At 3 pm at the University of Florida, Alex had a group discussion about an upcoming presentation. Alex isn't a fan of group work because everyone has their own opinions that often confuse things. He sighed, wishing the lecturer would just assign everything in individual works.

His group consisted of 6 members, including himself, Thomas, Lydia, Michael, Steve, and Emma. 

Thomas, the group leader, is a diligent student who is very meticulous and perfectionist. He doesn't tolerate any mistakes, not even a single line of code or a punctuation mark in the project. 

On the other hand, Michael is more laid-back, often procrastinating until the deadline is looming. He lives by the motto "you only live once, so chill when you can." 

Lydia is creative and always contributes bold and innovative ideas, but whether they are practical or feasible remains uncertain. People think Lydia should pursue a major in architecture or graphic design instead of engineering because she's not good at advanced math, equations, statistics, or machine learning. She excels in creativity and design but struggles with subjects like calculus. She also has ADHD, so during discussions, she tends to jump from one topic to another and often gets off track.

Thomas has to bring her back to reality usually, because she finds it difficult to focus on one thing at a time. 

Alex, on the other hand, is skilled in programming and technical research, excelling in tasks that require technical expertise and structure. Unlike Lydia, he is good at focusing on one task at a time, always meet deadline on time, but struggles with coming up with ideas and being creative.

Thomas often assigns tasks that require technical skills and algorithms to Alex. However, Alex's weakness is over-analyzing, thinking too much about small details which leads him to easy to get stressed. 

Thomas asked everyone to brainstorm ideas, and as usual, Lydia is the quickest. Michael suggests going for drinks after today's session at a new bar nearby.

Emma and Steve always assure that they will discuss and work together as they are the only couple in the group, have been seeing each other for nearly a year. They reassuring Thomas not to worry about it because they promise not to miss the deadline. 

As usual, because this semester's presentation is mainly about "Design and Development of an Autonomous Robotic Arm for Industrial Application" so lydia will be responsible for generate some ideas, analyzse the possiblity to turn it into practice, and alex will be implementing it, 

Thomas reassures Alex:

Alex, I understand it's tough for you, doing most of tasks, but don't worry, this time Michael and Lydia will do the ideas, design the presentations, let the couple (Emma and Steve) do the presentation. I'll prepare the thesis statement and write the overview research when everything is done, you just need to run the project and test, then write the steps and techniques, the steps you've done and send them to me. You don't need to do any presentation this time.

Alex breathes a sigh of relief, as he always ends up with the most tasks. However, he is happy that he doesn't have to stand in front of a crowd and speak boldly, something he finds impossible. 

Alex, feeling relieved, until when he opened his phones,  Alex received many missed calls from Sam, luckily he had put his phone on silent during class and only checked it after the class ended, otherwise would have been in trouble for disrupting the class.  He quickly called her back, concerned about what might have happened

- "Hey, Sam, I noticed your missed calls. Is everything okay? "- Alex inquired with a hint of worry in his voice.

- "Hey Alex, sorry for bothering you. I was just curious about something around your house," - Sam explained innocently.

- "Sam, I've told you before, please don't wander around my place without me. Just wait for me to get back," Alex replied, trying to contain his irritation.

- "Alright! Sure! I'll try my best"

- " Okay, stay there, do not do anything stupid okay? I'll be home soon" 

Alex sighed, hang up the call with Sam, Alex tried to remain calm, however, he seemingly unable to get angry with this girl.

Suddenly he received a text from Tim, his old high school friend who also attended the same university as Alex. Tim studied applied mathematics and also had a class today.

They planned to meet and chat a bit. Tim noticed Alex checking his phone and receiving multiple missed calls. Tim jokingly asked if it was from telemarketers or something, or whether he might have some "news" 

Alex awkwardly, quickly replied, 

-"Oh, yeah it's probably just marketing calls." 

- "Wow, must be some persistent telemarketers if they keep calling you like that."

- "Yeah, it's getting pretty annoying. I should probably just block the number."

-" Or maybe it's something exciting! Like a surprise party or a secret admirer."

"Haha, highly doubt it. But that would be a nice change from the usual calls." Alex forced a smile

Tim noticed the tired look on Alex's face. "You look exhausted, man. Been pulling all-nighters again?"

"Yeah, deadlines are looming over my head," Alex confessed. "I just hope I can finish everything on time."

Tim nodded in understanding. "I get it. It's tough, but we'll get through it together. By the way, have you heard about the new internship opportunity at the tech company downtown? I think it would be perfect for us."

Alex's eyes lit up with interest. "Really? That sounds interesting."

- "It is, man. Tim leaned in, excitement bubbling in his voice. "They're looking for interns to work on some cutting-edge projects. I think it's a great opportunity for us to get some hands-on experience in the tech industry."

Alex nodded, feeling a surge of motivation. "I could definitely use some real-world experience. Thanks for telling me about this, Tim."

As they continued to chat, Tim shared more details about the internship and how to apply. Alex listened intently, feeling a renewed sense of purpose. The thought of working on innovative projects alongside Tim was exhilarating.

After discussing their plans to apply for the internship, Tim changed the subject. "So, how about grabbing some coffee? I know this great little café nearby."

Alex really wanted to accept the invitation from his friend, but hesitated, remembering Sam was still at home, meaning he still had things to take care of.

"Oh, I really want to, but unfortunately, I might have to postpone it until today, I still have some matters at home to solve."

"Alright, no problem, see you another time mate, take care, you look thinner than before. Don't overwork and eat on time. You have to eat well to have the energy to work on the graduation project, this year is tough."

"Thank you, my buddy, bye, take care."

After saying goodbye each other, Alex quickly rushed to the bus stop to make it home on time. When he arrived at the stop near his house, he quickly passed by the nearby grocery store, bought some things to cook dinner for Sam.

On the way back, Alex couldn't help but worry, not knowing how Sam was at home and if their house had turned into a battlefield because Sam had rummaged through everything. Alex prayed that their house didn't catch on fire. If not, both would be homeless.