D.A. Smith: I believe I haven't talked to you guys reading this. Hello! You are awesome! Yes, you! Don't look behind you! You, looking at this monitor, reading squiggles you call letters. You are the most awesomest person for reading this! Thank you JHope you like it so far. I'm certainly trying my best at this. Quick shout out to Aviatress, Rosilynne, TheWhiteWolfLady22, Whoovian, ashlanielle, and obsessiveicequeen who have joined this little community by subscribing. You guys are magnificent! Thank you for taking that small step forward and clicking the alert button. It makes me so happy. So, no further ado, here is the next installment. Hope you like it and please feel free to review.

CHAPTER 3

After Monday comes Tuesday.

That was all my brain could manage after hours of intensive study on a subject I hadn't actually started. I didn't want to fall behind. I promised myself this semester I would be good. So good, I would read ahead, take notes, make flashcards, an outline and dedicate at least a day to each subject. Monday was Biochemistry day, and after Monday came Tuesday.

My desk was flooded with saliva when I woke up. I had obviously fallen asleep at some point during my study session and had drooled on the desk's wood. Fighting the urge to keep sleeping, I opened my heavy eyes with all the strength I had. It was light already outside. I could see the sunrays coming through the window, gently caressing the perfectly done twin bed. I looked towards Lila's bed and found it equally empty.

She hadn't come home.

Last night, at around eight, she'd decided that this was too much studying for the first day of class and needed to get out. She said she knew of a party at a frat house, and even though she insisted we should assist, I had declined. She went alone.

I lifted my head from the desk slowly and tasted my own mouth. I yawned. I was so sleepy. What time was it?

9:00am.

On Tuesday.

Tuesday comes after Monday. I scratched my head and yawned again until I realized mid-yawn, Tuesday comes after Monday!

Oh, crap!

I jumped out of the desk's chair and ran to my closet to grab something to wear. Anything. I changed at the speed of a bullet. How could I fall asleep like that? I had lab practice at 9:30. I would have to run to the other side of campus to make it to class in time. I wore jeans and a graphic Queen T-shirt. I loved that band. I tried to manage my hair into a ponytail but only got as a result a very messy …bull's tail. It looked nothing like a ponytail.

My blue converse were on my feet a few moments later, I grabbed my backpack, and I ran with them down the stairs, the latter bouncing against my back with each accelerated step I took.

I made it to the building at 9:35, completely out of breath and not able to feel my legs. Memo to myself: Go to the Gym.

I leaned to a wall, trying to recover my strength and took out my class schedule from my binder to look for the room number. Physical Sciences 421. I half-laughed half-cried by knowing I had to climb three more floors.

I took the stairs.

By the time I found the room, the door was closed ajar. I could hear a voice inside, explaining the procedure of the experiment. I sighed. It was so embarrassing to enter a class when it had already started, but I had no other choice. I opened the door enough for me to enter and the voice silenced. I could feel everyone look at me.

The T.A., a guy that looked around twenty five standing in front of the class, looked at me and said, giving no importance to my lateness, "Pick a lab partner". He kept explaining while I looked at the prospects. Every singles person was standing in front of a computer, each with a person standing next to each other. They had all picked partners.

Except one.

The only guy standing in front of a computer completely alone, his hands up front, looking at the T.A attentively. I shook my head, not believing my luck. Looked like my lab partner would be none other than Sherlock Holmes.

I walked towards him defeated and let my bag drop as I leaned on the counter behind us. Without looking at me, he muttered, "I'm glad to be working with you, too."

"Sarcasm?" I asked, equally ignoring his face, trying my best to concentrate on the T.A's explanation and powerpoint presentation.

He puffed. "No." I looked at him. He was smiling. "Not really."

Weird.

The powerpoint presentation with directions came to an end and the T.A let us start the experiment. Everyone started putting on their white lab coats. Sherlock looked through his backpack and took his out.

I freaked out. With all the rushing this morning, I had forgotten mine.

"Here," Sherlock said, handing me his coat. I looked at him, dumbfounded. "Take it." He demanded, shaking the coat in front of me.

Nervously taking the coat out his hands and holding it between my fingers, I asked "What would you wear?"

"I brought another one," he said, taking another white coat out of his backpack. "It's the first lab day. Someone had to forget."

And it had to be me. I put on the lab coat. It smelled clean, like lavender fabric softener. He started taking Erlenmeyer and volumetric flasks. I started setting up the distillation equipment and we both worked. It was kind of nice working with him. We didn't actually talk to each other. It was quiet, we didn't tell the other what we were doing but, somehow, we knew. It was like we each knew our role.

We did our solution and after some minutes we started distilling. Now, distillation usually takes a while, so we waited, staring at the drops of water go up the center tube and fall onto the small flask at the other side while watching the Bunsen burner so nothing burns.

While we waited, I remembered what he had done the day before. How he had treated Lila. "You need to apologize," I muttered. "It was horrible how you treated my friend." I kept my eyes on the distillation equipment, not wanting to meet his face. Even so, I could feel his eyes on me.

"Apologize?"

"Yes. For your attitude."

"If I had to apologize for my attitude every time someone's being stupid, I would never be done."

I turned to him. "She wasn't being stupid! We wanted to study and your music was very distracting."

He rolled his eyes. "Fine. It will never happen again."

"Thank you."

When we were done, I gave him back his lab coat, thanking him, and headed back to my dorm.