The Beautiful Monster

"I bombed everything. I just know it."

Alyssa reached out to gently nudge Zoe as they and Elias sat at a small table in the university's café. It was finally Friday.

All exams were done with, and they were waiting on their final grades to drop. They were due to be posted in the next ten minutes, and the group waited anxiously to see their scores.

"You did just fine. We all passed," she told them firmly. There was a lot of anxiety and negativity going around, and she was trying to reel it in as best as she could before it got out of control.

She believed in all of them because they put so much hard work into studying and preparing for their exams.

"We'll see soon enough," Elias said as his knee bounced rapidly under the table. He kept refreshing the page on his phone with his current grades before the exam scores went in, waiting for them to change.

Alyssa chewed on her bottom lip as she watched her own phone. She was hoping for the best.

They all were. This past semester was busy with so many changes and developments. At the start of this semester, she never would've expected her semester to end up like this, but she was grateful for that.

It ended way better than she expected it to. She wasn't all alone waiting for her exam scores this time. She was surrounded by her friends.

"Regardless of what happens… I think we should drink tonight, whether it's to drown our sorrows or celebrate," Zoe said as she looked between Alyssa and Elias.

"I actually agree," Alyssa said with a nod, drawing surprised looks from the others. She shrugged in response, standing by her words.

If they did well, they had a great reason to celebrate the end of the semester. They deserved a fun night. If they didn't do well, at least the pain would be curbed a little.

"Well, happy drinking is way more fun than sad drinking," Elias replied.

"The result is the same," Zoe pointed out.

As they chatted, Alyssa continued to watch her phone. She was mostly worried about her science classes. She spent the most time taking those exams and had to use the most of her brain power.

Some of the concepts were so complex and confusing. She couldn't count how many times she questioned her major while sitting in those classrooms taking her exams.

Suddenly, the numbers on her phone changed. She abruptly leaned forward in her seat as she read the numbers, her forefinger tapping the screen to bring up her latest scores. Her eyes were wide and focused as they scanned her screen.

"95… 98… 92… 90… 97," she read the scores of her exams out loud.

When Zoe and Elias heard Alyssa read the numbers, they hurriedly refreshed their phones and started to read their own scores to themselves.

The air was quiet besides their hushed whispering. Then, they all looked up at each other.

"I actually didn't fail anything," Zoe said before breaking out into laughter. "I mean, I got a C on one, but I didn't fail."

"A's and B's," Elias replied with a matching smile. He then turned to Alyssa with a proud look. "I heard all A's for you. Not that I'm surprised."

Alyssa felt her face heat up as she smiled and nodded. She wasn't going to boast. They all did amazing and pulled off what they needed to.

"We all passed!" she said excitedly. Those fifteen seconds were incredibly intense and nerve wracking, but everything was okay. Everything was more than okay. She should've known not to be so scared of failing.

"Finally, something to celebrate," Zoe sighed in relief as she placed her phone down on the table. She waved her hands as she shook her head.

"I'm done worrying about school for a whole month. I don't even want to talk about it anymore."

Alyssa laughed and nodded, agreeing with Zoe. She had worried and worked hard enough this semester.

It was finally time to relax and enjoy her freetime now that classes were over. They'd have to get right back to work in January, but that was a little while off from now.

"Let's talk about what we're going to do tonight then," she replied before glancing over at Elias with a sly smile. She knew that they wanted to make plans for themselves soon.

They had waited all week to have some alone time, to experience something new together. She was ready to get to that part because she had thought about it all week. She was finally ready.

"We have to eat before we drink," Elias told Zoe pointedly. "I don't want to be carrying you back home immediately."

Zoe waved her hand dismissively.

"I am not that much of a lightweight. It's this one you're going to have to look out for," she said as she pointed at Alyssa.

Alyssa scoffed and crossed her arms over her chest, despite Zoe being right. She wasn't going to admit it, though.

She could hold her own alright, and she wasn't going to overdue it tonight. She was just going to have a dash of fun to take her mind off of the stress of the week.

"Oh, don't worry. I'll have my eyes on her all night," Elias said before winking at Alyssa.

"Gross," Zoe smirked as she covered her own eyes.

Alyssa and Elias shared a laugh. She then turned to Zoe.

"Have you still been talking to Cole?" she asked. She learned that the grim reaper that Zoe had been hitting it off with at the Halloween party was named Cole. Zoe mentioned that they were texting a little, and Alyssa hoped it bloomed into something more.

Zoe shrugged as she grabbed her phone.

"A little," she said as a small smile crossed her lips. "We might see each other over Christmas break."

"That's great!" Alyssa said as she wrapped her arms around Zoe and squeezed her. She wanted Zoe to feel the same happiness that she felt with Elias. It was a level of joy that she had never known before.

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