Enjoy!
Charlotte's eyes scanned page thirty-seven of her history textbook for the fourth time.
"God! Why can't any of this stay in my head?"
It was around 2 a.m. on an eventful Monday—only seven hours before Hell Week commenced.
Charlotte, Henry, and Jasper were sprawled out in Henry's living room, where an explosion of books, pens, and other materials took over. Charlotte was on the couch, lying on her stomach. Henry and Jasper, on the other hand, were on the floor. Henry sat near Charlotte, with his back against the couch and Jasper camped underneath the coffee table. All three were sporting pjs, as comfort was a must for studying for their final exams. For some reason, most of their teachers decided that their finals would be on the same day—Monday. And, as a result, they spent their entire weekend preparing for them as if their lives depended on it.
"Are you still on that one page?" Jasper said, "Maybe we should all take a break."
Charlotte slammed her book shut. "I really hate this. I'm gonna fail everything, and I'm not getting into any good colleges… Maybe I should become a stripper! They make bank anyways!"
"Oh…" Jasper interrupted, "A stripper, huh?" His eyebrows moved up in a suggestive way.
"Jasper, ew." Henry scoffed and threw a nearby pen at his forehead.
"Hey! I was only kidding!"
Charlotte rolled her eyes and opened her book again. "I have to get this or I'm gonna go crazy."
Almost immediately, Henry snatched the book out of her hands. "Dude. Take a break. You've been working way harder than the two of us anyways."
"Henry. Please give it back."
He smiled. "Nope."
"Ooooooooh!" Jasper whisper-yelled. He eyed his two best friends, obviously having fun with the situation at hand.
"Shut the hell up!" Charlotte shot back.
Henry laughed. "If you want your book back come get—"
In one quick move, Charlotte snatched Henry's glasses from his face and jumped off the couch.
"Boy, don't mess with me!" she said, "Now, give me the book, and I might just hand you back your nerd goggles!"
Jasper exploded in laughter.
Charlotte was glad that Henry's family wasn't home. They were visiting relatives for a wedding, and to Henry's advantage, he was exempt from attending to study for exams instead.
Henry stood up. "Come on," he said, "You need to take a break. The only reason why you keep re-reading this page is because you're tired."
"I agree." Jasper turned over so he could lie on his back. "Everyone deserves to give their brain a rest every once in a while."
Charlotte stared at her friends, then at the floor.
They don't get it, she thought.
Henry and Jasper looked at each other for some type of indication of what was going on. Jasper shrugged his shoulders. Once Henry got his answer, his eyes went to Charlotte again.
"What's up? You're obviously upset about something way bigger than this history book," he said.
"Nothing's up… I just really need to pass these exams," she whispered.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah."
Jasper chimed in. "You positive?"
"Yes," she said.
Henry stared at Charlotte before giving up. "Alright," he sighed. He handed her the book, and after putting it on the couch, she carefully slid his glasses back on his face.
In that moment, Charlotte noticed how quickly Henry's eyes changed: Instead of focusing on her own, they rushed past her.
Is he mad at me?
All was quiet as the two took their spots again. Jasper couldn't help but feel the unspoken tension between them.
"Wow. Things got awkward fast…" he said.
Another pen was thrown at his head—this time, by Charlotte.
"Ow!"
Charlotte was jolted awake by the sound of an obnoxious, prolonged ring. Her heart raced, and almost immediately, she jumped up from her lying position to her knees. As a consequence, her history book flew off the couch, and several notecards and highlighters tumbled to the carpet. Without a second thought, she placed her feet on the floor and only took a half-step before tripping over a large object. She fell forward, and a violent thud was sounded.
A scared hand grabbed her leg.
"You okay?" Henry quickly sat up and turned off the nearby alarm clock. He was lying on his stomach, reviewing his own history book when Charlotte tripped over him.
Charlotte pushed herself up to a seated position as well—with her back to Henry—then drew her knees closer to her. Her body formed a ball as she hugged her legs. "Why didn't you wake me up?" she whispered.
"Because you were crazy tired. Everyone needs rest," Henry said.
"Hen, it's 7. We only have two hours 'til finals start."
"I know."
"But I have to—"
"Charlotte… Please don't do this."
"Do what?"
"You're doing that thing where you keep everything to yourself… Now, can you please turn around? I feel like I can't reach you at all if I'm talking to your back."
Charlotte laughed a little, turned around, and wiped her eyes. Henry seemed a little surprised, as he didn't notice that she had been crying. He motioned for her to sit a little closer to him, and she responded accordingly.
"Char, you and I go way back—Jasper too," he said, "A lot of times, we feel like there's some type of wall between us, like you're somewhere we can't reach. We're your best friends. Whenever you're hurting about something, it hurts us too—more than you think… You're the smartest person we know. Why are you so stressed out about finals?"
Charlotte took a deep breath before speaking. "I-I've always been expected to do well in school. I feel like without my mind, I'm basically nothing."
Henry's face turned red. "That's not true! You have so much more to offer than your grades! At the end of the day, they don't determine who you are! You're amazing! You have so many aspects of yourself that most people would be jealous of... I mean, Jasper and I can be idiots sometimes, but we aren't shallow."
Charlotte was silent, and Henry started to get nervous.
"Uh… Did I say something wrong?" he said, "I'm sorry if I—"
"No. That was perfect." She inched closer to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. "You are perfect… Thank you."
Henry returned the favor by circling his arms around Charlotte's waist. After they broke apart, they glanced at Jasper, who was still under the coffee table. He was knocked out, with an open book lounging on his face.
Henry gave Charlotte a cunning smile.
"Don't you dare!" she said, flicking his forehead.
"Oh, you know I will! And, ow!" He rubbed his temples before making his way to their sleeping friend.
Henry shook Jasper's body with all his might. "JASPER! WAKE UP! THE EXAM STARTS IN FIVE MINUTES! HURRY!"
"AHHHHHHH!" Jasper got up in a panic only to meet his friends dying in laughter. "What time is it?"
"Less than two hours 'til finals start," Charlotte answered.
"Oh my God… Eff you, Henry! I hope you fail every single one of those exams so I can laugh in your damn face!" He gathered his belongings in a rush.
"Yeah, I know," Henry smirked.
For the next ten minutes, Charlotte, Henry, and Jasper cleared the living room so they could get ready for class. Jasper was the first to go home, sulking about the upcoming day. "Well," he joked as he headed outside, "If you all don't see me in an hour, I'm probably dead… Let Hell Week commence!"
"You'll be fine, buddy! We all will!" Henry said.
Charlotte grabbed her backpack and met Henry at the front door.
"You gonna be alright?" he asked.
"Yeah. I think so."
They pounded fists.
Let's get this over with.
At exactly 9:03, finals week began.
As pages flipped and pencils scribbled in the classroom, Charlotte dug in her backpack for scrap paper. Instead, she felt something smooth and soft—a red stress ball.
It had a yellow sticky note attached to it.
She set the ball on her desk and read the note:
Thanks for letting me in.
-Hen.
Charlotte quietly turned around in her seat. Her friends were seated not too far away from her, immersed in their essays. Though, it was only seconds before Henry felt her gaze and looked right at her. They stared at each other for a little bit before Henry smirked and went back to his test.
You're the best.
Charlotte took a deep breath, and turned back around. Before starting her exam, she gave the red ball one long squeeze and closed her eyes.
I can do this.
I always have so much fun writing about the friendship dynamic between the three main characters. And Jasper? I always low-key imagined him to be this semi-douchey, completely hilarious person. xD Again, thanks for reading, and feel free to send feedback.