Joseph listened to Doctor Sanborn's lectures absently, idly scribbling notes into his note book so it looked like he was paying attention. He didn't get nearly as much sleep as he would have liked last night, and while it was more than enough to get him through the day, he’d have try taking a nap once class was over. Like that was going to help.

At least he could see Alíz for a little bit when he got back to his dorm. She showed up out of the blue this morning and asked if she could crash there for a few hours around six in the morning. She looked just as tired as he felt and Joseph couldn’t say no. Hopefully that wasn’t against the rules, but he doubted anyone would report him for that. Or so he hoped.

Maybe he could see if Alíz would be available to meet up later tonight. It had been about a week since he met her and she had invited him over a few times since. Each and every time, he slept without much issue, although he did feel a little weak whenever he woke up for some reason. Still, the memories of her arms around him as he drifted off, her melodious voice, golden hair framing her soft face, and those swirling blue eyes of hers came back to him.

Maybe I should ask, Joseph thought. Hopefully she's free later tonight. There had been times where, to Joseph's disappointment, Alíz wasn't available and he'd spend yet another sleepless night tossing and turning. A part of him wondered if maybe he could have tried sleeping beside her for a few hours until class started, but decided against it. Didn’t want to risk missing class or disturbing Alíz when she was trying to get some rest.

The door abruptly opening snapped Joseph out of his thoughts. Emily came in, breathing heavily and interrupting Doctor Sanborn's lectures. “Miss Rodriguez,” he began, “please take your seat.”

Emily nodded, flashing an embarrassed smile that formed a lump in Joseph's throat. He watched from the corner of his eyes as she made her way over to her desk and sat down. Ever since he saw her first day of class, Joseph always thought she was beautiful.

Dark brown eyes the color of chocolate, short wavy brown hair framing a friendly face, thick square rimmed glasses. Most of all, …