Julian (Trinity Academy 4)

“Sure, let’s use this studio,” she replies, gesturing to the one next to Julian’s.

Following her inside, the excitement I felt before running into Julian, quickly returns.

“Let’s take a seat on the bench,” Lisa says.

Sitting down beside her, it feels hot and stuffy in the room. I take another sip of my smoothie and set the bottle down on the floor beside the bench.

“We’ll start with something easy.” Lisa plays a couple of chords to Chopsticks then glances at me. “Your turn. Place your pointer fingers on F and G and play the keys six times.”

I do as she says and grin even though I’m beginning to feel dizzy.

“Now play E and G six times.”

While pressing down on the keys, I start to feel really unwell and stop so I can focus on swallowing the nauseous feeling down.

Lisa places her hand on my shoulder and asks, “Are you okay?”

“I’m feeling sick all of a sudden,” I explain. “It’s probably something I ate.”

“We can reschedule for tomorrow night?”

“Would you mind?” I ask, feeling a stab of disappointment.

“Not at all.”

She gets up, and when I try to do the same, I lose my balance and fall against the piano before dropping to the floor.

“Jamie!” Lisa shrieks, darting toward me so she can help me up.

“I’m…” My vision blurs, and I feel exhausted.

Did I push too hard during my run earlier?

“Is everything okay?” I hear Julian ask.

I don’t want him to see me like this and try to push myself up off the floor, but my arms buckle under me, and I drop back down. Confused, I stare up, and for a moment, I manage to focus on Julian’s face as he leans over me before my vision blurs again.

What’s happening to me?

“Did she drink anything?” I hear him ask.

“Only this smoothie. She seemed fine until we started with the lesson,” Lisa explains.

“I’ll be fine,” I mumble, just wanting to get back to my suite. “I’ll go sleep whatever this is off.”

“You don’t look fine,” Lisa expresses her concern.

“I’ll take her to her suite,” Julian says, and with his help, I manage to climb to my feet.

I lose my sense of direction, and if it weren’t for Julian’s arm around my waist, I would probably walk into a wall.

The moment we step into the night air, he asks, “Did you seriously drink on campus?”

I want to snap back at him, but my legs begin to feel heavy. I only manage two more steps before my body sags against Julian’s.

“Fuck.” The word sounds harsh as Julian’s arms slip under me, and I’m lifted to his chest.

“I… can… walk,” I try to argue even though I’m not sure I’ll make it to my suite on my own.

It feels like time is warping around me, and the next thing I know, Julian is laying me down on my bed.

“Just how much did you drink?” he asks, sounding angry as hell.

“Didn’t,” I manage to mumble before everything goes black.Waking up, I feel groggy, and there’s an incessant pounding against my temple.

I let out a groan before I open my eyes, and confused, I glance around my bedroom.

Ugh… it feels like I have a hangover from hell.

Slowly, I sit up and rub my eyes. When I glance down, and I notice I’m still dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, I frown.

Why didn’t I change into my pajamas before climbing into bed?

With the frown not leaving my face, I dig my phone out of my pocket so I can check what time it is. Unlocking my screen, my eyes widen when I see that I have a couple of messages. Opening my messenger, I read the first one.

Lisa: I hope you’re feeling better. Should we meet at eight again?

Feeling better?

I think back to when I last saw Lisa. It was after she responded to the ad I put on the notice board. I was feeling fine then.

I open the next message, and the frown deepens on my forehead.

Julian: Do you have a drinking problem, I should be aware of? Or is it drugs? In the future, at least have the decency to get drunk off-campus. Trinity Academy is not the place for you to indulge.

What in the world?

At first, anger burns through me, but then worry quickly begins to gnaw at my insides.

I press reply and quickly type: What are you talking about?

When Julian doesn’t respond immediately, I go to the restroom to relieve myself. After I’ve changed into fresh clothes, I wash my face and brush my teeth.

Hearing my phone ping, I go to check it.

Julian: You mean to tell me you were so drunk last night you can’t remember what you did?

Quickly, I hit reply.

Jamie: Did I see you last night?

Julian: Yes, and you were out of it. Keep it off-campus.

Feeling rattled, I try to remember anything from the night before, but my last memory is of when I went jogging.