Read The Cheating's Mutual :: Chapter 20: Weekly Routine

Monday arrived the way Mondays always did — without warning and with too much to do.

Qinny's planner, which she maintained with the optimistic energy of someone who believed in systems and the slightly chaotic energy of someone who routinely ignored them, informed her that she had:

One tutorial submission due Wednesday.

One group assignment presentation due Friday.

Three chapters of reading she was already behind on.

And an Entrepreneurship lecture at 2pm that she shared with, among others, approximately three people she had very complicated feelings about.

She looked at the planner.

Closed it.

Made herself a coffee she didn't need and sat at her desk with the focused energy of someone about to be extremely productive.

She was not extremely productive.

She was, however, on her phone within eleven minutes.

Qinny
okay so I have a presentation on Friday and my group has done collectively nothing

Qinny
I am the group

Qinny
I have become the group

The reply came after a few minutes. Longer than usual. He was probably already in the library.

Dorian
What's the topic?

Qinny
sustainable business models for SMEs in Malaysia

Qinny
i have twelve slides

Qinny
none of them have actual proper content

Dorian
So basically everything is still in general context?

Qinny
yes dorian that is correct

Dorian
I have a similar case study framework from last semester that might help.

Qinny
wait seriously??

Dorian
Yes. Send them to me so I can have a look.

Qinny
......okay

She sent them.

He sent back a commented version forty minutes later with a suggested structure, three recommended case studies, and a note at the bottom of slide four that said "this slide is doing nothing. delete it."

Qinny snorted, staring at the note.

Qinny
thank you for the help senior!!

Dorian
Good luck. I have a report due tomorrow.

Qinny
oh damn

Qinny
good luck too then

Dorian
I don't need luck.

Qinny
well break a leg then?

Dorian
Physically or metaphorically?

Qinny
ha ha veeery funny

She rolled her eyes at her phone.

Put it down.

Opened her slides.

Actually started working.

Tuesday passed in a blur of readings she half-finished and a tutorial that went fine and a group chat for the Friday presentation that was somehow both active and completely useless simultaneously.

Everyone she knew were either holed up in their rooms or at the library to meet their deadlines. Even Brennen who was usually busy with football had to pause his routine and focus on his academics this week.

Her phone was filled with chats of assignments and lecturers reminding everyone of the due dates, only a good morning text from Brennen and nothing else from anyone else. Second day of the week, she noticed the quiet in the same way you noticed a sound you'd gotten used to when it stopped. Not dramatically. Just — there, and then less there.

Wednesday was Entrepreneurship.

2pm. Lecture Hall C. Combined class — final semesters and second-last semester students from across the university, which in practice meant almost 100 students in the same hall, one lecturer who spoke with the specific energy of someone who had given this exact lecture fourteen times and was powering through on sheer professionalism.

Qinny arrived first.

This was intentional.

She'd learned from the training field that arriving first meant she could establish herself before anyone else had to make decisions about where to sit. She picked a spot in the middle of the third row — neutral, unremarkable — put her bag on the seat beside her for Maya, a bottle for the other seat for Brennen, and opened her laptop with the focused expression of someone who was absolutely here for the learning.

Maya arrived four minutes later.

Dropped into the saved seat.

Looked at Qinny.

"Bless you for saving me a seat," she said.

"You're welcome."

"Surprised you're earlier than usual though," Qinny added.

"Only because I was nearby already."

Qinny scoffed, turned back to her laptop.

Maya opened her notebook, clicked her pen, and said nothing else.

Which lasted approximately ninety seconds before—

"They're here; Yris and Dorian," Maya said, in a tone of complete innocence.

Qinny did not look up.

"Why wouldn't they," she said. "We share a class."

"Okay girl, just telling you."

Qinny kept a neutral expression as Maya peeked at her, then let her be.

Brennen soon arrived on Qinny's other side, dropping into the seat with the easy warmth he always had, arm briefly around her shoulders, murmured "hey babe" before settling in. Qinny turned to smile at him, patting him on his lap.

Across the walkway in the same row as them were Dorian, Yris and some other students she couldn't recognize but seemed friends with Yris as she observed them conversing, while Dorian being his usual quiet self.

The lecturer started.

After the lecture, the row dispersed in the usual shuffle.

Brennen got stopped by someone from the football team. Yris was on her phone.

Dorian passed by her on his way out.

Didn't stop.

"Don't forget to delete slide four," he said.

"Already done," she said.

He kept walking.

That was it.

That was all.

And somehow that was enough to carry the rest of her Wednesday.

The rest of the week passed the way busy weeks did — in a blur of deadlines and dining hall meals and late nights that felt productive at midnight and significantly less so at 8am.

The presentation happened on Friday.

It went well. Every other assignments had positive outcomes as well. So she rewarded herself by getting to her room immediately to compensate her lack of sleep.

After a quick shower, Qinny has a quick call with Brennen, updating each other on their day before saying their early goodnights, and texted Dorian after.

Qinny
btw my presentation went well 👍

Dorian
Good.

Dorian
Congratulations, Qinnara.

Qinny
take some credit, you helped me

Dorian
It was your hardwork. The credit's all yours.

She stared at the text.

Put her phone down.

And after approximately four seconds of resting her eyelids, she was off to snoozeville.

Saturday morning Qinny woke up without an alarm for the first time in two weeks.

She lay there for a moment in the quiet, no deadlines pressing, nothing immediately due, the specific luxury of a morning that belonged entirely to her.

She thought about the week.

The presentation. The tutorial. The three chapters she'd actually finished by Thursday. The Entrepreneurship lecture and Dorian walking past saying slide four like it was a goodbye and a joke and something else simultaneously.

She thought about how different this week had felt from the weeks before it.

Not worse. Just — quieter. More ordinary. Like the story had taken a breath.

She reached for her phone.

No new messages.

She opened her chat with Dorian.

Their last exchange was yesterday afternoon. She'd gone to sleep without replying to his text and now it was sitting there, warm and simple, the last thing in the thread.

She typed.

Qinny
i passed out on the text, soz

The reply came faster than she expected for a Saturday morning.

Dorian
I assumed so.

Dorian
How's your Saturday.

Qinny
i just got up lol

Dorian
It's ten thirty.

Qinny
it's saturday thooo

Dorian
I suppose that's an acceptable excuse.

Qinny
dorian

Dorian
What.

Qinny
GO BACK TO SLEEP OR SUMTIN