Nolan squints at the board in the front of the room. His eyes are blurring badly, and he thinks it’s probably got something to do with the fact that he didn’t get any sleep last night, and the night before he’d just scraped by with six hours. The thing that makes it even worse today is his head. Along with the feeling of cotton balls stuffed through his brain, what started out as a little headache grew into a pounding pain in his head. He inaudibly groans, going back to copying important parts of the lecture onto his laptop.
Someone’s hand shooting into the air startles Nolan from his notetaking. A question fires off so quickly that he can’t hear half the words and the other half blurs together. The black-haired boy shakes his head, tuning out the teacher’s droning, fast-paced answer. Everything, it seems, has been moving quicker than usual. His hand trembles as he copies down the formulae listed, fingers moving like a spoon through molasses. A bead of sweat rolls down his neck and Nolan wonders why it’s so hot in the classroom. His laptop blurs out of focus for a moment, before he blinks wildly, erasing the mirage.
Nolan tries to straighten his spine but stops at the loud popping sound that accompanies the motion. He winces, head protesting at the volume of the cracking, but it looks like no one else heard the noise. The teacher’s voice fades into the background as he takes a deep breath, trying to soothe his frazzled nerves.