Nina Fern Lapael

...1

"It's seven-thirty in Kansas City, and a beautiful day it is too. The skies are suppose to be clear and -"2

Fern rolled over on the small dorm mattress and slammed her hand on the reset switch of her alarm clock. One bright green eye opened just enough to see the closed bathroom door and the empty bed of her room mate before it closed again. She shifted so that her face was towards the wall, taking a deep breath and muttering darkly under her breath...3

"I hate Mondays..."4

Five minutes later her alarm clock clicked back on again, nearly scaring Fern right out of bed when the music on her favorite rock station began playing mid-song. Again her hand hit the clock with force, and lay there for a minute.5

"Fern... you're going to break your alarm clock if you're not careful with it."6

Fern opened one eye to stare through long messy brown hair at her room mate. "Big deal, I'll get another one. I'll hate it just as much, too."7

Her room mate shrugged her shoulders in exasperation and slung a bag over her shoulder as she exited the room. Sighing, Fern flipped onto her back and hauled herself up into a sitting position, staring around the rather large dorm room through a nest of hair. She tugged at a knot and grimaced... morning tangles never ceased to annoy her.8

By the time she had gotten dressed and brushed the tangles out of her hair it was seven-fifty and all she really wanted was a cigarette. Grabbing her watch and book bag she draped her dog tags over her neck. The familiar weight of the chain and tags were comforting against the back of her spine as she slipped the tags under her shirt to lay flat against her skin.9

As she waited for the elevator on the third floor she pulled out her pack of Camels from her purse. Tapping the pack she retrieved a cigarette with her lips as she closed the lid and dropped the pack into her coat pocket. The elevator arrived about the time she remembered that she had left her lighter next to her bed. Cursing, she retraced her steps to her room and returned to the hallway. Rather than wait for the elevator again she tromped down the stairwell.10

When she reached the front door she found a group of smokers outside having their first of the day. Smoke free dorms made little sense to her when it wasn't even a dry campus... but hell - it was what it was, she couldn't change it. The wind bit ever so slightly, so Fern turned to face away from it as she lit her cigarette. The door from the dorm opened just as she was exhaling her first drag. She sighed as the nicotine flooded her system.11

"Got a light?"12

She turned to face the voice and found herself looking at the last person she wanted to see. But, to keep the annoying presence silent, she handed the guy her lighter - watching closely until he handed it back to her.13

"Thanks."14

She pocketed her lighter and turned away, pointedly ignoring his presence. After all, she only had time for one cigarette before her class at eight - there was no way she was going to let him waste her time with pointless prattle. Hitching her book bag high onto her shoulder she took off down one of the many paved walkways across campus and towards her Calculus class.15

He followed.16

"So, did you finish the essay last night? I found it rather easy myself, but I did have some trouble finding the information I needed on-line."17

Fern blocked his voice out, taking a long drag on her cigarette in order to keep her temper. Her stride was long and quick, and she knew he would have trouble keeping up and talking - she didn't really care if he hung back or just shut up, as long as she didn't have to deal with him. But, unfortunately for her, fate was on his side and he managed to do both with relative ease this morning.18

She found herself taking the last drag off of her cigarette. She flicked the butt to the side of the walk way and held the smoke in her lungs for as long as she could before surrendering her only cigarette for the next two hours. By then, there was little else to focus on but his voice.19

"You know when they're talking about the way you have to compare and contrast information? I don't think I did that right, but the teacher wasn't very specific, so maybe we'll be graded lightly on that. I always thought they expected too -"20

"Joe!" The guy stopped talking and stared at her. Fern's eyes remained staring in front of her. "Shut... Up. I have a Test in Calculus in less than five minutes and a speech an hour later. I don't get another cigarette for another two hours, and I just woke up thirty minutes ago." Her piercing green eyes finally turned to glare at him, "So go bother someone else for a change."21

Striding up the front steps of the Math building she finally managed to leave the nuisance behind.22