Burning Up

Headache

I groaned as I slammed my finger down on my alarm for the fifth time that morning. My throat was parched, my head pounding, and the incessant sound did nothing but make me want to throw up.

"Nadia?" I sat up groggily, smoothing a hand over my messy hair before rubbing my eyes and looking over to the lump on the other side of the room. There was no response, the cocoon of sheets not even shifting an inch. I laughed to myself, finally getting the courage to drag myself out of bed and stumbling towards the bathroom.

I didn't dare look in the mirror, choosing instead to try and comb out the knots in my hair before hopping into the shower. Taking a deep breath, I yanked the temperature knob to cold before setting it on full power, suppressing a scream at the sudden blast of icy water that hit me. Today was not going to be a good day.

It didn't take me long to finish washing my hair and body, and finally awake, I hopped out the shower before starting to brush my teeth. As I stood there staring aimlessly at my reflection I felt my mind drift to the night before, there was something about that smirk that sent pleasant shivers through my body...

"Mila! Mila open the door I'm gonna be sick!" I was ripped out of my thoughts by Nadia's frantic banging on the door. I rolled my eyes as I threw open the door before turning around to spit into the sink whilst Nadia yanked open the toilet seat and began to throw up.

"That's so gross, couldn't you have waited?" I laughed as I wrapped a towel around myself and headed towards the hall.

"I hate you." Came here slurred reply.

"I'll get you some water!" I shouted back, closing the bedroom door behind me.

Prince was still sleeping when I got back to our room, so I snuck in as quietly as possible and set Nadia's water on the bedside table before writing out a list of things I needed to get that day. There wasn't much besides sheets and the usual bathroom stuff, but there was enough that I knew I'd forget if I didn't scribble them down the second I thought of them. I'd arranged most of the folders and notepads I'd brought but other than that there wasn't much I could do without my suitcase, so I focused on folding whatever useless clothes I'd crammed into my spare case and hiding them at the back of my closet.

It didn't take long for Nadia to reappear, hair still a mess and wiping her eyes groggily.

"What time is it?" She moaned, dragging her feet back towards her bed.

"Almost nine." I answered, laughing at her as she shot me a disgusted look. "I think I'm gonna head out and explore campus a bit, get to know the area."

"What is wrong with you? Wake me up again at two and I'll take you to Target."

I nodded in response as she climbed into bed beside Prince who did nothing but groan and turn over, wrapping himself around her.

I threw on one of Nadia's tops and a pair of her shorts before grabbing my keys and heading out the door. I hadn't seen much of the campus, besides what Prince had shown me in pictures and a few YouTube videos I'd watched before applying, but I'd always trusted Nadia's taste so I wasn't too worried.

I'd been wondering round for about half an hour when I decided I was dying for a coffee. The campus itself was beautiful, with its green squares and aged buildings. It was clear from the sparse scattering of people that the university was not filled with morning people, but the crisp air and strands of sunlight made for the beginnings of a beautiful day. The only thing that could make my morning better would be a cup of that hot molten gold.

It didn't take me long to find a coffee shop. It was large and grey, much like most others, with large windows and a swinging sign that said 'welcome'. It was clearly the home of gentrified hippies and although annoyed, I wasn't shocked when I glanced up at the wall and saw that the never-ending list of elaborate drinks were ridiculously overpriced.