Mistakes of a Perfectionist

Mistake Twelve - Falling Asleep in Class

Ms. Huan was back that Monday, dressed in her usual extravagant fashion. She sat at her desk as Cameron entered the classroom and stopped him as he crossed by her. 

"Cameron?" She said, and he stopped and looked at her.

"Yes?" He noticed her stare, piercing, uncovering a part of him he would rather keep hidden. "I'm sorry, am I late? I didn't check the time-"

"No, no not at all," She paused, as if considering her words. "You just haven't stayed over in my office hours these past few weeks, and I was wondering if you understood all of the assignments?"

Cameron glanced at his desk, Luz resting their head on their desk beside it. "Yeah, I understand them. Thank you."

"Are you alright?"

"What?"

"You look tired."

"Oh," He pushed back his hair. "Yeah, I'm fine. Insomnia." 

She nodded understandingly, a gesture which informed him he was free, and he jolted back to his desk. Luz turned to look at him as he sat down, his bag clanging loudly on the tile. They were wearing an oversized jumper, with a large knight's helmet embroidered on the back. 

"Did you get a haircut?" Cameron asked, noticing the shortness of their previously unmanageable hair.

"Yeah," Their voice was slightly muffled by their jumper, so they lifted their head onto their palm. "So, how was Fight Club?"

"Sorry?"

"You know, the midnight fighting ring," Cameron stared at them blankly. "The only way you could look this much like shit."

"Flattering."

"Did you get any sleep?"

There's something to be said about the thickness of walls in Cameron's home. While movies and music fail to breach their muffling nature just fine, an argument between his parents does not. The honest answer was no, because even after the fighting ceased and his dad slept on the couch, he had still laid awake, now too restless to even consider sleeping.

"Some."

"Hm," Luz obviously didn't believe him, but they didn't press the matter. Instead, they laid their head back down and looked at the board as Ms. Huan began her lecture.

Cameron had always enjoyed Ms. Huan's class. The speed and precision of her speaking kept him focused and alert, and she always provided time for students to take notes. Today, however, he found that Ms. Huan's voice created the perfect ambience for a classroom nap. He fought to stay awake, forcing his head to remain up even when his eyes closed, and the world slipped into a dreamy mix of reality and fiction.

He only realized his error when his head loudly smacked against the desk.

He startled up, fully awake as he looked around at the many eyes now watching him. His nose and lip vibrated with pain, and he became horribly aware of a hot liquid racing down his face. He felt his nose, and his fingers came back partially covered in blood. 

"How in the world-" Luz began, but Cameron stood up, pushing his seat back violently. 

"Cameron?" Ms. Huan's voice was concerned, although a small smile pervaded her lips. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, sorry." He felt a hotness come into his cheeks as his classmates began to whisper around him. He was saved only when Luz stood up and grabbed his wrist.

"I'll take him to the nurse, Ms. Huan," They said, and she nodded as the two raced out of the classroom. 

They made it halfway down the hall before Cameron leaned against the wall and they stopped. His hand was clenched tightly around his nose where blood was pooling on the edge. He tilted his head back, only for a moment, before a rough hand grabbed him on the back of his neck and pulled his head down again.

"What are you doing? You can't put your head back; the blood goes down your throat." Luz said, still holding his head in place. "Let's go to the nurse."

"No, bathroom." Cameron said, slightly dizzy from the swiftness that they had pulled his head.

They looked at him for a second, something unreadable in their eyes before they lead him to the bathroom. Inside, he doused his face with water and then shoved two paper towels up his nose. Luz wiped down the sink from the red still staining it, and then washed their own hands from the blood that had gotten on them.

"I'm sorry," Cameron said when he saw this, his voice nasally and stupid. 

"It's okay," They leaned against the counter beside him, and it was silent for a moment. "Do I have permission to make fun of you now?" They said finally.

"Why would you make fun of me?"

"So, is that a no?"

"It's a maybe," He looked at them. "Go on."

"Well," Luz paused. "I was going to say you look like - what's his name? - Peter!" They snapped their fingers. "You look like Peter from Hereditary."

"Never seen it."

They looked at him stunned. "Maybe you deserved to smash your face into that desk."

"Okay, fuck you too."

Luz laughed, and Cameron quickly looked away from them and replaced one of his bloody nostril towels. 

"No, but you look like when Peter smashed his face over and over on that desk in school," Luz continued, now gesturing with one hand. "All demonic and shit."

Cameron grinned. "I could be demonic."

"That would explain so much." 

He laughed, snorting suddenly and he felt the warm rush of blood race down his throat. He coughed, spitting out blood on the floor and choked for a second. He felt Luz yank the towels from his nose, and his choking stopped instantly. They were silent for a moment, and then began to laugh hysterically. 

It would be a lie to say that their laughing was not entirely inappropriate. Cameron had begun bleeding out of nose again, and the blood he had choked on now covered the front of his shirt and Luz's cheek. It was a gory sight, but when they saw themselves in the bathroom mirror, they only broke into more hysterics. If anyone had walked in on them, they would have immediately left and called an exorcist. 

Eventually they stopped and sat on the bathroom floor. Cameron replaced his towels for the third time, and Luz washed their face of the blood. They sat down beside him, looking at him, the unreadable expression coming back to their eyes.

"Are you sure you don't want to go to the nurse?" They asked, their voice soft and sympathetic. On anyone else he would've cringed away, but on Luz, sympathy came off as genuine. 

"Yeah, I'm okay, thanks." He responded, and they grinned at his nasal voice.

"Okay, follow up, would you maybe want to skip?"

Cameron blanched, anxiety wafting through his stomach. He had never skipped, but he felt too afraid to admit that. He looked at Luz, the smirk on their face apparent that he didn't need to tell them. They already knew.

"Like, one class?"

"I was thinking more, like, all day."

He sighed, and then met their smile.

"Fuck it, okay."