𝐎𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐄𝐱𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 • Nika Mühl

𝐆𝐞𝐭 𝐔𝐩

Chapter #4

BY THE TIME Julie had trekked her way to campus, the sun had clocked out for the day, leaving the moon to take over the late-night shift. The stars were out too, doing their best to amp up the sky's glow. She could feel her high starting to dip, like a roller coaster after the peak, and reality was grabbing her by the shoulders again.

She limped towards Nika's apartment complex, the one Geno had basically sentenced her to. Each step was a thud of crutch against pavement, a rhythm to the night's quiet. When she finally reached the door, she rapped on it, not too hard, but enough to be heard. She waited, shifting her weight, the silence stretching out.

The door swung open, and there was Nika, who rolled her eyes as she saw Julie appear. It was a weird greeting, but nothing was normal these days, was it?

"Do you know what time it is?" Nika harshly as if Julie standing there on crutches was a planned inconvenience.

Julie didn't usually do eye contact—not her thing—but tonight, for some reason, she looked straight at Nika. Maybe it was the weed's lingering whisper, or maybe it was something else, but she noticed Nika's features in a new way. Were her eyes always so brown? Julie's thoughts were a muddled mix of THC and newfound curiosity.

Nika, for her part, fidgeted under Julie's gaze, a newfound feeling erupting in her stomach. It was a strange dance between them, a shuffle of awkward energy and unspoken words.

"Who invented time and who said we gotta stick to it," Julie quipped, her voice heavy with sarcasm and her brain running on weed as she clomped past Nika into the apartment.

Nika scoffed before closing the door behind the both of them.

"Your bedroom is down the hall," she said bluntly, her voice louder to carry the distance as she retreated to her own room. The door clicked shut behind her, a definitive end to their interaction.

Julie hobbled down the hallway, counting the doors until she reached what was supposedly hers. She pushed it open and peered inside. It was small, the walls bare and the air a bit stale, but it was a space to crash. And right now, that was enough. She eased herself onto the bed, the mattress creaking in protest, and let out a sigh.

"Welcome to the crib," she muttered to no one in particular, wondering how long this arrangement would last. The crutches fell to the floor with a clatter, and Julie just lay back, staring up at the ceiling, She pulled out her phone out from the depths of her jacket pocket, thumbs scrolling with practiced laziness until she hit the reminder app.

There they were: two assignments, glaring back at her with their due dates stamped for tomorrow. A groan escaped her lips, a sound full of regret for her past self's love affair with procrastination.

"Awesome, Julie, real cool," she muttered to herself, sarcasm dripping from every word.

With a mix of determination and resignation, she peeled herself off the bed. Her crutches clacked against the floor as she made her way over to the desk tucked into the corner of the room. The desk was a relic, with scratches mapping out its history, but it was sturdy. She plopped her laptop down, the machine whirring to life, its screen cutting through the room's dimness.

Work began, her fingers tap-dancing across the keyboard, eyes struggling to focus as the words on the screen started to blur. She was fighting a battle against the pull of sleep, her eyelids heavy like they were weighted down with every page of her textbooks.

The clock ticked away, a silent yet persistent reminder of the time slipping through her fingers. One hour trudged by, a march of minutes she felt in her bones. One assignment down—one more to go. She leaned back, stretching with a yawn that could've swallowed the room, before her body slumped forward, surrendering to exhaustion.

Julie's head found a makeshift pillow atop her folded arms, the desk a far cry from comfortable, but it didn't matter. She was out cold, her breath steady, a silent testament to the night's toil. The glow from the laptop screen bathed her in a soft light, the cursor blinking in the quiet room, waiting for her to wake and tackle that last dreaded assignment. But for now, Julie was in a deep sleep, her worries tucked away for a few precious hours.

The next morning came around all too quickly, the kind of early that even the birds grumbled about. Julie, still sidelined by injury, had to drag herself to practice, not for the drills or sprints, but for the less glamorous work of physiotherapy. It was a necessary evil on the road to recovery.

Nika had gotten up and was already dressed about to leave the apartment when she remembered to other girl who was still in her room on the other side of the apartment.

Nika sighed something she realised she's been doing a lot recently. She headed to the room expecting to see Julie laying on the bed But it was empty, sheets barely disturbed, like no one had slept there at all.

"What the..." her voice trailed off as her eyes scanned the room, finally landing on the tall figure slumped over the desk. Julie was there, dead to the world, her head resting on the makeshift pillow of her arms, a soft snore escaping her.

"You have got to be kidding me," Nika grumbled, annoyance lacing her tone. She stalked over to the desk, reaching out to shake the sleeping giant. "Romano, come on. Im leaving for practice so let's go

Julie stirred, a mumble slipping out as she lifted her head, lines imprinted on her cheek from the sleeves of her hoodie. Her eyes blinked open, bleary and confused, trying to make sense of the room and why Nika's face was the first thing she was seeing.

"Wha... time's it?" Julie's voice was hoarse, the words tangled up in sleep.

"Time to get your ass up," Nika shot back, hands on her hips, the very picture of impatience. "Geno will kill me if I leave you here."

Groaning, Julie pushed herself up, a hand massaging the back of her neck. She looked around, the reality of the situation sinking in. "Crap, my assignment," she mumbled, remembering the unfinished business from the night before.

"Later. Move it, Romano," Nika said, looking at the time shaking her head. "You smell like shit by the way." Nika said heading out of the room

Julie looked at the door still partially asleep and confused on what the hell just happened, fumbling to get her crutches and get herself upright she grabbed her clothes, a plastic bag for her leg and headed to the shower.

Nika was a force to be reckoned with, and right now, Julie was way too sleepy to even think about arguing back. After a good 15 minutes Julie came out in a pair of Cargo pants and a UConn hoodie with her pair or Jordan 4's. She grabbed her bag and left the room half of her clothes lying on the floor mixed with class worksheets.

"We're gonna be late" Nika complained chucking a protein bar at the girl behind her as she opened the door

Julie caught it with ease before speaking again "Hey, the concept of time—"

"Say that shit again Romano and I'll break that other leg of yours" Nika said physically unable to hear the girl waffle nonsense again

Julie smirked her mission to annoy Nika a success as she followed her out of the door to her car.