The silence inside of the dorm was almost terrifying, but no one dared to break it. That was probably because everyone needed it, everyone was longing for this silence just as much. Time was moving too fast and you felt like very second spend doing something different was spend wasted. The others seemed to think about it just like that, because even though you all had barely left the dorm during the past few days, you still barely saw each other. Mostly you were found inside of your room, the only place in this house where you could seem to concentrate longer than half an hour straight. Your pencil was dancing in between your fingertips, dangling above of the papers, going from left to right and back, before turning around so that you could erase what you had written. Bedroom doors were always closed and they only opened to answer a question, to get something to eat or to drink or to go to the bathroom. Some of them didn’t even leave their room to shower, which made you tell yourself to walk around them in a big circle for the next weeks. No, you weren’t fighting, no nothing had happened, everything was just fine. The semester was moving forward, students were preparing themselves for one of the most terrified time of the year, the mid terms. Some people passed them while sitting in a library, some of them preferred a bedroom, others studied during the day, others traded their sleep for a nightlife.

Every single student knew what kind of stress could be developed during these times and it could cause impossible damage in certain ways. People were tired, bored because the only thing they could do all day was read and think, were pissed at something that couldn’t be helped. It were the moments you wondered why you had decided to put yourself through this and go to college in the first place. These moments were torture. A deep sigh left your lips as you threw your pencil down on top of your book and let your eyes pass over the many others that were lying open on your desk, showing you a page with many words, of which you'd didn’t know what they meant, yet. By the end of this week you were supposed to know all of this, and you were planning on succeeding in that goal. Failing wasn’t an option, there was no way you were going back home. There was just this one chapter you couldn’t get your finger on, you had been trying your hardest to understand it for the past few hours, but you couldn’t do it. You knew that there wasn’t anyone else who was studying the same course as you, but maybe there was someone who could help you. Though they liked to be interfered as much as you did right now, which was not. So you were hoping that if you would only stare at this paper long enough that you would magically get a break through and it would get less clouded inside of your mind.

When you turned your head to the side you could see that it was already ten pm, it was already dark outside and the red numbers of your alarm clock lit up the room, joined by the small lamp on your desk. Everyone was so busy studying that the food got worse and worse every day, because it had to be something that was ready fast. Joe had asked you if you wanted to take over, since apparently you were the best cook, but you told him that you didn’t have time for that. Of course you understood, food was energy for the brain, if you all wanted to keep going then you needed it. But you also didn’t have the time to take over everyone else’s cooking shift just because he wanted to have a nice meal. Maybe you needed a little break, just ten minutes and then you would return and you would make sure that you would get over this issue so that you could move to the next. You didn’t have the chance to waste your time on this, you had to move forward, otherwise you would get in trouble. The constant time pressure was pressing heavily on top of your shoulders, as if it was always trying to remind you of the fact that you could fail, that you had to be at your best. While pushing you chair back you reached out towards the book on your desk, deciding to take it with you instead of leaving it here.

Maybe it was a good idea to change your environment for a moment, maybe that would help you to see things differently. With the book inside of your hands you marched down the hallway, got downstairs and found your way towards the kitchen. You had been here for so long now that you could find your way around this dorm with your eyes closed. It was a nice feeling, to belong somewhere, to feel at home. To your surprise the lights were on when you arrived in the kitchen, and you saw a figure sitting at its usual spot at the kitchen table. Suddenly you stopped in the middle of the doorway, feeling like an intruder for stepping into his personal space while he was trying to concentrate. Your feet had already taken a step back in order to return towards your room and leave him by himself, but you were stupid enough to bump into the door, making a dull sound travel through the room when your back hit the wood. Immediately his head shot up from his papers and his eyes flew in your direction, his eyebrows were meeting each other in the middle of his face and his look seemed even darker than it usually was. But you could see he was just as tired as you were, maybe that had something to do with the dark look of his features. “I’m sorry