A/N: Here's Chapter 1!
-Rootbeer Chick
To Break and Build: Chapter 1
Gloria, adorned in a professor's traditional garb, adjusted the glasses on the bridge of her nose and squinted at the multiple buildings surrounding the quad.
She was lost… again.
She had been appointed the new history professor at Bakersfield College after Mr. Gardens, a grubby old man just over four feet tall, had decided to retire early. Of course, Gloria had been conveniently available, ready to swoop in and finish off the semester before a more permanent replacement could be found. She smiled at the thought of the Father's amazing ability to twist and turn events so that they played off of one another and helped things fall just into place. Kind of like the universe. So complex, all living things acting with seeming independence and yet ultimately controlled by a higher force, a gentle power that strung all the elements together so that they were remained forever intertwined.
"Focus, Gloria," she chastised herself. "No wonder you get lost."
She had to locate the Humanities Building in order to get settled into her new office, but she felt clueless as to where to go. The map at the front of campus had been little help, as all of the classrooms seemed intricately connected by stretching halls, skywalks, and doorways, forming a maze of brick and marble. Helplessly, the angel walked towards the nearest building at hand, a long, low structure with a peaked roof. Perhaps she could get some assistance. She tried to pry open the glass doors, which were closed firmly shut, before moving to the right to knock on and peek into a dusty window with the curtains drawn aside. A shocking image greeted her eyes as she watched a teenage boy spring from his bed in alarm, adorned in nothing except plaid boxer shorts. The student yelled in surprise and frantically covered himself with a blanket as Gloria gasped and turned away, just as embarrassed as her unsuspecting victim. As she whirled about, she nearly crashed headfirst into a young woman standing behind her, laughing at her blunder in a good-natured manner. Gloria blushed and smiled, immediately extending her hand.
The girl accepted the handshake, her grip loose. "Meeting somebody in the dorms?" she asked.
"The dorms? Oh, no, no. Actually, I was looking for the Humanities Building and I guess I made a wrong turn," Gloria replied.
"The Humanities Building? Gosh, that's way on the other side of campus. Come on, I'll lead you there," the student replied with a chuckle.
Gratefully, Gloria turned to follow her new guide, continually assessing her as they walked along. The girl was of medium height, dirty-blonde hair falling softly down past her shoulders in slight waves. A sprinkling of freckles covered the bridge of her nose and extended over onto her cheekbones. What Gloria noticed most of all, however, were the young woman's eyes. A common brown color and shape, it was their motion that caught her attention: ever-darting, they flitted from instant to instant over her surroundings as if she were afraid to allow them any focus. When they landed for half a moment upon Gloria, the angel quickly opened her mouth to speak, afraid the girl might realize that she had been staring.
"Thank you so much for helping me find my way around. I have no sense of direction," she admitted.
The student laughed at the fairly obvious statement. "Don't worry about it, mine isn't too keen either. In fact, I had the worst time finding my way to all my classes when I first came to Bakersfield. I was late nearly every morning the first week."
Gloria smiled sympathetically. "Well I, for one, will be understanding to any lost students," she declared.
"Oh, are you a professor here?" the girl asked, her tone infused with interest.
Gloria smiled and bobbed her head. "Brand new, taking over Mr. Gardens' History of America class."
The girl jumped a bit in surprise. "I'm taking that class." She replied. "I'll bet I'll have you!" She sounded excited, which pleased Gloria.
"So you might. What's your name?" she asked.
"I'm Allie Parker."
At this, Gloria's eyes instantly lit up. "Allie Parker, so here you are! Finally I get to meet my assign- I mean, you."
Allie stared, her gaze a mix of confusion, suspicion, and amusement. "Um, do you know me? Am I famous or something around here?"
The angel quickly backtracked, realizing that once again her over-eagerness had gotten the best of her. "I meant, I finally get to meet one of my students and know their name," she finished lamely.
Allie relaxed a bit and let it go, although still confused. In a way, however, her future professor's quirky manner appealed to her. After suffering half a semester sitting in on Mr. Garden's droning lectures, she was relieved to have a teacher who was, well… a bit perkier. Besides, with Mr. Gardens gone, she would no longer have to face him over her fiasco of an exam, the fresh memory of which still taunted her. She would have to live with the grade that he gave her, but at least she could forget how it had come to be.
The two reached the Humanities Building at last, a massive form of brick with a glass dome. As they ascended the cement steps leading up to the entrance, Allie turned to her new professor. "Why are you coming on campus today anyway? I mean, we have a long weekend, three days off, because midterms were just last week. Classes don't start till Tuesday."
Gloria smiled. "Oh, I'm aware, it's just that I wanted to find everything early. I like to be prepared, to study my surroundings….plus I wanted to check out my office and memorize all the text books before my first lesson."
Allie's eyes widened. "Memorize?!" she exclaimed. "That's ambitious."
Gloria smiled and shrugged innocently before continuing on in her upbeat voice. "Anyhow, I think it was a good idea that I found everything first, considering my track record."
At this, Allie laughed openly, her voice ringing out loud and rich. She paused, temporarily startled by the sound. She realized that it had been a while since she had heard it.