Jenna Anderson stood at the front of the dormitory building that would be her new home for the next four years and sighed heavily. She knew she had wanted to come back to college, but the faces of all of the other students seemed like middle school children to her. They were so young and she felt like a school marm, even though she was only 34 years old. She took a deep breath and settled her thoughts. This was what she wanted, this was the new start she had been waiting for the past five years.
She shifted the heavy box she was carrying and started to walk towards the entrance. She was knocked aside by another student, dropping the box in the process. Her belongings, meager as they were, now spilled all over the walkway. Jenna turned bright red and hurried to collect her scattered items before they were destroyed by the mass of students walking around.
"Excuse me... I'm sorry... Can I please pick that up?" Jenna continued to work her way around, picking up everything she could find. She suddenly bumped into another person and dropped her handfuls of items again. The stranger caught her before she fell face first onto the concrete.
"I'm so sorry! I didn't see you... I was just trying..." Jenna put her hands over her face in a feeble attempt to stop the blush that covered her cheeks.
"It's quite alright, Miss." A deep voice responded.
Jenna looked up at her savior. He was a student, an upperclassman by the looks of him. His skin was pale, almost translucent, and his midnight black hair glinted with a blue highlight in the sun. His emerald green eyes looked at her intently.
"Please allow me to assist you."
He leaned down, swiftly picking up her items and loading them into the box she had next to her. Every time he moved, the sea of students seemed to part for him. Many of the girls looked at him shyly or glared at his attention toward Jenna, but she purposely avoided the looks. She was far too embarrassed by now to care what the others thought of her anyway. What a way to start the school year, as a bumbling idiot, she thought to herself..
"I think we've collected everything now. May I help you up?" The young man spoke gently and offered Jenna his hand. She took it gratefully and stood up. She steadied herself and the young man let her go. She straightened her clothes and wiped the tears from her face.
She looked at him again to thank him, but her voice caught in her throat. She must look like an idiot, a grown woman crying like a child who just spilled her milk. He seemed to understand her thoughts and smiled at her softly. She gave him a shaky smile in return.
"My name is Peter Bartholy. Are you a new student?" As he was introducing himself, he lifted her belongings and made his way towards the girls' dormitory entrance.
"Yes. I'm Jenna Anderson." She hurried to keep his pace as they entered the dorm.
No one seemed to care that Peter was in the female only building. In fact they seemed more interested than irritated. Anna saw the looks on many of the girls' faces and whispers of excitement as he walked by. He was a very handsome man and she could understand why the girls were so excited. She gave him her room number and they arrived at the door quickly.
"Well, here we are." Jenna nervously played with her hands. "I don't know how to thank you enough for your help."
"It was my pleasure, Miss Anderson." Peter gave her a slight nod and hesitated a moment. "I hope we meet paths again sometime."
With those words, he disappeared, leaving Jenna disheveled and feeling quite warm. She shook off the embarrassment of the situation and focused her thoughts on the new young man she had just encountered. His energy was warm and caring, his aura a sweet glow. Jenna had always been able to see and feel a person's energy and aura just by their presence. It was considered a gift by her family and was the only thing she had left of them after they died in a plane crash five years ago. She felt a sharp pang in her heart as she touched the rose pendant she always wore, her most precious possession. It was the gift her twin sister had given her for Christmas the day before she boarded the plane that took her life.
