Page 21 of Vendetta

“Professor Lee, I’m a nursing student, I think she’s having an allergic reaction. I can help her down to the clinic.”

My eyes felt so heavy, and it took more effort than it should to pry them open to spot a student kneeling at my side. Ididn’t recognize her, but her voice was calm and soothing, lulling me to sleep.

“I can carry her!” a masculine voice chimed in, and I opened my eyes once more to make out a tall blond male that I didn’t recognize.

“I’m not letting you carry a half-naked girl across campus, Carson. Please go back to your seat.” Professor Lee stated.

I looked past this Carson guy, noticing all the sets of eyes directly on me. I could have sworn I noticed a pair of familiar green ones on me, but I couldn’t find it in me to care. The only thing on my mind was my need for a nap. That, and an ice plunge. My skin was still on fire.

I was so, so tired. And when my eyes closed again, they didn’t open back up as I drifted off, everything around me fading as I let the darkness pull me under.

CHAPTER 10

LANDRY

“Why can’t she just let you present on Monday? I mean, I know the class will probably be dead and Taken will be going on but at least you could still present it to somebody?” Olivia asked.

“Yeah, or even possibly the week after that once everyone is back in class?” Bexley suggested.

I shook my head, pulling my comforter tighter against me. “She said that she cancelled all of her classes next week to give us a break after midterms, and that we’ll be transitioning into new material the following week. Basically, she said that she doesn’t want to come in on her week off, and the week after is moving on to different topics. Trust me, I tried, but she’s standing firm. Her last email just said ‘I’m sorry, but my decision is final’, essentially dismissing me.” I dropped my head back against my headboard, squeezing my eyes shut to keep the tears from falling.

I had emailed professor Lee as soon as I had gotten home, right before Olivia and Bexley had rushed over, skipping their classes for the rest of the day after finding out about what happened. I guess somebody in the class must have texted them. That, or someone had posted the whole thing on social media somewhere, which wouldn’t surprise me knowing this school. I wouldn’t be checking my socials any time soon, too scared at what I might find.

I’m still not entirely sure how I had gotten to the clinic, but I had woken up about an hour later, the nurse letting me know that I had indeed had some sort of allergic reaction. She hadn’t needed to administer any medication thankfully, saying that I had just needed to sleep it off. She did say that she made sure to keep an eye on my vitals the entire time. The odd thing is, I don’t remember having any food allergies. At least none that I knew of.

Maybe I had developed an allergy to the bananas in my smoothie, or possibly avocados from the toast I had this morning? I mean, I had heard somewhere that some people develop random allergies even in adulthood, I had just never believed it until now.

“And what about your grade? There’s no way she can give you a zero, can she? You have the proof that you put in the work.” Bexley asked. Both she and Olivia now sat on my bed, having ordered us some Chinese takeout and helped me shower since I had still felt a bit weak after the episode earlier.

“She’s giving me a ‘no grade’ since it was a medical emergency that was out of my control, so it won’t count on my grade at all. Which I guess is better than failing it, but I still could have used a good midterm score—It was supposed tocount for thirty percent of my overall grade. She said she would just change it to where my final exam would count for fifty percent and my coursework would count for the other fifty.” I explained.

I just wanted to cry. Not only did I get no grade for something that I had spent weeks working on, and the fact that I had been so excited to present something that I was actually passionate about, but on top of all of that, I had stripped in front of my entire class. I was mortified. Olivia had tried to console me by telling me that at least I had been wearing a super cute bra, and I didn't know if I wanted to laugh or cry at that.

“Aw babes, I’m so sorry.” Olivia offered, crawling up to lay next to me and embracing me in a hug, Bexley following to do the same.

“What can we do to make you feel better?” Bexley asked.

“You guys wanna have a slumber party and binge-watch Bridgerton?” I asked, already knowing that they would be game for it.

“Deal!” Olivia agreed, “Oh and by the way, TJ texted saying that he and the guys heard what happened and that they hope you feel better. I told them it was an allergic reaction but that you slept if off and are feeling better now.”

“That’s sweet, tell them thank you.” I said.

Bexley made us some popcorn and we settled into my king-size bed. We didn’t even end up paying much attention, talking over the show the majority of the time.

“Oh my gosh!” Olivia jerked up, turning her wide eyes towards us as we waited for an explanation for her outburst.

“Today is the Friday of midterms week!” She exclaimed.

Bexley and I exchanged a glance, neither of us understanding the significance of this realization.

“They send out the Taken invitations today!”

I had completely forgotten that the games started tonight, especially after the events from this morning. According to what Olivia had told us, they send out the invitations directly after the last midterm on campus took place, giving us until midnight to accept or decline. A mix of trepidation and excitement shot through me at the thought. I was thrilled to get the chance to play, though I still had so many questions.

“I’m so nervous,” Bexley admitted, wrapping her arms around her knees. “How do they even get everyone’s phone numbers?” She asked.

“Nobody is really sure, I think it’s a general assumption that the Gamemaker or Gamemakers either have access to school records or a way to hack into the system to obtain all of them. Nobody really knows though, since the Gamemakers are kept secret.” Olivia explained.

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