Looking studious, the girl with the thick black glasses lounged in a soft rolling chair in the only quiet room of the library she could find. Although, partially empty, it turned out to be the dustiest. There was a lingering smell of moldy books, dust, and fresh bleach wafting through the air. Her sandy blonde hair was pulled back into a tight bun to keep from getting in her face. Her glasses sat perched upon the end of her nose, thick black frames and even thicker lenses. Without them, she was practically blind. Sight was, in her opinion, her Achilles heel. Contact lenses had been tried multiple times throughout her adolescence but there was something about sticking an object into her eye socket that left a foul taste in her mouth and a nauseous feeling in her stomach. She was what her mother had called "petite" but at the same time rather voluptuous. Her waist was thin and trim, as were her arms and legs. Her hips and chest, however, seemed to attract the leers of many strange (usually older than her father) men and the attention of many sex-crazed young boys who refused to keep their hands to themselves.

Next to her sat her lab partner, Enola. A short, skinny girl from Northern Ireland. Unlike the stereotypes perpetuated by the entertainment industry (not all Irish are pale and red-headed), she was quite dark-skinned with dark black hair and blue eyes. Her face was thin and sharp but at the same time held a sort of wiry elegance, usually it was covered in a liberal amount of make-up in various shades depending on the girl's mood. Her chest and hips were flat as a board in comparison to her partner, but what she lacked in looks, she made up for in popularity and confidence.

The two had become fast friends in lab, although they were completely different in terms of demeanor and social skills. Enola was, like stated previously, very outgoing and social and known to host a long line of male suitors. There were many instances of men actually fighting each other over Enola. Yes, Enola was the life of the party with a tender heart that led her to look past people's imperfections. The older and more reserved of the two, the petite blonde, was more inclinded to study and stay hidden inside of her flat reading or doing something frivolous. Sarcastic and cynical, she wasn't inviting and was definitely not the life of the party. In university, she could count the number of friends and associates she had made on one hand. She refused to go to social functions and generally spent most of her time holed up in the library or working her part time job at a small Thai restaurant on the corner near her home. As for men, the only suitors she received seemed to be men way older than herself or young men who seemed to be barely out of puberty. There is nothing like a young man in braces trying to spit some game at you.

So, here she sat, leafing through her textbook and feeling a bit anxious about the final exam that loomed before them. She caught quick glimpses of Enola every so often but was overall, lost in her own train of thought. Enola looked towards her study partner; her head perched on her hand, elbows on the table. She had been anxiously trying to catch her friend's attention without disturbing her but ultimately decided to break the silence,

"So…..Louie, are you going to be able to fill in for me tonight or what?"

Her brain felt fuzzy and static as she drifted between thoughts of herself and Enola and the huge astronomy final looming in their near future. Side effects from the high dosage of Adderall she had taken an hour or two before her cram session with Enola had begun. This exam was like the boogeyman in her mind and she was feeling a bit lackluster about putting all of these hours into studying. She wanted to go home and hide under her blankets until it all went away. Back and forth her thoughts raced as she tried to remember how a spectroscopic parallax works and why it was important…to astronomy…or anyone in in general. She stared off into the distance, biting her lip, trying to remember but at the same time enjoying the high that went along with this feeling of total control.

"Louise!" Enola hissed waving her hand in her face, snapping Louise out of her thoughts.

Shaking her head, she begrudgingly looked towards her lab partner, "What? What's wrong?"

"Are you or are you not going to fill in for me at my internship tonight?" She frowned, raising an eyebrow towards Louise, "Raffey wants me to meet his parents…"

Louise rolled her eyes disapprovingly; she was not and would never be fond of Raffey Pike. When they met, he had looked her over like a lion looking for its prey and as soon as Enola left the room he was making sure Louise had his number. Plus...he wasn't very presentable and seemed to have the showering habits of a homeless man. Louise looked into Enola's eyes, pleading but hopeful at the same time. They reminded her of when her mother's Yorkshire terrier would beg her for table scraps. Oh dear God, she really though he was the one. A look of disappointment washed over her features. She sighed deeply, finally putting down the book that was obstructing her face.

"I suppose.." Louise said flatly, clucking her tongue, "But you owe me one, most definitely."

Enola clapped her hands in joy, hopping up and running over to the other side of the table, wrapping them around Louise's neck and squeezing. "Thank you!..Thank you!"she squealed like a child on Christmas morning.

"En…e …En..ola…" Louise wheezed, "I…can't…breathe…"

"Opps!" Enola quipped, she was momentarily shocked as her actions but immediantly let go of her friend's neck. She held her hands up like she was surrendering, "I'm sorry Louie! I'm just so excited." She grinned again, making her way back to the other side of the table and taking a seat.

"Well.." Louise coughed, color returning to her face, "Like I said..just plan on owing me one. You know I'm not familiar with your major so I'm just going to be flying by the seat of my pants here."

"Don't worry Louie, you're smart and the girl I'm under is very kind and will let you know what to do." Enola smiled as she packed up her things and threw her bag over her shoulder.

She tore a piece of paper out of her notebook, scribbling down the address and other details of where Louise needed to report to. "Don't worry she's a literally the sweetest pathologist you'll ever meet. When you get downstairs, just ask for Molly Hooper. I'll make sure she knows you're coming, m'kay…"

Louise frowned as took the piece of paper from Enola. She was thoroughly unconvinced about the ease of her forray into pathology. She wasn't even a science major! Although, thanks to her lovely parents, she was well versed in many different scientific disciplines. Ultimately, much to her parent's disdain, she had decided to focus her studies on archaeology and art history. Utterly useless in their eyes but the bread and butter of her sanity. And, of course, she thought it high time for her to turn the tables on them after being forced into so many useless and uninteresting activities during her youth.

"Louie, trust me, it'll be a breeze." Enola smiled as she began to make her way to the door, turning back to wave at her once more. "Thank you!" she mouthed, practically glowing.

Louise grimaced once more thinking about Raffey and his overt…body odor. A protective feeling suddenly began to surge through her body. "Just don't get engaged…yet!" she shouted after Enola, "Or knocked up!"

The sudden boisterous explosion from Louise caused heads to snap in her general direction. The inevitable dirty looks followed. "What?" she snapped, furrowing her brow, "I'm just trying to be a good friend." She stuck her tongue out at her audience like a small child before sinking into her chair. She snatched her textbook back up and engrossed herself back into her studies.