The Choices of Staff Members of Hydra

12

A SOLUTION

It was self-loathing, she decided as she made her way from her last class of the day to the student center on campus. She was nearly twenty years old in early November 1985 and yet she was acting as childish as possible, in her opinion. She hated herself for her cowardice, her indecision and even her fear, which was perfectly logical under the circumstances. Anna avoided walking anywhere after dark and when the light was fading for the day but still before sunset, she found herself jumping at shadows, convinced she would see someone emerge with a knife and a metal arm to kill her for what she had seen. She tried not to seem afraid, but it was difficult and caused her to withdraw even further from everyone she knew, including Rick who was trying more than ever to get her to socialize. She could still focus on her schoolwork; it was her one solace in an otherwise miserable existence. The fact that she had no other course of action bothered her, until it dawned on her that there was one thing she could do.

If she was unwilling to go to any authority, or to confront her father, and so far, she was not making any attempts to do either one, she had one thing she could do that could enable her to retake control of her own life: transfer to a different school. She loved U.C. Davis, and wanted to continue to go there, graduate and try to find a decent job in California, but she couldn't stay and wallow in her fear and self-loathing. If she could leave, then maybe she would feel safer, or even settle into a new life. Rick wouldn't understand, he would probably be upset, and she wasn't sure if her father would agree to pay for residency at an out of state school which was one aspect of college that her scholarship did not cover. That was another issue, she realized, whether her scholarship would be valid if she transferred.

Anna reluctantly walked into the office that handled transfers, general graduation requirements and financial aid. She asked to speak with someone about transferring her credits and sat to wait until one of the staff became available. She stared at the brochures along the wall, of the various programs offered at U.C. Davis, and other schools in California. She kept looking until she could see brochures for other colleges, some as far away as the east coast of the United States. If she could get that far away, maybe she could feel normal again.

"Miss Slattery?" A voice asked, making her jump. She glanced apprehensively out the window to gauge how much daylight she had left and followed the woman into a small office.

"How can I help you?" The woman asked with a smile.

"I'm thinking of transferring schools, and I want to know if my scholarship can be used somewhere else," Anna said, firmly.

"I was able to pull your file, while you waited," the woman pulled some papers out of a folder. "Your grades are excellent, and we would hate to lose you. Your scholarship is a national one, and it can be used at any number of schools, you just need to tell me where you'd like to go."

"Somewhere on the east coast." Anna knew she should have decided on a college before she went to the office, but it was too late for that.

The woman paused, then said: "you want to transfer to another college, but you don't have any idea which one?"

"Just want to get away." Anna winced at how pathetic she sounded.

"If you're in some sort of trouble, we have people you can talk to," the woman said soothingly. "Or is this about a relationship?"

It was about witnessing a murder and then seeing her father plant evidence at the scene, so it was about a relationship, and she was in trouble. Anna couldn't say that to the very helpful woman, however. She struggled for a moment before she finally found the right words. "I was born in Sacramento, grew up in Elk Grove, and have never gone anywhere my entire life. I need to get out of here, or I'm afraid I'll never be able to, and this will be it, my life, trapped."