Chapter 5: Run, Parker. RUN.

The only thing capable off stop the now determined Parker is Parker’s own horrible sleeping habit.

He sleeps like the dead.

His mouth is hanging open, drool is pouring out of his mouth, and one of his eyes is half-opened. Two slaps land on his right cheek and they force him out of sleep, making him blink awake in complete shock.

"W-what?" he stutters, lifting his head from the study table and looking around. When he comes to, he sees Jessie’s round face right in front of him. "Oh my gosh, I thought you were dead for a minute there. You can’t possibly die from eating pussy...can you?" she asks with genuine concern and the always embarrassed Parker from before suddenly returns.

"No" he responds with his face turning red in record time.

"Oh good, cause if you had slept a minute longer, I would have left you right here" the beautiful brunette says and straightens her back. Parker gets embarrassed again as his eyes zero in on her full chest.

[System: arrive at school in twenty minutes or miss the test]

What?

Twenty minutes?

Arriving at school in twenty minutes is next to impossible. Parker doesn’t have a car. Hell, he doesn’t even have a bicycle like some of the other students. He had to pawn it for instant noodles at some point.

[System: your time starts now]

Oh shit!

Parker jumps out of the chair, moves past Jessie, and runs out of the room. The girl look surprised at the way he’s zipping down the hallway like there’s a demon on his heels. Parker obviously can’t risk stopping to explain his brand-new predicament.

Last night, the system had been a way to enjoy heaven, but this morning, the system is acting like pure hell. Why the hell does he have to start his day by running around so early?

[System: don’t forget to groom and look presentable]

Parker comes to a screeching halt in front of the occupied elevator.

"Great. Just great" he murmurs and runs in the opposite direction to use the staircase. Luckily his floor is just above Jessie’s. Unluckily, he never took his physique seriously, so he’s a panting mess when he arrives.

He runs into the apartment he remembers to be his own rented place from college days.

Parker pauses at the door with his back rested against the wood. He’s half expecting to suddenly be back in his forty-three-year-old self’s raggedy home. But instead of that, everything stays normal. The old model T.V, the working ceiling fan, and the old couch all stays the same.

"Who cares if this is a hallucination or not? I have fifteen minutes left" he says to himself and rushes into his bathroom. As soon as he yanks the shaky door open, he sees his roommate coming out with a towel around his waist and his six-packs on display.

And of course, it’s Ben.

"Where did you sleep last night, loser? Under a bridge?" Ben asks with a playful laugh and Parker ignores him. He doesn’t give an answer, instead he continues his mission of getting into the bathroom and getting ready for the day.

He and Ben were roommates for a while before Ben finally moved. Parker still remembers the way Ben used to make mean jokes; back then, he counted them as friendly jabs, but now he knows everything.

Ben isn’t as good a friend as he pretends to be.

[System: ten minutes to go. You really enjoy failing, don’t you?]

"I don’t" Parker hisses at the system as he tugs on his pants in a hurry. He runs from Jessie’s room to his in five minutes, and he got ready in another five, he deserves a medal for it.

Parker bursts out of his room and heads for the elevator. He tries to catch his breath as he waits for it to open. And when he gets in, he leans against the steel wall in defeat.

"Damn it. I’m definitely not going to make it" he says to himself with his shoulders sagged and his breathing still coming out heavy. But just before he would officially give up, the elevator opens and a pretty older woman comes in wearing a stoic expression on her face.

She side eyes Parker for a few seconds before her eyes widen.

"I like the scent of your body wash, can I take a whiff?" she asks and Parker almost melts to the floor. That’s such a strange request for a woman that looks as put together and cool as she does. "Uh...sure" Parker says and she suddenly plasters her body to his.

Parker’s breath catches in his throat as she runs her nose along his collar bone. He gulps as she moves her nose up his neck and sighs dreamily.

"You smell so good" she mutters and pulls away from him. Parker blinks twice in disbelief. Nothing like this ever happened to him in the past...or is it because he never went to school this late, so he never met her?

[System: you know, you could ask her for a ride]

"Even if I got a ride to school, I would definitely still end up late to the University" Parker argues and the woman’s snaps her head in his direction, red hair bouncing with her movement.

"You want a ride?"

"Uh?"

"I heard you talking to yourself about a ride. I can definitely give you a lift in my car" she says and Parker nods with excitement. Woah. He didn’t expect anything like that to happen, but he’s glad it’s happening.

He follows the woman, whose name he doesn’t know yet, down to the parking lot and he gasps at the sight of her red car. It’s not just any car. It’s a cool sports car.

"Come on. Get in, put on your seat belt, and hold on tight" she winks at him and when he does, she revs the engine and drives all the way to the University like a madwoman on wheels!