Camila POV
Exam season had arrived like an uninvited guest at a party—unavoidable and completely disruptive. Anthony had become distant over the past week, and I tried not to take it personally. I knew he had his final culinary practicals coming up—his version of a life-or-death trial—and he was giving it everything he had.
Still, I missed him. I missed our morning talks, the way he'd steal glances at me when he thought I wasn't looking, and how his voice softened when he called me "Sunshine." But lately, even our texts were brief and dry. I tried to brush it off, tell myself I needed to focus too.
Being a humanities student with science subjects on the side was no joke. My schedule looked like a battlefield—Literature, History, Biology, Chemistry, Sociology… I could feel the caffeine dependency forming already.
That afternoon, I found Julia and Tyler in our usual corner at the library. Antwan had joined us shortly after, still wearing his lab coat from his earlier practical class. The four of us looked like a study group pulled from four different textbooks.
"Okay," I said, dropping my bag with a thud. "We need a plan. Like, an actual study schedule."
Julia leaned forward, resting her chin on her hand. "We've got Bio and Chem together, then Literature and History too. That's four exams we can prep for side-by-side."
Tyler raised an eyebrow. "Lucky you. I'm stuck juggling Econ, Business Strategy, and I've got two athletic assessments next week."
Antwan nodded, eyes fixed on his notes. "I've only got the sciences and Math to worry about, but honestly? That's enough."
The tension between the three of them was unmistakable—an electric current beneath the surface. Tyler kept stealing glances at Julia. Julia was quieter than usual, clearly still processing… everything. And Antwan? He was hyper-focused, but I caught his eyes flicker toward Julia more than once.
"I'm thinking we rotate study buddies," I offered. "Mix things up so we don't get stuck in the same loops."
"Works for me," Antwan said quickly, almost too quickly. "I'll help with Chemistry. Julia's good at the theory, I'll handle equations."
Tyler's jaw twitched. "Or I could partner with Julia for Lit and History. We've always worked well on essays."
Julia gave a small, unreadable smile, then looked down at her notebook.
I sat back, arms crossed. I wasn't blind. Something was brewing between the three of them, and as much as I loved them all, I felt like a spectator at a show that was headed toward its dramatic third act.
"I'll start with Julia today," I said diplomatically, trying to cut the tension. "Tyler, you can quiz me on Biology later?"
"Sure," he said, his voice softening. "Anything to help my favorite genius."
Julia nudged me. "If I start ranting about Foucault or gene splicing, just smack me."
"I'd never," I said with a smirk, already pulling out my highlighters. "But I might record you and sell the audio for tuition money."
We all laughed a little too hard at that. The kind of laugh that comes from nerves and shared exhaustion.
As we settled into study mode, I spared a glance at my phone—no new messages from Anthony.
I bit my lip, shook it off, and dove into my notes.