Renaissance of The Dog Days

David Part II

"I am not!"

"See for yourself," Levi quickly said before snapping a picture of me. That sneaky bastard.

"Hey!" I yelped while trying to snatch his phone away.

"Whoops, too late," he responded by shoving my picture in front of me like Perseus did to Medusa. The key difference: she turned to stone while I felt like stone.

"Holy shit." The words fell out as I stared longingly at myself. He wasn't kidding, I was so red, the tomatoes would be jealous. Strawberries too, but not as much.

"Yeah. You sure everything's fine?" Levi asked.

"Of course."

"Then why do you look like you've slept with the quarterback's girl?"

"Oh that's real funny." I rolled my eyes. "Do you think I could even get there?"

"Maybe." Levi shrugged. "But that's not the point. You my friend, are a wreck."

"So?"

"So... maybe you should get some rest, talk to somebody, do something." Levi suggested.

"I am doing something," I proudly told him.

"Like what? Hiding?"

"For now... after that, I'm going to class."

Levi chuckled and scrolled through his phone. He knew something I didn't but doesn't mind showing off. God, I hated when he did that.

While I shook my head in annoyance, he showed me his phone again where I leaned in and read the email from Professor Tahowitz which brought a smile to my face despite the grim morning.

Dear class,

I hope you're all having a good evening. I recently went to the hospital to visit my mother with the hope she would be getting better. Unfortunately, she hasn't and everything has taken a turn for the worst. Doctors have advised me to prepare myself and I have taken the actions necessary for sustaining a healthy future. I apologize in advance for the late notice but class has been cancelled today and tomorrow. I will however, be open for any questions and have attached the syllabus for what needs to be done. Once again, thank you for understanding.

Sincerely,

Professor Tahowitz.

"For real?" I looked at Levi and he nodded.

"Yep. We don't have class this morning. Isn't that great?"

Fuck, I bit my lip and smiled in a real awkward manner. All I wanted was to attend class and maybe distract myself from all the shit going on, but nope. It was bad enough there wasn't much I could do and now I've got nothing. I could probably reach out to Jerry but he's... busy. Brian's occupied with Brie and Ariel's still sleeping. I'd know since she's never awake this early. Damn it. Oh damn it. I need something to do!

I paced around for a good minute then the moment I saw a certain someone walk up the stairs, the light bulb sprung up.

"Hey, I'll catch ya later." I patted Levi on the back much to his confusion before bolting off.