Awakened

Chapter 11

Stephanie sighed as she looked at herself in the mirror. She pulled her white t-shirt down a bit and adjusted her jacket. She pulled her hair out of the ponytail and let her straight blonde hair cascade down her back. She ran her hand through her messy hair before putting it back up again. She grabbed her contact solution and went to the sink to wash her hands. Just as she finished adjusting her contacts her alarm went off and she quickly left the bathroom. She grabbed her bag and keys and locked the door behind her running to her class.

The only thing she hated more than a 7 AM class was the 6:30 PM class she was heading to right now. She loved the class; it was centered on the History of Ancient Rome and she was absolutely fascinated. The only thing Stephanie didn't like was taking the walk back to her dorm after 10 PM. She was running late but didn't mind; no matter what she always made it to the class on time. It also helped that even if she was late she wouldn't get into trouble. The professor absolutely adored her since she was really the only person who would raise her hand during the class to answer the questions. Stephanie was also the only person to never skip out early during the half point break. It helped that she has never missed a class either.

Stephanie arrived at the class ten minutes late and hurried down the large lecture center aisles to reach a seat in the sixth row. The class had already started and she was slightly behind. She pulled out her notebook, pen, and water bottle and sat there trying to catch up.

Professor Williams changed the power point saying, "Alright that was the last bit of notes from last class. Today we will discuss art, music, and literature," and then she began the lecture.

Stephanie copied the slides with what the Professor was saying to her best ability but someone behind her kept speaking. She turned her head to ask them nicely if they could be quiet but when she turned her head she saw that no one was sitting behind her. She shook her head acknowledging that pulling an all-nighter for her Archaeology test had not been one of her best ideas. She looked at her water wishing it was a nice giant cup of coffee. With no such luck she opened the bottle and took a sip. When she heard the whispering again she chose to ignore it instead focusing of the information from the slide.

Mosaics are among the most enduring of Roman decorative arts, and are found on the surfaces of floors and other architectural features such as walls, vaulted ceilings, and columns.

Normally it wasn't difficult for Stephanie to ignore the annoying background voices, but today she just couldn't seem to focus. It sounded like the people talking were discussing her. She heard them say something about the blonde with the ponytail and no one sitting in front of her matched that description. Stephanie still chose to ignore it and took another sip from her water.

She continued writing from the slides since she couldn't focus on the drone of the Professor's voices but jumped when she heard a scream. She looked around her quickly but no one else seemed to have heard it. She looked down at her notebook and saw that her last two paragraphs consisted of only one word.

Run.

Stephanie looked around again but everyone was focused on the Professor and the power point. Stephanie found herself struggling to breathe, unable to get enough air. Her heart started racing and her vision started getting dotty. Right when she thought she was going to pass out Professor William's voice rang out, "Okay class you know the deal it's 8:30 be back here at 9 so we can finish the lesson and maybe get out of here early!"

Stephanie was never more grateful for a break. Just the thought of getting fresh air allowed her to catch her breath. Gradually her heart slowed back to normal, and she was able to breathe and see fine. She got up from her chair and stretched then walked up the stairs out of the room. She headed to the bathroom and waited on the line and then went to the vending machine to grab an energy drink hoping that it would help her focus. With her drink in hand she headed outside to get some air. She checked her phone and saw that already twenty minutes had passed. She sighed thankful that tomorrow would be Friday and she could sleep in. Just as she was about to get up to go back to class she heard someone whisper her name. She looked around but found herself all alone. Slowly she turned back around murmuring to herself that she was never going to pull an all-nighter again. Apparently they made her have panic attacks and hear things.