Fallen shields

the answer

Kiah sat in class drawing on the paper in front of her. She felt it's texture under her hand, the pen in her grip. She tried to pay attention to the class, but it just wasn't happening. To be perfectly honest, she didn't even know why she paid to be in this class. It had absolutely nothing to do with the degree she wanted. It was just to fill her schedule. So she drew on, the professor never breaking his lecture outside her space of concentration. She had half a notion to throw a good hex around, spice things up a bit, put some energy in the room. But Kiah didn't want to start a panic and she really didn't want any trouble... she'd already had enough.

Thirty minutes later, and far more ink than she thought possible, Kiah found herself walking hurriedly down the step of the lecture hall. She really just wanted to get home and take a nice shower. Her hands and shirt were splattered with ink. She looked like something from a horror movie. Some moron had thought it would be classically hilarious to startle her, which would not have been too bad had she not been entirely engrossed in her art at the moment. Instead of jumping out of her skin, Kiah's pen exploded.

She walked to he car, a forest green '99 Honda CR-V, and try not to touch anything the ink could stain. She drove to her apartment without further incident and made her way inside to her shower to wash the day's troubles away. It was a long shower.

When Kiah stepped out of the shower sometime later, she went straight into the living room and opened her phone to check her messages. She new she shouldn't get overexcited since she had only put the ad for a roommate up the day before, but she couldn't help it. She needed to check. Something told her to.

Wait a minute...

She had an answer.

Eskildsen: I am inquiring to your ad for a roommate? I am twenty minutes away from your apartment. I will stop by and discuss this with you. 4:30 pm.

Kiah looked at the time on her phone. 4:50 pm! Oh shit! He would be-

Knock knock knock...