Students bustled about the campus. Many walked sluggishly due to their lack of sleep, or because of laziness. Others ran and some even biked to get to the other ends of the college. It was too easy to tell that they were new, and didn't pay attention to the room numbers when first applying.

Luckily for Avery, she didn't have to deal with the congested halls. The class she mainly took was during the night. Right now, she was already set up and doing what she did best. She turned to the files on her laptop showing diagrams of human biology, and on another tab appeared to be 3d models of some kind of robotic figure.

"Ms. Chronos" a voice spoke up. Professor Brillow.

Avery turned quickly, startled as she wasn't expecting anyone to speak. She was normally the only one there, sometimes accompanied by the professor himself, but he normally didn't speak and is usually nose-deep in a book.

"Yes Professor?" Avery responded a little too quickly.

"Don't you think it is time to go home?"

He was right. Avery had been staying late recently, but only to further her research and building. She had already asked permission to use the lab for her work and was given the okay.

"Well yes, but I'm not quite finished with my studies. Perhaps if I stay longer I ca-"

"Ms. Chronos, this is for your safety, you never know when something could go wrong! I advise you to go home."

Avery nodded but was confused. Many other students stayed late, why was he getting worried now? Besides, if anything happened, she wouldn't be alone. She looked up at him and he had a smile on his face.

She only shrugged and collected her work, gently placing a few parts into a large case.

Both she and the professor were walking out the door. He walked a little faster to prop open the door for her.

"Oh- thank you."

"My pleasure"

Okay...? She smiled at the professor and took her leave home.

She had her car parked far away in the lot. Nobody really parked there and Avery didn't feel like getting it damaged by some careless student. When she made it to her dark blue Honda, she placed her work inside, started the car, and drove home silently. No music, yet her mind was a raving crowd, full of schematics and new ideas. Any disruption could throw her off, so she preferred the silence.

She lived far off the campus so nobody could bother her. It was nice to have some quiet time away from her chatty family a few states away.

Her car pulled up into the drive-way and she parked outside. She couldn't park inside anyway. Her garage is extremely important to her.

She exited the car and grabbed the case that she had stored in the back seat.

Upon entering the house, she closed the door and pressed her back against it, slowly sliding down with the case beside her. She didn't even realize how tired she was until she stared into the dark hallway.

Reaching into her sweater and pulling out her phone, she realizes she has over 70 messages from her family's group chat. She regretted showing them the feature.

She always had to have it muted. Her family mostly shared jokes and greetings. Nothing too important. The phone was tucked back into her pocket, but before she could stand back up, there was a buzz.

There was only one person she really got late texts from. It must have been Jan, one of the closest friends to Avery, knowing each other since they were kids.

[I saw your car coming down the street early, were you kicked out or something?] - Jannie

[Yea, the professor told me to leave, it's whatever though. I can get the work done at home] - Avie

[At least you're safe!! Maybe you should get some sleep instead] - Jannie

[n o...] - Avie

[okay maybe] - Avie

[Yeah alright, good night man :) ] - Jannie

[Good night!] - Avie

She turned the phone off but left it in her hands. It needed a nice good charge anyway, just like she did as well, but she decided to ignore the call of the bed for just a bit longer.

She rose from her position and went toward the island in her kitchen. On it lays her charger which she grabbed lazily. She walked straight to her garage and charged her phone there, besides, she was going to be in there for a while.

The garage was cold, but comfortable when only a sweater is needed to keep warm.

Three large monitors lined the back of the garage, opposite of the overhead door. The two monitors on the side were curved and under all of them was a desk that also curved. There was a single chair and underneath the desks were a few computers.

Avery was about to turn on her setup, but she started to change her mind about working. Maybe she should really go to sleep, but she couldn't help but want to stay in the garage longer. She wasn't sure why, but for the time being, she decided to do a backup check on the systems.

She checked all the electronics in the garage first. They were prone to getting dusty, which often led to overheating. After checking, they seemed to be fine.

She did extra cleaning and sterilization for all the beakers, flasks, and other tools that might've had leftover residue, and now everything was clean and operational.

Nothing was wrong at all. Just like it always has been.

Avery looked at the time, she had been cleaning for two hours, now it was almost one in the morning.

She unplugged her charger from the wall and went up to her room, where she took a quick shower and changed for bed.

She got into bed after thoroughly drying her hair, and tried to sleep, but couldn't.

She kept tossing and turning. She knew she was tired, but why can't she shake off her uneasy feeling. Thank god it was Friday because she finally fell asleep at 4 am. She didn't dream that night.