot.” 

Lyn slid to a stop.  “Quiz?” she said weakly. 

Ana nodded and stopped beside her.  “Yeah, didn’t you know?” 

She had forgotten.  Shari’s appearance in her life had disrupted everything.  Her careful recovery, her lessons, and now her studies as well.  She shivered violently. 

“Hey, you alright?”  Ana lightly touched her shoulder.

Lyn flinched.  It reminded her vividly of last night when Shari had held her after the phone call.  “Fine.”  She forced a smile.  “Call?”

Ana frowned.  “Call what?”

“For Wednesday.”

“Oh!”  Ana shook her head, and her curls bounced against her slim shoulders.  “Yeah, I can do that.  And maybe you should take it easy today.  You don’t look too well.” 

Lyn nodded unable to think of a reply. 

“Okay.  God bless you, Lyn.  I’ll say a few prayers.  And see you in class tomorrow.” 

“Thanks.”  Lyn turned and walked through the exit doors.  It was time for culture class, and Shari.  The thought of her friend lifted her spirits, but then the memory of this morning shattered the brief moment of bliss.

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