Chloe walked down the hallway towards her academic advisor's office. She didn't know what was going on but yesterday she had gotten an email asking for a meeting. It had not been a good day after that, after being in college for three years too long Chloe had started to dread meeting with her advisor. The withering glare she got every time she had to explain that she had failed Russian literature was almost unbearable. She knocked on the office door and waited until a muffled voice called her inside. The space was what you would expect from a professor, wall to wall books and a desk piled high with papers.
"Hello Ms. Beale," Professor Morton said. "Please take a seat."
Chloe sat down in the rickety plastic chair while nervously tapping her foot against the floor. "Is everything okay professor? I already applied for graduation, was kinda hoping we would never speak again." She flashed her trademark smile to take any sting out of her words.
The professor looked over the top of his wire rimmed glasses and let out a long sigh through his nose. "Ms Beale, I'm sorry to say that you have not met our requirements for graduation."
Her eyes widened in shock, "But I took all my classes and by now I should have more than enough credit hours to graduate!"
"I'm sorry but due to a new department policy you still need one more class." The professor laced his fingers together on the desk while Chloe scoffed.
"And what class is that? I've already taken every class this department has to offer." She clenched her hands to keep them from hitting something.
"It's a new class…Clown literature."
Chloe sat there stunned, "Clown literature?"
"Yes. It's a deep dive into the cultural talents of overlooked clowns from circuses all over the world." Professor Morton smiled at her and somehow his face had been painted over in white, with red lipstick and a big red nose.
He started to laugh while Chloe shot up out of her chair and ran to the door. She yanked on the handle but it refused to budge. The laughter grew louder and louder until she couldn't take it anymore.
Chloe gasped as she sat bolt upright in the flimsy pullout bed. Her heart rate started to settle as the traffic sounds from New York's busy streets filtered through the windows. Amy's snoring helped even more, she wasn't stuck at Barden, she was in the apartment that she shared with two of her best friends.
Beca stirred next to her before rolling over and slinging an arm around Chloe's waist. "It's okay Chlo, just go back to sleep."
The redhead took a few deep breaths before laying back down. Beca nuzzled in closer and hummed a song quietly to help her friend sleep. It did help, Chloe could feel her body start to relax. As she started to fall back asleep she glanced at the far wall that held hers, Beca's and Amy's framed diplomas. She smiled, satisfied that there was proof that she graduated.
A/N: When I saw that this was a prompt this jumped to my mind because I've had this exact nightmare several times. So welcome to my nightmare.