Alice leaned her chin on her propped-up hand, and she smiled into her hand looking out of the window thinking back to the other day when she was practically babysitting Noah, but in reality, she was training him for his shift. That day was absolutely hilarious in the sense that she was helping a baby fawn up on their feet.
She had just finished her last exam of the day and was waiting for the bell to ring. After multiple run-throughs, she had done more than enough in that area. The few minutes that she had to herself were certainly a luxury since she didn't get to revel in them as long as she would like to these days.
The trees lining the gates of the academy were all green and full of life with their luscious leaves coming in heavily. She wished that the windows were cracked open, but that had a high probability of becoming a large distraction to many. She would have to settle for the ease of peace that she was able to catch on a whim.
But a couple of days ago was Noah's first shift, and they ended it on a high note eating a meal of champions after having a grand total of six customers for the whole evening shift. She was still flabbergasted at the fact that Noah's first time eating ramen was with her or rather the ones from the convenience store.
She was sure if his tastes catered more towards luxurious foods, but he seemed to truly enjoy eating with her so she wouldn't comment further. Alice microwaved a hot dog to eat with her noodles only for Noah to stare at it like it was a foreign object and reject her advances of trying to give him half.
Sending him off after the shift, she shooed him off after he had completed all of the work from the closing checklist. He inclined his head before taking off with a wave.
Alice wasn't sure how Noah was faring with the exams, but even she could say that she was burnt out. With the added stress of studying for university exams, it was already a pain. But the world seemed to work out for her since she did well with exams with her brain somehow wired better in a testing setting.
The timer went off, shocking those who were napping in the back awake, and Alice turned around to motion for the papers behind her. The last class of the day was the only one that Alice had alone without Claudia or even Noah for that matter. Alice grabbed her phone from her bag to send a message to Claudia since they were going to walk home together.
She didn't have any plans, but for the night, she would rest easy since there was no work to do. At least, the normal ones that were normally written all over her planner.
Once again, the grind never stops. Slipping her briefcase around her shoulder, she inclined her head over to the teacher who wished them a good day, and headed out of the room.
Glancing down at her phone, Alice lightly snickered when she read Claudia's text that was in answer to her quick message telling Claudia to wait out by the gate.
Claudia: You won't believe what just came out.
Alice: I have no idea. Please enlighten me.
Claudia: You sound uptight even over text.
Alice: You know best that I'm not.
Claudia: I guess that's true. Just overly formal.
Alice: I am not.
Claudia: You are. Anyway, a new television show came out with my favorite lead.
Alice: The one with the spiky hair?
Claudia: Don't hate on him.
Alice sent her some emojis to spell out her teasing words before tucking her phone to her side to walk down the hallway safely. His hair truly was a bit too spiky for it to be normal. Or attractive to her taste. But hey, what could she say to her dear friend?
Picking up her pace, she didn't want to keep Claudia waiting too long only to smile at underclassmen who were looking over at her when she went by.
Going down the stairs, she turned the corner to go down the glass hallway instead since she was going to take a shortcut to the gates. The shortcut wasn't anything too fancy. It was that the glass hallway wrapped around the side of the academy building, so it made the walking distance less from that point.
She wasn't one to knock anyone running down the halls as it was one that Madeline would normally go after one for. Alice was aware of the quick steps echoing behind her, but the person sprinting down the hallways smacked into her shoulder right as she had just stepped to the side.
Her body pivoted to the side to avoid the person only for the collision to be more impactful. A burst of pain bloomed in her shoulder as a surprised yelp ripped through her lips.