A Fate So Cruel

Chapter 1 - A Hot Day

The wait would have been much more tolerable had the weather. It was a humid, oppressive heat–the type that soaked through clothes and covered your skin in a sticky film of sweat.

Record highs, a disembodied voice had announced from the radio as I'd gotten dressed that morning.

I'd planned to avoid the heat by arriving at the campus health center the minute it opened. That was half an hour ago, and by then the line was already ungodly long, trailing out the front door and down the cracked concrete pathway until it reached the street.

I fidgeted uncomfortably, trying to discreetly unstick the underwire of my bra from where it jabbed uncomfortably into the sweaty skin underneath my breasts. No luck.

At least I'd had the good sense to wear my hair in two braids and put on some loose-fitted overalls instead of jeans. Although I hadn't realized how paint-speckled the overalls had become before stepping into the harsh, bright light of the late-spring sun.

Not that I could bring myself to care–it was much too hot for that.

"Noa!"

I was surprised to hear my name being called, especially from such a loud and delighted voice. Since arriving at University in the Fall, I hadn't exactly been the social type. I chose to focus on my studies instead and, in my periodic free time, my painting.

That wasn't to say that I was antisocial. It was just that the way I saw it, I was at University for one reason and one reason only: to graduate and get back home.

I followed the voice to the end of the line where a new body had joined the masses. A short girl with long braids waved to me enthusiastically.

Shit. What was her name again?

Rachel? Regina? Reese?

We were in the same cohort and had chatted a few times in the handful of classes we'd shared. The previous semester we'd even sat next to each other in Professor Figley's calculus class.

All I could remember about her was that she was studying finance and her father was a human delegate for the Hillshire Territory, where the university was located. Human delegate was a prestigious position. Which explained how someone who openly expressed little interest in academics ended up at one of a handful of operating universities in the country.

I smiled politely and returned a shy wave. That was all the invite Rachel/Regina/Reese needed to leave the end of the queue and make her way to me.

"How have you been? I haven't seen you since–god, it must have been Figley's class! " Her teeth were two straight white rows that she bared like an animal when she smiled.

I returned her grin and hoped my surprise at her approach wasn't showing clearly on my face. It wasn't like we were friends. So why was she acting so excited to see me?

"I've been good," I replied, not wanting to be unkind or rude. "How about you?"

"Good! Good...God, it's been too long! How did you end up fairing on Figley's final?" She asked like we were old friends who unexpectedly ran into each other after months apart.

"Uhh, good. I mean, fine...I was hoping to score a little higher than I did," I responded vaguely. I'd scored a 96 and while that had been head and shoulders above the class average, I was annoyed with myself for missing a question that I'd known the answer to.

"That fossil failed me! Seriously, I have to retake the entire class because that final bombed my grade."

Rachel/Regina/Reese inched forward before squinting at my space in line as if noticing it for the first time. "Oh, mind if I join you? I seriously need a vent-sesh to debrief on that class!"