Chapter 380 - 245: Final Exam and Stereotypes
Mid-December. New Heaven, Yale University, outside the Sterling Memorial Library.
The dark, Gothic facade looked classical in the summer, but in winter, it became gloomy and somber, like a giant beast devouring human souls.
An East Coast wind, carrying icy pellets from the first snow, scraped across the flagstone path like blades.
The brass trash can at the library entrance, meant for waste paper, was now overflowing. It was piled high not only with oversized black coffee cups and Red Bull cans, but you could even spot three empty vodka miniatures crammed into the gaps at the edge.
Suddenly, an ashen hand, its blue veins bulging, shoved a crumpled, silver blister pack into a gap in the trash.
A look closer would reveal the faint, black letters on the back: Adderall. It was a "smart drug" used by over eighty percent of students in these circles, originally a prescription medication for attention deficit disorder.
The hand belonged to a white guy in a hoodie. Without hesitating, he tossed the last pale blue pill from his palm into his mouth and washed it down with some bottled water.
He’d timed his purchase perfectly. He would run out right after his exams, with none to spare.
After swallowing the pill, he turned and headed for the library’s heavy oak doors.
By the time he reached the entrance, his back—hunched from three consecutive all-nighters—began to slowly straighten.
By the time he reached the ground floor, his once-vacant, unfocused eyes gradually began to gleam with a new alertness.
On the second floor, the rustling of pages and the clicking of keyboards seemed magnified several times over. He glanced around, looking for an empty desk.
Soon, his eyes landed on a slender figure in a secluded corner. Her back was to him as she typed, her blond hair spilling down like a sheet of golden silk.
The guy walked over and asked if there was a free seat.
The girl who turned to face him looked exhausted, but she was still more beautiful than any celebrity he’d ever seen.
The guy was a little surprised. He hadn’t expected to find a girl this beautiful at Yale.
’But beauty, however captivating, is just a pretty skull. It’s nowhere near as fascinating or objective as math and physics.’
So, after politely asking and being told the seat was taken, he left to find another spot.
’The drug won’t last forever. I have to make every second count.’
After the guy left, Elizabeth felt her hard-won concentration shatter. Annoyed, she pulled off her headphones and cleared the moisture from her ears.
She glanced at the wall of thick books before her, giving a huge stretch as she cleaned out her ear.
Just as she was about to take a sip of water and get back to work on her final presentation—*Western Art History and the Patronage System of the Renaissance*—which had a rapidly approaching deadline, another sudden blast of cold air swept in from behind her.
"Guess who!"
A figure in a pink down jacket, smelling of perfume and the icy chill of melted snow, suddenly lunged at her from behind, and two cashmere-gloved hands clamped over Elizabeth’s eyes.
The sudden weight made Elizabeth lurch forward, her body tensing instinctively. But upon hearing the familiar voice, she let out a soft laugh.
"Anya, stop it," Elizabeth said softly, batting away the "paws" covering her eyes.
Anya giggled and let go, squeezing into the chair next to Elizabeth like a Ragdoll cat begging for attention.
"You’re not done yet?" Anya complained in a whisper, pulling off her beanie and shaking out her short black hair. She reached out to pinch Elizabeth’s cheek. "Li Wei and I are already DONE with our parts!"
Elizabeth dodged Anya’s sudden pinch, tidying the reference books in front of her. "Oh really?" she said quietly. "Did *you* two finish your parts, or did *Li Wei* finish them? The presentation is tomorrow; we need to take it seriously."
"Alright, so Li Wei gave me a *little* bit of help," Anya said, making a pinching gesture with her fingers. "How much do you have left? I can help you."
Li Wei, also carrying a backpack, sat down across from the two of them. He unzipped his bag and took out his laptop. "I might be too busy to make the group meetings from here on out," he said. "I’ll handle the Q&A at the end to cover everything."
Anyone who’d done enough presentations knew that student work was always full of holes when scrutinized by professors.
So, after each group member presented their part, the one responsible for the final Q&A session with the professors was usually under the most pressure.
Elizabeth nodded. Just as she was about to speak, a sharp, abrupt clanging of metal rang out. She was heard before she was seen.
An Indian girl with wheat-colored skin and deep-set features sauntered over at a leisurely pace.
"Neha," Anya said, frowning as she watched the girl deliberately pull out a chair. "Where’s your part? The deadline was ten last night. We still haven’t merged everything."
"Oh, Anna, take a deep breath. Don’t be so anxious," Neha said, nonchalantly pulling out her computer. "I just sent it to the group chat. Sent it over a minute ago."
’She’s even more of a poser than I am,’ Elizabeth thought, ignoring the Indian Brahmin girl. She quickly downloaded the file and merged the four PowerPoint presentations.