My classroom door swings open, and in walks Cash, a grin pulling at his lips when his eyes find me. “Hey, teach. The rain paused just in time for me to get here.”

You’d never know he was here to complete an annoying task. He’s always upbeat, willing to help.

“Hey, Cash. That’s a relief. I can’t believe this storm we’re having. It’s horrendous.”

“Yeah, you’re telling me.” He eyes the stack of papers on my desk. “So, these are all due by midnight?”

Sitting back in my chair, I rub the corner of my mouth with my thumb. “Sure are.”

“They sure gave us a lot of time, huh?” He laughs.

Chuckling, I reply, “I know. Sorry about this. I’ve asked about them every day since I was told about it on Monday.

“Nah, it’s all good. I got nothing going on tonight, anyway. This my half?” he asks, reaching for the stack on the edge of my desk.

“Yes, it is. Why she insists on physical copies is beyond me. If you want to grade them, and then put all the grades into Canvas by midnight, we should be good.”

“You got it, teach. Have a good night.”

“You too, Cash.” A wave of relief accompanied by a pang of disappointment stirs inside of me. Having him here would be distracting, but I also thoroughly enjoy his company.

Oh well. It’s for the best.

He strolls out of the room, shutting the door behind him, and I resume my task at hand. This is bullshit. Grading all these damn papers by tonight. Who in their right mind would think that was enough time?

My phone pings from where it’s laying on the desk, face down. Flipping it over, the screen displays a text from Aida. My eyes roll before I even have a chance to unlock the phone and read the message.

Aida: Are you coming home at some point tonight?

As of late, she suddenly gives a shit about my whereabouts. She used to not even notice when I was home late. Half the time, I don’t even know if she’s home when I am because we’re always in different parts of the house.

Me: Later. I’m grading papers on campus. They’re due tonight and it’s nasty outside.

Aida: Figures.

Not even going to respond to that. That’s an argument waiting to happen, and I have too much to get done. As I’m setting my phone back down, the classroom door bursts open again.

“Cash, you forget something?”

“No, but the rain kicked back up again. It’s coming down so hard, I can’t even see in front of me. Is it cool if I hang out here and do the grading?”

Well, shit.