ee didn't see Milo the next morning. He assumed Milo died and that he'd find, "Man Dies After Orgasm, Body Found Wrapped in Hammock in the Bay," printed in the newspapers. However, an hour after his shift started, Milo messaged him the following: "Deceased and trapped with the team this morning. See you at Kappa when we get back?" to which he replied, "RIP your pants dude."

Lee snickered at Milo's reply to his snarky comment. He pocketed his phone as he set back to work at the cash register. It was Friday and he was due to work through the morning before OChem, but with the game, he'd be missing the first half of the Hunters' game against Eugene, Oregon. It was a long bus ride which meant Milo was likely on a coach bus through Northern California to get there and back.

Their exam results were in and, at the end of their Friday lecture, Rushil followed Lee up to the front table where all of the tests were safeguarded by their respective TAs. Alex had a stack of test packets in their hand and, when Lee stepped up, they offered an encouraging smile as they presented the packet. For Rushil, Alex gave him a wink and said, "You guys are sticking around after, right?"

"Yeah. We have to finish the prep for lab on Monday," Rushil said. When he hurried over to where Lee had his packet pressed flat to his chest, Rushil let out a deep breath and said, "Shit—makes you feel like you did terrible and Pika's gotta smack some sense into us."

"I doubt their brains would be passed on with one smack," Lee sighed. He was convinced that any TA for OChem had secretly sold their souls to the devil.

They raced up the steps back to their lecture seats. The hall was clearing out all except for students inquiring about their test results with the professor and the TAs. After dropping down into their designated seats, Rushil turned to face Lee and said, "Ready?"

Lee sucked in a deep breath and nodded. "Ready. One—two—three."

They flipped their test packets over and plucked off the post-it note over their scores.

Lee's sinking heart soared in an instant. Flying colors, he thought to himself at the sight of a low 90 on his paper.

"Eight-five, not bad, not bad at all," Rushil hummed, pleased. "How about you?"

"Good. I passed," Lee said with a firm nod. He flipped through the packet so the score turned to the back. He searched for the questions he got wrong and together they compared their answers. They made notes, correcting their wrong answers, and aiming for a perfect score next time around.

After that was said and done and they turned over to their lab assignment, Alex was back from handing out test scores. They slapped their hands on Lee and Rushil's shoulders, causing them both to leap in their seats.

"Way to go, guys," they said. "After the last lab, you two are in the top half of the class."

"Well, I guess this is evidence that my deal with Satan was worth it," Lee said.

Rushil slapped him on the arm and laughed. "When did you do that and why didn't you refer Satan to me?" he said.

"Just before I emerged from the womb Satan came up to me and said: 'Now is the time for you to decide whether or not you'll pass organic chemistry,'" he said, his lab papers to his heart and his eyes facing forward. He glanced back at Rushil, who was just barely containing his laughter. "So to answer you: I was -2 minutes old."

Alex had their things packed up and stood with an amazed, "Wow, this explains so much about you. On that lovely note, I'll be off."

"Oh—hold on," Lee said. He went to his phone where he opened up the invite Olivia sent him. He held it out to Alex and Rushil, who leant over to squint at it. "There's a party going on tonight at Kappa. You guys should come."

"How'd you get invited to Kappa?" Rushil said.

"Olivia," Lee said, but in the back of his mind, Roland and Milo were there, too. "It'd be more fun if I went with people I actually know, though."

"I'm not allowed to party with students," Alex sighed. "I pretty much relinquished frat parties when I took this position."

"Then our first goal after the OChem final is to take you out to Sigma Alpha," Rushil said. He gestured to Lee as he added, "Since, I mean, after spring semester, we'll probably never see Milo again. We gotta milk his Sigma privileges."

"Please never use the verb 'milk' in correlation with Park," Lee sighed, rubbing his temple.

"That'd be fun, though. I'd be down for that," Alex said. "I'll be swamped with grading until the twentieth of December. Are you two going home for winter break?"

"Hell no," Lee said.

"We're supposed to be out of the dorms until after New Years," Rushil said. "I'll be going home to SoCal."

Lee hadn't bothered to think about Winter Break because he knew that crushing anxiety would come with it. So when Alex left them and Rushil directed their attention back to OChem, Lee was trying desperately to ignore the nagging sensation in the back of his head that told him he couldn't afford an AirBnb for all of Winter Break.

I have another three weeks to worry about it, he told himself. Save it for after finals. Who knows—I might be able to work something out with Ezra. It was unlikely, but the university might exempt him from the rules of the room checks over Winter Break.

It was on his mind even as a janitor came into the lecture hall and told them he was closing up the room for the night. Lee thought about it as he and Rushil left the building together, considering his chances with Ezra. If he could convince Ezra, then he could just stay out of the dorms all break for cleaning and room checks. Ezra would let him into the building at night and in the morning, he'd be off. He'd have to pay for all of his meals, but it would be better than going back home for break.

Sen probably knows I'm plotting something, he realized. Sen had lived in the dorms one year and therefore knew the regulations. He wondered if Winter Break would begin and Sen, knowing that Lee was panicking, would be out front with the car trunk open for his luggage to drag him home.

He wouldn't let that happen.

So when he and Rushil arrived at Manley Hall, Lee dropped Rushil off in his room before heading down the hall to talk with Ezra. He only needed to knock once before Ezra was swinging the door open.

"My liege," Ezra said with a low bow.

"I need your help," Lee said. "Can I come in?"

"Of course."

Ezra sat him in the bean bag across from the Live Laugh Love wall. There was a new addition, which Lee knew given the fact that it wasn't even on the wall yet. He picked it up from the stool in front of him and read it off. "'Laugh. Live, laugh, love, well, often, much.' What the hell is this?"

"Oh, some kids down the hall found it at an antique store. I think it was printed wrong, but it counts," Ezra said with a grunt as he collapsed into his desk chair and said, "Tell me: What is on your mind, my dear Asano."

"I can't go home for break," Lee said. "I was wondering if I could stay in my dorm. I know the dining hall won't be open and y'all are doing room checks but—"

"Whoa, slow down there, partner," Ezra said, waving his hands. "I can't—I'm sorry, dude, but I can't let you stay in the dorms. Ya know we cut the electricity to save energy over break. I'm not even staying at Manley—we've all got training at some resort in San Francisco."

Lee tried not to slump in defeat, but he felt it in his bones. His backup plan was to ask Rushil, but he didn't want to depend on Rushil any more than he already was. Rushil was the one to recommend that they room together over next year—what if Lee stayed at Rushil's moms' house and they wound up hating him? Would they let Rushil sign a lease with Lee?

"Oh, okay," Lee said in the calmest voice he could manage. "I'll figure something out."

"I can ask the head RA if there's anything we can do. It sounds like students who can't go home for break are given discounted rates at nearby hotels. I know it's not ideal, but..."

"I understand," Lee said with a firm nod. "I'll be fine. Thanks, though."

Lee stood up then to leave. Ezra jumped up after him and, before he could leave, Ezra tugged him back by the hand. Lee faced him and the pitying look on Ezra's face that said, "If I could break the rules for you, I would."

Lee gave him a pat on the arm and said, "I got this, dude. Don't worry about me."

"Okay," Ezra agreed with a nod. "I'll message you once I know anything more."

With that, Lee left and began to formulate what he'd say to Rushil. It took him the entire walk from OChem to decide on what to say to Ezra, so he expected nothing less for Rushil. When he returned to his room, he pushed it to the back of his mind and threw his arms up, saying, "Ready for Kappa?"