Autumn At Westhaven

Autumn At Westhaven (Story Thread- See OCC To Join)

The fallen leaves blew around Nora O'Conner's ankles as she moved across the campus of Westhaven College. She was helping them along, at times, by kicking them with her black doc martins. Her long brown overcoat flew up as she kicked, adding to the chaos. Her frizzy blond hair was bouncing around as well.

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On top of her head sat an pair of antique automobilist's goggles. Her thin, pixie face was devoid of makeup, except for strawberry color lips and a hint of eyeliner. She wore a cream colored button-down shirt, a tight charcoal man's vest, tailored to emphasis her large bosom, and a neck tie. Her slender, yet shapely legs were clad in tight charcoal trousers. A gold pocket watch chain stretched across her waist. It was still a week until Halloween, but Nora's attire was not a costume. It was instead her regular clothing. She just could not stand what passed for attire in the beginning of the twenty-first century. Nora had been collecting classic style clothing for years, from thrift stores and the like, and tailoring them to fit her figure.

As she moved across the campus, Nora ignoring the carefully planned pathway, and simply took the shortest routes possible. The buildings she passed were Gothic stone structures, which had always sparked her imagination. For someone obsessed with fashions of the past, it was a wonderful campus to live on, full of interesting architecture and history.

The campus had originally been the estate of a railroad baron, who wanted to live right on the Mainline, heading out of Philadelphia. It was a beautiful property with old grown maples and oaks, two lakes, many of the original buildings including his mansion and even a small working waterwheel. Unfortunately, to Nora's way of thinking, they had begun to build more modern dorm complexes around the edge of campus, to house their growing student body. Still, walking through the heart of the campus, she could imagine herself to be in an earlier, more cultured era.

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Her parents had both attended Westhaven, and were big time donors now. There had not really been a question about her not going there, since they had been planning it for her, since she was born. Her mother was a high powered lawyer in Philadelphia, and her father was a doctor specializing in internal medicine. There had always been pressure placed on her to do well in her studies.

She had not really rebelled against them, until her sophomore year in college. Her grades were still high, but she had shifted away from a pre-law major to a communications major with a concentration in theater. This had lead, for the first time in her life, to some real arguments with her parents. They had not had an argument when she announced, in the ninth grade, that she thought she might be a lesbian. But they did care about her throwing her life away on theater. In the end though, when they realized that she was not about to change her mind, they accepted it, at least verbally. They agreed to continue to fund her education, and dutifully made appearances when she was in a production. It still felt a bit as if they had written her off though, and transferred their hopes to her little brother Stephen.

She was on her way to Dr. Apple's Art Of The American Film class, and carried nothing with her but a slim leather satchel. It was her only afternoon class, so she had been able to deposit her books back at her dorm, and take only a few essentials. After all, they spent the class watching and discussing classic American cinema. There was no text book anyway, since the films themselves were the subject of their studies.

Westhaven College was a liberal arts institution, which emphasized a broad based education, rather than specialization. The classes were all taught by the actual professors, and not graduate assistants. Nora loved that most of the classes she had taken had averaged about fifteen students, and a few had even less. She loved having ready access to her professors and to learn directly from them, rather than from some graduate go-between.

She especially loved having class with Dr. Marion "Doc" Apple, whom she had a small crush on. The slender, slightly graying professor was a bit of a bespectacled bookworm, but something about her appealed to Nora. The few girlfriends she had had, in her tender twenty-one years, had been oddballs, like her. She could imagine herself growing old with someone like Doc, though hopefully someone closer to her own age.

Nora was excited, because today they would finish watching Nashville, and then start to dissect it. There was so much the film and brought up in her mind, that she was about bursting to start the discussion.


http://forum.literotica.com/showthread.php?p=31136000#post31136000
OCC THREAD

The ringing of Micah's alarm caused her to groan once more as she sat up and turned it off, not wanting to get up. Whoever said an 8am class was a good idea was just a liar. The 21 year old jumped off her lofted bed and stretched her rather long, tall body before finding a pair of jeans and t-shirt. Her look had always been rather simple. She never liked to go out of her way to dress a certain way and always found it much easier to wear what was convenient than what was "in". Most of her clothes were shirts from volleyball tournaments she was in, or teams she played on and the such. Jeans almost always accompanied them unless it was too hot then jean shorts were worn. Her long legs always got looks but she had been used to it.

When you were tall like her, and played a sport that required you wear tiny spandex shorts, one got used to all of the looks. She had played volleyball most of her life. When she was younger, she was rather tall and a teacher pointed her in the direction of volleyball. Since that day you couldn't keep her away from it. Her parents were thankful she found something she was good at since she grew up in a less than wonderful neighborhood. It kept her off the streets and left the hope she may get a volleyball scholarship since she couldn't afford college. Fortunately for her, she played varsity all 4 years of high school and got a scholarship to Westhaven to play on their volleyball team.

Her volleyball schedule was not the only thing that kept her busy. Her major had kept her on her toes. She was a smart girl, but sometimes had troubles with grades. She was majoring in Journalism and mass communication, wanting to work for ESPN or something like that. Her parents were proud of her always and from time to time would come out to her games, at least when her father wasn't drunk.

With another stretch she brushed her straight dark brown hair out and pulled on her team sweat shirt. After making sure she had all her books, she grabbed her black backpack, leaving her dorm room she headed to her first class. It was another journalism class and she hurried towards the building across campus. She waved hello to a few friends as she put her headphones on her head, listening to pink floyd and trying to wake herself up a little more. After her class she had to go to practice, and then promised a friend of hers she would go to a dance rehearsal to give her feedback.

Micah didn't know much about dance, or theatre but knew what was good and wasn't. The slightly tan, green eyed girl walked briskly already running a little behind. The campus always looked so gorgeous this time of year and she remembered spending time with her boyfriend finding nice scenic places to view the gorgeous surroundings... well, she at least enjoyed doing it. That was until she found him sleeping with some stupid floozy. She wasn't the best when it came to getting boyfriends. Always dating guys that just didn't treat her the way she deserved. So she remained single and just collected guy friends finding them to be better company than actual boyfriends, though there were certain aspects of relationships she missed. Most things, minus the heart ache that usually came with them.

After jogging to get to her class on time she grabbed a seat in the back her teacher giving her a smile. Micah had applied to do research with this teacher, and was hoping to get the spot but knew it was competitive. She sat in her class, taking notes and thinking about what she needed to do that day.

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Micah Carter

Gina had spent her first year of advance education in a west coat university sun beaches and not nearly enough books. She had spent most of the time reading and running to burn of academic laziness as he mother put it. Her mothers family valued appearance over intelligence, flash over substance. She smiled she would soon be moving off but she would have a stop over in Westhaven.

Gina did not want to like Westhaven she knew she would be here at most a year before her father moved her again. Her great was to avoid any other students until she was ready to apply to another school. Yet the all the green was more nature then she was used to outside of a park. She was finding it like navigating a maze finding her class room among the maze of buildings.

A half-breed Asian American she stuck out in Westhaven far more then she had in California. She had easily made it into the school more on her family merits then her own achievements. Not that she was a slouch she just had been long ago judged by her step father. She had accepted that and use her parents wealth to get what ever she wanted from others.

After nearly half an hour she surrendered to her impulses and opened a good book. Dostoevsky book The Idiot was a favored companion to her daily walks or runs. The leather bound book was worn with dogged pages. Sitting up to a tree she pulled out her glasses and began to read. She was well into the book the main character had already arrived and was already making a mess.

She lay back placing the book between her knees to hold the aged text where she could see and read it. Had her mother been her she would have insisted that she observe proper posture. Her father would have chastised her for wasting her time on frivolous pursuits such as reading for pleasure. She smiled enjoying the wasting of time on her own terms, of making her own choices.

She was not so far that anyone had yet to die in the novel not that anything would change this time around. She thumbed through the pages reading ahead to translate then moving back to read it to herself in English. After a few hours the shifting sun had forced her to leave the tree. Still unwilling to retreat indoor she found a table in one of the sunnier areas of the campus.

She placed the book down a blank piece of paper before her half filled with a fake report on the idiot. Half filled with a sketch of various campus building in various degrees of sunlight. A piece of charcoal in one hand a mechanical pencil in the other she was stumped. How to finish the page another picture of the caff or another line about the idiot and Dostoevsky view of mankind.

She began to sketch the caff ignoring the students funneling in and out of the small building. She could see the light was dying far more quickly then it would take to draw the entire building. Her mother would have scolded her for not beginning earlier and her father for having drawn it in such a sloppy manner.

duplicate

The Sun Slowly Sets And The Shadows Grow

Robert's Memorial Communication Center was a smallish,
recently built building that housed the campus radio
station, some television production facilities for the
weekly campus Internet news broadcast, and some
classroom and workshop space. It had been designed to
blend in with the older, stately buildings, and was
crafted from reddish stone, with arched windows. The
entrance was more modern though, and pushed out into a
curved front with massive picture windows. Beyond the
front doors was a comfortable lounge with modern Ikea
furniture and walls covered with posters from the
various theatrical productions from the schools seventy
year old history.

The shadows were starting to lengthen when Nora emerged
through the double glass doors. Nora was walking hip-
to-hip with a stylish, middle aged woman. The woman
was wearing a casual gray suit with a skirt cut short
enough to show off her athletic legs. Her shoulder
length graying hair framed a pleasantly face, with only
a few wrinkles, and a pair of designer glasses. Doc
Cherry was laughing and had an arm around her. Nora
had a wide grin on her face, and felt a shiver where
the older woman's arm encircled her waist.

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"Wow Doc. I still can not get over that. What an
awesome film." She grinned at Dr. Apple.
"Well you are the only one who spotted it! Altman was
a genius. Using the same people in the congregation
during the service, as the people that were in the
audience for the stripper.... We will never see his
like again." Doc Apple used her free hand as she
talked, reflecting her Italian mother's influences.

Her voice was lyrical and ran up and down Nora's spin.
She knew Doc Apple was married, and had not shown any
signs of being into women, but she still soaked up the
touches and hugs that Doc bestowed up her. Doc was a
demonstrative woman, who said what she thought, whether
you wanted to hear it or not, and did not seem to
understand the concept of personal space.

In the dimming light, Nora could see a cute Asian girl
sitting at a table, working on a sketch pad. She had
seen her around campus, but they were not in any of the
same classes. The girl's lavender tinted glasses hide
her eyes, as the orange sun glinted off of them. Nora
felt a sudden urge to run over and pull the girl's
glasses off, to see what her eyes looked like.

OCC: sorry for the blank posts... technical difficulties folks

She was dimly aware of the people around her it was hard not to be the shadows they cast over the lawn. A few moved close enough for her to even smell but quickly walked away again. She was sure she was giving off some kind of vibe maybe it was the fact that she had not talked to anyone in class. Why make friends when she would not be around long enough to know them. Then she saw a massive shadow one that intrigued her, a giant or two people very close.

Gina noticed a curly toped girl and an older woman with her hand around her waist. “Hi Apple” Gina did not know her in person but only aware of her as one of the many faculty picture she had memorized. The girl with her was one of many she had seen in the halls no one she knew that well. Standing up she threw her pack over one shoulder a beat up olive bag. “Hi my name is Gina” she had taken the time to try and meet all of the professors at least once.

The girl looked like Amelia well not in form but style and spirit like some 50’s model from a pinup. She smiled offering her hand trying to keep a stack of books in her hands her glasses falling off. “sorry about that I just need them for reading“ she set down her pack placing each book into its own space. She stood up offering her hand again she was such a klutz. She considered for the fifth time that day getting contacts but knew it was a lost cause.

The Day Fades Into Evening And The Sun Is Orange

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The Day Fades Into Evening And The Sun Is Orange

Nora's lips curled in amusement as the Asian girl came up and started introducing herself. Not only had she simply called Doc Apple "Apple", but she had stumbled all over herself, almost losing her possession. She smiled down at the top of the girl's head, as she carefully placed her books in her bag. Suddenly the girl straightened up, and offered her hand.

Nora took it, since Doc seemed a bit taken aback by the sudden assault. She glanced sidelong at her professor and could tell that she was also amused, and was observing the girl, like she was a character in a movie. "Hi, I'm Nora. You OK there?"

The girl did not have much of an accent, and upon closer examination, she was not sure if she was Asian after all. She found herself stare at the girl's eyes, from the side, as the girl looked Doc Apple, who was greeting her.

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"Well it is my pleasure to meet you Gina. Please, call me Doc. Everyone does." Doc had removed her arm from Nora's waist, and had both hands out, grasping the girl's hands in hers. "Now I know that you are not new here at Westhaven, because I could not have missed such a lovely girl. Still, it is nice to finally become acquainted, Gina." Other students poured out of the building, moving around them like waves around the prow of a ship.

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One boy passing by gave Gina an odd look, and actually turned around as he passed, so he could keep staring at her. He had longish hair, a boyish face and a bit of a puppy dog in love look. One of his friend's elbowed him. "Come on Arthur! The girls are waiting!" He turned and moved away with the crowd.

Gina was too busy trying to figure out a way to say hello without swallowing her own tongue. She had always been a nervous child in fact she was still better then when she had started. “Ok Doc” she smiled offering her a seat the three of them were blocking traffic and drawing attention. She smiled as she found the doctors picture and had her sign it.

She planned on having the autograph of every teacher of every grade and frame it when she became famous. “Have either of you seen that new band Paladin” it was a band by her former BF they stayed in contact even after she broke up. She was a bit nervous biting her lips she was thinking of reasons to leave. She dated a few girls but it had ended mostly as friends going out.

She had never been really brave enough to tell anyone about her preferences. “Oh yeah I also hear they were putting on a play are you in it“ she asked Nora wondering why she brought it up. She liked art but her father had never let her waste time with things like art or even dating.

Plate Armor And Charcoal Pencils

The two women allowed themselves to be lead to the outdoor table. "I have seen the posters for it. I hear the lead singer wears full plate armor. That's cool." Nora enjoyed a bit of Goth rock at times, and as she heard it, they were worth the cover charge.

Professor Apple signed the girl's book, with another amused expression. "I have asked for a lot of autographs, but this is the first one I have ever given." She gave Nora a quick hug, and a peck on the check. "Be good Bond. I need to get home. Frank is cooking for me tonight, and I want to be there to minimize the damage to my kitchen." Nora hugged her back. "By Doc. See you in class on Thursday."

Nora took the offered seat at the public table. She plunked her butt down concrete top, and set her long legs on one of the benches. "Yes, we are doing Pippin. I am cast as Fastrada, but to tell you the truth, it pisses me off. I would have made a wonderful Pippin!" She leaned over a bit, and gently poked at Gina's folder with the broad tip of her shoe.

"I saw you working on something there. Care to show me?" She found herself staring at the girl a bit to much, but she did not think it mattered. The girl was socially akaward enough that she did not think she would notice.

She looked up every now and then still busy with her drawing only the new one was not a place but a person "Yes, we are doing Pippin. I am cast as Fastrada, but to tell you the truth, it pisses me off. I would have made a wonderful Pippin!" she looked up she had not even been looking at Nora she was a bit too shy.

She continued to draw the new picture it was a fantasy portrait of a certain someone "I saw you working on something there. Care to show me?" she blushed she did not want to show this picture so she flipped the page. She then handed it over almost tearing the newest picture from the book.

“its just the caff” she said with a smile trying not to show that she was now looking at her a little to close. She smiled and placed her hands on her lap she loved to draw. “Maybe I could see you in the play” she would have joined but it would be fun to see it if someone was in the play.

“Come on, one more show. Just one more can’t hurt” said Greg, “I want to see what happens next.”
“It’s one of those shows that everyone, and I mean everyone, should watch” said Adam, “In England it wasn’t on one of the main free-to-air channels for years – just some obscure cable channel, and it attracted this real cult following. A friend lent me the first season and made me watch it. I got halfway through the first episode, and I was absolutely hooked. I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s a stunning achievement. The only down side is that it meant you had a lot of middle class English white kids trying to copy Baltimore street slang. Shheeeeeeeiiiiiiiiitttt!”
“Just one more then” agreed Debbie, reaching for the remove and the DVD case to swap discs.
“It’s getting late” complained Jenny, rubbing here eyes. “It’ll still be there in the morning.”
“It’s getting early” said Nick, glancing out of the window.
“Crap, what time is it?” asked Adam.
“It’s past six” said Jenny, yawning exaggeratedly.
“You’re joking? Six? Bloody hell! I’ve got a class in less than two hours!”
“Skip it. It’s too late now” said Greg. “There’s plenty others. I’ve got classes scheduled most days.”
“What we need is a catch-up service” said Debbie. “Series catch-up for classes you’ve missed, slept through, or couldn’t be bothered with. There, that’s my first million bucks made.”
“No, I’ve got to go to this. It wasn’t easy to get in to, and it’ll look pretty bad if I don’t show” said Adam.
“You won’t get any sleep now” said Greg. “Watch one more, get some coffee, and some matches for your eyelids and you’ll be fine.”
“Just ONE more then” said Jenny, snuggling into her jacket.

“When you walk through the garden, you gotta watch your back
Well, I beg your pardon, walk the straight and narrow track
When you walk with Jesus, he’s gonna save your soul
You got to keep the Devil, well you gotta keep him down in the hole”

* * * * *

The fencing club social had turned into an all-nighter, and here he was, yet again, tired, dishevelled, and running late. The only upside was that he was stone cold sober – you couldn’t watch The Wire drunk with any hope of following it. He strode quickly across the near-deserted campus, trying to decide whether he had time to head back to his room or not. He hesitated for a moment – he could probably just about make it. He broke into a jog. Once home, he threw off his t-shirt, sprayed himself liberally with deodorant and pulled on a fresh one – a grey polo shirt with the crest of his home university. He grabbed a notepad and a pen, and dashed back out the door.

Coffee. He needed coffee. Black Coffee. As black as a woman’s heart. There was a café on the way, and he just about had time. Or he would have done if there wasn’t such a long queue, and the person serving had ever seen tea or coffee before. This would make him late, but better late and awake than on time and asleep.

* * * * *

“….which is a key dilemma for all journalists, but in particular fields such as sport and politics where access is key. How does a journalist retain their objectivity while cultivating close links with…..”

The lecture room door tentatively opened a crack, before slowly opening just wide enough to allow a dishevelled young man in a grey polo shirt, black jeans, and black canvas shoes to slip inside. He had a notepad and pen in one hand, and a cup of coffee in the other. One corner of the notepad was damp and wrinkly from a coffee spillage.
“Sorry” he mouthed at the tutor, who glowered slightly at him for a few moments before continuing.

Adam looked around for somewhere to sit. As always, most of the space was at the front of the room, but he did not want to disturb the class further by going to the front and doing the ‘walk of shame’. There was space in the back row, but a very striking girl with long dark hair was sitting in the aisle seat. She looked vaguely familiar, but he couldn’t place her. She was concentrated intently on the class, so he had to tap her lightly on the shoulder.
“Sorry” he whispered, with a grimaced smile “would you mind moving up a seat? Sorry to disturb you.”

This earned him another cross glance from the class tutor. He made a mental note to go and apologise properly afterwards.

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Nora took the offered pad, and stared in fascination. As she looked Gina spoke. “Maybe I could see you in the play?"

"Sure. Tickets are only five bucks for students." Her eyes took in the picture, unable to believe the talent in the girl's fingers. "Your quite good Gina. Your an art major, right?"

She turned the page and immediately was confronted with a sketch of herself standing before a 1930s style rocket ship, with two moons in the background. A glass bubble had been drawn around her head, and a laser pistol was in one hand, while the other one had not yet been drawn. Her torso ended just below her breasts, and a few vague lines showed where the rest of her body was to go. The part of her torso that was there was clad in a skin tight silver suit with valves on the sides, and a zipper down the center. She gasped.

Though she would never have admitted it, Nora was a bit vein. You had to be a bit vein to be an actress. You had to believe that when you walked out on the stage, you could hold the audience's attention. She was used to people staring at her, since she dressed like she did. The picture took her aback though. The girl had really been looking at her. For a moment, she actually felt flustered.

"Well, I.... You'll give that to me when it's done then? I really can't believe..." She stared at it again, and handed it back reluctantly. "Wow... Your.... It's lovely. Look, I really need to.... go. I have to work on memorizing my lines. I'll be seeing you around, right? I... That group Paladin is playing at The Black Cat tonight, I hear." Nora usually was composed. It came from dressing like she wanted not giving a shit if other approved. This girl had flustered her a bit. She found herself walking away. She looked back over her shoulder, and waved at the Gina. "Nice to meet you. I'll see you later, OK?" Her stomach felt a bit odd, so she continued toward her dorm.

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Nora stayed in the seniors only dorm. It was called Andrews Hall after James Andrews, a philanthropist, who had donated the money for it, in his will. It was a tall brick building with baloneys for each apartment. The whole building was more of an apartment building that a dorm. The suites each had three bedrooms, a common bathroom of some size and a small sitting area, which was shared.

She flew up the back stairs, to the third floor, and almost ran to her suite. The sitting room was empty, and two of the three doors were closed. Her bedroom door was open and soft, rhythmic music was coming from it. She forced herself to walk slower and went in. The room was decorated with reproductions of famous impressionist works. The colors were all reds and purples, and there was a black area rug on the floor.

Her roommate, Mary, was laying on her bed, wearing a gray sweat suit, and snoring. A philosophy book lay sprawled beside her. Nora pulled Mary's home made comforter over her slender frame, and set the book back on its shelf. Mary was a thin black woman, studying philosophy. She tended to dress in jeans and sweaters, but vocationally dressed up. She also had frizzy, bouncy hair, and their friends often teased them by calling them the dandelion twins.

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Nora suddenly felt very tired herself. She had been burning the candle at both ends for too long. She quickly slipped into her favorite flannel night dress and went to bed early. As she slept, an Asian girl with glasses kept turning up in her dreams.

(OCC: Everyone else is posting for the morning. I figured that I had better switch to the next morning, and assume that this all happened the day before, and that the morning which the rest of you are writing about is the current time.)

"And here's something a little old school to take you out for the night." Huey said into the microphone in front of him, hearing his own voice broadcast back out through the headphones as he slipped the faded black vinyl record out of the white case that surrounded it like a shroud, placing it with reverence atop the worn turntable. A nearly inaudible flicker of static crackled in his ears before Afrika Bambaata's Planet Rock filled his mind with aural pleasure.

"You just can't beat vinyl for sound quality..." he said to himself as he pulled the headphones off, setting them down as he rose out of the office chair, the stained red fabric leaving unwanted fibers on his jeans that he quickly brushed off. He'd been begging for a new chair since he got here, but he was told he should just be happy to even have a station to operate from given what a booming business radio was. Huey didn't push back, he was just glad to have found a place he could retreat to, somewhere he could be alone with his music. And his parents didn't want him to haul his collection up with him!

He stretched out his back, rising to his six foot one frame as he snagged his sweatshirt, throwing it across his shoulders as he powered down the stuff he was responsible for. Didn't want to get into trouble by leaving the phone lines open all evening again. That hadn't been a very good way to make a first impression. Huey grinned slightly as he thought about it, he'd been here for several months now, but he still felt completely out of place in the quiet tranquil green paradise that was Westhaven. It was a fair cry from intercity Philly, and sometimes Huey missed home.

Still, he thought as he wandered back onto campus, smiling as the moon light tickled the tops of the large gothic style buildings and filtered through the trees, there were worst places he could have ended up. Huey had his parents to thank for that. His mom had recognized in him an intelligence in him early. She had been politically active during the 60s and 70s and had continued her own education for years after wards. She taught him to be proud of his race, never to let anyone hold him down, she'd shown him the history of their people, instilled the same rebellious spirit in him she had carried through her youth. His father, a barber who kicked and clawed for every gain he made, taught him the value of hard work, showed him to always give his all, no matter what it was they applied to. His mom might have joked when he told her he was going to this fancy liberal arts school, but he could tell she was proud of the boy she had raised.

Finally reaching his dorm Huey pulled his sweat shirt off, dropping his pants and climbing into bed. He was fortunate not to have any early classes tomorrow, though he had always tended to be a fairly light sleeper and knew he would be awakened before he wished to be anyhow. The sun rose early, and Huey with it, muttering slightly as grabbed a fresh t-shirt, pulling the soft fabric over his muscled torso before grabbing the jeans he'd had on the night before and tugging them back on. A pair of socks followed and he quickly made his shoe selection, the one bit of clothing he had in oversupply in the small dorm room, before grabbing a baseball cap and plunking it on his head. "Coffee..." he said to no one but himself as he shambled out of his room like a zombie.

Huey was happy to see the weather had held and felt more awake when the crisp morning breeze tickled his skin, causing him to shudder momentarily and look longingly back at the dorm, perhaps a jacket would have been in order? No he'd come to far now and instead wrapped his arms across his chest as he hurried to the small cafe, praying for the morning rush to have passed. His prayers would go unanswered and a slight curse escaped his lips as he stood in line with the rest of the addicts awaiting his fix. Today was a busy day he thought as he cataloged his to do list. History and Philosophy this afternoon, a basketball game a little later... he hadn't made many friends here yet, and while he'd like to just cry racism at that, he knew he had been sort of wrapped up in the whole college experience and he was as much to blame, but he still managed to keep himself busy. But first thing was first. "Tall coffee, black please." He said with a sleepy smile as he handed the counter girl, scratch that the barista a five dollar bill. It irked him how little he got back in change but that was the name of the game.

He checked the clock as his coffee was passed to him, he still had over an hour till his first class. Perhaps a morning stroll could eat up some of that time he thought as he exited the cafe, walking down the idyllic path to the main campus, watching people scurrying left and right to make it to their classes on time.

Gina spent most of the night gloating about her E-Go which she knew would be going commercial. Once the exclusive property of the rich the service would be offering a public service. She spent the rest of the night laying out her cloths and programming her TV to the business channel. She smiled laying on her bed her roommate was MIA for the second night in a row.

Gina woke up late just in time to scoop up the last of the cold eggs and a slice of cantaloupe onto her plate. Placing the Styrofoam tray onto her book she found a spot under a tree. Her assignment to pick a stock and invest a thousand Forman dollars into it. She was tracking E-Go a company that created personalized dream vacations for the ultra rich.

The company had in fact bought 100 of the richest clients in the world and in fact had no real assets. She bit down on her pen the assignment was supposed to last the entire semester. But that only meant if she sold she could not but another stock not that she had to hold that stock. “Come on please trade“ begged Edna a woman who had bough Rosendale a company that made accessories for SUV’s.

The company had not yet recovered from the gas crunch and was still underperforming for the fifth week. “No you already tried with half the boys in the class” it was allowed to trade but no one who had a good stock would trade. She smiled as Leslie showed up the only one with a better stock then her. He was taking to Edna who was trying to charm him out of his stock.

“Oh come on Gina was ready to trade“ she told Leslie looking at Gina who wanted not part in this scam. She smiled those if you do it I will be very grateful look she gave all the guys. Leslie handed over the stock and took Edna’s with a look that said tonight my room which Edna responded ok. “you’re a life saver I cant afford another B“ before she could respond she was gone.

When Nora woke up, it came to her that she had acted like a fool the day before. The picture had been flattering, and had flustered her a bit. It was out of character for her to run off like that. Usually she was a bit to bold.

She stretch like a cat, on her bed. Mary was already up, and doing her yoga in the middle of the floor., wearing only a black RENT t-shirt and a pair of pink panties. Noral always found that a bit distracting.

Mary came out of a deep backwards bend. "Good morning Nora. I see you are finally awake! Our first class starts in ten minutes!"

Nora groaned, and swung herslf out of bed. "Why didn't you wake me Switzerland?"

"Hey, I tried shaking you, but you grumbled at me and turned back over." Mary gave her a grin. "Better get a move on, or you going to have to wear you nightgown to class." Mary shimmied into her jeans, which definitely help clear Nora's head. Mary was straight, but that did not mean that Nora couldn't look. Her roommate never seemed to care if Nora saw her body, and definitely was into boys. It was often frustrating for Nora.

They had been roommates since sophamore year, and good friends as well. Nora had named Mary Switzerland, because she was always avoiding fights, and would never take sides.

Nora forced herself to her feet. She quickly pulled on a pair of tan pants, a whit button down shirt, and a pair of button suspenders. She crammed her crazy hair under an old leather pilot's cap, slipped on her goggles, and grabbed her brown leather flight jacket.

Mary was already walking out the door, so she jogged across the room to catch up. The pair left the dorm, and headed across the campus. Nora felt in her jacket pockets and found half of a Snickers bar, and a piece of wintergreen gum. "The breakfast of champions" she muttered. As always, Mary chattered brightly are her, since she was a lover of the dawn. As always, Nora said nothing, and considered murdering her perky morning roomie.

School was going well for Micah, it felt like every other year except a few differences. She was the new captain for the team, and she was loving it. Plus she already had an article published in the school paper that she wrote about the soccer team. She rolled out of bed that morning with a bit more pep in her step. She had her 8am class and then had an interview with Joe at the radio station promotion a big rivalry game on halloween which was next friday. So far in the season that had a few games, and won all of them. Micah was determined to hold the league champions for another year and get to nationals. She was eager to promote the team and got up early, putting on her usual jeans, t-shirt, and zip-hoodie that was a bit form fitting, with some sneakers.

After grabbing a coffee and going to her class she saw the rather attractive British guy who she had secretly been eyeing a little and hoped he never saw her looking at him, though she had caught him glancing her way a few times, but she never said anything being just a little to shy. She was more out going on her turf like the athletic center, the gym, or on a run or something. But in a classroom she was a bit more stand-off ish. As soon as she was dismissed she got her bad for practice and then made her way to the station, to do her interview.

After giving Joe a little hug and getting her headphones set and comfortable they started.
"Welcome back Westhaven Wolves I am sitting here with Micah Carter, the captain of our amazing women's volleyball team! So Micah, tell me whats going on with the team."
"Well, we have an amazing group of gals, our team is really stronger than ever, and we plan on proving that next week at our Rivalry game. It should be one hell of a game."
"Excellent, as we all should know, games are free for students and a tiny price for non-students, all are encouraged to go and cheer on the league champions. I can say i've always had a good time cheering for you ladies."
Micah smiled then went on to talk about some of the returning seniors and some of the new freshman, and how they planned on annihilating that friday. People were also encouraged to wear costumes.
"So, I hope to see everyone out there wearing Green and black, and or costumes!"

After a few more comments, she left for volleyball practice, getting the girls more riled up and prepared for one of the biggest games of the season. It was a long practice and they were all worked hard. After her shower and changing back into normal clothes, she wondered back across campus slowly, taking a more 'scenic' route, wishing she had something more interesting to do besides go to bed early on a friday night.

You should have said ‘hello’, at least, Adam thought, as he sauntered back from his second early lecture in as many days. What was it with Journalism studies and 8am lectures anyway? Perhaps a deliberate disincentive to anyone who thought that it was a way of getting easy credits from reading the paper and watching some television. Either that, or petty sadism. This was just wrong. He’d cried off from going to the film night the previous night and got some sleep instead. He felt better for it, but now the class was over, it was almost dead time. Pretty much everyone who could be was still asleep. Still, he could get on with some work while he had the chance. He’d asked a fairly sensible question at the end of today’s class, but he still felt he had a way to go to redeem himself – in his own eyes, at least.

You should have said ‘hello’. How hard can it be? He was going to talk to her yesterday, after class, but Adam felt he had to apologise for his lateness. But he could tell that Dr Rachel Harris was not really interested in anything he had had to say – he wasn’t majoring, so he was an intellectual tourist – nothing more. The girl had also wanted to talk to Dr Harris, about a research project or something. He could have waited for her, but he couldn’t think of an excuse to. He loitered in the corridor briefly, but to stay longer might have been weird. She’d definitely been casting the occasional glance his way – and he could have sworn she smiled at him when he asked that question today. Or was that just his vanity talking? Probably, but he had decided to talk to her anyway. He had it planned out too – he had a good question to ask, something simple about American media rules that he, as a visitor, could pretend not to know, but which would be taken for granted in all of the reading.

But by the time he’d thought it out, and started to wander, faux-casually, out of the lecture room with a chance encounter meticulously planned… she had already gone. As fast as those lovely long legs could carry her, he thought, with a rueful smile. Obviously she had places to be, or he had telegraphed his move horribly. He didn’t know her name, but she did look familiar. He had definitely seen her somewhere before. Not a friend’s girlfriend, he hoped. Well… he’d find out. If she was, no harm, no foul. Plenty of other attractive women around. There was something oddly liberating about being an exchange student – no one had known him that long, and he could almost re-invent himself. Here for a good time, not a long time. If she was unattached, well… he’d like to get to know her better. In fact, she was at or near the top of his list of girls he’d like to get to know better.

But for now…. he decided to make best use of the time and his relatively alert state and get some work done before the afternoon’s fun.


* * * * *

A good number of curious onlookers had started to gather around the foot of the mansion steps, drawn by the film crew and the two handsome young men dressed alin black brandishing duelling swords.
“Hey, hey! You guys wanna be in a movie?” asked Rico, the director, haranguing passers by. “All you gotta do is just stand there and cheer and shout something. That guy on the right, he’s Hamlet, and that other guy, he’s Laertes. Just cheer for one or the other, right?”
“Okay, ‘Hamlet’,” said Adam, “You remember what we told you? Just go through those moves. Do not get carried away - act, but don’t improvise. Remember that most of the magic comes in the edit suite. Remember we can always go again. Ignore the crowd, and for God’s sake don’t start showing off.”
“Right, right, I get it” smiled Dan, aka ‘Hamlet’. “No heroics, no killing people. Got it.”
“Good. Let’s go through it once more.”

Adam picked up his fencing sword and took Dan though the movements one more time. Adam had the authentic fencing moves, but by the third practice session Dan was already better at making it look good. He glanced over to where Greg was engaged in a similar exercise with ‘Laertes’. Both moving slowly – strike, step, duck, weave, parry, strike.

“They ready?” asked Rico.
“Ready as they’ll ever be” answered Greg.
“Ready when you are, I’d say” agreed Adam. “These boys have worked hard on this.”
“We need a bigger crowd” said Rico, looking around. “This is a liberal arts college – I can’t believe so few people have the free time. Go and see who else you can drag over as extras. All they need to do is stand there and react."

Adam, Greg, and various other members of cast and crew spread out around the area, explaining what was to happen, and what would be required of them.

Huey wasn't sure where he was wandering. The campus was small enough to not get lost, but it large enough that he could easily kill the time before his class just ambling about, people watching. The coffee had kicked in, so at least now he was in no danger of nodding off on a bench somewhere. He smiled as he just let his feet carry him across the campus, again marveling at the telling difference between the carefully considered aesthetic architecture and the urban chaos he was used to.

"White people sure know how to make some foliage..." he said to himself with a rueful smile as he stopped under an oak tree, resting his back against the trunk, as he closed his eyes momentarily, letting the gentle morning breeze play against his skin. It was warming up, and Huey was less annoyed that he had forgotten to grab a sweatshirt or jacket. He took another long sip on the coffee, feeling the bitter brew slide down his throat, waking him up further. He had to stop these late nights and early mornings. Still wasn't much he could do about it right now and with a weary sigh he pushed himself away from the tree and resumed his morning constitutional.

A good half an hour later found him sitting on a bench, finishing off the last of his coffee before depositing the cup into a garbage can sitting nearby. He'd have to get to class soon, which meant it would probably be a good idea to head back to the dorm and collect his books. He'd taken a shine to this class, his history class, bantering with the professor about the euro centric nature of the curriculum. Still there was respect.

Huey lifted himself off the bench and turned to head back to his dorm... and smacked right into someone coming the other way. "Oh shit!" He blurted out as he saw the other person go tumbling to the grounds. "I'm sorry... are you ok?" He asked, concern heavy in his voice as he offered his hand to help them to their feet.

The food was laying heavy in her stomach she was sure she should have eaten some yogurt instead of eggs. she needed a new book she had already read every book she brought with her. So she left her room for the first time outside of going to a class or eating since she arrived. She smiled she might finally find the mysterious library that had evaded her.

Gina had been out looking for the library despite it being on campus no one seemed to know where it was. She was nose deep into a good book when she smacked into someone going the other way. She almost fell onto her ass accept the person she ran into broke her fall. “sorry about that I was just looking for the library” she smiled noticing the handsome looking Blackman.

“what’s you’re name by the way” she asks trying to pick up all her books a neat pile now scattered. She was in some simple but tight fitting sweats not for weight gain but the fact that they were years old. Her glasses were on the ground one of the lenses broken impairing her vision. Where was a lense crafters when you needed one, not here for one she thought.

Huey felt like a true idiot.. he'd met almost no one at this school, and one of the first contacts he had with anyone knew, he knocked her on her ass. His cheeks flushed slightly when he helped her up. "I'm so sorry, that was totally on me..." he said, waving away her apology. "I was just so lost in thought I didn't even see you.." he forced himself to not yammer on. He had a tendency to do that in front of girls.

She was an attractive one as well, and he was surprised to see she was another minority. There certainly were few enough of them. Then he noticed the broken glasses on the ground. "Oh shit..." he said, now feeling like a world class ass. "Your glasses... ah man.. I'm really sorry..." He ran his hand over his head, nearly knocking his hat onto the floor. "Please... let me at least walk you to the library... I can try to figure out something to do about the glasses..." Just what he needed, another expense. Grand. Great morning this was turning out to be.

"My name is Huey...." He said, still feel very sheepish as he finished helping her to her feet, gathering up the books she had dropped. Some impressive, if fairly conservative, names amongst the authors. "I really do just feel terrible. Please, let me carry your stuff for you... ummm can you see ok without the glasses?" He asked, concern etched across his face.

Here eyed moved up and down her hands stuffing them into one of her pockets for safe keeping. “I can probably use some old fames the lenses look good enough” She was getting herself together her books were all scuffed up even her leg was a little blood. "I really do just feel terrible. Please, let me carry your stuff for you... ummm can you see ok without the glasses?"

She smiled handing him the books she had to think a moment she was not normally good with people. “I can, I just can’t read” she smiled brushing off her sweats it was hard to keep a white sweat suit when you keep on falling down or getting knocked down. She offered her hand allowing him to help her out she felt like such a cltz getting knocked down. “do you now where the library is“ she asks feeling like an idiot for getting lost on campus.

Huey breathed a sigh of relief as she pocketed the glasses, making a non issue out of the whole thing. Unlike most of the people at this school he couldn't really afford to replace someone's glasses, especially if they were designer something or other. That was a weight off his shoulders.

He was also slightly relieved to see that she seemed just as out of sorts as he did. What an awkward way to make someone's acquaintance. "The library... yeah it took me a long time to find it myself... it's really tucked back and hidden for such an important resource." He said with a slight chuckle, feeling himself loosening up a little as he moved past the incident. "Follow me..." He said, motioning for her to walk the way he was headed.

They walked in silence for a few minutes before Huey cleared his throat. "So uh... are you a freshman too then? It's been such an odd change for me, being here, away from where I grew up... around a lot of different people too, it's been an interesting..." he stopped when he realized he was rambling. "Sorry, sometimes my mouth works separate from my mind. "What's your name by the way? I don't think I caught it."

She smiled at him walking behind him she did not want to get lost when it would be her fifth time that day. "Sorry, sometimes my mouth works separate from my mind. "What's your name by the way? I don't think I caught it." She smiled she was being a bit more shy then normal maybe it was the blow to the head. “Gina and no I am an exchange student so its my second year”

she smiled as they came to a door tucked away behind a bush that looked poorly trimmed. “Where have you been im a business major you know following in the old mans shoes” she smiled waiting for him to open the door the lights were off but she knew it was never locked. She hear from the other students who had taken to using the library for other reasons.

"Ah yeah that makes sense..." he said in response to her answer about being an exchange program. "It's my first year... I've lived pretty close to this place my whole life but didn't actually know it was here till I started applying for schools. I'm from the city, Philly that is.." He said with a smile as they approached the library.

It was an interesting building, covered in ivy like most of the buildings, it almost seemed like an afterthought to the rest of the school. Still it was a good building on the inside, even if it was a little difficult to find. "Business eh? That's where the good money is." He chuckled. "I'm still undeclared, getting the lay of the land while I'm here, but I'm definitely leaning towards history, the one class I've had that I really enjoyed is my Western history class." He said as he held the door open for her, handing her books back to her.

"Ooops, speaking of that class I better get running if I want to make it on time." He let a heavy sigh, part of him wanted to just skip class and maybe spend a little more time getting to know her, but he knew he wouldn't be able to get away with that. "Gina, it was a pleasure meeting you, again I'm terribly sorry for smashing into you... hopefully i'll see you around again!" He said with a sincere smile as he turned to hustle off to class, hoping he wouldn't get into trouble for not having his textbook.