The next morning, I prepare for Jason's visit. I get up at about 6:00 and put coffee on, and start making breakfast. Jason said he was going to leave at about 3:00, so he should be here in an hour. When he said he was going to leave that early, I couldn't believe it—Jason's the kind of guy who doesn't get out of bed before 10:00 usually—it just goes to show how much loves me.

I make grits, scrambled eggs, biscuits, tomato gravy, and lots of bacon—a nice southern breakfast. Just as I'm finishing up, I get a phone call from Jase.

"Hey, sis, I uh, well I'm lost. I know I'm at the college, but I don't know where to go," he says pathetically.

I laugh at him, and direct him where to go. Ten minutes later, there's a knock at my door.

"Hey, Sook," Jason says as he walks in and hugs me. I hug him back, and lead him to our little kitchen area.

"I made breakfast and coffee. I figured you could use it," I tell him as I grab plates and mugs. I give him his plate to make his own food, and I make myself a smaller one. I'm trying to shed my freshman fifteen.

We sit and eat for awhile, just enjoying being in each others company. When we finish, I take our plates to the sink and wash them quickly. Amelia still hasn't woken up, and I don't expect her to anytime soon.

I go to my room and get dressed, leaving Jason in the living area with the remote to the TV. I dress comfortably in a pair of army green shorts, tan top, and brown sandals. I put my hair in a ponytail, put on light makeup, and call it good. I grab my Michael Kors bag, and head to the living room. Jason is right where I left him.

By the time we leave the house, it's almost 8:15. We go out to the front of the building and get a cab. We head to Bourbon Street, where we walk around and check out all the street vendors and little shops. I stop at a magic shop that Amelia was talking about and grab her a new spell book and a variety of herbs and ingredients. Jason gives me a weird look, but I just wave him off. We explore the little side streets and everything they have to offer, and we stop at all the little shops. We blow the next few hours exploring around, checking out the oldest church in Louisiana, Jackson Square, and Cafe du Mon. I always find it funny all of the palm readers and psychics that camp out in front of the church. By the time we're done, it's dinner time and we stop at a bar called Molly's. We go in and order typical bar food, and Jason orders a Hurricane.

"How're you likin' college?" Jason asks me, smiling.

"It's...it's going better than I thought it would. I'm making friends, I'm meeting interesting people, I'm getting a great education. There's nothing not to like. I just miss home sometimes, though," I tell him truthfully.

Jason smiles sympathetically and pats my hand across the table. "It'll get better. The longer you're away, the more you'll get used to it. Just don't ever forget that Bon Temps is your home."

"I won't forget that. We're all we have left, after all," I say back to him. We finish our meal in comfortable silence. Jason has ordered three more Hurricane's, and by the time we leave, he's smashed.

I hail our taxi, and get us loaded up, and direct the cab to the campus. I take Jason inside and lay him down on the couch, when I notice the time.

"Shit!" I yell, throwing a blanket over him. I grab my purse and sprint out of the dorm. I'm half an hour late to history class.

I show up to the building, wrench the door open, and run to the classroom door. To my horror, it's locked. I jiggle the handle a few more times, and finally give up, slumping down next to the door, waiting for class to get out. I decide to not just waste time and pull my textbook out of my bag, and open it to the chapter that we're covering in class.

After 45 minutes of waiting for class to end, my ass has gone numb and my back hurts like nobody's business. Luckily though, class has ended, and everyone is filing out. I wait for everyone to leave before making my way inside. The room is empty, save Professor Northman, who's sitting at his desk, pointedly ignoring me.

"Uh, Eric," I start, "I'm really sorry I missed class...I was out this afternoon, and I just completely forgot about class tonight..." I don't really have anything other than that. It's a lame excuse, and I know it.

"Miss Stackhouse, it's Professor Northman," he says, finally looking up at me, his blue eyes blazing. "And tardiness is not permitted in this class. You have to be punished for this. For the next two weeks, you will stay with me after class and help me grade papers. I think that's fair. I could have you removed from this class if I wanted to."

I nod silently, and lower my head. He's acting so different than he was last night. I guess he's just in professor mode.

"Miss Stackhouse, that time will start tonight. Sit down and get comfortable," he says, nodding toward a desk in the front row. I sit down, and he gets up from his desk. He stalks towards me, holding a handful of papers. "Now, Miss Stackhouse, I think this punishment is a little lacking, don't you?"

I can tell what he's doing now. He has a predatory look in his eyes, and they've darkened from their normal cerulean to almost black. I shiver involuntarily, and look down again.

"I think this is just fine, for now, professor."

He chuckles slightly. "Finish these papers for me. Then you can go."