Trials And Timelines

Frost's POV

I wasn't sure what was worse-- the cold and dark January morning, or the alarm going off.

I reached over for my phone, a habit. The kind that developed from years of hating mornings. The screen confirmed what I already knew.

6:45 A.M.

I sat up.

The dorm was quiet-- the kind of silence I was used to. Everyone was either asleep or had already left. My dorm mates were like that.

Quiet.

Undemanding.

I'd learned not to take it for granted-- I still remembered the freshman who played violin at midnight across the hall.

I pushed the door open-- it moved too slow. I kept moving.

The kitchen smelled like home-- but I knew better than that. The three dorm mates I was assigned sat around the table. Notes were sprawled across it-- messy and frantic. The textbooks were no better. They were stacked up. Haphazard. Unorganized.

I wasn't surprised.

The girls looked up as my footsteps filled the space between their scribbling and the sizzling of bacon. The furthest one-- her green eyes had that same mischievous glint. I guessed I was in for a treat.

"Hey, Frost!"

And it begins.

"Welcome to the waking world!" Her eyes shifted slightly to meet my gaze. She was the closest thing I could call a friend-- but I still wore caution like armor.

"At least I don't have a history exam today." I countered. My voice was dry-- and more flat than I'd intended.

"Fair enough. I hate that class." She responded. "It's homework. Quiz. Exam. EVERY WEEK."

"I feel you there, I have homework most days." The girl to her right jumped in, setting her pencil down. "I was just lucky enough to complete everything in class." She leaned back in her chair.

"I can't really say the same for you though, Rosie." She continued. "You always turn in homework assignments late."

I stood up, the chair slightly catching on the tiles of the floor. My gaze moved to my phone-- my shaking hands traced around its edges. I stuffed it in my pocket and grabbed my bag in one quick motion.

"I have to get going." I noticed the edge in my voice-- I wished it wasn't there. "I don't want to be late for my lecture."

I grabbed the handle-- it was cold. I pulled the door open.

The cold air graced my face before the wind took over. It pierced through my body, completely ignoring the sweater and jacket I was wearing.

I wondered how my family was doing. I imagined they probably miss me-- especially dad. I was always his favorite. My sisters hated that. I stopped.

I sighed and walked on the cracked sidewalk. I hated how many paths there were-- the first days were so disorientating. I headed down the straight path, my footsteps echoing through the mostly empty courtyard. There were a couple groups of people sitting on the benches littered across the fields of frost-covered grass. They were too busy to notice me-- they were all studying or hanging out.

Stop thinking like that.

I paused and took a deep breath.

I'm not crazy, I'm just tired.

Just...

Tired...

I continued walking until I was in front of the doors to the science wing. I struggled to push the doors open-- they were surprisingly heavy. It always threw me off.

I walked past psychology and chemistry classrooms to reach my lecture, which unfortunately was the last room in the hall. Sometimes it was forty steps, other times it was closer to sixty. It was a long walk, but good exercise at least.

I looked at the clock hanging on the wall above the door.

7:30 A.M.

Not late. That sufficed.