𝐃𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐖𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑

03. 𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒅𝒚 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒑

That night, you waited on the edge of your bed for your father to fall asleep before putting your plan into action. You've only ever snuck out twice in your life. Once was to sleep over at Chris's house the night before an exam -- you both needed to study -- and the second was last year when you got invited to a high school party that you just knew your father would never permit you to attend.

But not once had you ever snuck out just to go someplace on campus. That just seemed a little too redundant. 

As gently as you could, you pried your ancient window open just enough that you could slip through, dragging your backpack along in your wake. You already had your door locked from the inside and a heap of pillows stacked up under your blankets just in case. 

If all else failed, there was a note on your vanity that said you had just forgotten one of your textbooks in the library and that you would return shortly. You would still be in trouble for leaving, but not nearly enough to get you expelled. 

You knew how to navigate through the dark and it didn't take very long to seek out the large common room on the edge of the dormitory building. The room was built like a large bay window with hexagonal walls cased in with decorative glass windows. You could see every last bookshelf from where you stood on the grass, half-hidden behind the shrubbery.

Peeking up, you could see that all of the boys were gathered around a long wooden table in the back of the room. Cameron was standing over Neil, who was wearing his prescription reading glasses and squinting down at the trigonometry assignment in front of him. Both boys looked up and smiled your way when you knocked your fist softly against the glass.

You stepped back just enough so that Pitts could swing the window open without smacking you in the face, handing him your bag before offering your arm so that he could pull you up inside. The window was about three feet off of the ground, a massive upgrade from the one in your bedroom that you assumed had been structured to resemble Rapunzel's tower.

Once your feet were firmly planted on the old wooden floors, Neil came around and patted you on the back, ushering you toward their table. "You actually made it!" He grinned, propping up his glasses on the crest of his forehead. "Of course," you said, claiming the seat at the very end where the mountain of papers and writing utensils was the least steep.

Across from you, Meeks was hunched over a small makeshift radio. Pitts quickly re-joined him and began fiddling with a few of the dull-colored plastic knobs while his counterpart waved a thin metal rod through the air. "I've never had to sneak into school before," you joked, pulling out your planner and notebook. Charlie chuckled beside you, chewing on the end of his pencil like a man starved.

Looking around a bit more, you realized that the only boy missing was Todd. "Where's Anderson?" You asked, trying not to come off as too concerned. Despite his quiet nature, the boy was growing on you. Neil shrugged and returned to his seat, folding his arms over his chest. "He said he had history homework tonight. Couldn't make it."

"Well force him next time," you scoffed playfully. "History is my best subject."

For your first informal school gathering, you were doing considerably well. Cameron came over soon after you settled in and helped you work out the rest of your algebra homework. Thankfully, but to no surprise, your class was well behind his and everyone else's. He was able to help you through five or so problems, despite stuttering his way through most of them. While the other boys rolled their eyes at this, you found it endearing. 

 You'd done most of your assignments in bed while waiting for your father to fall asleep, so you finished pretty quickly and made room for Charlie to slide over so you could take a crack at his English homework.