I drop my purse on one of the sinks and take out the small bottle of ibuprofen, swallowing two pills with water cupped in my hands. I splash more water on my face, which helps momentarily, but the pain quickly returns. It’ll take time for the medicine to kick in.

After drying my face and making sure I look somewhat presentable, I check my phone and see that I’m already five minutes late for class.

“Dammit,” I mutter under my breath.

I should care more, but I don’t have the energy. I sling my bag over my shoulder and head for the exit, each step making my head pound harder.

Maybe I should just skip the rest of my classes today.

As I try to tuck the ibuprofen bottle back into my school bag, I frown, realizing that something is missing. I stop and search frantically, hoping the paper I need to turn in today is somewhere in the bottom of my bag… but it’s not. I know I printed it this morning—I must have left it on the counter at home in my rush to feed Ralph and leave.

With a defeated sigh, I sink onto a bench near the bathrooms. My temples are throbbing, and I’m frustrated about forgetting the paper. I worked hard on it and printed it early specifically to avoid this situation, but it wasn’t enough.

I don’t know what compels me to do it, but I find myself pulling out my phone and calling Declan. He’s not my boyfriend or anything—we haven’t defined what exactly we are to each other—so maybe it’s a bad idea. But he’s the first person I think of, the only person I want to talk to right now. Maybe hearing his voice will help ease this headache.

The line rings several times, and I bite my lip as it finally goes to voicemail. “Hey, you’ve reached Declan. Leave a message and I’ll get back to you when I can.”

Hearing his voice makes me smile. But when I start speaking, my emotions take over, the frustration and pain that are thrashing around in my chest and head rising to the surface.

“Hey, it’s Hannah. I’m sorry to call you randomly like this, but I’m having a super shitty day, and I just… needed someone to talk to. I left late this morning and that screwed everything up. I forgot a paper that was due today, and now I have this killer headache, and everything about today just sucks. Anyway, I know you’re probably at practice, so I hope you’re having a good one. I’ll… I’ll talk to you later.”