Casey was woken up by the sound of Serena's alarm blaring. She looked at the clock that read 5 a.m. Casey wanted to shut off the alarm until she realized that alarm was set for her as well. Without intending to, Casey and Serena had signed up for the same classes. They were relieved when they found out because neither girl wanted to go through their first semester of law school alone.
After spending time unpacking with Serena, Casey started to see her in a different light. She was right about her being a spoiled rich girl, but she learned that Serena wasn't a snob at all. While in her undergraduate years, Serena was involved in different LGBT organizations and advocated for gay rights. She wasn't a drunken sorority girl as Casey had expected her to be. Casey was nervous about coming out to Serena, so she was grateful when Serena came out to her first. She didn't try to prepare Casey or worry about what Casey's reaction would be. Instead, she casually mentioned it as if it were just a small part of who she was. It took a lot of nerve to be as out as Serena was and she did face backlash from her parents and undergraduate classmates, but none of that phased Serena. She was who she was and there was no way she'd change that for anybody. Casey admired that about her, especially because she wasn't out to her parents. Instead of judging her, Serena offered to take her under her wing, so to speak, and help her 'come out' when she was ready. After spending only a few hours with her, Casey knew she already admired her and it was only a matter of time before Serena would become her best friend.
Casey glanced at the clock again, the clock that now read 5:07. She still couldn't believe how early she was awake and how different her life in law school would be in comparison to her life as an undergraduate. As an undergraduate, she only enrolled in afternoon and evening classes, but in law school she had no choice. She was a first-year student and first-year students were always tortured with the early classes.
Casey and Serena dozed off before waking up again at six o'clock. Their first class was scheduled to start in an hour and they would have no time to eat a good breakfast beforehand, so they quickly showered, got dressed, and then grabbed a Pop-Tart from Casey's stash before heading out the door and walking as fast as they could to their first class.
Casey and Serena were out of breath after their twenty-minute walk. They were five minutes late to a class of only twenty students, so they weren't able to just sneak in and find a seat without their professor noticing them. All eyes were on them so Casey and Serena apologized for interrupting the class. They expected to be kicked out of class, but their professor gave them a free pass because it was their first day at a new school. They thanked their professor, but his assistant wasn't that understanding. When she thought they weren't looking, she rolled her eyes at Casey and Serena and then continued to pass out the syllabus.
When it came time for their professor's assistant to introduce herself, Casey noticed that Serena was in a trance. His assistant was a beautiful brunette with a noticeable southern accent.
"I'm Abigail Carmichael, but you can call me Abbie," she said. "This is my third year at Harvard Law so if any of you have any questions about this class or any of the resources that are available to you, please don't hesitate to come to me."
"I'd love to come to her," Serena whispered to Casey.
"Stop," Casey said and tried to stifle a giggle.
"Oh, like you wouldn't?" Serena asked. "Do you think she'd offer me some extra credit?"
Their professor looked directly at Serena. "Is there a problem, Miss..?"
"Miss Southerlyn," Serena responded. "And, no, I'm just nervous about my first day."
It was a horrible cover-up, but their professor didn't want to waste anymore time. Casey and Serena had wanted to hide after they were called out. Everyone around them began taking notes and listening closely while they felt like a couple of undergrads, especially with Serena nearly drooling over their professor's assistant.
Alex leaned against a wall just outside Abbie's classroom and waited for her to come out. A few students had already left, but Alex had a feeling Abbie was being held up by the eager first-year students who wanted to get on her good side. As an assistant, Abbie was in charge of their grades and all of the other tasks that the professor didn't want to busy himself with. It wasn't exactly how she pictured her third year of law school, but her paid internship ended in the summer and she needed the stipend. Plus, the experience would look good on her resume.
Another ten minutes had passed before Abbie finally left the classroom carrying a stack of papers that she was supposed to drop off at the school's main office.
"How did it go?" Alex asked.
"Oh, you mean what's it like being Professor Stuart's bitch?" Abbie responded. "Splendid, just splendid. I think the only reason he hired me is because he wants to have sex with me. He doesn't take me seriously and he's always eyeing me. He has a male assistant who is a third-year and less accomplished than I am, but he goes to him for input on his articles and sends me on meaningless errands like getting his coffee and dropping off his papers. On top of that, I have to keep up with my classes and then grade his students papers."
"Abs," Alex said and wrapped her arms around her. "Don't put yourself through that, especially if he makes you feel uncomfortable. My uncle Bill still has connections in Boston, I'm sure he can arrange something for you."
"Thanks, but you know how I feel about that. I want something based on my own merit, not because my best friend has connections."
"I know," Alex sighed. "Just promise me you'll think about it."
Alex came from old money in Boston, which she tried unsuccessfully to hide. Her classmates were aware of her connections both in Boston and New York City and many of them would try to befriend her in hopes that they'd be able to meet her family. She was able to see right through them and she found it easier just to keep to herself instead of having to wonder if she was being used for her family connections. The fact that Abbie cared about her instead of trying to use her to get to her family was so refreshing for Alex and she actually didn't mind offering her family's connections to her although she knew Abbie wouldn't utilize them.
"How were the twins last night?" Alex asked in hopes of cheering her up.
"They were okay," Abbie said nonchalantly.
"Okay?" Alex asked in disbelief. "Abbie, twins have been your fantasy since…forever."
"You're such a virgin, Alex," Abbie teased. "It was great, but it gets old. A new woman every time—there's really no challenge. Even though the women are different, I do the same things to them and the same things get done to me. What if the real challenge is in mastering the art of pleasing one woman?"
"Oh, you mean monogamy?"
Abbie gasped. "Don't say that word in my presence! Monogamy sounds like a disease. There's no beauty in it. I'm talking about pleasuring one woman, not sending her flowers and going on double dates with her friends."
"Do you have a woman in mind?" Alex asked.
"That one, the blonde" Abbie said as she pointed to one of her first-year students. "I saw her eyeing me and I think she'd be fun to corrupt."
Alex casually peeked inside the classroom and looked at the woman Abbie had in mind, the one who just happened to be standing next to the woman of her dreams.
"Abbie, that's her!" Alex said, trying to contain her excitement.
"That's what I just said, Alex."
"No, not your blonde—the redhead. She's the one I was telling you about yesterday."
"The one you spilled coffee on like a dumbass?"
Alex started blushing. "Yeah."
"Her name is Casey," Abbie informed her. "You should try asking her out or doing something other than spilling coffee on her."
"I can't ask her out," Alex said frantically. "How would I even approach her? I have no need to approach her. I'm not in class with her. I don't live in her building. I don't have—"
"What you don't have is a clue," Abbie teased. "Why don't you just go up to her and introduce yourself. I'll even go with you if you want. I'll start talking to her about class and then you could say that she looks familiar. You two will try to figure out where you've met and then when she brings up the coffee incident, you apologize and then you'll both start laughing about it. That's when you offer to make it up to her by taking her out for coffee and then make a joke about not spilling it on her this time."
"What if that doesn't work?"
"Trust me, it'll work."
Alex averted her eyes. "No, I'm too nervous. I'll talk to her some other time."
"You're going to be a virgin for the rest of your life, Alexandra," Abbie said and started laughing. "Let's get out of here. I have to drop these papers off."
Alex may not have asked her out, but she still felt accomplished—she had learned her name and she figured that had to be the first step toward getting to know her.