The End of the Battle

The week had been a rollercoaster of stress, caffeine, and red bandanas. Between the Applied Mathematics exam, Psychology, and now Chemistry, I felt like my brain was about to collapse. But finally, there was only one last hurdle: the Chemistry exam. And, to be honest, it no longer mattered if I did well or not. I just wanted it to be over.

We were outside the lab where the exam would take place. Olivia was eating an energy bar while reviewing her notes with almost inhuman intensity. Lindsay, on the other hand, seemed calm, though I noticed she was nervously drumming her fingers on her notebook. As for me, well, I just wanted all of this to end.

"Ready for the final battle, Team Genius?" Olivia asked, raising her energy bar as if it were a sword.

"I don't know if I'm ready, but I'm definitely tired," I replied, rubbing my eyes.

Lindsay nodded.

"Same here. I'm so exhausted I can't even remember my own name."

Olivia looked at us with a mix of pride and smugness.

"Well, you should be grateful. If it weren't for my Master Plan for Academic Success, you probably would've failed all your exams. So technically, I saved your lives."

I raised an eyebrow.

"Oh really? And who was the one who played Eye of the Tiger in the middle of the Biology exam? I think that almost got us expelled."

"Details, details," Olivia said, brushing it off with a wave of her hand. "What matters is that we survived. And now we're going to shine in this exam like we always do."

Lindsay smiled.

"Shine… or at least pass. That counts as a victory too, right?"

We entered the lab and began the exam. The questions were complicated, as expected. There were problems on chemical equilibrium, stoichiometric calculations, and redox reactions. Although my neurons were practically fried, I managed to answer with what little mental energy I had left.

When I handed in my exam, I saw Lindsay and Olivia already outside, chatting animatedly. I walked over to them and let out a long sigh.

"It's over. We officially survived."

Olivia raised her arms triumphantly.

"I knew it! We're unstoppable! Now, we deserve an epic celebration."

Lindsay smiled, visibly relaxed.

"Finally, we can breathe. I don't know about you two, but I feel like I could sleep for an entire week."

"No way," Olivia responded. "We're not wasting tonight. There's a concert on campus, and we're going. We need to clear our minds and recharge before the holidays."

The atmosphere on campus was vibrant. The lights flashed in rhythm with the music, and the air was filled with laughter and conversation. We bought some snacks and drinks and sat at one of the tables near the stage.

"This is exactly what I needed," Lindsay said, biting into a cookie. "After all that academic madness, being able to just relax is amazing."

"You're telling me," I added. "For a moment, I thought I'd never see the sun again."

Olivia raised her soda glass as if it were a champagne flute.

"A toast to us, Team Genius. We survived finals thanks to my foolproof plan."

Lindsay and I exchanged an amused glance.

"Sure, Olivia," I said. "Totally thanks to you."

"Exactly," she replied without a hint of irony. "Now, let's talk about what's next. What are you doing for Christmas?"

Lindsay smiled widely.

"As you already know, we'll be spending Christmas with my family. My parents are excited to have you guys over. You know, the hospital will be closed that day, so it's the perfect opportunity to rest and enjoy."

Olivia nodded.

"Yes, and then we're going to Prague. I still can't believe we're actually doing it. It's like something out of a European romantic movie. Imagine: cobblestone streets, castles, hot coffee… and maybe even some snow."

"Sounds like a dream," I commented, taking a sip of my drink. "Though I still can't believe I agreed to go."

"Oh, come on, Sack," Olivia said, playfully elbowing me. "It's going to be amazing. Besides, we deserve a vacation after everything we've been through."

Lindsay nodded.

"That's true. And I think it'll be a good way to disconnect before we go back to school next semester. You know, recharge our batteries and start fresh."

"Speaking of starting fresh," Olivia said, leaning forward, "what do you think the new year has in store for us? I mean, we're already famous thanks to the TechMed publication. Maybe we should think about another innovative project. Something related to artificial intelligence and medicine."

Lindsay smiled.

"Not so fast, Olivia. First, let's enjoy these vacations. Then we can think about conquering the world."

We laughed, and for a moment, all the stress from the past few days seemed to fade away. The concert continued, and the music filled the air with contagious energy.

"You know," I said, looking at my friends, "despite everything, it's been a good week. Tough, but good."

Olivia smiled widely.

"Of course it's been good. I have the best team in the world. We're legendary."

Lindsay rolled her eyes but couldn't help smiling.

"Only you would say something like that, Olivia."

We stayed there for a while longer, enjoying the moment.

Before the night ended, we decided to stop by Megan's dorm, which she shared with Lindsay. We knocked on the door, and Megan opened it with a big smile.

"Hey, guys!" Megan greeted us from the doorway. "How did your exams go?"

"We survived," Olivia responded, walking in as if she owned the place. "Though clearly some of us stood out more than others."

Megan laughed as she returned to her suitcase, which was filled with clothes and books.

"I'm not surprised, Olivia. You've always been the queen of motivational drama."

Lindsay walked over to help her fold a jacket that was threatening to fall out of the suitcase.

"Where are you going this time, Megan?"

"To my uncle's house in Colorado," Megan replied, smiling. "Mountains, snow, and hot chocolate. Exactly what I need after this hellish week."

"Sounds great," Olivia said. "But nothing compares to Prague. Castles, history, culture…"

"And trdelník," I interrupted, recalling something I had read earlier about traditional Czech food.

"Trdel-what?" Megan asked, confused.

"It's a type of traditional Czech pastry," I explained, feeling a bit proud of having researched something useful. "Apparently, it's pretty popular there."

Megan nodded.

"Oh yeah, I've heard of it. Sounds delicious. Send me pictures when you try it."

After a few minutes of chatting and laughing, we said goodbye to Megan with a group hug.

"Have so much fun, you guys," Megan said as she closed the door. "And remember: don't do anything I wouldn't do."

"That leaves us a lot of freedom," Olivia joked, earning a round of laughter.