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My grades were slipping.
I've only ever made one C before now. And that was because I was out with the flu when my class went over the material in seventh grade. I was so upset about it, my mom talked the teacher into letting me retake the test, and I aced it.
Am I too old for my mom to do that now?
No, exam grades are final. No exceptions.
Fuck. What am I going to do?
I wasn't sure what my plan was after school, but I knew my senior year grades were an important factor — especially exam grades.
I'm normally so good at taking tests. What's happening to me?
As much as I wanted to blame Jackson for distracting me, I knew that wasn't the case — not fully, anyway.
My mind had been in a fog for...I didn't even know how long. Long before Jackson moved in, I knew that much.
I've had a constant headache for over a year, and medicine could only do so much. If anything, all it did was make my stomach hurt worse.
I was constantly getting cramps in my arms and legs. Everything just...hurt. All the time.
The twinges in my stomach were becoming more frequent. It felt like someone was reaching in and wringing it tightly in their hands, multiple times a day.
Sometimes eating helped.
But most of the time?
The bathroom was my best friend for the night, while my stomach tried to figure out what to do with the foreign substance invading it.
My sleeping habits had gotten worse and worse with every week that went by. No matter how exhausted I was, sleep never wanted to hold me in it's embrace — not for long, at least.
I was embarrassed to admit the best sleep I'd gotten in a long time was on the floor in Kallie's guest room.
But that was nights ago, and now I'm back to being the plague.
I'd just finished my final set of sit-ups, stretched out on the rug by my bed when Kallie barged in.
She looked at me for a moment, tilting her head to the side before pursing her lips and crossing her arms.
"Are you moving to Japan?"
"No?" I gave her an incredulous look as I sat up, leaning back on my palms. "Why?"
"They sleep on the floor, you know, and it seems like I keep walking in on you like this. I just thought you were practicing or something."
"You're ridiculous," I laughed as I got up to sit on my bed, leaning against the headboard. "I was just stretching."
