Falling in the Dark | ✓

10 | Surprise

"Come on," Mr. Murdoch's voice echoes through the silent room. "Time's up. Hand in your tests."

The surprise test that the marketing professor had promised came as a rude shock that topped the terrible Monday morning I was having after the altercation with Vera. I couldn't help the deflated sigh that escaped my lips when Murdoch very happily announced the test.

"Man, it's Monday," a hungover, frustrated voice rang out from the back, eliciting a few murmurs of agreement and some laughter from the students.

"Man, I don't care." Murdoch's reply was immediate and cutting. Typical.

Felix - sitting immediately to my left - nudged my shoulder.

"Hey, what are you worried about?" he asked, studying my face with his chocolate brown eyes. "You're going to ace this."

"Well, I did have a great study partner." I tried to sound light and friendly, but there was a painful tug in my stomach every time I looked at Felix.

It's not you, it's not you, why can't it be you.

He smiled at me briefly before leaning forward in his seat, a little closer to me. His blue v-necked t-shirt stretched across his broad shoulders and chest. He opened his mouth to speak, probably wanting to know what was wrong with me, but Murdoch's voice interrupted him with a reminder to switch off our phones.

"Good luck, Carmen," Felix said.

"Thanks," I mustered a smile. "You too."

For the first ten minutes of the test, I could do nothing but stare at the blue sheet of paper in my hand that listed question after question. The words swam in front of my eyes, a jumbled, incoherent mess. I felt as though I was looking at the page through the lens of a camera, waiting and waiting for the automatic focus to kick in and bring clarity to the blurry picture. Then, when Murdoch called out that we had twenty minutes left, I rubbed my eyes until they hurt, until I could finally see.

And now, as the professor reminds us for the fourth time that we must hand our tests in, my pen flies over the paper to answer the final question, wrist screaming in pain, mind racing. Just as I'm scrambling to gather my paper off the table, I see Mr. Murdoch walking towards the door, surrounded by students shoving their answer sheets into the growing pile in his arms. I run down the wide steps from my seat in the third row, trailing far behind the professor. I try calling to the girl and boy standing in front of me, hoping one of them will pass my paper to Murdoch, but neither of them are paying attention to me, even when I tap on their shoulders.

"Carmen," Felix suddenly says from close behind. He peels the paper from my fingers gently and pushes through the crowd in a way that's not very gentle. His tall football player frame has no trouble reaching the professor. I stand on tip-toe, giving a little sigh of relief when I see him adding my paper to Murdoch's pile just as he leaves the room.

"Thank you, Felix," I say when he walks back towards me, clasping my hands against my chest. "You're a lifesaver!"

He shoots me a smug grin. "We should celebrate."

I look at him questioningly as we climb the steps to our desk to retrieve our backpacks.

"You know, because the test went well . . . ?" He speaks in a convincing, slightly teasing voice. "I did just save your life."

"Okay," I concede with a laugh. But for one confusing moment, I think of Liam Archer. I clear my throat and force myself to focus on Felix. "Where do we go?"

He dips his head and looks up at me from under his dark eyelashes. "I was thinking . . . we could go on a night drive just beyond Blackwood."

The posh neighborhood of Blackwood is a good two hours away from the Ivy University campus. The idea of going that far with Felix seems a little premature, but I smile and nod anyway.