Time for Evals

Sitting up in the large bed, I can’t help but sigh. “Damnit,” I mutter, shaking my head. This is exactly what I didn’t want to happen.

“It’s your damned fault,” Sierra complains behind me. “I thought we agreed not to go out drinking at the same time. Thursdays are supposed to be my night.”

“It was the day of my last final,” I counter, “We agreed that it’d be my drinking day.”

“Wait, it is?” she mutters, “Shit, that means we’ve got that evaluation thing today.”

She’s right. “So? Can I just wallow in self-”

“No, you can’t,” she interrupts me. “I’ve got to be there. That means you’re going to have to leave.”

“I know,” I complain, pulling on my jeans, “Doesn’t mean I have to be happy about it.”

She looks at me, naked judgement in her eyes. “Would you rather the thing that happens every time you delay happens again?” she asks.

She has a point, but I’m not about to admit that. Not right now. Instead, I groan and grab my shirt. “Go put on some clothes,” I say instead as I start towards her apartment’s door. Pulling on my shirt as I walk, I can feel her eyes on my ass. As I reach the door, I turn to face her. “Enjoying the view?” I joke with a smile. I can’t help but stare back. Leaning on the foot of her bed, naked, she’s amazing.

“Are you?” she asks right back, the most beautiful little smug grin on her face. Dang it, I really have to get out of here. Fast. I chuckle, shaking my head at myself as I head out into the complex.

The rest of the world is asleep. Because, quite frankly, being awake at the moment is not the easiest. The sun is just starting to rise. But, advisor meetings happen before any finals of the day, meaning they happen early. Very early. Spinning out my phone, I order some coffee via the app. I didn’t get enough sleep last night. I need the caffeine. Especially with the evals happening today. That isn’t the kind of thing I can do tired. Not well, anyways. I need to be careful, and being careful means I have to be awake. I swing by the coffee shop on the way to campus, pick up my large coffee, and, with a tired smile, I head back to the street. Sipping the delicious coffee as I reach campus, I see Jase coming to the quad from the opposite direction. He takes a detour from his journey to the library to meet me in the middle of the quad. “Ike, my man, what’s happening?”

“I see you, too, felt the need for some...alternative encouragement,” I said with a smile, holding up my coffee cup.

“Got up early for some coffee. Smart, though why didn’t you just bug Therese? She’s always got a pot ready in the morning to put her alcohol in,” Jase offers his helpful advice.

I smile thinly. “I figured she’d be thirstier this morning. Saw her when I went out drinking last night.”

Jase shrugs and nods, getting entirely the wrong idea like I’d hoped. As far as I knew, he only knows about the past stuff. Thinks everything’s over. That’s what I want. It’s just easier that way.

As we reach the library door, I remark, “I’m glad about your recovery. Though, not sure if continuing to smoke after you’ve been run over by a car is the smart play, exactly.”

Jase chuckles. “Moderation. Moderation is key. Also, technically I ran over the car, not the...No that’s not right. The car ran under me? How do you say a car pushed you up and over? I know there’s got to be a term for it.” Jase’s rambling confusion continues as we walk through the library towards the study room. It’s comforting that some things don’t change, even with something like being stuck in a hospital for a week. I look forward to seeing if this whole moderation thing is going to stick. Not that I can talk much about being unable to quit bad habits.

Together, we make it to the room. Ter is already there, along with both Irene and Ruth. Ter gives us both a look that only people who know her would be able to tell is judgemental. “What took you so long, Jason?”

Jase smiles. “I went out for some fresh air, if you catch my drift. Ike took some time to grab coffee in town.”

Ter nods. “I know. I saw him drinking when I was out last night.” Then, after a brief pause, she adds, “He tends to prefer the walk and grabbing coffee in town after a night out. Isn’t that about right?”

I shoot her a look of exasperation. She is having too much fun right now. And its irritating because she’s doing this for herself. I know her. She hasn’t told anyone anything. She just wants me to feel uncomfortable so she can have fun. “Something like that,” I say.

She gives me the slightest of smiles. “Something like that.”

Shaking my head at the torturously smug girl, I seat myself along with Jase. Sierra will be here eventually, and we can get this whole day over. I can get on with my summer. Away from here and certain problematic distractions.

Pete and Brad walk in, followed by Liz. All seem to be in a bit of a hurry. “Hey Therese,” Pete says, “Ike. Ruth.” They go for their normal chairs.

Only as they’re sitting do they notice the distinct lack of Sierra in the room. Liz asks, “What’s up? She’s normally getting in around the same time as us.”

Everyone, thankfully, stares at Ter. They figure she has all the answers, and no one else does. They’re half right. Ter’s face shifts ever so slightly, hinting at a smile. She likes being in control, and she clearly is right now. And everyone knows it, which probably only makes it sweeter for her. With only my eyes, making sure no one notices me, I plead with my sorta-kinda friend to stay quiet.

She doesn’t listen to me. Not exactly. “I wouldn’t worry too much. She’s going to be a tad late today.”

I can see in everyone’s eyes they’re looking for elaboration. Ter, thankfully isn’t going to do that. Telling them any more information would cede some of her control. She won’t have that. Ruth presses, verbally. “Come on, how do you know that?”

Pete and Jase laugh. Ter flickers a smile across her face. That only serves to make Pete laugh harder. Then he sees Ruth’s face. “Shit, you thought she was actually going to answer you?” he asks.

“What?” Ruth argues, “It’s a reasonable question.”

Brad nods. “Exactly. That’s how you know that she’s not going to answer it.”

“Rude,” Irene defends her, I guess her friend. They seem like friends. Maybe. “Implying she answers the unreasonable ones.” Or not defending Ter. Who can tell.

Ter shrugs ever so slightly, which is as good as agreement from her. Especially when talking about herself.

Jase laughs, but then rebuts the accusations. “Nah, she answers any questions she thinks are reasonable,” he argues. “She just doesn’t understand the meaning of the word reasonable.”

Ter rolls her eyes, but her slight smile remains as she leans back. Probably because she knows I owe her one. Monster, holding my own faults over me like this. Not that she’s ever going to call in a favor. I’m guessing she actually just wants people to feel indebted to her. Haven’t quite figured out why, yet, but I’m sure I will. Eventually.

Before the rest of the group starts arguing about exactly how Ter’s aggressively enigmatic attitude works, Brad gets a text. “Hey, Marshall says he’s going to be here early.”

Liz chuckles. “Which means on time.”

“Ooh, that means it’s a race. Sierra or Marshall. Who’ll get here first?” Irene asks, grinning. She’s hoping to stir some more trouble, I think. Ter’s clearly a bad influence.

Unfortunately for her, she underestimated everyone’s mutual understanding of the circumstances. Unanimously, everyone else in the room replies as one. “Sierra.”

Jase thinks a moment and adds, “But maybe only by like a minute.”

Brad thinks a moment. “Over/under,” he asks, “Marshall arrives when Sierra starts handing out the evals?”

Now that’s a line worth betting on, unlike Irene’s. I shake my head. “Over. He’s probably not rushing, she probably will be.”

“Nah, under,” Irene argues, “If Marshall wants to be early, he’ll be rushing.”

“Can I push?” Jase asks, eliciting loud groans all around the room. “Hey, it’s not like it’s likely, but that’d be the poetical thing to happen.” He’s right, sort of. Wrong, because there’s no way Marshal’s arriving in time, but right that it would be poetic that his early was exactly the same as Sierra’s late.

I, of course, turn out to be right. I generally am in matters involving Sierra, much to my chagrin. Just under a minute after Jase pushes the bet, Sierra walks into the library, through the stacks in a hurry. As she rushes through the stacks, she pulls her lovely hair out from its pretty little ponytail, shaking it down and letting it fall perfectly across her shoulders. Damn it. Stop that brain. Bad. Can’t be thinking like that now. Shouldn’t ever, but definitely not right here, right now.

Sierra enters the small room, breathing hard. She’s all but run here from her apartment. She hurries to the front, swinging down her bag and pulling out a thick folder. “I’m sorry I’m running late today,” she says as she pulls out the stack of evaluations from her folder. “I’m pretty sure you guys already know the deal about these, so here’s your evaluations. Fill them out, I don’t care about how you do it.” she starts handing them out, then reaches the back of the room. Muttering to herself, she adds, “Of course Marshall isn’t here yet. Why would I think me being late could change that fact.” She walks back to the front as the library door opens. Marshall wanders in, at a reasonable pace. I underestimated him, it seems. I’m still right, but he appears, at least in the home stretch, not to be taking his time. When he opens up the study room’s door and walks in, Sierra smiles sarcastically at him. “Welcome, Marshall. Evals time.” She holds out the packet.

Marshall pauses, deciding between putting down his stuff first and grabbing the papers first. He chooses incorrectly, going back over to a chair and slinging his backpack off. He walks up to the ever more irritated Sierra. Damn, even angry - No stop that right now. No thinking like that. Become purely analytical. Turn myself into Ter, at least for the next few minutes. Emotions can go all the way to hell. I need to finish this shit and get out of here. Marshall takes the packet and heads to the chair.

Sierra smiles a visibly forced smile. “Alright, everyone,” she says, “Don’t talk too much, and turn them in when you’re done. I’m going to be resting in the front. If you need anything, don’t.” And she sashays back to the desk at the front, leans back in the chair. To anyone else, she looks like she is simply relaxing. I know she can sleep with her eyes open, though. I’ve seen it. And she is most definitely asleep. Makes sense. She got just as little as I did, and she didn’t have the benefit of a massive cup of coffee.

Like everyone around me, I set to work filling out the packet as best I could. Maintaining the most disconnected I could. Anything requiring emotional reactions or information, I simply become super vague. Hopefully, no one will notice or care. Let’s be honest, in a grouping with Ter and Pete, the disconnected answers and the vague answers will be the norm. Probably.