Chapter 1

A/N: Sorry if this isn't so good, but I wanted to get another chapter posted before I left for Aruba with my family. I'll be back by Wednesday, but probably won't be able to write that much the week after because I'll still be visiting relatives.

Thanks for the reviews and enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 1

Arriving back at her dorm room from her morning class, Anna Harper threw her bag onto her twin bed and collapsed into her desk chair. She opened her laptop computer and pressed the 'power' button, then searched around her messy desk until she found her cell phone that she'd forgotten to take with her. Waiting for her screen to load after she typed in her password, she took a long sip of the coffee she'd bought at the campus café.

Coffee almost spilled onto her lap as her roommate, Hallie Morgan, stormed into the room and slammed her textbook on her desk. Anna raised an eyebrow and glanced at her roommate over her Styrofoam cup. "Problems?"

"I hate my stupid professor!" Hallie exclaimed, lowering her head to her desk while she stood. "Hate him, hate him, hate him!"

"What'd he do?" Anna asked, checking her various email and website accounts as they spoke.

Plopping down on her own desk chair, Hallie whined, "Why does he have to be so hot? It's driving me crazy!"

"Oh, that kind of problem," Anna said, chuckling.

Hallie massaged her forehead for a moment then said, "Yeah. I need a cigarette…then a drive…you wanna go to CVS?"

"Nah, got some stuff to finish up before Creative Writing in an hour," Anna answered.

Groaning, Hallie replied, "You're always on the computer and always say 'no' when I ask you to go somewhere."

"You ask me to go places a lot," Anna retorted without blinking an eye. "And, you know, sometimes I have stuff to do."

Hallie rolled her eyes as she booted up her own laptop on her desk. "Please, all you're doing is writing. I know you're always saving work until the last minute…like now. Why didn't you do that before?"

"It's no use putting any effort into my Creative Writing homework," Anna explained, no bitterness whatsoever in her tone. She'd decided a couple of months into the semester that nothing she ever did was good, so what was the point in trying to please either her professor or her equally harsh students? "I might as well save it until last minute. Why waste my time?"

Glancing at her with concern, Hallie pointed out, "But you still write on your own."

"Because it's my own stuff for fun that's not going to be judged by thirty students and a self-righteous professor. There's a difference," Anna argued

Hallie shook her head, her short blonde hair flying about her face. "Whatever. Did you find any more internships to apply to?"

"Yeah, but I'm nervous even if I do get something in a newspaper," Anna confessed. "You had that newspaper internship and nearly cracked under pressure…I don't handle pressure well!"

"You'll be fine…I'm going out for a cigarette. Be right back," Hallie replied, taking a cigarette out of her jacket pocket as she went into the hallway.

Frowning in disapproval at her roommate's smoking habits, Anna logged on to her school email account. She then became interested in the first email from the school administration, regarding her new temporary advisor assignment. Advisors at her school were members of the teaching faculty who assisted students with any school administration problems Her old one was on sabbatical after having a baby, and she'd been anxiously awaiting a new one to help her with fixing her internship resume.

Hello, Anna,

With your regular advisor gone for the rest of the semester, I have been assigned to you. I just wanted to introduce myself and let you know that I am always available should you need help. I would like to meet with you, so if it's convenient, please email me back to make an appointment.

Looking forward to meeting you!

Monica

Anna sat back in her chair, suddenly overcome with anxiety. Yes, she'd been putting off sending her resume because it needed work. But that was just the lie she told people, including herself. In truth, she was terrified of sending it out…and getting a bunch of rejection letters in return.

But not only that…sometimes her anxiety went into overdrive, and she actually asked herself What would an internship really do? Every day she walked around with a paralyzing fear of the future, started by her recent failures in hr Creative Writing class. All her life she had been so sure she would be a fiction writer straight out of college. Journalism had always been a fall back career. As she realized she would never make it as an author, she was beginning to think that maybe she wouldn't be a good reporter, or a good…anything. There was a constant mental picture in her head of living alone in an apartment while working a boring nine-to-five office job for the rest of her life, and it terrified her.

Which brought her back to the reasoning that she shouldn't even attempt it if her fate was mapped out before her mind's eye.

Well, never mind that. Her family would demand explanations if she didn't get an internship this summer.

Sighing, Anna clicked the 'reply' button and…

"Hey, have you seen my lighter?" Hallie replied, walking back into the dorm and searching through her bag. "I had to swipe a light from someone else. Where is that thing…what's with you?"

Snapping out of it, Anna quickly answered, "Nothing. Just have to send a reply to my new advisor."

"About time you got one. Who is it?" Hallie questioned, going to look over Anna's shoulder at the screen. "Monica…what's her last name? Maybe I've had her as a professor before." Looking closer at the screen, Hallie raised an eyebrow as she remarked, "Huh, weird. No last name in the email address." All Beyerman College email addresses were in the format of the whole name, with the college as the domain.

Anna shrugged. "Probably a technical thing. I'll find out at the meeting."

"Yeah, probably. I'm going for a drive…good luck with your work," Hallie called, grabbing her bag and going out the door.

"Thanks," Anna called back. Thinking of a good time the next day, Anna began writing back to her new advisor.

Sitting in on Anna's class once again, Tess shuffled through the papers the current professor had given her. For the most part, they included a class list, a brief descriptions of all the work the class did so far, and condensed notes from previous lectures. None of it seemed daunting to Tess, an experienced angel who had substituted for professors more times than she could count.

Of course, that was more than she could say for her new teacher's assistant.

"Gloria, will you please stop fidgeting and pay attention to me?" Tess asked, giving the enthused angel a look that said she wouldn't ask nicely again.

Keeping her eye on the students coming in the classroom, Gloria answered, "I'm sorry, but this is all so new to me. Adult students are very different from the elementary school students I've helped on a couple of assignments."

"Trust me, little angel, eighteen- and nineteen-year-olds are far from 'adults,'" Tess replied. Then she separated a pile of important class notes and the syllabus, handing it over to Gloria. "Here, read through these for the time being and, for my sanity's sake, calm down."

Gloria gave her an apologetic frown and took the papers, managing to focus enough to skim them. Her brief concentration was broken when a certain Irish angel walked in the classroom. "Tess, look, it's Monica!"

What? Tess thought, glancing up to see Monica approach their desks, which were near the door and the professor's podium. She's supposed to be settling in at her new office. Once the angel was close enough, Tess narrowed her eyes. "Miss Wings, what are you doing here?"

Sitting on Tess' other side, Monica answered, "My office is in the same building, so I thought I'd stop by." Turning to Gloria, she asked, "How are you doing?"

"Great! Just looking through some notes now," Gloria answered, holding up the papers.

"That's good," Monica said, then turned back to Tess. "Oh, Andrew came by. He's still having trouble with his assignment and will be around for a while. In fact, he hinted that our assignments may cross paths."

"Well, whatever happens, it's in the Father's hands," Tess replied, scrutinizing Monica with a critical eye. To Gloria, she suggested, "Gloria, Clark just came in now. Why don't you go introduce yourself and let him know we're here? He's been informed that we're taking over the class."

"Sure," Gloria replied, putting down the papers and crossing the room to where the professor was taking off his jacket.

With the young angel gone, Tess turned around and asked, "Okay, Ms. Wings, what's your motive?"

"What are you talking about?" Monica replied, somewhat confused.

"Oh, so it's just a coincidence that you came by right before Gloria started one of her only assignments without you," Tess answered in a knowing tone. "You're way too nervous to be rushing over here because of a casual conversation with Andrew. You're here to look after Gloria, aren't you?"

"Well, I can't help it, Tess!" Monica exclaimed, whispering as loud as she dared. "I wasn't doing anything, and I knew you would be here, so I didn't think it would make much of a difference if I sat in on the class with you. I understand she's working with you, but while I was sitting at my desk all I could think of was Gloria as a student…I love her, Tess, but both you and I know she won't sit here quietly and watch."

Chuckling, Tess assured her, "Baby, Gloria will be fine. I'll be here."

"I know, I know. I'm sorry I doubted you," Monica said, sighing as she got up from her seat. Before she left, she whispered, "Just…go easy on her, please? Try to have some patience with her."

Tess hesitated while Monica gave her an imploring look. Letting out a deep sigh, Tess shook her head. "Alright, Ms. Wings. Now…"

"Oh, there's Anna," Monica said, the teenager coming into the classroom. "I'm going to go introduce myself quickly before I go. See you later."

"See you, baby," Tess replied, shaking her head while she went back to her papers.