Urdon Maior University was your typical Ivy League college, where the richest would send their children to become even richer than them. Once in a while, a student of unfathomable intellect would make their way into a class and do great things. But mostly the students just partied.

That's what the students were doing right now, seeing as classes had just ended for the week. Everyone except, an unfathomably ordinary student that went by the name Monaedi Itreu. Instead of going out for a night on the town, the stout girl with milk chocolate skin and poofy dark hair headed to Zandr Library. Books stacked high lay around her creating a cell in which she was in cased in. She felt this was a fitting prison. Monaedi was smart, she supposed, smart enough to get into college..but still not smart enough to coast by with money or intellect alone. She had to keep above a 3.5 GPA to keep her scholarship. And that's why she now lay knocked out, on top of her textbook instead of out with the rest of the lot, at least that's the reason she would tell herself.

The alarm on her phone went off, loudly playing an obnoxious song. Monaedi popped up with an audible gasp. Blinking rapidly as she tried to remember where she was. She deflated back into her leather armchair and rubbed her hands over her face. She didn’t realize how tired she was. Monaedi checked the time on her mobile. Midnight, she read. And with that, she closed the large book in front of her with what little strength she had left; dust rising from the ancient pages. She packed up her things and made to leave.

Monaedi descended the stairs to the main entrance of the enormous building. She passed the front desk where an older man was putting books back onto the shelves with one hand, stamping some in with the other, and logging them into the computer with the last pair.

“Goodnight Mr. Biccup,” she said not glancing over in his direction.

“Dear Miss Mona! You are still here?” he gasped with faux surprise, “I would’ve figured you’d be out with a classmate or two, having fun.”

“Why bother with them, when I have you to hang out with, old man?” she slightly turned back just enough to give him a smirk.

“Did you at least put your mountain of books back?” he called to her.

“Nope!”

“Same time tomorrow then,” he said. Mr. Biccup watched her give a wave as she dragged herself out of the door, and he shook his head in incredulous fondness.

Monaedi gave a little shiver as the night air hit her. She decided to head down the path lit with the ironclad street lamp cages floating over head. It was three more streets out of the way of her dormitory than if she would have taken the shortcut, but you can’t be too careful. The campus wasn’t particularly dangerous, but being on the vertically challenged side of the spectrum, she seemed like an easy target. She yawned as she kept on the path to her building, but just as she was about to turn down College Avenue, she heard someone groan in the distance. She stopped mid stride. She looked behind her. Then in front of her again. There was another noise and then someone laughed. Probably people being stupid, she thought as she turned back on her route.

“Stop...please,” Monaedi heard the female voice plead shakily. And with that Mona bolted in the direction of the commotion. She weaved quickly around the buildings and down an alleyway. Hold on, just...please hold on, she thought. Though it was dimly lit, cramped, and smelling of a mix of excrement and garbage, Mona could just make out the scuffle going on. At the other end, three men passed around a female figure, that looked as if she couldn’t stand up straight. For a moment Monaedi was rooted to her spot, from fear, or shock, or both, she didn’t know. But she finally mustered up some courage and stepped forward to say something but was cut off.

“I said...STOP!” and with that, there was a burst of blue light. Mona put her arm in front of her face to shield her eyes from the brightness and the gust of wind that came with it. It made her stumble back, and she hid behind a dumpster for shelter.The men weren’t as lucky as it knocked them off their feet. One hit his head on a low bar of a fire escape ladder. The other two hit the brick wall and bin in front of Monaedi. She looked at the scene in front of her with her eyes and mouth wide agape.

The light faded from the alley as the blue gash faded down. The girl swayed woozily back and forth trying to keep her balance, but the trials of the night taking a toll on her, she sank to her knees. She looked as if she were about to smack into the cement below, but before she could hit it, arms came out to catch her.

“Whoa there, I gotcha,” Mona tried to sound as soothing as she could. She looked down at the young woman. Her skin was pale, she had a long thin face that had freckles, ears that came to a point, and a gem on her forehead. She had stark blue hair on top of her head and Mona’s eyebrows shot up; she knew her, “Oh, hi…Are you alright? Can you stand?...We should get you to the infirmary wing-”

“No, no. I’m fine really. The girl's speech was slurred as she tried to get up. She started to stumble so Mona helped stabilize her, taking the girl’s arm and putting it around her neck, “I...uh... kinda indulged in a tiny—whoa—bit of underage drinking…”

“Oh...But if you had too much, or if you’re hurt...I’d rather just go to make sure. And what about the...well, I’m not even sure what that was—” Mona tried to gesture, but with the girl in her arms it just made them stumble a bit.

“Look, uh…”

“Monaeidi.”

“...Right. I’m good, I know my limits. I’ll be fine,” the girl's words were barely comprehensible.

“...Okay. If you’re sure.”

“I’m quite sure,” the girl said. One of the men groaned, and both them jumped. The two hurried as quickly as they could out of the alley. They began to walk, the girl unconsciously steering them in the right direction. The girls walked in silence through the night.

“You don’t have to take me all the way there you know?” the girl said.

“Oh, did you want to stay in that vomit smelling alley? I can take you back...” Mona said with a smirk after she looked at the girl up and down.

“Oh, joy, the sarcastic type. This day just keeps getting better and better,” the walk off into the night.