nixanimus
Her fingers drummed on the surface of her desk in time with each tick tick of the clock, the sound muffled by the gloves worn on her hands. But in her mind, all she could hear was the frantic pounding of her heart that turned her insides black and blue.
She’d known she should’ve stayed home that day. Overnight her family’s company had spiraled; their numbers dropped with no explanation, multiple deals fell through, and the board of advisors who ran things while she was away were too busy arguing amongst themselves to actually fix anything. The slew of problems had kept her up well past when the first light of dawn invaded her office.
But, foolishly, Elsa had figured that missing class would be more suspicious than the bags under her eyes. And now, as the pressure built in her chest, overflowing to fill her lungs and making each breath almost painful, she realized the gravity of her mistake.
Everyone in that room was in danger.
Time seemed to go by slower the more she fought to keep the magic contained. Her teeth grit together, the instructions to their newest group project that the professor recited long ago forgotten. Wild blue eyes stared at the clock, willing it to go faster, watching the second hand go around and around in its cruel, agonizingly slow dance.
“Take some time at the end of class to get with your partner,” the professor was saying with such monotony that half the class was already asleep, “set up some outside-class time to work on your presentations. Come next week with an idea to pitch for approval. That’s all for today.”
The instant those words were spoken, Elsa leapt from her seat with such force that the chair screeched backwards along the floor. Every pair of eyes in the room shot to her, but, considering that she felt she might explode at any moment, she didn’t have the time to worry about their stares.
Without even gathering her things, the blonde rushed from the room, tightly clenched hands pressed to her chest.
