I Fell Asleep Before Our Group Project Meeting and Panicked the Chat

The assignment had already taken more sleep than we could afford. Five schedules had barely overlapped all semester, so our rehearsals happened at night. I owned the final section and the final file.

Before the next commitment, I tried to make a small, reasonable plan. I revised the script until two in the morning, then went to the lounge after class because there were ninety minutes before rehearsal.

The trouble was not resting; it was assuming an alert would work without checking it. I set a twenty-minute vibration alarm so I would not disturb other students, but left my phone on the armrest and never checked where my earphones would play an alarm.

For a few minutes, the sounds around me faded and I thought the timing was under control.

Then the plan failed in the most ordinary way. My phone slipped below a cushion. I woke twelve minutes after rehearsal began to missed calls and messages asking where I was and whether I still had the file.

My first feeling was not only panic but the realization that other people had been waiting on me. The calmest teammate had written, “We will rehearse without your part for now.” I ran downstairs with the laptop half packed and realized my short break had used everyone else’s time.