I was studying for my exams. It was finally time, our End of Year Exams. Kelly and I had spent all - and I do mean all - of our time studying. In the atrium, in our dorms, literally anywhere. Study, study, study, because if we failed these exams, there was almost no chance of us coming back to the Academy of Peculiar Artistry.
"Kelly!" I shouted. She grumbled something about having to study and rolled over in her bunk. She had been sleeping for - wait for it - five hours, our longest streak in two weeks. I decided to let her sleep for a bit longer. She deserved it. Frankly, so did I, but I didn't have time. Because I needed to pass. I needed to get amazing grades. My mother was not going to fund my tuition next year, so I was going to need a full scholarship, and that meant outstanding grades on my exams. My pencil was clutched in my fingers, which were cramping. I turned to a fresh sheet of paper.
The first pieces of pottery ever made were in the Xianrendong Cave in the Jiangxi province of China. These pieces, however, varied greatly to the vases found in various caves in Mesopotamia, made in the city-states of Sumer.
I sat up and rubbed my eyes. If I wrote any more, I might keel over and die. What good would I be if my hands couldn't use magic? If my brain was a pile of old turkey?
What time was it? Maybe sleep wouldn't be the worst thing. I think I had read somewhere if you couldn't remember when you had last slept, you needed to sleep. It sounded about right. Sighing, I put my work into a drawer, made sure Kelly was near food when she woke up and crawled into my bed.
I had not been asleep for ten minutes when I heard Devi start to cry. She whimpered and sobbed from the other bunk. I tensed up in my bed. Perhaps she was still asleep, and she was having a nightmare?
"No, please no..." she whispered. I flung off the quilt and tiptoed over to her bunk.
"Devi? You good?" I asked quietly, patting her back comfortingly. She rolled over to face me. Definitely awake.
"Oh, Fiona, I'm so sorry to wa-wake you up, I-" she buried her face in her pillow. Slowly, I smoothed down her hair and made soft noises to let her know I was still there.
"Devs, do you want to tell me what happened?" I asked softly. She nodded into her pillow.
"I wash been chase, an ten I wash fallen an I shawl all teeth dud pee pole, an-" Devi started crying again. This time, she threw her pillow into my bunk and straight-up sobbed. I wrapped my arms around her and let her cry.
"I couldn't really understand you before, Devs. What was your dream about?" She sniffled and sat up.
"It wasn't a dream, it was a nightmare. I was being chased, and then I was falling, and I saw all these dead people. It was horrifying." I shook my head.
"Devs, it was only a dream. Don't worry." Devi nodded sadly. I crawled into her bunk and gave her a hug. "Don't worry, Devs. I'm here," I assured her. She started to sit up on her own, shrugging me off.
"Fee, I'm only six months older than you, but I'm telling you now that you need sleep! Your finals? Your studies? Your-"
"But you were the one that needed comforting! I needed to comfort you because it hurt me to see you so sad!"
I slid out of her bunk and crawled into my own. I tried to rest my head on my pillow but realized it was actually Devis' pillow. I sighed and tossed it over towards her bunk.
I mean really! I got up to do something nice and she told me to go back to bed? I was only doing for her what she'd done for me when I was sick! And she has the gall-
"Fiona?" said Devi softly. I rolled over to see her knelt by the side of my bed.
"Fiona, I'm so sorry. You were just trying to be nice, and I was so mean to you! I didn't support you like I should have, not when you came out to your parents, and I haven't even been helping you study at all! I just-"
"Devi, it's ok. We'll get by fine, and you can help us too, later, if you want. But now, I need to go to sleep. Ok?"
Devi nodded. "Ok. Do you want me to tell you a story?"
I nodded. The last time I'd hard a story that wasn't mythology for my exam was way too long.
"Once upon a time, there were three friends, in a magical school. They went on adventures and fought demons, and some of them were kidnapped! One had red hair, one had black hair, and one has brown and black hair. The three of them were best friends and nothing that happened ever changed that!"
"Mmm. That's a good story, Devi," I said tiredly.
"Now go to sleep," she said, pulling the covers over my shoulder.