Chapter 16 - XVI (1/2)
THE ASSHAT WAS QUIET the entire time they were discussing the contents of the group report and how to report it next week.
Which was weird and relieving at the same time.
Laia stole a glance at the asshat as subtly as she could. The asshat was still rubbing his temples with his fingers and groaned every now and then, implying that his headache didn't go away yet.
Shane seemed to notice the asshat's discomfort when the asshat's breathing became quite heavy. She stops editing their PowerPoint and fishes something from inside her bag which ended up being some sort of oil inside a small bottle.
The girl hands it to the asshat. ”Maybe this can help?”
Asshat takes one look at it and accepts it. ”Thanks,” He replies, as he places the bottle near his nose, presumably to smell it.
Shane nods and says nothing else. The two girls continued on to their individual tasks while the asshat continued smelling the oil and applying a small amount on his temples as well in complete silence which bugged Laia to no end.
However, she tried her best not to show it. She doesn't want the asshat to think that she's worried because she's definitely not!
”... what do you think of this, Laia?”
Laia blinks and turns to Shane, who was looking at her with curiosity. Probably because Laia seemed to be distracted by something (or someone).
”You okay? You seem distracted,”
Shane had the audacity to cock her head to side subtly as if implying that Laia was distracted by the asshat currently asleep on the couch.
Or maybe he's just closing his eyes. Laia doesn't know.
And she doesn't care.
”Don't worry about Samuel, he will surely help later when his headache subsides,” Shane suddenly leans in close and whispers, ”If it ever does,”
Laia snorts, covering her amusement behind the back of her hand. She stole a glance at the asshat and came up with the conclusion that he was indeed asleep, as he did not react or anything to what Shane whispered.
After sharing a few more laughs together, Laia decided to start finalizing the script she made based on the PowerPoint that Shane created from the research that the asshat gathered.
At least he wasn't completely useless, Laia thinks, as she once again looks at the asshat who now had his left hand covering his eyes.
Laia nudges Shane using her shoulder, pointing to the balcony. ”I'm going to practice my lines there for a bit,” She closes her laptop after sending the file to her phone. ”You coming?”
Shane takes one glance at their other groupmate sleeping and nods. ”Well, I don't want things to be awkward when he wakes up and sees me doing nothing so definitely.”
Not that he was any help except for the research, Laia wanted to retort but stopped herself with a mental facepalm. At least he placed his credit card on the coffee table and allowed them to use it to buy food if they like.
The two girls walked towards the balcony, opting to close the sliding door behind their back to ensure that the asshat wouldn't be awakened from their voices.
Laia clears her throat and starts relaying her script as if she was already reporting in front of the class. She kept her back straight, hands moving around freely whenever she needed to imply something, and eyes never leaving Shane who she thought of as their adviser for the meantime.
After approximately ten minutes, Laia sighs heavily and bows deeply. ”Was it good?”
The girl in front of her was about to say something when the sliding door was pulled to its opposite direction and the asshat peeks in. ”Don't move your hands too much, it may distract the audience from what you are saying,”
Laia grumbles but says nothing. Maybe she did had way too many hand motions but nobody ever complained about it before.
A lingering thought started to creep inside her mind that the reason why nobody complained or said anything about it before is that they didn't want to offend her.
And apparently, the asshat currently on her left side didn't give a single fuck if he offends her or not.
”And also don't speak too quickly,” The asshat grabs Laia's phone which she was holding without asking for permission, and frowns. ”Honestly, what kind of model is this phone--”
”Back to the topic please,” Laia interjects, not in the mood for the asshat to complain about her cellphone model for no reason.
The asshat enters the balcony as well as it wasn't enough for him to just peek. Laia liked it better when he was just peeking.
Or more like Laia liked it better when he wasn't there at all.
”Anyways,” The asshat continued to read the script that Laia wrote earlier, frowning and grimacing at it. Laia wanted to kick him in the balls again. ”This script sucks. I'll make a new one later and send it to you,”
Shane's eyes widened and she interrupts. ”But it was already more than great--”
The asshat turns to her with an unimpressed look. ”Probably for you,” It was obvious that he was implying something offensive and it made their other groupmate deflate. ”But not for me, our adviser, and our other classmates who are expecting more than this. It honestly looks like a kindergartener wrote this script,”
Laia internally had to repeatedly say to herself that being incarcerated at such a young age isn't worth it. But the asshat was continuously pushing all her buttons.
She sighs heavily in an attempt to calm herself and glares at the asshat. ”You don't have to be rude. Anyway, I don't need you to revise the script I made,” She grabs her phone back.
The girl notes to herself to sanitize it the moment they walk outside the balcony. She did spot a container of sanitizer near the dining room earlier.
”I can do it by myself later,”
Asshat rolls his eyes. ”Even if you rewrite or revise it, it will still not be up to my standards,” Laia's brows furrowed as the last ounce of her patience disappeared. ”Just let me do it.”