Page 78 of Toxic

I slid my hand over his neck, where I could see my hickeys. I made it a matter of honor to renew them every other time, and Soren didn’t seem to mind. He never covered himself or wore a turtleneck. He just didn’t give a shit what people thought, and I loved his attitude.

The words: "I wish you were mine…" were on the tip of my tongue, but I didn't have the guts to say them. When I unloaded into his beautiful mouth a moment later, I felt regret because I knew that with every moment that slipped away and in which I couldn't muster the courage… I was losing another day with Soren—another chance, sinking further and further into my cowardice, overwhelmed by the fact that the stakes were getting higher and higher with each passing hour, seemingly to the point of impossibility.

***

The next day was the Python exam. Soren was taking it too, but we were sitting apart since we were in the exam hall using laptops set up specifically for it. The questions kept popping up on the screen, and I had to nail each one. My heart was pounding like crazy, just like everyone else’s. All the omegas had headphones, and I wore mine too. Betas didn’t need them because they couldn’t hear heartbeats, so… no distractions for them.

Soren shot me a look, and his lips moved slightly. I tilted my headphones, and even from that distance, I heard him say, "Good luck. You got this, Skye! Easy!"

His support meant a lot to me, and I desperately wanted to believe it was more than just teacher-student encouragement, but I probably shouldn’t dwell on that.

I focused on getting the tasks done right. We had two hours in total, with each question taking about twenty minutes.

"Optimization and algorithm complexity analysis. Write a Python function that takes a list of integers and returns a sublist with the maximum sum. Your function should run in O(n) time. Then, analyze the time and space complexity of your solution."

With shaky hands, I got to work. Soren had taught me this, and I felt a mix of excitement and gratitude. I glanced at him and caught his eye. I smiled, and he gave me a slight nod in return, like he was trying to boost my confidence.

I focused on the task and implemented a function using Kadane’s algorithm. I also explained that the time complexity of the algorithm is O(n) and the space complexity is O(1). I finished within the time limit.

Next question: Creating and managing advanced decorators.

"Write a Python decorator that logs the execution time of a function and the number of times it’s called. The decorator should store this information in a text file and update the data every time the function is called."

I bit my lip—this was another thing I practiced with Soren! I felt another rush of excitement. I implemented a decorator that logged the function’s execution time and the number of calls, explaining how the decorator updates the text file and manages the data with each function call. Easy peasy!

The next questions were even simpler, and I finished them with plenty of time to spare. Funny, I was the first one to finish the test!

I walked out of the hall, feeling a nice adrenaline rush. Alvin and Don, who were also taking the exam, shot me a gloomy look. From what I glimpsed on their screens, they still had two or three questions left. I smirked to myself.

While waiting, I sent a text message to Finn Delgado, "Hey, I just finished the Python exam, and I’m pretty sure I passed! Just wanted to let you know."

Finn responded right away, "Congrats! I knew alphas could wrap their heads around Python. Maybe even Winter will come around to the idea of hiring alpha programmers. :)"

Wait. Did he mention Winter again? It was kinda peculiar. They broke up a decade ago, yet Finn was still talking about his ex. It struck me as strange, but I didn’t dwell on it too long because I noticed the door to the hall opening, and Soren came out.

Immediately, I jumped toward him and grabbed him in a hug, lifting him off the ground!

"Fuck yeah! I knew all the answers!"

Soren huffed slightly at being lifted so suddenly, but I could see the hint of amusement on his face. "I told you—you’d do fine. You worked hard!"

"You’re the best tutor and the most sexy at that! Now we’ll see if I got it right—the results are supposed to be out tonight."

I put him down, and we walked out of the building together. Soren immediately lit a cigarette, taking a deep drag.

Staring at the bushes on the edge of the small park next to the building, he murmured, "This exam, Algorithm Analysis, and Artificial Intelligence are the last ones we’ve got left. After that, it’s just graduation."

I swallowed hard. Right, that topic. Only a week and a half left.

Opening my mouth to answer, I spotted Alvin coming out of the building, so I held my breath. He noticed us and hesitated for a moment, but finally walked over.

"How’d it go?" he asked in a rather ambivalent tone, not looking us in the eye.

"Good, I think," I replied, keeping my voice neutral.

I hadn’t exchanged more than a few sentences with him in weeks.

Soren didn’t respond, but Alvin fixed his gaze on him.

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