The Girl in the Hoodie is Mine

Ella POV:

Finally.

The last day of this stupid exam period, and I can almost taste freedom. Thank God.

These past few weeks have been pure torture—between transnights spent cramming, endless cups of coffee to stay awake, and my shifts at the diner, I feel like I’ve been living on autopilot. My brain? Absolutely fried. My body? Exhausted. My soul? Barely hanging on.

But this is it. One more paper and I’m through.

As I walk into the exam hall, I can’t help but feel a weird mix of relief and dread. Relief that this nightmare is almost over, but dread because this is the last hurdle, and knowing my luck, it’s going to be the hardest one yet.

I settle into my seat, trying to block out the murmurs of other students around me. Some are frantically flipping through their notes for last-minute cramming, while others sit with this calm, resigned look that says, "It’s in fate’s hands now." I’m somewhere in between—too tired to panic but not calm enough to feel confident.

The examiner starts handing out the question papers, and I take a deep breath, bracing myself.

The first question? Manageable.

The second? Eh, tricky, but doable.

And then I see it—a question so out-of-this-world ridiculous that I actually let out a soft groan. Of course. It wouldn’t be finals without some professor trying to mess with our heads.

By the time I finish, I feel like I’ve run a marathon—mentally, at least. My hand is cramped from all the writing, my brain feels like mush, and I’m pretty sure I answered at least one question with complete gibberish. But I don’t care anymore.

I hand in my paper and walk out of the hall, resisting the urge to collapse right there in the hallway. It’s over. Finally.

As I step outside, the sunlight hits me, and for the first time in weeks, I feel like I can breathe again. No more exams, no more late-night cramming, no more constant stress hanging over my head.

But then reality sets in.

Freedom means I don’t have any excuses anymore. No excuses to avoid thinking about things I’ve been trying to ignore. Like Jason.

I haven’t seen much of him these past few weeks—not that I’ve been going out of my way to find him. It’s been easier to focus on school and work and pretend he doesn’t exist. But now? Now I don’t have that luxury.

As much as I try to deny it, he’s been on my mind. His stupid sweet smile, the way he looks at me like I’m the only person in the room, the way he just... gets under my skin.

I shake my head, trying to push those thoughts away. Nope. Not today.

Today, I’m going to celebrate surviving finals. I’m going to go home, sleep for a million hours, and maybe—just maybe—figure out what the hell to do about Jason tomorrow.

I still had four hours before my shift. Four glorious, uninterrupted hours that I could spend catching up on the sleep I desperately needed before heading off to work. That was the plan, at least.

Dragging my exhausted body across campus, I felt the heavy weight of finals finally starting to lift. My mind was already on my bed, imagining the sweet relief of collapsing into it.

But of course, the universe had other plans.

As I turned the corner, I heard someone calling out.

"Ella!"

I kept walking, pretending I didn’t hear it. Maybe if I ignored them, they’d just give up and move on.

No such luck.

The voice came again, more persistent this time. "Ella!"

Ugh.

I kept my eyes forward, willing them to just leave me alone. But then I heard it—the unmistakable sound of footsteps picking up pace, jogging toward me.

Seriously? Can’t a girl catch a break?

"Ella!"

This time, the voice was closer. Familiar. Too familiar.

Fuck.

Jason.

I stopped mid-step, letting out a sigh of defeat as I turned around to face him.

Sure enough, there he was, jogging toward me with that stupid grin plastered on his face, looking like he didn’t have a care in the world. How was it possible for someone to look so annoyingly energetic after exams?

"What do you want, Jason?" I asked, trying to sound as unbothered as possible.

He stopped a few feet away, hands on his knees as he caught his breath. "Wow, no ’hello’? Not even a ’how are you’?" he teased, straightening up.

I crossed my arms, raising an eyebrow at him. "I’m tired, Jason. What do you want?"

He ran a hand through his hair, his grin softening into something a little less smug. "I just... I didn’t get a chance to talk to you after the exam. Thought I’d see how you’re holding up."

I blinked at him, caught off guard.

Of all the things I expected him to say, that wasn’t one of them.

"I’m fine," I said, a little too quickly. "Just tired. Like everyone else."

Jason nodded, his eyes scanning my face like he was trying to read something in it. "Yeah, you look like you’ve been burning the candle at both ends. Are you getting any sleep at all?"

Was he seriously trying to lecture me about sleep right now?

"Look, Jason," I said, cutting him off before he could launch into whatever thoughtful speech he had planned. "I have four hours before my shift, and I’m planning to spend it sleeping. So if this is about studying or the diner or whatever, can we talk later?" 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

He frowned, his playful demeanor fading slightly. "You’re working today? After finals?"

"Yes, Jason. Some of us don’t have the luxury of skipping shifts just because we’re tired."

His jaw tightened, and for a moment, he didn’t say anything.

"Alright," he said finally, his voice softer. "I won’t keep you. But... don’t push yourself too hard, okay? You don’t have to be Superwoman all the time."

I blinked at him, surprised again. Jason being... thoughtful? It wasn’t the first time, but it still caught me off guard.

"Thanks for the advice," I said, trying to sound indifferent. "But I’ll be fine."

He gave me a small, crooked smile, the kind that made my stomach do stupid flip-flops if I wasn’t careful.

"See you around, Ella," he said, stepping back.

I turned away before he could see the slight flush creeping up my cheeks.

Damn him and his stupid sweet side.

Sweet baby Jesus. The moment I stepped into my apartment, I didn’t bother with my usual routine of tossing my bag on the chair or even locking the door properly. Nope, my tired legs carried me straight to my bed like a moth drawn to a flame.

"Sweet love, I missed you," I murmured to my bed, the words coming out half-delirious.

I grabbed my pillow, fluffing it up as if it were an old friend I hadn’t seen in years. My blankets were still crumpled from the last time I barely crawled out of bed, but I couldn’t bring myself to care. They looked like heaven.

For a brief second, I debated setting an alarm. Four hours. That was all I had before my shift at the diner. But just the thought of hearing that cursed noise made my head throb. Nope, I’d risk it. If I overslept and ended up late, so be it.

I kicked off my shoes, barely managing to wiggle out of my jeans before collapsing onto the mattress.

"Bliss," I muttered, burying my face in the pillow.

The world outside didn’t exist anymore. No exams. No diner. No Jason and his stupid sweet concern that was way too good at messing with my head. Just me and my bed.

Within seconds, sleep wrapped around me like a warm cocoon, pulling me under faster than I could think.

Okay, so apparently, I was a zombie when I decided not to set an alarm. Brilliant move, Ella. Now I was late—really late. It was dark outside, and my phone was blaring, its ringtone cutting through the fog of my half-asleep brain.

Groaning, I reached out, fumbling for my phone on the nightstand, knocking over a water bottle in the process. Great. Just great. Squinting at the screen, I saw Jason’s name flashing.

"Hello?" I answered, my voice hoarse with sleep.

"Hey, Ella, we’re at the diner, and you’re a no-show... Did something happen? Are you okay?" His voice was calm, but there was an edge of concern that made me feel even worse.

Still groggy and now completely panicked, I muttered, "I’m fine, Jason." Without giving him a chance to respond, I ended the call and bolted upright.

7 PM.

Seven freaking PM.

My heart sank as I scrambled to process just how bad this was. My boss was going to have a full-on meltdown. The kind where he’d lecture me in front of customers just to make an example.

But what could I do? I needed this job. Just a little longer—one more week, and I’d be done with school and this month so i could get my monthly salary. Then I could say goodbye to this soul-draining diner and its temperamental manager. I wouldn’t have to depend on that lousy paycheck anymore.

Especially since the Black Empire Company—my father’s biggest rival in business—had accepted my proposal. Partnering with them would mean breaking away from the shadow of my father’s so-called "perfect life." It was my ticket to independence, and the thought of it filled me with a sense of freedom I hadn’t felt in years.

But none of that mattered right now. Right now, I had a shift to get to, a boss to placate, and zero time to waste.

I jumped out of bed, hastily throwing on my uniform. It was wrinkled, but who cared? I didn’t even bother with makeup—there was no fixing the mess that was my face after hours of drooling on my pillow. I grabbed my bag, stuffed my phone inside, and darted out the door, hoping against hope that my boss might have mercy on me this once.

Yay. Another glorious day in the life of Ella.