1
The seemingly endless hours of studying took it's tole on Riley. Her own subconscious shot her awake, causing her head to leap off drool covered papers. Wiping the sleep from her eyes, she looked around her desk in search of her phone, until finally she pulled it out from under her chemistry notes and clicked it on, checking the time. It was 7:27. Moaning, she dropped back onto her notes, and began banging her head repeatedly until she decided it wasn't worth it making her headache even worse. She had less than a half an hour to get herself ready and go to her eight o'clock class. That was barely enough time to eat breakfast, let alone get herself all the way across campus to her class. Should she just skip class? Sure, she wouldn't get the notes she would need, but she was pushing herself too much these past few weeks. Just one day would be enough. She wasn't being picky.
No, she thought to herself. She was just being a big baby. College is supposed to prepare Riley to become an adult, and no one told her that becoming an active member of society would be this hard. Nothing could prepare her for the real world.
Riley reluctantly got out of her chair and moved into her bathroom, which was just across the room from where she stood. Yawning, she crawled into the shower that was nearly a head shorter than her, and took a cold shower, too tired to realize she was still wearing her socks. After two minutes of washing the grease and regret out of her hair, she decided she was done with her self cleansing. She hopped out and tossed on her black tank top and black pants, pulling her favorite military coat over it. She checked the time. 7:46. Riley didn't know where, but somewhere in the time it took her to get up and take a quick shower, nineteen minutes passed by. If she wanted to get to her class in time, she would have to skip breakfast. But then again, whether she skipped breakfast or not, she was going to be late. She could already tell she was screwed when she woke up, so eating breakfast wouldn't be the worst thing ever. It's like what her favorite expression said. "The sky's the limit when you don't give a shit." Even when she did get there, she could probably find someone who tolerated her and let her snap a picture of their notes.
She went to her box covered in a "fancy" cloth and began enjoying her breakfast, or enjoyed it as much as the stale cheerios would let her. As she slurped the last drop of milk from her bowl, she checked the time. 7:59. Now was as good time as ever. It didn't matter, she would be super late regardless. She stood up and tossed her bag over her shoulder, nearly being pushed into the floor below her under the weight of all her notes, and walked out the door.
As she descended from each step down to the main floor of her residence, her mind flooded with thoughts of what would happen to her over the course of her college career. The deadlines, crippling debt, and constant stress all took jabs at her like she was their own personal punching bag. Riley closed her eyes and tried to move the thoughts of despair away, telling herself that she would cross that bridge when she gets to it. Riley couldn't admit that her first two years at Georgia State University were all that great. Waking up each day and wondering if sacrificing your twenties was worth it wasn't exactly the mentality that she wanted. Honestly there was nothing here she actually wanted. No excitement, no friends, no hobbies. Hell, not even the good education she was promised was here. She missed home. All her friends and family she left in Virginia to get come to Georgia and suffer. She especially missed her uncle. They got along so well you'd swear they were brother and sister. He knew how to speak to her, like they were on a telepathic level. He could be a little rough around the edges at times, but Riley knew it was all fun and games.
Eventually, Riley made her way down the stairs and to the door. She opened it, telling herself that no one was forcing her to do this, and she still had a chance to back out. Giving herself a light slap on the cheek and telling herself to grow up, she opened the door and walked outside. It was chaos.
