Chapter Two
The first day of the second semester had gone by surprisingly slowly. Zuria blamed the rain that had left her drenched as she walked from her last class back to her living quarters. She punched the code into the locking device on her door, causing it to swing open. She took several steps inside, dropping her bag before wringing the water from her hair and uniform. Music with heavy bass played throughout the dormitory.
"Pallania?" She called. Within several seconds, her roommate appeared before her, wearing just her underwear, as she preferred to do when in the room. Zuria had gotten used to the habit long ago.
"Hey, Zuria." She greeted. She held a tube of lip gloss in one hand and its cap in the other. "What happened to you?"
"I got caught in the rain, obviously." She answered, picking her bag up and moving it to hers and Pallania's sleeping quarters, setting it down next to her bed. "What's with the music?" She questioned, kicking off her boots.
"Oh, I'm just getting ready." She replied, her eyes traveling to the lip gloss, twisting the cap back onto the tube.
Zuria sighed. "Another date?"
"Yes." Pallania responded, turning away from Zuria to examine herself in the mirror.
"Just, please, don't bring him back here this time." She entreated, standing behind her roommate and holding her gaze in the mirror. "I don't want to have to find somewhere else to spend the night."
"Okay, I won't." Pallania promised, moving to her bed and picking up the small black dress that lay on her bed, slipping it on over her head. She stepped into a pair of stiletto heels, adding several inches to her already tall frame. "Computer, turn music off." She commanded. The music stopped within seconds.
"Have fun tonight." Zuria said allowing a grin to take hold of her lips. Pallania returned the expression, giving a light giggle.
"Don't worry, Zuria, I will." She assured before grabbing her purse and walking out of the dorm. With a final wave, Zuria exhaled loudly, throwing her soaked uniform to the floor and falling onto her bed.
The rain had not in any way disrupted Spock as he moved from his last class of the day to his office. Unfortunately for him, Professor Tadek had left at least half of his mid-year exams uncorrected, leaving the responsibility to Spock.
"Computer, lights." He said. They flickered on, illuminating the room. A large box sat next to his desk, containing about fifty exams from the Advanced Vulcan Studies class. Closing his eyes for a brief moment, her rubbed his temples, allowing himself to sink into a pseudo-meditative state. Opening his eyes, Spock inhaled, reaching into the box and pulling out an exam. He flipped through it quickly, gaining an idea of what exactly he had to grade. Most of the questions seemed to be ones answered with short essays, although there were some multiple choices ones as well. Gazing briefly out the window at the downpour that overtook the sky, Spock began grading.
Disappointingly enough, however, it appeared as though the majority of his new students had been napping during the entire first semester of the class. The highest grade he had seen so far was a ninety percent.
Towards the end of the pile, though, Spock came upon the exam of Cadet Zuria Nibiru, the first one of his new students that he had met. He spent a moment recalling her; her reddish hair, demeanor, and the glint in her hazel eyes that he had deduced came from the pleasure of holding casual yet intelligent discourse with him.
Curiously, Spock set down his pen, glancing over the test. He dedicated several more seconds to reading her answers than he had to the other tests, particularly when reading the essay questions. She was intelligent; she appeared to have much insight into the historical events of his home planet.
By the time he was done reading the test, Spock felt the corners of his lips tugging slightly upwards, though anyone who looked at him would be unable to tell so. He had sensed her dedication and deep interest in the subject of Vulcan culture and history, but this pleased him more than he cared to admit: she was the only student that had gotten a perfect score on the exam.
Hours later, after showering and eating the random bits leftovers that filled her refrigerator, Zuria sat on her bed, wearing mismatched pajamas. In her hands, she held William Shakespeare's Hamlet. Her eyes traveled over the lines, each word reinforcing her current state of contentment. The writing was some of the most beautiful she (or anyone else, she liked to think) had ever witnessed. She allowed her mind to picture herself in Shakespeare's time, her imagination getting a rare bit of such use.
However, her reverie was shortly interrupted by the sound of the main door slamming. That sound was followed by ones of heated kisses and breathy moans. Zuria shot up from her bed, causing Hamlet to hit the floor.
"What the hell is going on?" She asked, both shocked and annoyed. Pallania stumbled into the room with a man that looked all too familiar: Captain James T. Kirk. She'd met him when she had been working with her friend, Doctor Leonard McCoy, as his intern.
"Bones' intern?" Jim questioned, his eyebrows drawing together. Pallania clung to him, her lips traveling across his neck.
"Yes, I am." She replied heatedly, her gaze shifting from Jim to her roommate. "I thought I told you not to bring anyone back here tonight."
Pulling her lips from the captain's neck, she looked to Zuria.
"I know, but his room is being renovated right now." She responded, her eyes pleading. Giving an exasperated sigh, Zuria turned away, pulling her bag to her across the floor and opening it. She quickly opened a drawer in her dresser, grabbing a clean uniform and some underwear and stuffing them into the bag. She stepped into her boots, slinging her bag over her shoulder.
"This is the last time this is ever happening, Pallania." She said, glaring at her roommate. "If you want to get laid, you do it at their place."
Zuria moved past them, leaving the dorm, shutting the door loudly behind her. Great, she thought. Where am I supposed to go now? Squeezing her eyes shut momentarily, she began to walk down the hallway, stepping out of the building, fully aware of her inappropriate appearance. Though the ground was wet, the air was warm; thank God it had stopped raining.
Taking a breath in, Zuria began walking to the nearest building, the one that housed those other than students. Upon arriving, she discretely snuck through the lobby, fortunately going undetected by the one person in the room. She moved directly into the elevator, pressing the button for the eighth floor. When the elevator stopped, she strode out of it, progressing to the end of the dimly lit corridor. She knocked on the last door on the right, waiting several moments before she heard it begin to open.
"Do you have any idea how damn late-" The voice of her friend and mentor came. Leonard "Bones" McCoy stood in the doorway, looking at his intern with surprise.
"Zuria, what are you doing here? And in your pajamas, too?" He inquired, examining her attire.
"My roommate brought Kirk back to our place." She stated simply. A knowing look came over Bones' face, and he rolled his eyes.
"I could've expected that from him. Come in." He invited, opening the door so that she could slip past him. She had never realized how much nicer the professors, doctors, and higher ranked individual's rooms were.
"I only have one bedroom, but I can make up the couch for you." Bones informed her.
"Thanks." Zuria said, a smile appearing on her face. "I'm just grateful that I don't have to spend the night in the library this time."
Bones didn't return the smile.
"I'll get back at him for this tomorrow; I swear." He vowed, opening the door to a near-by closet and pulling several blankets and a pillow out. Zuria laughed.
"I'm not going to argue with that." She told him, taking a blanket from his arms. It took only moments to place everything on the couch, effectively creating a makeshift bed.
"Thank you, Bones."
He nodded in response.
"Yeah, well, get yourself some rest. Tomorrow's not gonna get any easier." He advised, giving her a pat on the back before turning away and entering his room.
Situating herself beneath the blankets, she gave a sigh.
"Computer, lights."
As the lights turned off, Zuria sent a silent prayer out into the universe. Please, she thought. Let Bones be wrong.
Hey guys!
Thanks to those that reviewed. The feedback inspired me to get this chapter out faster; something about this story just makes me want to write my brains out. I'm hoping to have a new chapter out in the middle of the week.
Anyways, reviews are, as could be suspected, quite lovely. Feel free to leave some.
Thanks,
-Harlequin