The Deep End

Chapter 4

- "Seasons Change, There's still time for us to run away..." Seasons (Sjava and Reasons) by Mozzy, Sjava, Reasons

Chapter 4

Tia placed her bag down, sitting in the first seat in the front row. She was feeling particularly drained today. And for the life of her she couldn't figure out why. There had been a party at the Que house last night, she hadn't attended. There were also a few kickbacks, she, of course, hadn't attended any of those either.

Sleep had been her number one priority...mainly because it was becoming harder and harder to attain.

She was growing restless by the day. She gently rubbed at her neck, massaging the knots she felt there. It had only been a few weeks and already she had written a total of seven papers, each of them over five pages. She sighed as her professor walked in, the man old and wrinkled, thick glasses adorned his face. He took his seat at the desk in the front and began to start his lecture. His voice was slow and his tone dull, his pronunciation of words overly enunciated.

For a moment, she dozed off, something she honestly never did. But suddenly she was snapped back to reality as her name was called.

"Tia Williams and Wyatt Anderson." Her foreign professor half whispered, half screamed in the same dull tone he had been using for most of the semester. He snapped the little leather book on his desk shut and then sighed before announcing that class was dismissed.

The sounds of chairs scraping against tile floors and hurried footsteps headed toward the door were drowned out by the sudden anxiety Tia felt. She stood, grabbed her bag and made her way to her professor's desk. As she approached he looked dead at her, his stare felt piercing.

"Um, excuse me, and I apologize but I didn't quite hear what was going on. You called my name an-," he cut her off before picking up his notepad and flipping through it. He looked up at her, one of his brows raising, "Ms. Williams, correct?"

"Yes, Tia. Tia Williams."

He made a 'hmm' sound in his throat before closing his little leather notepad once more. "You will be working with Wyatt Anderson on your class midterm."

Her eyes widened. She did not do group assignments. And who was Wyatt Anderson?

"Dr. Igwe, I'd really prefer the opportunity to do a solo project. Is there any way I can do this assignment alone?"

"It is a group assignment. That's how it is marked on the syllabus and that is how it will be graded. Group assignment."

She frowned up, grimacing.

"I understand. Thank you."

The man made a low sound of acknowledgment in his throat. She settled her bag on her shoulders a little higher and made her way toward the exit.

----

Wyatt ran across campus, his Nike clad feet hitting the hard pavement with a quickness. His mind began to grow clear with every hard huff of his breath. He had been skipping all of his classes. He had been arguing with his dad over the last couple of days over his future and what his dad wanted it to look like.

But that was the problem, Wyatt seemed to have no say in his own life. His drives and his passions and the things that made him feel those familiar warm, wanted butterflies in the pit of his stomach were being ignored. He wasn't being given the choice to thrive in his own being.

To his father, his lack of trying was due to ungratefulness. As if he were going through a phase of spoiled rebellion. Following his father's demands had been a routine his whole life and now, his need to be in charge of something, hell anything that he could claim was of his own volition was what seemed to spur him on these days. So if that meant skipping classes every once in a while and partying every chance he got, then that's exactly what he was going to do. If it meant hanging up the phone on his dad mid argument then that's exactly what he was going to do.

But in this moment, as he felt the same, painful, though comforting heat move through his sweat-clad body he felt at ease.

He rounded the next corner, the head phones in his ears blasting hyped up hip hop all he heard.

He stopped, his paced jog turning into a slow, achy stroll as he made his way back toward his dorm. He hopped up the stairs into the building. He made his way to the second floor, walking up the stairs and rounding the corner. As he dug through his pocket for his room key he paused. Noticing that in front of his door stood a rigid female frame.

He pulled out his keys and made his way toward his door.

"Can I help you?"

The girl turned on her heels, her dark brown eyes flashing as she looked up at him. "Are you Wyatt Anderson?"

Wyatt blinked back his surprise at the hostility in her voice. Her face was one that he recognized and a small smile hit his lips. She was definitely a lot bolder than he thought. "Yes, I am. And you are?" He asked, though he already knew.

She tsked, "I'm Tia Williams. Your partner for Ethics, which you would know if you ever showed up to class."

His smile began to fade. He was not expecting that.