Not great.

After another 45 minutes, Mark sighed in frustration and slammed the book shut. "Goddammit. I'm getting nowhere with this." Jennifer didn't like this pessimism coming from him.

"Come on man, we've only been at it an hour. You'll get there." She patted his hand soothingly.

He was too tired and frustrated to notice the oddly intimate gesture. "Easy for you to say! You just blew through the whole section in thirty minutes! You don't even seem tired! How much sleep did you get last night?"

Jennifer felt a little guilty about how much energy she had. She really hadn't slept much. "Not much. I guess having a study buddy gave me a little energy boost." She wasn't lying - she found Mark's presence refreshing and invigorating. Too much time hunched over a tome in her shitty little studio apartment, she supposed.

"Well, you don't look like it. Are you wearing makeup?" Jennifer was taken aback. "Of course not! I could hardly get out of bed at all today. I barely managed to put on pants!"

"Well you had time to do your hair, I noticed." What was he talking about? She reached up and discovered that her hair was neatly done up with clips and product. She must be really tired, because she had no memory of working on her hair at all. She was certain it had been a slept-on rat's nest when she left the house.

"Look, Mark, you can flatter me all you want after the exam. Let's break out the flash cards."

He grumbled in acquiescence. They pulled out the flashcards both had made. "Who's up first?"

He scowled and said he wanted to go first. She really didn't like to see him like this. Hopefully the flash cards would improve his mood. She broke out the first one. "Ok, describe the Circle of Willis."

"It's a connective system between the carotid artery, the posterior and anterior cerebral arteries, and, um... ugh, I know this. The, uh..." He scrunched up his face. Why had she never noticed how cute he was?

"The kuh..." she tried to help him along.

"The kuh... kuh... fuck, I know this!" He pounded his fist on the table. "Don't tell me. It's another artery. It's between the cerebral arteries." A beat passed. He sighed in defeat. "I give up."

Jennifer felt tears come to her eyes seeing his frustration. He was such a smart guy, he just needed the right tools. "...communicating artery."

She wiped a tear and looked down at her hand. Was that mascara?

"Goddammit! I knew that!" He threw his empty coffee cup at the wall. Jennifer moved around the table to sit on the same side as him. She patted his arm soothingly. "It's ok, you'll get it. That was just a warmup."

It wasn't, though. As they went through the cards, Mark had a lot more misses than hits. He became angry, then sullen, then depressed. Jennifer continued to comfort and reassure him. After a while, he shoved back from the table and stood.

"I've gotta use the men's room," he grunted and stalked out of the room, leaving Jennifer alone with her thoughts. God, she wished she could give him some of her concentration and energy!

She had been feeling better and better all morning. She was starting to question what was in that pill. She felt so good that she briefly worried it might be some kind of euphoriant like MDMA. That didn't explain her improved concentration and memory, though.

Her memory was kind of faltering too, though. She knew from seeing her reflection in the window that she had a thin, artfully applied layer of makeup on and her hair was meticulously done. Aside from her baggy sweats, she looked like she was ready for dinner at an upscale restaurant. She had no memory of doing any of that.

Jennifer looked down. Her workout clothes were a lot less baggy than she remembered. The thin fabric of the sweats accentuated her curves and what had seemed like a baggy sweatshirt in the haze of her early morning was actually a slim-fitting hoodie. She blinked. She didn't even remember buying these clothes. She was starting to feel troubled by these changes.

She heard the door open and turned to see Mark staring at her in shock.