jerseygurl02: Wow, that is the longest review I have ever received! Again, you have a lot of good thoughts, some that didn't even occur to me, but could do well in the story, too. If you think the cliffhangers are bad now, just you wait. ;) More is to come.
Vampire Ronin: Hey! I was wondering where you'd gotten off to. I love to leave y'all waiting. All very true, but there always tends to be that little nagging feeling that you should know or deserve to know more about the biological parental unit. I'm sure the ronins will fill in again for me soon.
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AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hey, readers and reviewers! I am posting the new chapter now (despite the fact, I would PREFER more reviews) because next weekend I will be away for a cousin's wedding. This is a short chapter, which is why I am posting two chapters. Maybe, and this is a mighty big maybe, if I get enough reviews a new chapter MIGHT be posted Friday before I leave town.
Enjoy!
CHAPTER NINE
"Good morning, students!" Professor Douglas greeted as he entered the classroom.
The students all moved from where they were to sit at their desks. Emily sat in the back where one of four windows was. Since the temperature was so nice outside, she had opened the window to let in a gentle breeze. The other students didn't seem to mind.
"Please pass your papers forward and over to the right," Professor Douglas told them as he logged onto the classroom computer and pulled the screen down using his cane.
Emily had already reached over the student's shoulder sitting in front of her with her paper in hand. He reached up and snatched it out of her hand before adding his paper to the pile. Professor Douglas had already brought up the PowerPoint for the day's class and stood waiting for all the papers to be turned in.
"I hope you all enjoyed this assignment. It has been one of my favorites over the years as I always look forward to reading your thoughts," Professor Douglas said.
Emily pulled out her notebook, pen and highlighter. She opened her notebook to a fresh piece of paper and wrote the date at the top. While Emily did this, Professor Douglas crossed the room to pick up the papers from the pile at the far right. He lifted up the papers and balanced them up and down in one hand while crossing the room again.
"Hmm. It feels a C- paper short," the Sociology Professor said, placing the papers down.
A student in the back left corner jumped up from his seat and brought the crinkled paper up to the front. The professor thanked him with a knowing smile while the students laughed quietly. Professor Douglas hit the Enter key on the keyboard before picking up his clicker and speaking.
The PowerPoint program faded to black and the presentation started.
"Let us start our discussion on culture. Now, culture consists of the beliefs, behaviors, objects, and other characteristics common to the members of a particular group or society. Through culture, people and groups define themselves, conform to society's shared values, and contribute to society. What are some societal aspects that are included in culture?"
Hands rose up and he called on students to speak.
"Language."
"Technology."
"What about tools?"
Professor Douglas nodded his head.
"All good and correct answers. Culture also includes customs, values, norms, rules, products, organizations, and institutions."
Emily frowned as she raised her hand while she finished writing the last word the professor had said.
"Yes, Emily? Do you have a question?" Professor Douglas asked.
"I had a question about institutions. Do you mean schools? Like the charter, private, and public schools?" Emily asked, her face showing clear confusion.
"You're close, Emily. In Sociology, an institution refers to clusters of rules and cultural meanings associated with specific social activities. Common institutions are the family, education, religion, work, and health care," Professor Douglas explained.
Emily nodded her head as she scribbled down the notes and underlined institution with her highlighter. The professor proceeded to explain culture in greater detail with students throwing out questions and starting a discussion on racial culture. Soon the hour was coming to a close and students started putting their things away.
"Please pick up your assignment sheets here on the front table. This paper will be on the power of norms and will be due in two weeks. You will be exploring the power of norms by conducting a short experiment where you break a norm and analyze people's reactions. In the paper you will also be discussing the importance of norms, their place in society, and how their perception relates to concepts such as cultural relativism," Professor Douglas said.
Students nodded their heads and mumbled as they exited the classroom. Without warning, Professor Douglas let out a high, short whistle, stopping all movement in the classroom. They all turned to look at him as he placed another stack of papers down next to the assignment sheets.
"I almost forgot. There has been another attack on a female student just off a college campus. I plan to follow these cases and I hope you do as well. Please exercise caution around campus, especially the young ladies," he advised.
Emily swung her backpack over her head and allowed the strap of her messenger bag to rest diagonally across her chest. She walked carefully in between the desks to the front of the classroom. She bid the professor goodbye as she picked up the two sheets and left.
Emily carefully walked down the stairs while reading the assignment sheet. It sounded like a really fun and interesting assignment. She passed a few classmates on the stairwell who sounded like they were discussing the assignment.
"–going to eat a weird food combination."
"How about peanut butter and tomatoes?"
Like the guy who had first spoken, Emily scrunched up her face and made a gagging sound. She pushed open the large door that led to the outside and walked out onto the plaza. The breeze today felt so soothing that Emily decided to forgo an early lunch in favor of studying outside for a little bit.
Feeling especially nostalgic for the old days, Emily scaled up a large tree and sat with her back against the tree. She folded up the assignment sheet and stuffed it into her front backpack pocket. Then she read the printed newspaper article.
NC College Student Attacked, Possible Connection to Previous Attacks
Boone, NC: An Appalachian State University student is recovering at the Watagua County Hospital following a serious attack the night of Friday, November 2, around 10:10pm. 18-year-old Suzanna Dateby was walking home after a late night study session on campus when she was attacked by an unknown assailant.
Suzanna suffers from a severe concussion on the side of her head, multiple small cuts on her arms and face, a split lip, a twisted ankle, and bruised ribs. Due to the severe concussion, Suzanna remembers only that there was one attacker.
Police are investigating the possible connections between this attack and previous cases of assault in California and Wisconsin. There are currently no suspects in any of the cases. The attacker is believed to be a body builder or familiar with forensics due to the lack of evidence left behind with the severity of injuries on the victim. Anyone with information is to contact the Watagua County Police Department.
Emily made an hmm sound before folding up the article and stuffing it into the same pocket. She personally didn't see much of a connection between the three cases; just a few coincidences. She agreed there were some similarities with the victims being college female students, all of them being blonde and none of them could remember anything about the attack. However, there were differences she couldn't ignore. The attacks were in different states, took place at different times (Wisconsin at 11:56pm and California 4:24am), and the seriousness of injuries varied.
She pulled a textbook out of her backpack and hung the zipped up backpack from a small but
sturdy tree limb. Emily opened the textbook to the next story she was assigned to read for English. The story was about a caregiver who was cleaning up an elderly man's home. The man was at the hospital following an attack of sorts and she was moving about through the motions as if expecting him to return.
Emily pulled out her notebook and answered the three questions at the end of the story. She gave her opinion on the story and how the author persuaded her to believe the man would not be returning to his home. Her thoughts were interrupted by a low grumbling in her stomach. Emily pulled out her cell phone to check the time.
"How does it get so late so fast?" she mumbled.
Emily stuffed all her things back into her backpack, swung her backpack on, and climbed down from the tree. She jumped down from the tree in the last three feet to land on the ground. She stood up from her crouched position and started walking towards the dining hall.
Suddenly, she stopped dead in the middle of the West Lawn. Without moving her head, her eyes darted from side to side. She couldn't explain the reasoning for the sudden alertness. It just felt as though…something was off. Not that something was necessarily wrong, but just off.
Her body temperature seemed to drop a little to cool her down as she closed her eyes and tilted her head. Quiet whispers of students whistled through the air from the plaza and the blaring of the bridge horn sounded off in the distance. The breeze picked up again and made a few leaves swirl around her in a weak circle.
She stood solid for a minute. Two minutes. Then she let out a loud breath and moved on to lunch. Whatever had caused her weird reaction seemed to have passed.
It's probably just change in the air. Tom did mention it would start to get really cold soon, Emily thought.
/…/
THWACK! Sage stood up and wiped the sweat off his brow. Sage couldn't shake the feeling that Emily was less than okay about the whole adoption news. He had wanted to give her more time with him to discuss it, but he had waited too long to tell her.
But I have no regrets about having Rowen propose to her first, Sage thought as he brought the axe down.
He added the chopped wood to the pile and carried the wood into the house. Then, he proceeded to venture back outside to clean up the leftover wood and put away the axe in a safe place. The blonde man sat down on the stump they used to chop wood as he pulled his shirt back on.
Instead of climbing to his feet and walking back into the house, Sage sat there deep in thought. Ever since returning home, he had spoken very little to his family, had not slept well, and hadn't gone on a single date. The girl he had been dating, a redhead by the name of Cassandra, had dumped him the other day. It turns out Emily's opinion of her had been accurate.
Oh, well. I'll eventually find the one for me, Sage thought.
Sage had a strong urge to help Emily in any way he could. But what could he do? Then a thought occurred to him. He and his sister shared many similarities, including their thoughts and feeling about different issues.
Which means…Emily will probably want to find out more information about her parents, Sage thought. More than just their names and medical histories.
Being the son of a decorated police officer helped Sage in making a vast amount of connections. He knew enough people across this country and others that he may be able to find out more information for Emily.
"I have to try," he murmured.
END OF CHAPTER NINE