Page 80 of Shattered

Her brows furrowed and she felt a weight settle in the pit of her stomach. But then the weight lifted and she felt a momentary relief. This was all a misunderstanding. She wasn’t in Bio 428. She had thought about signing up for it as an advanced elective and even worked her schedule around it at one point, but never officially added it in.

“I’m not in Bio 428,” Sam countered, finally feeling the edges of her lips tilt upward as she felt a surge of hope. She ran through her list of classes in her head. Advanced Chem 412 for three credits, Advanced Calc 513 for three credits, Neurology 314 for three credits, Biological Functions of the Body 489 for three credits, and her elective of Astronomy 215 for two credits. Those were all her classes.

She was not in Bio 428.

“I am looking at your current course list and it is listed on here. Class is every Tuesday and Thursday at 8 a.m.,” Ms. Clemmings corrected.

“I think there must be a misunderstanding. I am not in that class.”

“If you’re not in that class, then you do not have the required number of fifteen credits to hold your full-time student standing and thus your scholarship.”

She froze in shock, the small smile that had begun to creep upward still plastered across her face.

“That's impossible.” She began to count the credits in her head. Chem was three, plus calc for three which equaled six. Then she added in neurology for another three to equal nine. Biological functions for three which equaled twelve, and astronomy for two which equaled fourteen.

Fourteen credits.

Fourteen credits.

Fourteen credits.

She was only taking fourteen credits.

“I’m only taking fourteen credits?” Sam whispered in disbelief.

There was no way she would have made that error. She was meticulous in every moment of her life, especially with regards to her school work.

She could not have missed that.

How could she have missed that?

She counted her class credits over again in her head and then she started to hyperventilate.

“It seems we have a situation here,” Ms. Clemmings stated. “You are technically signed up for seventeen credits because you are signed up for Biological Sciences 428, and since you have yet to attend a single class, turn in a single assignment, or take a single exam, you are currently failing that class. However, it seems you were unaware of this.”

“I honestly didn’t know.” Sam’s voice was barely a whisper. She felt her heart sink. Her hands began to shake and she had to grip the edges of her chair to try to remain steady.

“The drop period has already passed, so this grade will remain on your permanent record. However, it wouldn’t matter if you had the ability to drop it, because then you would lose the scholarship as you would not be meeting the requirement of being a full-time student.”

Sam knew what Ms. Clemmings was saying. She had worked it all out in her head only a moment ago. Still, the words felt hollow when they hit her ears. A deep, muffled sound and her rapidly beating heart were now all she could hear.

She had royally screwed up. She racked her brain for the day she’d signed up for classes. She’d been sitting alone in her apartment over Christmas break and spent two days scheduling everything out to perfection. She’d been exhausted due to the fact that she had picked up extra shifts at Topline every day in order to pad her savings account to pay for her med school applications.

“Miss Williams?” Sam’s head snapped up when she heard the man's deep voice. He was in a fitted suit with a well trimmed beard and did not appear to be as kind as the woman who had previously spoken.

“I’m sorry.” Tears were starting to fall from her eyes and she hated the amount of pity that came from each person facing her. She cleared her throat in order to let go of some of the emotion that continued to build. “What were you saying?”

“We asked that you step out for a moment so we can discuss where to take this.”

“Of course.” Sam nodded.

“It shouldn’t take long, as the violations are straight forward,” the man said.

Sam knew he had told her his name at some point, but it didn’t stick. All she could currently process was how quickly her life was falling apart

“I understand,” Sam said as she stood and made her way back to the double doors at the front of the room.

She jumped when the large wooden door slammed behind her. Her eyes searched the bench only to find it empty and Christian nowhere in sight. He’d promised to always be there for her. That he would be sitting right there waiting. The pain of his abandonment just piled onto the mounting stress and fear she was currently feeling. She was completely alone on a sinking ship.

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