#noremray

Now, this is going on her third year sharing an apartment with Norman and Ray. It’s easy, really. They may not have similar majors, but they’ve lived together their whole lives anyway, so it’s purely familiar. But now that they’re adults and fundamentally neither of the boys have changed one bit, she knows exactly why she’s been woken up at this hour.

Groaning inwardly, she rolls her eyes and runs a hand through her hair before throwing her legs over the edge of her bed to stand up, bringing one of her blankets along without an ounce of remorse.

“Shit!” She hears Norman whisper, upon hearing her feet dragging against the carpet down the hall.

There’s a snort. “I told you that would wake her up.”

When she comes into view Norman smiles sheepishly at her and picks up the pot he dropped off the floor. There’s a pack of ramen on the counter next to the stove. Ray lifts his mug to his lips and flips a page in his textbook, nonchalant.

Emma glares at them the best she can, her eyes squinting from the brightness of the kitchen light. “Go to bed!” she yells. “You’re gonna get sick again if you don’t sleep. Both of you!”

“But I’ve got an exam in the morning,” Ray says.

“We both know you’ll be fine. Are you drinking coffee? At 4 am?” Emma asks, exasperated.

“I’m working on my lesson plan,” Norman tries. No excuse will work with Emma right now, he surely knows.

“I don’t care,” Emma whines. “Go. To. Bed!”

“I’m sorry I woke you, Emma,” Norman says, setting the pot on the stove and crossing the room to stand in front of her. He places a hand on top of her head, which is mostly covered by her blanket, and smiles. She just purses her lips.

“I’ll forgive you if you go to bed,” she says. “I mean it. You’ll get sick again, Norman. You can’t teach your class if you’re sick and you know that.”

“I do know that,” he says. “But I would have to be up in less than 2 hours anyway, so there’s no point in me sleeping now.”