“Hey, I’m actually sleeping here,” I grumbled.
“Oh, please, never mind me, as always” Sabrina replied.
I gave her a fleeting glance. Yes, beautiful as always. But something was amiss.
Where had all her animosity gone? Not even trying to kick me, as usual?
“I can’t believe my eyes. You actually sat down next to me. Is this a new form of self-flagellation?” I asked sarcastically.
Sabrina didn’t respond but kept staring at the lecturer, pretending I didn’t exist. I looked at her pale face. It seemed like she had shrunk even more, dark circles under her eyes, her hands slightly trembling. Something was up with Sabrina. The only question was how to get her to respond to this “What?”
“Sabrina,” I called quietly.
No reaction.
“Sabrina,” silence.
Oh, how annoying she can sometimes be – by simply ignoring me! Suppressing the burning desire to strangle her, I took her hand. It was cold and it was shaking.
Slowly, she turned to me.
“I thought you were sleeping,” she whispered coldly.
“It's hard to sleep when you're around, dear,” I purred in response. “But…What's wrong? You look troubled.”
“Nothing. Just tired. Lots of work, and then there's Eric…”
Sabrina frowned and freed her hand.
“I have no choice but to… Jack, please talk to him! Please! He’s wrecking the house! Maybe I’m exaggerating, but… Anyway… I can’t handle him alone,” she blurted out in one breath, biting her lip, staring at me expectantly for a reaction.
For a fraction of a second, it seemed to me that I saw a wild spark in her eyes.
She was indeed trembling slightly, sweat appearing on her forehead. Noticing me scrutinizing her, Sabrina casually ran her hand through her hair and glanced at Mrs.
Preston. Whatever it was, it certainly wasn’t about Eric going wild.
“How are you feeling, Sabi?” I whispered.
“Probably caught a cold, the weather isn’t great, and I was out on the street all day yesterday,” she replied.
“Caught a cold?” I muttered suspiciously.
“Yeah, Jack, and I decided not to miss the opportunity to sit next to you and infect you to hell, ” she hissed angrily.
She’s snapping back. So, everything isn’t as bad as it had seemed. We spent the rest of the class in silence, occasionally glancing at each other, not exchanging another word. After an endlessly long hour, the long-awaited bell rang, signaling the end of my mental torment. I stood up, stretched, yawned, and… Sabrina was looking at me as if she wanted to ask something.