Like Real People Do [🗸]

24. pass

I pass. 

Computer Science hasn't killed me. It's remarkable, really. For once, it doesn't seem like I'm struggling to grab ahold of things. Instead, I'm afloat, and not only that, but I gain a brief respite.

Winter exams are horrific, but once they come and go, the focus is all on snow. And in Cambridge, when it snows, it snows. Sacramento is all dry and barely any snow if any but Cambridge is completely overwhelmed in winter, and I only notice this, really notice this once winter midterms are done and I can breathe. 

Passing is good. In fact, passing is great. Passing means I made it through. I'm unsure of what to feel. My last lecture this year for Comp-Sci was early this morning, meaning that I won't step foot into that room until January next year. 

I am okay. It's strange being okay, like you have finally decided that nothing is burdening you excessively, and you may not perhaps be on top of the world, but you are decent. That is what I feel right now. 

After Elliot cut my hair, I can feel the cold wind pressing against my neck. It's liberation, free of hair strands and sweat and irritation. Elliot is proficient at what he does. He didn't take any massive risks but ended up taking off an inch or two which was all I could've asked for. 

If I'd attempted to cut my own hair, I'd definitely have cut it jagged. 

But while haircutting proficiency might not be at the top of my talents, work at the tattoo parlor has been. Rayne went off back home to Philly to work at Pat King of Steaks, which they state has the best cheesesteaks in the city. I have no idea where or what that place is but I do know that by the time Rayne left I'd completed my apprenticeship with them and they left me behind to operate Ink Addicts in their wake.

There's something about Rayne Campbell's approval that makes your chest swell. They'll give you a pat on the back and a grin like you did something. And when I'd completed my apprenticeship (partially thanks to all the spare time I had after completing midterms), they'd given me a full grin - not a partial grin - when they handed me my own set of tools and slapped a new name tag on my chest. 

"You can't call me apprentice anymore," I remember telling them about a week ago.

They'd shaken their head. "Man, I'll miss it."

I didn't tell them this, but I'll miss it too. 

Not too much, though. I'm quite pleased with the promotion and the autonomy that it gives me. I'm no longer the apprentice that lurks around, unfamiliar with the rules of the shop, I'm practically a veteran now. So, when Rayne brought in a spiky haired teenager who wanted to apprentice during winter break, I took the challenge. 

On top of everything, Esther joined Rayne in Philly a week later. It's sensical, I suppose, because their roots both lie there. Then again, Silvia chose not to go back to Philly during the break because she wanted to explore Cambridge, "you know, without the stress of exams and shit."