Chapter 3

Amanda grabbed her phone hearing the alarm. She looked over thinking 5 AM was too early for her roommate. Melinda was already awake and reading. "How long have you been up?" Melinda had been awake for an hour. "I run every morning. Do you want to come? You can't study every second." Melinda whined, it was the first day of class. "I'm trying to be a cop, so I need to run every day to stay in shape."

They threw on running stuff. Amanda told her they could shower after. She looked at her shoes, they were in bad shape. She tied them, but she was beginning to think she bit off more than she could chew. She mumbled to herself, "I should have kept working."

They walked outside and stretched. "Ohhh, you two like to run?" Amanda blinked, Olivia stood in front of her in a tight black Nike running outfit with matching shoes. She started running when she dated Johnny.

Melinda shook her head, "I'm new at this. Amanda runs, she wants to be a cop." Amanda rolled her eyes at Melinda, but when she saw Olivia looking she straightened up her face.

Olivia stretched with them. "Yeah, that's dangerous. Hey, this is perfect. I could use someone to push me. Come on, let's get going. Can't be late on the first day of class." Melinda and Amanda struggled keeping up. Melinda wasn't used to running and Amanda was too busy watching Olivia's ass in the pants. Olivia stretched her arms, "That was fun."

Melinda waved and made sure they knew not to invite her next time. Olivia smiled, "How about you?" Amanda agreed. "Cool, but I have a routine. Monday, Wednesday, Saturday we run. Tuesday and Thursday are weights. Sunday we rest."

They walked into the building. Olivia was at her door when Amanda stopped her, "I need some help." Olivia turned. "You said you weren't a mind reader, but you know I need more help than what you did, right?" Olivia nodded and waited. "I don't know what else you can do. I'm just in over my head."

Olivia offered to listen over breakfast. "Let's shower and we can talk and I'll help you figure it out. Melinda left early because her schedule was stacked. Amanda sat with her pancakes and bacon. Olivia helped her, "Okay, what do you need? And Amanda be honest. Give it all to me."

Amanda explained her family and life. She worked hard. She took babysitting jobs since she was 13. By the time she was 16, she worked 2 jobs during the school year and 3 in the summer. "I've done it all, babysitting, lifeguard, waitress, I even ummm like tutored."

Olivia looked up, "Like tutored? What's that mean?" Amanda squirmed in her seat. Talking to her was like talking to a mom when a kid was in trouble. She explained she helped sports kids at school.

Olivia wasn't buying anything. "Okay, I did their homework and wrote papers. I made a lot of money." Olivia sighed and made a phone call. Amanda listened carefully. Olivia gave the person Amanda's name and said she was on the way.

When Olivia hung up, she looked at Amanda. "What you did was cheat. Don't do that here or you will deal with me and you don't want to deal with me when I'm pissed." Olivia asked for her phone number. She sent her a text with a name and building number. "Go see Dr. Jo Marlowe." Amanda was shocked. "Go."

Amanda hustled to the meeting. She walked in and saw tons of computers and a few students. A tall blonde woman immaculately dressed walked over. "Can I help you?"

Amanda held her schedule in her hand, "I'm Amanda Rollins and I'm looking for Dr. Jo Marlowe. Have you seen him?"

She smiled, "I see her every day when I look in the mirror." Amanda apologized, but she waved it off. "Olivia called. Is that your schedule?" Amanda nodded as Dr. Marlowe read over it. She walked to her desk and Amanda followed. She scanned her badge and typed. "Forensics? What's your plan with that?" Amanda immediately mentioned the police department. "That's dangerous. You could do so much more. Ever think about Engineering?"

She looked up waiting. Everyone kept saying it was dangerous like she didn't know that. Amanda rolled her eyes without even thinking. "I'm only asking because I'm looking at your grades in high school, they don't match your SAT score. That's some number. Think about it." She typed some more. "I'm putting your name in for a few scholarships that are out there. I can't do anything about this semester, but in the spring term, you can be covered."

Amanda watched her type. "Do you have a checkbook for bank account information?" Amanda went in her bag and gave her a check. She really wasn't sure what was happening. "You make 18 dollars an hour. Based on your schedule I will email you your work schedule. We work Monday through Thursday. If you pick up other jobs with students, that's up to you, but make sure it's well over what you make here. You take what I give you, if you can't make it, find someone to cover, call me last. Got it?" Amanda nodded.

Dr. Marlowe handed her a brand new laptop. It was still in the box. "That is university property, be careful with it. The first thing you need to do is check your email and take the online peer tutoring training. When I get your passing score, I'll put you on the schedule immediately."

Amanda was completely stunned. "Thank you Dr. Marlowe." She smiled and told her to get to class. Amanda went to her classes and she was thankful that she really only needed two books. She sat in the lounge of the dorm eating her dinner and taking her training. She hadn't seen Melinda or Olivia all day. Amanda hit the last submit button and saw 100%. She thought that was easy.

She pulled her earbuds out and saw Olivia hugging a young girl crying. "Hey, it's okay. This is all new and it will get better. Trust me." Olivia rubbed her back until her crying stopped. Olivia saw Amanda looking. "How was your day?"

Amanda smiled, because of her it was great. She wished Olivia would hold her and rub her back. "Olivia, thank you for everything. It really helps."

Olivia touched her back and rubbed it. Amanda felt goosebumps all over her arms. "You're welcome. You know you came clean with the problems. Amanda Rollins, you intrigue me, so maybe helping you is a little guilty pleasure." Olivia walked away and turned back, "By the way my friends call me Liv." Amanda smiled, she was friends with Olivia Benson.

After about month everyone fell into a routine. Workout in the morning, classes, work, studying. It was all working out. Amanda was in a great mood and walked past Olivia's door. She often kept her door open during her work hours. She knocked with a plan. They ran together, but she really didn't know much about her. "Hey Liv!"

Olivia had enjoyed seeing Amanda grow and change right in front of her eyes. She spun her chair around, "Well, someone's in a great mood." Amanda plopped on her bed and swung her legs, explaining she just aced all of her papers and exams for the week. "Congratulations!

Amanda noticed the baseball shirt neatly folded in a box. "Now keep working because we have midterms before Thanksgiving and finals are right around the corner after. Speaking of Thanksgiving, what are you doing?"

Amanda smiled but wanted to frown. She was sure that was about to be an invitation, but she already made plans with Melinda and her family. "I'm going with Melinda. What about you?"

Olivia smiled, "Alex and her family." Olivia always went with Alex. She was her family and she loved them.

Olivia knew things about Amanda, but Amanda didn't know much about Olivia. "Is Alex your friend or more?" Olivia explained her best friend and also explained the relationship. "You kissed her?"

Olivia nodded, "Yep and then my mom kicked me out." Amanda frowned, she thought Olivia had a perfect life. Olivia told her about everything and she started to realize their lives mirrored some. "So that's me in a nutshell. My grandmother became my world and then when I lost her, Alex and her family were still there."

Amanda wondered, "Did you look for your dad? I mean I know my mom's name. I thought about it. I still think about it, but I don't know. Ever thought about ancestry or something?"

Olivia shook her head, she wondered, but she didn't think about that. "You and your forensics."

Amanda had a better comeback, "You and your psych evals." They both laughed. Amanda looked at the box hoping this wouldn't ruin anything. "Who's Drake?" Amanda hoped it wasn't a boyfriend.

Olivia stood up and went into the box. She pulled out a picture. "Johnny Drake is my ex." Amanda saw a hot young guy hugging Olivia in a nasty baseball uniform. "That was after winning the championship. He plays for the Dodgers now." Olivia explained she found him fucking some girl in the bathroom of the bar right before school started.

Amanda frowned and said she was sorry. She also frowned because if Olivia had a boyfriend, she probably didn't date girls anymore. "Yeah well. I'm over it, especially after our conversation last night." Amanda wondered what she meant. Olivia had helped Amanda through so much. Their daily morning workouts were more like therapy sessions. Amanda didn't have parents that cared, so she fed off of the attention from Olivia.