A soft breeze graces the summer air. Brilliant hues of warm colors paint the sky as the shining sun fades down to sleep. The small gusts cool passer buyers as it seeps through the open windows of community college, along with the back door. The large, dark grey barrier, which normally remains closed, sits ajar inviting in the summer breeze. Standing next to it is a young woman of no more than twenty-three. Her scanty clothing reveals much of her smooth, tan skin.

Smoke emanates from the small, burning cherry of her Marlboro Menthol Smooth. She takes a long drag, the ember burning brighter as she does. A grey cloud escapes her lips when she exhales, her left hand reaching up to brush light azure bangs away from her  teal eyes. 'Just a little while longer. Just gotta make it passed it...' she thinks quietly in her mind, feeling the arms of dread ruining any positive mood she's in. Frowning in worry, she takes another hit deeper than the earlier.

"Alice!" A snappy voice interrupts her thoughts as she jerks slightly in surprise. She lifts her gaze to stare down the hall at two approaching figures. Lena Anderson, dean of the college, walks towards her with a small scowl upon her face. A short and chubby, pale girl with black hair trails behind her like a little puppy. 

Lena stops in front of Alice, placing her hands on her hips in a very disapproving pose. "How many times have I told you not to smoke on school property?" Glaring, she lowers her voice slighty for only Alice to hear. "You know I can get in a lot of trouble if they knew!" The girl smiles and waves her hand nonchalantly. "Relax teach, I'm always quick about it. Besides, at least I opened the door this time." She points to the door towards her right.  

Frowning, Lena opens her mouth to begin to speak but closes it a moment later. She motions towards the girl behind her. "Ugh, nevermind. Look, this is Lily she's new here. Since both of you have the same class next, I thought maybe you could show her around on the way there." Lily smiles cheerily from behind the woman, giving a little wave. Alice's emotions become a mix of puzzled, confused and annoyed. "Wait what? Why do I have to babysit??" 

"Because I said so. And so maybe for once you can make friends with more than just a cancer stick!" Lena scolds as she reaches out and plucks the cigarette from Alice's fingers. "What? Oh come on I have friends!" 

"Only three."

"That still counts!"

"Just get going please!" 

Alice sighs in an irritated and defeated fashion. "Ugh, alright alright fine. C'mon kid." She turns and begins down the hallway. "Thank you Alice!" She calls after her. "Yeah yeah!" Lena watches as Lily scurries after the girl. Sighing, she tosses the cigarette out the door, stomping it out on the pavement before anyone coming down the hall can see. 'She's such a handful, but I love her.' For a moment, she stands there feeling a somber wave mix in with her thoughts. Shaking her head, she shuts the back door and heads to her office. 

The girls make their way down the hall, occasional photography of the local scenery decorating the walls. The usual bustling sound of people getting from class to class has now faded down. While the college has night classes, the student majority normally chooses to have them during the morning and day. Though convenient, it does also result in being around more people. Alice groans gently, having purposely made her classes later in the day to avoid people, only to become a make-shift tour guide. 

After a minute, a chirpy voice breaks the silence. "So you must have Biology then too! I'm excited for it, I like it, don't you?" Alice stops in her tracks and stares at her, both baffled and confused at her level of cheeriness. "Uhh...no." she responds bluntly. "Huh? Why's that?" "Why do you care?" 

"Well, because you're showing me around and we have that class together. Plus, we should talk and get to know each other!" "What the- why should we, I don't even know you!" Alice snaps. To her surprise, the girl simply beams at her. "So then, let's change that! Why don't you like Biology?" Alice stares at the girl, brows furrowed and mouth a gap slightly. Normally by now, someone would have given some form of attitude back. If nothing else than just ignore her and say nothing. She stares weirdly at the girl, before shaking her head and continuing their path towards the stairs. As they begin ascending, Alice speaks. 

"If you must know, Miss Pushy, I don't like it because it's a lame subject and the professor who teaches it is a creep." "Oh, I'm sure he's just fine," Lily replies as they reach the second floor. "He's a college professor, he couldn't be that bad." Alice opens her lips for a moment, tempted to comment. Her puzzlement at Lily's blatant naïvety and somewhat pushy behavior grows with each passing moment of their interaction. Irritation at her happy talking also rises inside her. 'I swear to God Lena, off all the people, you had to give me this??'

But, not feeling up to dealing with what may come after a possible comment, she decides to say nothing instead. After a couple of minutes of walking, the girls finally approach room two-hundred and twelve. "Alright, here we are," Alice announces, her voice void of all enthusiasm. Lily stares at the room description plate on the wall to the left of the door. Her eyes skim for a second, before they light up a little. "Hmm...well, it seems like he teaches a lot of science stuff so he must be really smart." Lily looks up to her. "Yeah, that don't mean shit kid," Alice retorts, crossing her arms against her large chest. "Smart or not, he's still a creep."

"You really don't like people do you?" Lily asks curiously. "Hey, I just call 'em as I seem 'em," she replies, striding into the classroom. "Hey, wait!" Lily scurries in after Alice. The room is relatively small and colored in different shades of a light beige. There's four table desks aligned neatly with two chairs to each table. The close-to-setting sun shines in through the large windows at the back of the room. At the front is the white board and the professor's desk. Jason stands there, textbook in his left hand, marker in his right as he scribbles down chapter notes on the board. 

Hearing them walk in, he turns his head to them. "Ah, welcome back Alice. Glad to see you're for once," he teases. "Oh screw off teach!" She snaps at him, walking over and plopping down in her seat at the upper left table closest to the professor's desk. "You make it out like I'm never here." "Ah, yes you're right I'm sorry. All that dust on your desk must just be a decor trend then." Alice's cheeks flush slightly in embarrassment, as she huff quietly and rolls her eyes, giving him nothing more than a "hmph" as a response. Jason smirks, mentally waving it off as nothing. Alice's attitude is one he tolerates, finding amusement in how easily her buttons can be pushed. It's never truly bothered him. 

He turns his head over to Lily, still standing by the door. His heart skips a beat so lightly that he barely feels it. 'So she really is here,' he ponders for a second. 'Thank God I wasn't imagining it.' "That same feeling from earlier slowly creeps up into his chest again as he watches the girl take a few steps towards him. For once in many years, Jason feels the smallest douse of happiness.