~Late Nights~ [Jalice]

~Late Nights~

A slightly dimmed light was radiating off from a phone's screen. It was already night, actually  early morning.

Alice let out a yawn and stretched her arms upwards. "God, what time is it?" she asked no one in particular. The time showed on her phone's clock was 1:27 AM.

"Honestly, not bad. That story was surprisingly shorter than it looked." She had just recently finished reading and was searching for more fanfiction to read.

A message notification flashed on her screen.

'Heeyy, are you still awake or what?'

It was from Nisha. Alice texted back a simple 'y'.

'Oh good, I just found a good story you'd probably like! ≧∇≦'

Just a stroke of luck, Nisha found one for her! Praise.

Another message notification appeared except it wasn't from the person she had expected.

'Gdi. Sleep. Already. Newfield. Theres. School. Tomorrow.'

It was from Jack.

Another message was recieved but this time it was from Nisha, 'Here's the link uwu'

Another soon followed the previous message, 'Before you start nagging at why im still awake like last time smh I was making finishing touches to the presentation.'

"Information I never asked and don't need, ok," she thought.

Alice clicked on the link Nisha sent her. "Wait, I already read this," she said and proceeded to send a message to her, instinctively pressing the icon at the top right corner of her screen. She didn't notice that a new message was sent the same time she clicked on the icon.

'You've finished reading through it right?' the message read.

'I've already read it before'

'What. How.'

'The summary looked interesting, Nisha.'

'*Newfield*'

Alice halted her typing. Newfield? Nisha never calls her that and only a few do-- Shit. She double checked who she was messaging.

'Jack Asendo'

...Fuck, wrong person.

She sent the message Nisha was supposed to receive before dealing with him. She was confused about one detail though. What did he mean by his reply?

'Wait, read through what?' she replied.

'The presentation. Didn't Keith mention this to you? You're supposed to be the one to report.'

Alice had only one thought for this, "What the hell? Excuse me??" She took in deep breaths in order to calm herself down. It would only make her current problems harder if she doesn't tackle it calmly.

'...I thought it was Simone.'

'He did majority of the work and I'm not really in the mood to entertain his complaints if I assign him to present. again.'

She cursed at Keith. It was funny to see his pranks happen to others, but it was fun when YOU'RE the one being targetted. To this day, she wonders what Simone's trick is to not go insane from Keith Overload.

'I wasn't informed. Can't you just do it?'

'Ill be presenting with you'

Alice sighed. Might as well go along with it now since there's no use in complaining. She felt too tired to protest against Jack at the moment. It would only prolong things.

'...Ok, just send it to me. I'll review it later at lunch.'

'It's the second period in the morning.'

At that moment, Alice only wanted to barge in Keith's house and personally strangle him at this hour. She honestly would if it weren't for the threat of getting arrested and for the shame it will bring to her family. Maybe suggesting making The Purge into reality wouldn't be a bad thing.

She left Jack's message on seen and didn't respond.

From what she could remember, she helped Keith gather the data needed then left after explaining to him some of the more complicated parts. He was supposed to be the one to finish it... why was Simone said to be the one to finish it?? Tch, he probably asked help from Simone when she went away and practically made him do it all somehow.

Her phone notified her about a new message. It was an attachment, most likely the presentation. She sent another message to Jack just out of curiosity.

'How did you know I was awake?'

'You were marked online.'

She checked about what he meant. She tsked. Curse technology for failing her! Except, it was a blessing in disguise this time. She was able to prepare for the event that will happen tomorrow... and not go around aimlessly like a chicken who had lost her head.

'Just saying though, I don't think I'll be able to prepare that much'

'Youll figure it out. Youre the top procrastinator in this class other than Keith'

Wow, thanks for the extra pressure, er, compliment? It sure feels nice to know that someone has this high expectation from you. It surprised Alice though that she actually felt motivated... somehow. She received another message from him.

'Ill be covering for you at the last bits so focus on the first parts'

There's a bit of relief there. She glanced at the clock that showed 1:41 AM. At least 2 hours of sleep, that should be good enough.

'Write it on note cards and try to arrive at your usual time. There'll be coffee waiting for you.'

She felt elated at this. Alice swears, Jack truly knows how to motivate a person.

She finished at 3 AM and slept until it was 6. She had to try her best to not look sleepy which was fairly easy since she was used to this. Except, she still feels like shit and kinda loopy. Her brain must have still been affected by the coffee she drank while preparing. She still felt sleepy...

Alice couldn't remember anything that happened on her trip to school. It has been a while since she rode on the car, she noted. After she stepped down the car, she was greeted by the unmistakable aroma of coffee. Her attention went to where it came from.

It was from Jack with the coffee he had promised last night.

"Aw~ Did you wait for me?" she teasingly asked.

"Do you want the coffee or not? I probably need it more since it's obvious that you still have enough energy to tease--"

"NONONO! I NEED IT"

She cringed. That sounded so desperate. Ok, to be fair, she *was* desperate.

He sighed and handed over the cup of coffee. He then began to walk away, gesturing for her to start walking.

"Where did this even come from? It's still hot," she asked after taking a sip from it.

"The canteen sells these," he replied.

She opened the door that led to the classroom and settled her cup of coffee at her table. Her bag was slung at the back of her chair.

"The note cards?" Jack asked once she was settled down. She zipped open the side pocket of her bag and produced a small stack of paper. This was handed over to Jack. She sipped again on her coffee as he flipped through it.

"You did good, Al," he said.

The door was opened by no other than Keith who received a glare from Alice once he was in her line of sight. He simply smiled at her in an almost mocking way. Jack didn't seem to notice him when he entered, opting to review the notes he made along with the notes she did.

During the actual presentation, it flowed in nicely with a few stutter and hiccups at the middle parts from Alice. Jack would occasionally interject when it seemed like she was starting to draw a blank. Overall, the group did better than average but wasn't exactly the best that presented.

Keith got chewed on by Jack once it was over. He seemed to revert back to his original state and even teased Alice.

"No need to thank me for the extra bonding opportunity with Jack that I made possible, Al~"

Keith was scolded and smacked that day.