[Aug. 24th, 2020]

It was very early, that Monday morning, when Sara woke up. The curtain, being partially closed, revealed the sun's strong rays. She glanced over to her roommate, Samantha Santos, who was still sound asleep. Sara slid out of her bed and quietly got changed, taking a moment to turn off her alarm so it would not go off. She grabbed her bag and books before swiping her wallet, keys, and phone. It was almost completely quiet in the dorms. She could hear some muffled conversations as she made her way down the hall. There was a student in the lobby, working as a campus officer and another working the desk.

Sara waved and continued to the cafeteria. The campus had a few students walking around, but most were either already in class or just getting ready for another early morning class. Even the breeze was calm and tired, barely grazing through the trees. The building's lights were still on like stars to pave the way through the university. Sara gazed at the stars that still lightly speckled the sky. She tried to find the familiar constellations before they disappeared into the daylight.

Sara made her way into the cafeteria where there were only five other students getting breakfast as they waited for their day to begin. Sara walked in line to buy a breakfast burrito and a bottle of orange juice.

She peeled back the thin shiny wrapper and made her way to her classroom. There were more students walking around as she made her way through the campus and to the F Building. The professor's offices were mostly dark with only one person in their room - that Sara could see. She made her way to her classroom. Still fifteen minutes ahead, Sara walked into the almost empty classroom. Her Professor stood at the podium-desk next to his notes and a pile of syllabi, just waiting to start the new semester. Professor Wright was a portly old man with a bulbous nose that hooked at the end. His dark eyes were full of life as he waited for the lecture hall to fill up and the hour to pass over.

Sara sat in the middle of the hall as the seats around her quickly filled up. She was surprised to see the number of women in the class. From what she could see, there was about one girl for every three boys in there with her. The moment the thin black minute hand on the clock at the back of the classroom ticked over the twelve, Professor Wright sprung to life.

"Good morning class. Welcome back." He called out to his students. "I would like to start with those on the waitlist. Raise your hands so I can see… who or how many I need to add," He quickly corrected, counting the seven students on the waitlist. "Okay. After class come up and I'll email you the add code. Now," He sighed, grabbing a stack of papers, "time for my favorite part, the syllabus." He handed it to a blonde boy up in the front of the row and walked back to his desk. "Now, I have a PDF on canvas if there aren't enough to go around. The important dates and my office hours are on the front. My rules of the classroom are on the second page, my recommended resources- all free- are listed in the very back. In the middle, you will find the description for your Final, your Midterm, and your three research papers. There isn't any homework for this class. Show up to the lectures and you will pass. I take attendance once that hand reaches 8:00. If you are late to class because of reasons you cannot control, call, text, and email in that order with evidence Like hospital wrist band, pictures of your car troubles, et cetera. Any questions?"

A few students began to ask questions. Someone asked about the way he wanted the assignments turned in, another asked about the late policy. As important as these questions and answers were, Sara felt like something was off. She glanced around the slanted beige room and found a pair of dark chocolate eyes watching her. Her father had always taught her to be vigilant to any threat, especially on campus, but as she glanced at the person staring at her, she just nodded in their direction, feeling no malice, just curiosity from them.

There was a young woman with dark brown hair pulled back in a tight bun. She had tan golden skin that was mostly covered with by a dark green sweatshirt that said "CCRI Knights"; the rest was too small for Sara to read. The woman quickly glanced at another student in the room with her, twirling her pencil around her fingers.

Sara tore her gaze away from her and focused back on her professor. Wright was talking about his thoughts on social media for some reason, making Sara wish she'd learned the context to this rant. By studying how he spoke, Sara could tell that this guy was a rambler as the reviews on Rate My Professor had warned, but he was the highest rated professor for this class, so she decided that she'd just have to sit through it. Of all types of professors to have, "The Rambler" was not the worst kind at all.

Lost in her thoughts, Sara missed whatever Professor Wright had said to end the class. She quickly gathered her belongings and headed to the cafeteria. On her way there, she passed by the art wing. There was a glinting and sparkling piece that caught her eye from one of the hallways. She followed the way down, taking a quick moment to explore the small art garden.

There was a large glittering glass mosaic wall. It was a beautiful piece reflecting the native flora and fauna of New Jersey. There was a deer and a fox by the river with a fish hopping out. The colors were beautiful, with iridescent glass on the birds and trees, bronze for the deer, and a fiery amber for the fox.

Sara glanced at her phone to check the time, she still had an hour and forty minutes until her next class, great to get food from Jeepers. She headed back out of the art garden and to the casual restaurant. Sara had been there before because it came with her meal plan. Jeepers was a fun place with a lot of seating for the students. She kind of wondered how busy it was going to be.

Walking into Jeepers, Sara spotted a familiar face by the windows on the barstool. It was that girl in the forest green sweater. Even though her back was turned to her, Sara could still tell it was her. She decided to grab a bite before the lines got too long and sit next to her. They could swap numbers just in case either of them missed a class.

Sara walked in line and ordered an Asian chicken wrap, grabbed a bag of original Skinny Pop, a banana, and a bottle of water. She waited behind a string bean guy who could not have been any taller than Sara herself. He had a slight frame with messy brown hair. When he turned to look back at Sara, she first noticed his thick sharp brown eyebrows, then his wide and inviting smile.

"Hey." He greeted.

"Hey, how's it going?"

The young man shrugged and grabbed his food. "Pretty good. I just got out of my first college class." He finished with an excited smile.

Sara couldn't help but smile back. "So this is your first year?" She asked paying for her meal.

"Yeah! I'm Barry, Barry Allen." He introduced, quickly reaching over to shake her hand.

"Hey, Barry, I'm Sara Lance." She smiled. "I'm a Junior here."

"Really?"

"Yup." She answered, taking her food and thanking the cashier. "Did you get the turkey club?"

"Yeah, why?"

"No reason." She shrugged, "Bye Barry."

"Wait, why?" He asked again.

Sara chuckled to herself, just pulling his leg. She walked to the window where her classmate was sitting and took the spot to her left. The girl looked at Sara, tearing her focus away from the textbook in front of her.

"Hey, you're in my Ethics class right?" Sara inquired.

"Yeah, I'm Nyssa." She greeted, closing her book.

"Sara, without an H."

"Nice to meet you."

"So Criminal Justice major, too?"

"Yeah. I'm here for my masters before I join the UN Security Force."

"Same here, but I want to join the CIA or the FBI. What's the UN Security Force?"

"The part I want to join in is the Blue Berets, it's their armed forces. They're also known as the Peacekeepers. They help protect people like the victims of African raiders and ISIS."

"Wow."

"What about you?"

"I want to become an agent. Hey, do you want to swap numbers, you know just in case one of us misses class?"

"Oh, yeah, sounds good to me."

Sara reached into her backpack and pulled out a pencil and pad of sticky notes. She quickly jotted down her phone number, email, and name before peeling it off and handing it to Nyssa.

"So what's CCRI?" She asked while entering the number into her phone.

"Community College of Rhode Island."

"Oh wow, that's a long ways away."

"Yeah, but I really wanted to get out of there," Nyssa sighed. "What about you. Where are you from?"

"New York."

"Wow, I've always wanted to go there! What's it like?"

"I mean, it's a mix. One moment you're in the city and the next you're in the suburban hills, then you're in another state. What about Rhode Island, I've never been there."

"I mean, really it's a tiny state that it mostly a bay then another state almost right away." She joked, glancing at the clock on her phone. "Well, I have to go. I'll see you around, Sara."

"See you, Nyssa." Sara smiled, not partaking in her meal as Nyssa walked away.

As Nyssa walked away, Sara's phone went off in her pocket. A text lit up from her phone with the message "Hey Sara, it's Nyssa."

Sara texted back, "Hey, dude", before adding her into her contacts as, 'Nyssa (The Cute Girl)'. She glanced at her phone and continued to eat her lunch.

It was her third and final class of the day and Sara was actually kind of glad. She walked to the building and went down the hallway to her last class. She was glad to have ceramics between her major classes because it was a nice break. Sara walked into the classroom and sat down in the middle with a few other students. She set up her belongings, getting ready to write down her schedule and organized her planner, highlighting the two syllabi she placed on her desk. Someone tapped on her shoulder, making Sara glance up at them. It was Nyssa again. Sara quickly moved her backpack out of the chair next to her and smiled up at her.

"You stalking me, Nyssa?" She joked.

"I mean you saved me a spot." She taunted back. "Were you expecting me?"

Sara chuckled and went back to fixing her planner as their teacher spoke to a few students. She glanced at her phone, two minutes before class, and their professor had already begun to hand out the syllabus and a few other papers. Once they made their round to Sara and Nyssa, it seemed that the extra papers were meant to introduce the students to their teacher. It was a Getting-to-Know-You page off of the internet. Sara filled out the survey and re-read her answers again.

"Alright, I want you to go to seven people and learn their name and one thing off of that paper." He proclaimed, sitting back in his chair.

Sara turned to Nyssa and asked, "What was your first pet's name?"

"Levi, he was a frog. What about you?"

"I had a Canary named Tweedie."

"Like Tweety bird?"

"Yeah." Sara chuckled writing Nyssa's answer by the question.

She then went to a six other classmates of hers, learning that a boy named Nicola was born in Montana, a girl named Denise is a Pisces, another boy named James wanted to be a farmer growing up, Rachel has four siblings, Evan would want to rename himself, Charles, and Alex played bass in a Math-Rock band. It was fun, much more fun than Sara thought it would be. She was glad that she could keep the paper, it was interesting to learn more about her peers. As their class ended, they packed their belongings and began out the door.

"Hey, Nyssa, you wanna get something to eat at the cafeteria?" Sara asked, trying to catch up with her.

"Oh, yeah."

"So, judging by your community college, I'm guessing that you're not a local." Sara wondered on their way.

"Yeah, I'm staying in University Court."

"Really? Me, too. I'm in building 8."

"Building 2."

"So, what are you getting?"

"I haven't tried their pasta choices yet." Nyssa shrugged.

"Might I recommend the manicotti? It's stuffed with ricotta and Italian sausage. It's really filling."

"How much do you get?" Nyssa asked pulling out her wallet.

"Like," Sara began trying to size it up with her hands, "this big, and you get two."

"Wow… I mean I've never had the manicotti?"

"Yeah, and they're really good. Especially the ones they make here."

"I think I'll get it then. What about you?"

Sara glanced at the menu and shrugged. "I'm gonna get a burrito, or… nah, I'll just stick with a Ceasar salad. After this, we should head back to the dorms."

"Oh, why?"

"They close at 8:30."

"Oh, yeah, that's in, like, fifteen minutes." Nyssa nodded before going up to order.

"So," Sara began, unfolding a paper in her pocket, "while our food's getting ready. 'What is your favorite holiday?'"

"The questionnaire?"

"Yup."

"Halloween. You?"

"Christmas."

"Wasn't one of the questions, like, what's your least favorite holiday?"

"Yeah, mine's Christmas again."

"Why?"

Because my birthday's Christmas day and it's kind of annoying to constantly be compared to Jesus by religious friends, the antichrist by regular friends, and a Christmas miracle by distant family."

"I bet you only got Christmas presents, too. Not much of a birthday celebration?"

"Yeah. No parties either because everyone traveled for the holidays."

"So," Nyssa asked glancing at the paper. "You can hotwire a car?"

"Yeah."

"How'd you learn that?"

"From some friends in high school."

"Really?"

"Yeah. What's a weird fact about you?"

"Well, it's not really weird more as it's just a fact about me."

"Anything will do."

"Well, I did jujitsu until high school."

"Really? Why'd you stop?" Sara asked grabbing their food.

"I started wrestling. It became too much to play a sport and do another one outside of school. Did you play any sports in high school?"

"No, but I did use to fight. It helped that had learned some basic skills from my dad."

"Wait, like fist fighting?"

"Yeah, I'd fight for money."

"Wow, were you good?"

"My stats were pretty good. I could beat most people, but I wasn't great, just had a lot of stamina."

"I did not expect that from you, you look like… well like…"

"A princess? Yeah, just to the public, but in private I'm not so nice and proper." She joked.

"Are you a secret queen of underground fighting rings?"

"Depends, are you gonna 21 Jump Street me?"

Nyssa rolled her eyes and took a bite of the manicotti. "Oh wow, that's pretty damn good!"

"I know right?" Sara chuckled looking at the paper again. "So, we did one weird fact, siblings?"

"I have an older sister, Talia, and a younger brother, Saracon." She told her, rounding the corner to University Court.

"I have an older sister, too, Laurel."

"So what's she up to?"

"She's a lawyer. Right now she's working for a small company. Last time she texted me, she said that she was getting ready for her first case defending a divorce settlement."

"Wow, my sister works for my Dad's business and my brother's kind of AWOL, well to my dad and Talia, that is. My turn." Nyssa said changing the subject to look at the paper. "If you could rename yourself what would it be?"

"Sara with an H."

"So people don't-"

"Don't get my name wrong, yeah. What about you?"

"Amaal, I don't know I just wrote down a random name."

"Why Amaal first?"

"It's a common name in my community." She shrugged as they came upon the dorms. "Well, this is my stop."

"Mine, too."

"See you on Wednesday?"

"Yeah, I'm not planning on dropping any classes, so."

"Alright, night, Sara without an H."

"Night, Amaal," Sara smirked, going to her dorm.

She went into the dorm and began to room 124. She took out her card key and placed it against the sensor, waiting for the beep, the green light, and the sound of the lock clicking out of place. She walked into the low lit room to see her roommate and "Big Sister" Sam Santos on her bed with her blankets pulled up her legs, her laptop slapped onto her stomach as she typed something onto the keyboard. Her hood was pulled over her head. She glanced around her device at Sara and gave her a large smile and closed the lid. Sam sat up and took a swig from her hydro flask.

"How was the first day?"

"Good. I met a new student who's in my first and last class."

"Cool."

"What about you?"

"Very easy, so far." She smirked brandishing her laptop.

"When's your next class?"

"Well I have an online lecture at 9 and then an art class at noon, and finally my history classes back to back from 2 to 6."

"I have the same schedule."

"I don't know how you do the early bird-night owl schedule." Sam huffed.

"I enjoy it. Hey, when's our first meeting?"

"It's Sunday at noon. We have to sign up for shifts for Club Day."

"Don't we also have to elect a new leader?"

"Oh yeah, well, in the Spring."

"Ally texted me that she wanted to start early." Sara inquired, looking at her phone. "Dina said that they were talking about it… anyway, I don't know though."

"They'll decide soon enough." Sam sighed looking down at her laptop and opened it up again. "Oh, so about your new friend, what's she like?"

"She's nice and weirdly serious and laid back at the same time."

"Sounds mysterious."

"I don't know about that. She's a criminal justice major like myself," Sara shrugged pulling on her pajamas, "she seems kind of nerdy though."

"Sounds like a good girl," Sam noted peeking up from her laptop.

Sara paused halfway pulling her shirt on. "It's not like that."

"Okay, okay, that's not what you said about Riley Appletree."

"First of all, it's Riley Oglesbee. Second, he wasn't too bad."

"He was one of the messiest people I had ever met."

"I liked him, he was really nice."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah… we went out to sushi a lot." Sara shrugged.

"You liked him because he took you out for food and bought you stuff."

"Yup." She huffed sliding onto her bed.

"Honestly, I don't blame you… but I do judge you." Sam chuckled opening up a bag of kettle corn Popchips.

"You know I can't let just you eat those."

"I know." She nodded scooting over for Sara.