#Chapter 41 Renee

Renee I couldn’t focus. The professor’s voice blurred into the low hum of background noise, like a distant engine revving somewhere just out of sight, out of reach. What time was it? How much longer did I have to be in class? I had no fucking idea, but the migraine that had been building all day was only getting worse. My pen shook in my hand as I tried to take notes, but every scratch of it against the paper scraped against my brain like nails on a chalkboard. Everything felt too loud. Too sharp. Overstimulated, I was pretty sure was the word for it. I could hear the clicking of a student’s fingers on their laptop three rows over, could smell the sour tang of someone’s energy drink even from across the room. I wasn’t just tired anymore. I was on edge—jittery, restless, and increasingly aware of things I shouldn’t be able to notice. My senses were changing It wasn’t just a hunch—I’d read enough to know what this meant. Something in me was waking up. Shifting. It had sta