Chapter 279

Chapter 279: Finals Week

Between the upcoming plan to stop the Luna as well as finals week, I was stressed to say the least. I

didn’t want anyone to have to die, but I knew that there was no other way to stop her. Even if we

somehow managed to turn her human with the antidote in the same way that we had turned Selena,

there was still a chance that the Luna’s genetically engineered rogues would survive. Besides, part of

me didn’t even believe that the antidote would work on the Luna. She was too powerful; I had

discovered that within five minutes of meeting her. The way that she had been able to force all of us to

the ground and inflict us with so much agony with just a single look told me that she was even more

powerful than I ever could have comprehended. No one knew the full extent of her powers, and maybe

by now it was already too late. Maybe it was already over when it began.

But even though I knew that the Luna would have to die for us and the rest of the human world to

survive, I didn’t want Enzo to have to be the one to kill her. It was my plan, and my father who we were

saving, so I felt as though it should have been me. I needed to figure something else out, but with finals

taking up all of my time, I didn’t have time to come up with a better plan. And with time ticking faster

than I wanted it to, I felt hopeless.

As the week went on, the effects of my final exams began to take their toll — just as they did with

everyone else on campus. By Thursday, however, I was thankfully on my very last exam of the

semester.

I woke up even earlier that morning after a night of hardly any sleep thanks to all of the stress from

everything. I crawled out of bed shortly after the sun rose and spent the remainder of the morning

before my chemistry exam studying in the library and drinking too much coffee. Thankfully, though, I felt

prepared — and hopped up on caffeine — after spending the morning studying, and I went to my exam

with confidence.

By the time my exam was over, I headed over to the infirmary to work for a little while to keep myself

occupied while I waited for all of my results. The dean still hadn’t found anyone to fill in Tiffany’s

position, so Jessica and I as well as a few other medical students picked up the slack to make sure that

the infirmary was always open. I was looking forward to working my shift, and although no one came in

aside from a couple of students complaining of colds, it still felt good to be a bit distracted.

Eventually, Enzo came in to keep me company. He had been quiet ever since I told him about my plan,

but he was supportive and worked hard to make preparations while I was busy with exams. I kept

telling myself that all of this would be over soon, and then I could see him smile again without anything

getting in our way. At least, that was what I hoped.

“Did you get your results yet?” he asked, setting down a coffee cup and a paper-wrapped bagel

sandwich for me.

I shook my head and bit my lip. “No,” I replied, feeling my heart race just at the thought of getting my

results. The results of this semester would dictate whether or not I went on to the medical school

program or whether I would stay in pre-med for another semester, so I was nervous to say the least.

Enzo smiled a bit and pulled me in for a hug. “You’ll do great,” he said gently. “You’re the smartest

person I know. I’ll bet you aced all of your exams.”

Enzo’s words were comforting, and I lifted myself up on my tiptoes to give him a kiss while I wrapped

my arms around his neck. Of course, in our usual fashion, our kiss led to more… And soon, we were

pressed up against the back wall of the infirmary, making out intensely.

It would have gone further, except the door suddenly banged open and Jessica came running in with a

wild look in her eyes.

“Nina, have you — oh, sorry, am I interrupting?”

Enzo and I quickly separated ourselves and straightened our clothes, our faces red from being caught

almost having sex in the infirmary. I shook my head and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “No,” I

lied. “What’s up?”

Jessica grinned widely, then held up her phone.

“Check your student portal.”

My eyes widened. “Are the results up?” I asked, to which Jessica nodded excitedly. I hurriedly pulled

my phone out of my pocket and tapped furiously on the screen to pull up my student portal. I opened

the page that led to my final grades for the semester, then froze and slowly looked up at Enzo and

Jessica. My hand shook a bit as I held my phone, but Jessica’s encouraging look gave me the strength

to open my results and read them.

As I read, I clamped my hand over my mouth and felt tears come to my eyes.

“What?” Jessica said, rushing toward me and yanking my phone out of my hand. “Did you pass?” She

stared down at my phone for a moment, reading my results, and then looked back up at me with an

even wider grin than before.

“Straight A’s,” I whispered. “I’m going to medical school next semester.”

Saying it out loud made me raise my voice, and I couldn’t help but jump for joy and squeal excitedly

with Jessica while we hugged tightly. When I looked up from over Jessica’s shoulder, Enzo was

standing there with a smile on his face. I ran up to him and threw my arms around his neck, kissing him

deeply.

“I got in, too,” Jessica said as she dabbed away her tears of happiness with her index finger. “We’ll be

starting medical school together, just as it should be.”

I couldn’t help but smile. Three years prior, I had met Jessica thanks to our first pre-med class together.

And now, we would be starting medical school together as best friends. I couldn’t be happier…

But at the same time, my smile faded — because part of me wondered if we would even make it to next

semester, or if the Luna would get her way before that could happen. I wanted to believe that our plan

would work out the way we wanted it to and that we would save everyone, but at the same time, we

were just a bunch of kids fighting against forces that very well may have been completely out of our

control… And that terrified me beyond all belief.

I looked up at Enzo then, and the look on his face seemed to give away the fact that he knew what I

was thinking. He put his hand on my shoulder and gave it a squeeze, then shot me a gentle smile.

“Put on something warm,” he said. “I’m taking you somewhere to celebrate.”