I shift for the thousandth time and glance at the clock; 2:15am. Damn, only two minutes have passed since the last time I've looked. And I'm still wide awake. I roll onto my back and stare at the dark ceiling. I've tried everything I could think of; classical music softly playing, yoga, relaxation techniques but none of them have helped. I think I know the reason why I'm an insomniac tonight; school starts tomorrow, or rather today. I guess that I'm afraid that I'm going to fail as a teacher and be sent back to Earth the next time the Daedalus comes back. I don't want that; I want to be here. I wouldn't have taken the position if I didn't have some sense of adventure. I've never been "officially" diagnosed as an insomniac, but I've always had trouble falling asleep. It's like my body doesn't know when to shut down and get the rest it needs. I get up and turn on my laptop and start writing to mom and pop. I figure since I'm up I might as well do something. But that only holds my attention for a bit and I end up saving the letter and turning off my computer. Sighing, I get up and grab my pillows and covers. I head on out to the couch, set my stuff down on the floor, and head back into the bedroom to grab my alarm. It wouldn't be good if I overslept on the first day of class. Yea, that would make a great impression to all the parents. Setting the clock on the glass table, I quickly make up the couch and sink into it. With a sigh I relax, close my eyes, and try to drift off…but sleep doesn't come. I toss and turn for another half hour until I half-sigh half-yell in frustration as I get up and slip into a pair of pj pants and slippers. I grab my pillow and cover and open the door that leads to the small balcony. I step out and breathe in the salt air, and find it a bit more chilly that I had originally thought. I duck back inside and grab my 'Girls Kick Ass. It says so on a T-shirt.' hoodie and head back outside putting it on as I do. Sitting down on the metal balcony, I scootch towards the wall, place the pillow on my back, and wrap the cover around me. I close my eyes and listen to the waves gently braking against Atlantis.
BRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
I open my eyes and realize that I'm still outside on the balcony and the blaring is coming from my alarm inside. I stand and groan as I do; I'm stiff and sore. Sleeping against a wall will do that to you. I pad back inside, holding my pillow in one hand and trying not to trip over my cover (which is still wrapped around me). I turn off the alarm and pick up the clock to see what time it is. It's 7:15am. I blink at the clock for a few seconds, trying to confirm that it's actually the right time. It is. Class starts at 8am. It takes a minute for my still-sleeping brain to register that fact and when I do, it's like someone has just given me a shot of adrenaline. I drop the pillow and cover and run towards the bathroom, tearing off my clothes as I do. I turn on the water and jump in; I don't have time to wait for it to heat up and take what must be the fastest shower since I was late for my graduation. I quickly towel off and rush to my dresser with my towel around me. I don't look at what I pick out for lingerie, not enough time for that. I pull out a black t-shirt and shorts and put those on under my Atlantis overalls. Might as well look official the first day. Well that and I don't have time to pick out anything else. I whip on socks and comfy shoes. Now for my hair, which is still soaked. As I turn on the dryer, I can hear my mom's voice in my head telling me that I should have gotten that hair cut before I left; it would have taken less time to dry. I tell that voice to shut up and will the dryer to go faster. A glance at my watch tells me that it's now 7:35am. Damn, less than half and hour. I turn off the dryer and brush out my hair. It's half dry half wet. I decide to forego wearing my hair down and pull it into a loose braid. Thank goodness I had the foresight to get my teaching stuff together the night before so all I need to do is sling my backpack on and pick up the books. No time for an actual breakfast, not if I want to be on time. I root around in my stash of junk food to see if there's something halfway decent in there and I find some 'Nutrigrain' bars. Hey look at that, I actually did pack something healthy. I grab two and head towards the classroom. I glance at my watch and see that I wasted five minutes by looking for those bars. Damn it, I'm gonna have to use the transporter if I don't want to be late. I suck it up and enter one of those damn things anyway. In a flash I exit the transporter and head down the hallway at a run. Let me tell you, it's not easy to run with your hands full of books and papers. And strangely enough, no one gives me a second glance as I dart down the hallway. I guess that they've been here long enough that someone running down a hallway is normal. Kind of like if you've lived in California long enough and you see someone running around in spandex, tights, and a cape you think nothing of it. Almost there, I just have to round one more corner and the room's halfway down the hall. I steal a glance at my watch and see that I have ten minutes before they're supposed to arrive. But I don't slow down, I want to get there with enough time for me to catch my breath and eat. Don't want to pass out on the first day of class; we'll save that for the last day of the term. I turn the last corner and run smack into somebody.
"Oof!"
We both go down and the books and papers fly out of my arms and go everywhere. Great. That's just great. Now I'll get there when everyone else does, so much for a good first impression. "Sorry." I say, getting to my knees and starting to collect my papers.
"That's ok. You seem to have a habit of running into me." I hear the person I ran into say. I pause when I realize that the voice belongs to Logan. Oh God. The girls are going to have a field day with this one. I don't say anything and start to collect my stuff again.
"Here let me help." He says, moving closer towards me.
"It's ok, I got it." I manage to say, willing myself to focus on gathering all my stuff and not on how cute he looks today.
"No really. Let me help." Logan says, gathering up some farther scattered papers. Our hands accidentally touch as we reach for the same book and I snatch mine back like I had just touched a hot stove. I stand with most of my stuff, as does Logan. He has the rest. He hands them out to me and I take them. "Thanks." I say.
"First day of class?" he asks.
"Uh, yea. Listen it's, uh, been interesting and all but, uh, I, uh, um-" I say, suddenly at a loss for words. Agh! What the hell is happening? Now's not the time for me to go all 'high school crush'. My eyes drift down to my watch and I see that I have less then 5 minutes before everyone shows up. That snaps me back to reality. "I'm really sorry for running into you, it's one of those mornings, but I have to go. You know the whole teaching thing." I say, starting to back away from Logan. Oh sure, now I can form a coherent sentence.
"Yea. Listen can I have lunch with you and Dr. Winter?" he asks.
"Why?"
Logan shrugs and says, "You two seem to be having the most fun out of everyone there."
3 minutes and 30 seconds. I so do not have time for this. "Yea, sure. Whatever." I say turning around as I do. I don't care, it's not like he's ever gonna actually join us. Come to think of it, I'll be surrounded by kids all day so there won't be time for me and Lydia to talk, much less have lunch together anymore. Oh well, we'll burn that bridge when we come to it.
A/N: So begins Max's first day of teaching. Monday and Tuesday I overslept and missed my first classes. I'm starting to imitate what I've written, and that scares me. And I really do have issues trying to fall asleep (sometimes music helps and sometimes it doesn't.) but have never really been given meds or diagnosed for sleep apena or insomnia. Nenya and nwfairy get five points each for getting one of the songs (Miss Murder by AFI) but not the other one, so Nenya had 10 bonus points and nwfairy has 5. The other one's still up for grabs. I'm on a high at the moment because nwfairy read my 'Art of Being' story and said that it gave her plot bunnies! -grin- I'm a Muse to someone -happy dance- ! Anyhoo, Commander Bun-Bun has attacked me with a number of stories so I'm working on those, working, going to school, continueing this one and another Atlantis story so be forgiving if updates are far inbetween each other. I responded to Techie's challenge on Lenny's favorite movie but want to run it past her before posting it, so look for it. I own Max, but (sadly) don't own Logan or Lydia. They belong to BiteMeTechie and James Cameron (not in that order though). Review if the need arises.