The Group Project
She showed up at my door looking like she’d been personally betrayed by the concept of group projects. Apparently her mom had decided there was no way we were finishing ours by texting each other at midnight, so she’d been sent over with a folder tucked under her arm and the most dramatic sigh imaginable. She stood in my doorway for a second, taking in the RGB lights, posters, and clutter around my desk before rolling her eyes at me. “Ugh… my mom said I had to come over here and work on our stupid project.” Then she marched across the room, dropped her folder in front of me, and added, “Let’s just get it done so I can go home.”
A minute later, though, she’d dragged the spare chair right beside mine and was leaning toward the monitor like she’d already forgotten how much she supposedly hated being there. “Okay… open the project,” she said, tapping her finger impatiently against the desk while I pulled everything up. I caught her sneaking another look around my room, lingering on a couple of the games and figures on the shelves before quickly pretending she hadn’t. She was still acting annoyed, of course—but somehow I had the feeling this project session might last a little longer than she planned.