The coffee is brewing and I actually woke up two minutes before my alarm. Admittedly I did stare at it for a minute and a half trying to decide if I should hit the snooze button. In the end I didn’t, but it was tempting. Still, it is time to start the day. So timers set and let’s see what comes out of the brains this morning.
Interesting. Many ways I can take Kristen. I kind of dig the set up actually. something to work on at lunch maybe.
Tuesday, April 15th: She left her sweatshirt behind.
She left her sweatshirt behind. Kristen swore to herself. The sweatshirt wasn’t any sort of prize but she knew if she didn’t go back and get it she would be half frozen by the time she got home. ‘At least I am not far,’ she told herself as she turned around. The wind picked up and Kristen hurried her steps.
‘Soon the sweat shirt isn’t going to be enough,’ she told herself as she walked. Her bag of books swung with her stride and bumped into her hip. She adjusted the books so the corner wouldn’t leave a bruise.
She had never lived in a colder climate. The sweatshirt old and worn as it was, constituted the heaviest of her winter clothing. She sighed as she raced up the stairs to the library. She would have to go shopping for warmer clothes soon. ‘Thrift store it is,’ she thought knowing that with tuition, books and rent she didn’t have much to spare on a new wardrobe.
She made it inside and almost sighed at the blast of warmth coming from the heater placed over the doorway. She didn’t pause though. Kristen knew she had to hurry if she was going to get her sweatshirt and still make it back to catch the bus. She knew there would be another one in half an hour, but the bus stop near the library was nothing more than an plastic awning on poles over a bench. It was useful in the rain but wouldn’t block the cold and in the half hour she would have to wait, she would get very chilled.
‘If it looks like I’m going to miss the bus I can stay in the library a little longer,’ she told herself. While she had completed all the research she needed for her paper she could easily nip into the computer lab and start typing up her notes.
‘It would be warmer than the bus stop,’ she thought.
Kristen reached the area she used as her base during her research gathering. The sweatshirt was not on the table or hung on the back of the chair.
‘Maybe it fell down,’ she thought. If some helpful librarian took it to lost and found she knew finding it would definitely put her on a later bus. She circled the table and found her sweatshirt in a heap on the floor, half under the table. She dropped down to pick it up.
Relieved, Kristen stood. She pulled out her cell phone to check the time. She was going to miss the bus. ‘Typing up my notes to work on the paper it is,’ she decided. Kristen ducked into the nearest row, planning to cut through and head to the computer lab.
“Did anyone see you?” she heard a voice say. Kristen stopped and looked around. There was no one in the aisle between shelving units with her.
“No, of course not, I am not stupid,’ another voice said. Both voices were male.
‘And coming from the next aisle over.’ Deciding it wasn’t any of her business, Kristen kept walking.
“We are set for tomorrow,” she heard one say.
“Yeah, 3:20, the Number 405,” the other replied.
Kristen frowned but kept moving. The 405 was the bus line she usually took. She shook her head. It had nothing to do with her. She had a paper to write before she had to catch the bus home.
Ten til Midnight 