Until now, I have had zero ideas for non-canon fics for this show. But somehow finally finishing that monster actually sparked a new idea.
This will be SIGNIFICANTLY shorter than the last, maybe 10 chapters? I have a rough outline, but it will probably be slow to update- real life, work and all. But I'll work on it whenever I can. Slow and steady DO finish the race- eventually.
I've added my Tumblr to my profile. Come chat. I've missed you guys!
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It was going to be one of those mornings, she could already tell.
With a grimace at the window and a heavy sigh, Karen gathered her resolve and opened her car door.
She hit the release button on her umbrella as quickly as the space allowed and angled out of the car. "Never fast enough," she muttered to herself, looking down at her rain splattered clothing, shaking her head.
"You ready for this?" she called over the roof of the car to Ana, who was securing her raincoat tighter around her waist and adjusting her hood.
Ana's short 'do allowed for things like hoods- her hair could probably stand on end and look like she meant it to do that. Karen however, would've had hat hair for the rest of the day- and nothing short of a flat iron and more time that she had available on Wednesdays would remedy it.
Today probably should have been a ponytail day anyway. She could practically feel her hair frizzing in the damp air.
Ana shook her head and adjusted her bag to sit more comfortably on her shoulder, "No- but we should probably get going anyway- we really don't want to be late to class- and we aren't getting any drier."
Nodding, Karen joined Ana on the sidewalk. Heads down against the rain, the two girls walked briskly to the nearby building. They paused in the lobby, scuffing their feet and shaking the excess water off their jackets before climbing the single flight of stairs to their classroom.
They claimed their usual seats in the middle of the room- not close enough to the front to attract notice and not far enough to the back to call unwanted attention to themselves.
Karen tossed her mostly dry jacket over the chair behind her. Kyle would arrive soon and he'd die if he had to sit in the front again. She opened her book and looked over the notes she'd made about the reading assignment while she waited for class to begin.
Kyle slipped in the room moments before their professor was due. "I thought I was going to be late!" he fretted as he slid into his chair. "I hope she didn't recognize me as I ran past her on the stairs," he frantically tugged his jacket off, shoving it under his seat.
"Why?" Karen asked curiously.
He still had about a minute to spare. Their professor was a stickler about not being late, but she never started early either.
"Um, I MAY have bumped her arm…" he began. Karen made a small noise in her throat. "She didn't spill her coffee though!"
The woman in question chose that moment to walk through the door. Kyle buried himself in his bag, peeking around Karen to try to gauge the mood of their professor.
On a good day it was bad- but on a bad day… well, it was appropriate that it was a Shakespeare class. On a bad day, it closely resembled a Shakespearean tragedy. And on test days the body count was nearly as high.
Which explained why everyone put off taking this class for as long as possible. Karen and Ana were forced here by a cruel requisite of all performing arts majors and Kyle's current misfortune stemmed from his desire to be a writer- prompting him to select English as his discipline four years ago.
All three had spent the semester questioning their decision making abilities- and wondering if a lifetime of working at Walmart would really be so bad- if it meant NOT taking this class.
The one silver lining of the class was that they had met each other. Karen and Ana had been roommates since sophomore year, having spent most of their freshman year taking the same classes. Kyle was the belated third pea in the pod the two girls had formed almost the moment they met nearly four years ago.
Roughly an hour later, the trio had survived another class, "One more down… how many more to go?"
"I don't even want to think about it," Ana groaned.
"Too many," Kyle agreed.
Karen shrugged, "So what do you guys want to do tonight?"
Wednesdays were their long days- but Thursdays didn't start until late morning. To celebrate, they usually went to dinner together, which often led to a bar or a movie afterwards. Sometimes Kyle's roommate Jimmy joined them.
Jimmy was (usually) another reason Karen was glad to have met Kyle. The dark haired bartender and part time student pushed every button she possessed- both good and bad. But she enjoyed hanging out with him most of the time- and even when he drove her crazy, she couldn't deny that he was very easy on the eyes.
"That new place downtown has karaoke- we could check it out," Ana offered.
"Oo! Let's!" Kyle nodded vigorously.
Karen fidgeted with her jacket, "Would Jimmy want to come? I mean, I don't really see him as the karaoke type. Not that he has to come…" she backtracked. She shrugged, "But um… he missed last week because of work... and I don't want him to feel left out," she finished lamely.
Kyle and Ana exchanged a knowing look- amused at Karen's failed attempt to be subtle. In the short months of their friendship, Kyle and Ana had a started a pool involving how long it would take before Karen and Jimmy either killed each other or ended up pressed against a wall together, naked.
So far, the stubbornness of their friends had surprised them, leading both to select new dates more than once.
Kyle laughed, "Oh, he can sing," he assured them confidently. "It usually takes a few beers…" he trailed off. "But he'll come. I'll text him now- let him know." Kyle pulled out his phone, typing quickly. "How about we meet there at seven?" The girls agreed and he sent his message.
He slipped his phone back in his pocket and headed out the door, pulling up his hood before he stepped into the deluge.
The girls watched him slosh through the puddles on the sidewalk- which were definitely deeper than they were an hour ago. With a last resigned look at each other, Karen and Ana opened the door and hustled to their next class- in the theater building, across campus.
It was going to be a long day.
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What do you think?