This is the first Mysterious Ways fanfic I ever wrote (as Deb already knows). It's not quite as good as my other ones, but I think it's worth posting :)
Declan sat at his desk in his office. He had a stack of papers to grade and his red marker poised and ready, but the papers were going ungraded. He was thinking about the events of the pas half-hour. He had finally found out where he knew Peggy from, and why she had intrigued him so much. They had gone to the same college for two weeks. During those two weeks, Declan had developed a crush on Peggy, but he never found out what her name was. He never had a chance to. Actually, he was too shy. Many times he had wondered what would have happened if he had gotten the courage to talk to her. Maybe they would have been friends, or they could have even dated. Maybe they would have stayed in touch after she left. Of course, that was all speculation. Anyway, it didn't matter now, he did end up, by some twist of fate, being friend with her and not even realizing who she was.
He remembered those two weeks clearly, as if the were magnified, set apart from the jumble of memories that had built up over the years. While reminiscing the past, Declan leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.
Memory
Declan bit his thumbnail as he sat through yet another one of Dr. Hess's classes. He knew that nailbiting was a bad habit, but he needed something to do. He realized as he looked down at his nearly blank three-ring notebook that he was supposed to be writing notes. He picked up his pen and started scratching down various phrases from the lecture. It was the usual, "Noteeng ees a coeenzidenz." Dr. Hess' heavy German accent had become a running joke among the students. There were several people who imitated it.
"How can you prove your theory?" a different voice caught Declan by surprise, "Is there any evidence?"
Declan looked up from his notes to see who this person was. It had been quite a while since someone had asked a question in this class. She was small with very curly dark brown hair that went down to her shoulders. She had a strange look in ther eyes of intelligence beyond her years.
"The evidence," Dr. Hess replied, "Is in the millions of lives this has influenced."
"Could you give me an example?" she inquired.
"Of course." Dr. Hess answered, "Say, for example, a woman loses her husband. That seems bad, and it is, but there is a reason. Maybe she is destined to meet someone else in a different time and a different place."
"But what if the husband never died in the first place?" she asked. This was getting interesting, "Then there would be no reason for her to meet someone else."
"Yes," he said, beginning to be baffled, "but what about that someone else?"
"That someone else would never find someone, would he?" she answered intelligently, "Either that or he would end up with someone he's not happy with, which proves your whole theory to be wrong."
Dr. Hess was now completely baffled. Instead of giving his rebuttal, he went on with the rest of his lecture. Declan forgot about his notes and turned his attention to the girl who had just outwitted Dr. Hess. Absentmindedly, he but his thumbnail again. There was something different about her. she was obviously the smartest in the class, but the was something more than that. Something he couldn't quite put his finger on. What was it?
The bell rang. Class was over. Declan quickly threw his notebook and pen into his haphazardly arranged backpack and dashed to catch up with her, only succeeding to trip over his own two feet. Before he could pull himself up, she was gone.
Declan woke up. He had slept the whole night in his office and now there was a big red blotch on his t-shirt because he had never bothered to recap his red marker. He sighed and rubbed the spot where his glasses has dug into the side of his nose. He looked at the clock (or rather, he looked for it, as it was buried under a load of papers, books, and magazines). It was six-thirty. It would probably be a good idea to go home and change before his first class....
Peggy sat on her couch. She, much like Declan, was reflecting on her two weeks of being in the same college as him. For some reason, her memory of the way Declan looked back then was very clear. he was a little lanky, as if he hadn't get gotten out of his adolescent stage, and the clothes he wore usually had a few holes in them and looked kind of dirty. He always wore those thick-framed glasses and his unkempt hair went all over the place.
Peggy also remembered what he looked like the day before she left. His clothes were actually cleaned and ironed, even though they still had holes in them, and it was obvious that he had tried to tame his wild hair, but there were still a few stubborn locks that decided to stick straight up in the air. she had watched with amusement as he took his binder out of his now semi-organized backpack. At that time, the rings in his binder decided to come loose, causing all of his papers to come flooding out. People around him snickered as the watched him trying in vain to figure out which notes (which looked more like chicken scratches) went where and what study guide went with what lesson.
That was so long ago. Who would have thought that the unusually intelligent girl who asked a lot of questions would meet up again with the accident-prone guy that was just a little on the geeky side? Who knows? Maybe Dr. Hess's theory was correct after all.
Declan sat at his desk in his office. He had a stack of papers to grade and his red marker poised and ready, but the papers were going ungraded. He was thinking about the events of the pas half-hour. He had finally found out where he knew Peggy from, and why she had intrigued him so much. They had gone to the same college for two weeks. During those two weeks, Declan had developed a crush on Peggy, but he never found out what her name was. He never had a chance to. Actually, he was too shy. Many times he had wondered what would have happened if he had gotten the courage to talk to her. Maybe they would have been friends, or they could have even dated. Maybe they would have stayed in touch after she left. Of course, that was all speculation. Anyway, it didn't matter now, he did end up, by some twist of fate, being friend with her and not even realizing who she was.
He remembered those two weeks clearly, as if the were magnified, set apart from the jumble of memories that had built up over the years. While reminiscing the past, Declan leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.
Memory
Declan bit his thumbnail as he sat through yet another one of Dr. Hess's classes. He knew that nailbiting was a bad habit, but he needed something to do. He realized as he looked down at his nearly blank three-ring notebook that he was supposed to be writing notes. He picked up his pen and started scratching down various phrases from the lecture. It was the usual, "Noteeng ees a coeenzidenz." Dr. Hess' heavy German accent had become a running joke among the students. There were several people who imitated it.
"How can you prove your theory?" a different voice caught Declan by surprise, "Is there any evidence?"
Declan looked up from his notes to see who this person was. It had been quite a while since someone had asked a question in this class. She was small with very curly dark brown hair that went down to her shoulders. She had a strange look in ther eyes of intelligence beyond her years.
"The evidence," Dr. Hess replied, "Is in the millions of lives this has influenced."
"Could you give me an example?" she inquired.
"Of course." Dr. Hess answered, "Say, for example, a woman loses her husband. That seems bad, and it is, but there is a reason. Maybe she is destined to meet someone else in a different time and a different place."
"But what if the husband never died in the first place?" she asked. This was getting interesting, "Then there would be no reason for her to meet someone else."
"Yes," he said, beginning to be baffled, "but what about that someone else?"
"That someone else would never find someone, would he?" she answered intelligently, "Either that or he would end up with someone he's not happy with, which proves your whole theory to be wrong."
Dr. Hess was now completely baffled. Instead of giving his rebuttal, he went on with the rest of his lecture. Declan forgot about his notes and turned his attention to the girl who had just outwitted Dr. Hess. Absentmindedly, he but his thumbnail again. There was something different about her. she was obviously the smartest in the class, but the was something more than that. Something he couldn't quite put his finger on. What was it?
The bell rang. Class was over. Declan quickly threw his notebook and pen into his haphazardly arranged backpack and dashed to catch up with her, only succeeding to trip over his own two feet. Before he could pull himself up, she was gone.
Declan woke up. He had slept the whole night in his office and now there was a big red blotch on his t-shirt because he had never bothered to recap his red marker. He sighed and rubbed the spot where his glasses has dug into the side of his nose. He looked at the clock (or rather, he looked for it, as it was buried under a load of papers, books, and magazines). It was six-thirty. It would probably be a good idea to go home and change before his first class....
Peggy sat on her couch. She, much like Declan, was reflecting on her two weeks of being in the same college as him. For some reason, her memory of the way Declan looked back then was very clear. he was a little lanky, as if he hadn't get gotten out of his adolescent stage, and the clothes he wore usually had a few holes in them and looked kind of dirty. He always wore those thick-framed glasses and his unkempt hair went all over the place.
Peggy also remembered what he looked like the day before she left. His clothes were actually cleaned and ironed, even though they still had holes in them, and it was obvious that he had tried to tame his wild hair, but there were still a few stubborn locks that decided to stick straight up in the air. she had watched with amusement as he took his binder out of his now semi-organized backpack. At that time, the rings in his binder decided to come loose, causing all of his papers to come flooding out. People around him snickered as the watched him trying in vain to figure out which notes (which looked more like chicken scratches) went where and what study guide went with what lesson.
That was so long ago. Who would have thought that the unusually intelligent girl who asked a lot of questions would meet up again with the accident-prone guy that was just a little on the geeky side? Who knows? Maybe Dr. Hess's theory was correct after all.