Tsukishima Kei

November 4th, Wednesday. 7:18 PM.

Tick tock. Tick tock.

The clock in the college library ticks somewhere in the background, the sound seeming to grow louder with each hour. What hour is it anyway? 7 PM. Thankfully, the Tōhoku University Library is open 24 hours, accommodating the dead-eyed students hunched over textbooks, along with their barely-functioning kidneys after one too many cups of coffee. No need to rush.

Tsukishima is currently re-reading a section about mitochondrial DNA, his eyes scanning over the lines of text. He can see he’s reading letters, maybe even words, but they refuse to form any coherent sentences at this point. He rubs his eyes under the glasses, letting out a small sigh.

There’s an assignment due in two days for the evolutionary biology class. A 10 page essay, paired with a short presentation. He leans back in his seat with a small grunt. My back feels like shit.

He side-glances at the figure sitting next to him, his partner for the assignment. He wasn’t ever one for group projects. They’re not awful; just… okay, at best. Tsukishima prefers to work alone, simple as that.

They’ve been at it for, what, 4 hours now? But the essay won’t write itself, the presentation slides won’t poof into existence on their own. And so, Tsukishima rubs a weary hand over his face.

Evolutionary biology is a hell of a course. He'd rather do the lick test on a fossil, the one that geology freaks love doing, than have to retake this class. But when he looks down at the page once more, it's all a word salad. Tsukishima sighs again, a bit sharper this time, closing the textbook abruptly. Go to hell ‘hypervariable regions’, or whatever the fuck that was called.

“Done. I’m so done for today.” He says, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back to look at the library ceiling.