Page 72

Abby

Today is the language exam. I have carefully sorted cheat sheets in a special pocket in my jacket.

“There you are!” Nikki cries out as she and Catherine join me and Mandy at the underpass. We’ve come here to smoke. It’s rare for anyone to walk through here since they made the crossing above ground. “So, how’s it going? Are you ready?”

“Yeah,” I offer uncertainly.

“Good luck, then!”

At the entrance, we draw our seats.

Mine is the first bench right in front of the invigilator.

Fucking hell! I’m screwed. The worst possible spot. How could this happen? What am I going to do now?

Once everyone has taken their seats, the girls send me sympathetic glances. I read the topics. Easy-peasy. I know which one I want to write on, but I’m not going to write anything if I don’t pull out a cheat sheet.

The second hour passes. I have very little time left. Abigail, get a grip right now! Think! My subconscious puts its hands on my shoulders, tugging me in all directions. Okay, it’s time to get my shit in order. I get up, hand in the paper, and go to the toilet. I leaf through the pull-outs and find the right ones, with descriptions of the readings I want to build on. I tuck them into my outside pockets and return. I pick up my papers, sit back down, slip my hand into my pocket, and pull out the cheat sheet. I put my hand in front of the paper and unroll the scrap of paper, copying everything that might come in handy. I deftly turn the paper the other way. Some of the notes are already smudged from the dampness of my hands, but I’m still able to read most. I finish transcribing, hide the pull-out, and produce another one using the same method.

Just as I am about to place my hand on the table, one of the invigilators gets up and takes a walk. He looks around the benches. I freeze for an instant. He walks past me. As he takes his seat, I scribble down the contents of yet another sheet. Damn, his walk has taken up precious minutes! When I think I’ve got it all down, I take to writing the final text. With an hour and a half left, I don’t have any more time to take notes because I won’t have time to transcribe them. Fortunately, transcribing what I had on my pull-outs, I learned everything I needed to create my own interpretation of the topic.

The invigilator announces that there is only a quarter of an hour left. I’m desperate. I only have four pages done. Yes, written clearly, with no errors, but four pages is four pages. Too little. I had eight on the mock exam! Four is the bare minimum to pass, and I have to get an A. Otherwise, I’m screwed. I’ll never pass the oral exam, there’s absolutely no chance of that. I’m on the verge of a nervous breakdown when the invigilator stands up and tells everyone to put their pens down. I hand my paper to the teacher and say,

“It’s bad. I only have four pages.”

“Abigail, sometimes four pages is enough to exhaust a topic. Spelling also counts, as well as other things. Don’t worry about the extra pages.”

“Thank you for that, professor.”

On the plus side, she is the one who will be checking my work. I like her the most out of all the teachers because she has an open mind and is here out of passion. She loves what she does and will probably actually take into account the exhaustion of the subject. Now, all of a sudden, I think it will be alright.

“How was it, Abigail? You were so fucked!” Nikki squeals.

“Jeez, I wrote nothing for the first two hours.”

“Oh shit, and what did you do? You did write something, didn’t you?”

“What was I supposed to do?”

“But you managed to pull it off?”

“Yes, but I’m bummed, because I only got four pages.”

“How did you manage go check your cheat sheets?”

“I had little to lose… Did I look like I was cheating?”

“No,” Nikki admits.

“Good. How did you do?”

“Good, I think, but fuck, tomorrow is math!”

I go home and wonder how Connor did. Hopefully well.

Unfortunately, he says he most likely failed. He didn’t have an idea for an essay at all. But he did write something.

We sit on the carpet in my room, and I explain to him how to do the sample problems that might come up tomorrow. He solves them, and I watch how focused he is while doing so.

The alarm jerks me out of what little sleep I managed to get. I rush to the shower and head to the bus stop. Today, I drew the last bench in the big hall. Fate, you’re messing with me! Yesterday I needed it, not today. I’m not afraid of math. I can work with that.

I solve all the problems except the last one. Damn, I explained it to Connor yesterday! Why is there this fucking void in my head? What’s happening? It’s like someone erased the part of my brain responsible for remembering that specific problem.

“Psst, Nikki,” I whisper.

She turns around discretely.

“What?”

“Do you have the last one?”

She nods, letting me know she’ll leave a cheat sheet in the bathroom for me. When she returns, I’m ready to leave, but some girl from another class intercepts me. Damn.

Nikki signals that she left the note in the first stall. When I enter, it turns out the girl must have beaten me to it, or the teachers checked the bathroom after Nikki left. Anyway, there’s no trace of the paper.

Fuck! That’s just bad luck!

I return and whisper to Nikki, “It’s gone. Someone swiped your cheat sheet.”

Oh well, I won’t come up with anything else. Nothing for me here. I hand in the sheet and leave. Nikki follows.

When we’re outside the building, Nikki exclaims, “How is that even possible?!”

“I don’t know, but it was some pretty bad luck! The best part is that I explained this problem to Connor yesterday, you feel me? And suddenly, a brain fart. I hope he at least did his problems.”

I wait with Nikki for the rest of our group. When everyone joins us, we decide it’s time for wine. We go into the supermarket, buy a few bottles, and head to Lucas’s apartment. His parents are not home. We sit on the couches and drink straight from the bottles, celebrating our partial success.

Next week, we’ll find out what everyone got. I get home around two. I try to pull myself together a bit because that wine was strong. I’m about to leave when someone knocks on the door.

“Connor! How did it go?”

“Pretty good, Gail! Damn well! Thank you! I solved all the problems!”

“Wow! I’m so happy for you!”

I throw myself at him, and he lifts me, spinning me around. When he sets me down, his lips immediately press against mine.

“I love you. You really helped me! How did it go for you?”

“A bit worse, unfortunately.”

“What? How’s that possible?”

“I didn’t do the last one.”

“But you explained it to me just yesterday, Gail! Do you have any idea how happy I was to see it there?”

“I know, but my brain just froze. Blanked out. I couldn’t remember a thing, so I didn’t even try doing it.”

“And the rest?”

“I solved the rest. But I was hoping for an A.” I change the subject. “What did you do today?”

“We went for a beer with the guys. I finished early and spread some cheat sheets around,” he chuckles.

“I’m proud of you!” I hug him tightly. “What do you want to do now?”

“We can go for a drink.”

“We could do that, but I’m home alone for the whole week. My parents went to Daisy Valley. They’re practically living there now. Maybe you’d like to stay overnight?”

Ve leans in, brushes away a strand of hair that got tangled on my forehead, and purrs, “Sounds tempting. In that case, let’s grab something to drink, order a pizza, and stay home.”

I’m becoming hornier by the minute after having another glass of wine. I slide my foot along his thigh, reaching a sensitive point. His cock immediately stiffens. I tease him for a moment, kneel between his legs, unzip his fly, and reach for what’s mine. I take him into my mouth, embracing him entirely. His breath quickens, and I feel myself getting wet. Ve grabs my head, pressing it tighter and deeper. He’s close, throbbing in my mouth and flooding me with his fulfillment. I wipe my lips and straddle him. Ve unbuttons my shirt and slides it off my shoulders. He reaches for the clasp of my bra and takes it off with one fluid movement. He takes my nipples in his mouth, kneading each breast with his hands. His tongue glides along my neck. One hand runs through my hair, while the other pulls me closer. He submerges his tongue in my mouth, finding mine. Our kiss is fiery, insatiable, ravenous. Ve rises and bends me over so that I lean against the cold table. He showers millions of kisses on my bare back, unzips my pants, and slowly lowers them along with my panties.

“What a sight, you’re so sexy.”

He grabs my hips and pulls me onto him. This position is out of this world. It gives me sensations that make me moan in ecstasy.

“Ve!”

He spanks me, spreads my legs wider, crouches for a moment, and licks my clit, plunging his tongue into me. He rises and takes me again. His thrusts are slow and deep. He rubs me with his hand, never stopping until he’s all the way in.

“Harder, please!”

Ve speeds up and increases the force with which his cock moves inside me. Oh, yes!

“You like it rough, don’t you?”

With one hand, he grabs my hair, winding it around his wrist. Pulling my head toward him, he moves his tongue over my cheek.

“I love it rough, Ve!”

He grabs my hips and thrusts with such force that I climax instantly. Spasms rack my body, and a roar escapes my throat like a hungry animal on the hunt.

“You have a gorgeous little ass,” he says as his seed floods over my buttocks and drips between them. “And this position highlights it even more.”

He leans over and bites my ass, and I gasp in response.