Yay, a new chapter! What a surprise! Wonder why I felt like writing this?
Well...I felt like it, duh! But don't worry. Winters' Ballad is still being worked on. Work is just sucking all the life out of me. TAT
Enjoy! X3
(Starting her first year of college, Samantha Freya, a single parent, is having a tough time trying to figure out where she needs to go on this big campus while also keeping an eye on her rambunctious daughter, Martha. Thankfully, a stranger swoops in to save the day.)
"Oh, where are those directions I printed out? I know I put them in here before we left."
To say that Samantha was having a bad day was a bit of an understatement. She was honestly having a terrible start to a long day that was sure to try her patience for what was coming. The start of a new college semester at Metropolis City College, the big and hard to get in school people all across the states wanted to attend...
And here Samantha was prepped, cleaned up, focused and ready for just about any curveball the world threw at her today.
At least, that's what she thought when she'd been up late last night double checking the essentials in her school bag before she'd gone to bed. Being the meticulous person she was with the overbearing thought process of someone way to consumed in their OCD tendencies, Samantha Freya had been sure just about anything and everything had been stuffed in the brown shoulder bag of hers that would be needed in whatever classes she had printed on her schedule.
Sadly, it seemed like the map to each one of those classes had mysteriously disappeared. But she knew she'd put it in her bag the night before.
All the sounds of people talking, shoes knocking against the ground, and the sounds of textbooks and backpacks rustling on campus was not helping her much either. To be honest it was only making her feel so much worse.
"Mommy, what are you looking for?"
Stopping the fourth frantic search of her bag, Samantha pulled her gaze from her things to look down at the small form who stood at her right hand side, brunette orbs that matched her own staring with innocent curiosity too pure for this world.
A tiny child no more older than six years old stood beside her, her mid length brown hair held up in two pigtails that raised the adorable level of the girl to the max. Dressed in a white flower patterned dress and simplistic black shoes, Martha Freya observed her mother for any sign of an answer, awaiting some kind of response from the older woman.
Seeing her daughter look back at her, Samantha tried to push down the tension she was feeling and pulled out a calming smile to relax her daughter. "Something kind of important, honey. A piece of paper that's supposed to tell mommy where she's supposed to go in this big place. You can't be late on your first day of school after all."
"You mean that piece of paper you took out this morning?" The tinier brunette asked.
The older brunette rose a brow at the question. What? She'd taken it out? She didn't remember anything like that.
"Are you sure I did? Mommy doesn't remember anything like that." Samantha asked, leaning down a bit to look at her daughter.
"Yep! You took it out to write stuff on it and then aunty Megan called you and you were on the phone for a super duper long time before we had to run to the car cause you said we'd be late." The tiny child spoke with a firm nod, smiling up at her mother brightly.
Letting the explanation settle on her ears, Samantha could feel whatever emotions she'd been holding up inside her to keep herself calm implode within herself, but still tried to hold a calm and relaxed poise in front of her daughter, as well as not look like a fool on campus.
That's right. Her oldest and dearest friend, Megan had called her that morning. Not only to see how her morning was going, but also to warn her that parking at the college was not only going to be hell, but also that Samantha had to get Martha enrolled in the daycare center at the school thirty minutes early before classes started or they wouldn't let her in.
Which was why they had to run right out of the house after the call. And found themselves in the situation they were in now.
Oh, Martha. You beautiful, sweet child. I wish you would have told me that before we left.
"O-Oh, I did? Mommy must have been rushing too much today," Samantha joked, pushing out what little tension she had out of her system forced laughter. "Looks like I should have looked before I left, huh?"
Smiling at her mother, Martha reached out and patted Samantha on the head. "Don't worry, mommy. Everybody makes mistakes. But you're still the best!"
"Oh, that's so sweet of you to say, Martha." Samantha spoke, smiling as she stood back up and grabbed her daughter's hand gently. "Looks like mommy is going to need to get another paper before we head over tot he daycare. Keep a good hold of my hand, okay?"
"Got it!" The little girl yelled, jumping in emphasis as she followed alongside her mother through the campus walkways.
Maneuvering around students of various sizes, walking through different buildings and avoiding the large crowds of commuters coming in at the front gates, Samantha after minutes of searching finally spotted what appeared to be an information desk stationed at the front of the main hall of campus a head of a large display dedicated to clubs, services and other college information.
While Samantha was all for getting active in college activities, she had a job to do and classes to attend that morning. She could find time to mingle and enjoy herself later.
"Mommy, mommy! There's a table about star stuff! Can I go look at it?" Martha exclaimed, yanking and pulling at her mother's arm to try and drag her towards a table far off past a crowd.
Turning her head to look at the table Martha was talking about, Samantha squinted her eyes a bit to catch the sign taped to the front of the table a few feet away, the word "Astronomy Club" scribbled in black sharpie for all to see along with star patterns and other stickers and designs.
It was the kind of thing her daughter loved. Stars, space, and the great unknown. Ever since she was little all she liked to do was look at the stars at night together when they were at home. To see they had a class about the kind of stuff she loved would obviously get her attention.
"Martha...We can't right now. I've got to take care of school first. Maybe later, okay?" She reassured her daughter, lightly tugging her daughter to follow her to the slowly crowding information desk she oh so desperately had to get to.
"But I wanna see the stars!" Martha complained beside her, trying to stop her mother from dragging her along. Sadly unable to do much, all Martha could do was pout the entire time as the two made their way to the information desk Samantha was heading towards.
"I promise we can go to the table later. Right now though mommy really needs to get that paper from this table. Plus I'm taking a star class today, so I'll tell you all about it when it's all done." Samantha spoke somewhat gently, though she was beginning to feel the stress of both watching her child and get to her classes on time build off of each other. Waiting in line for a short time as the crowds began to grow, Samantha sighed with relief at finally getting to the front and getting the attention of one of the attendants.
"Is there anything else you needed besides a new copy of your schedule and a map?" The attendant asked.
"I don't think so. If anything, pointing which way the college daycare center is. I needed to drop my daughter off there before my classes started." Samantha explained.
"Of course. Just head right down that pathway and it'll be on the right. I just hope you have enough time to grab your kid and take them there." The attendant commented with a joking smile.
Eyebrow raised, Samantha shook her head. "It won't be a problem. Martha's right he-"
Ready to spot her child at her side like she alway did as she spoke, Samantha's words got caught in her throat at the sight of...emptiness. What image of her daughter quietly beside her since the morning had began had all but vanished as the space next to her had no child at all.
"Miss, are you alright?" The attendant asked, noticing Samantha had suddenly stopped speaking.
Thoughts sparking her mind like the strike of lightning in a stormy night, Samantha's shoulder jolted up as the twenty-three year old snapped her head back at the attendant with bewildered look on her face before she cleared her throat and shook her head frantically.
"N-No, nothing's wrong. I'm fine. Thank you for the help." Samantha spoke hastily, quickly leaving the table as she rushed through the crowds of students to locate her daughter. Every way she looked the brunette tried to spot the small form of her daughter, or at least a child in the hopes of getting close to wherever her daughter had-
"The astronomy table!" Samantha exclaimed, making some people turn to look at her strangely as she'd all but yelled the declaration. Feeling her face heat up at the stares, the young woman rushed with bag jangling on her shoulder towards where she last spotted the table at a somewhat calm pace, pushing students slightly to get through he crowds.
"So you like stars?"
"Uh huh! A super duper bunch!"
That voice!
"Martha!" Samantha called loudly over the crowd of people walking around, trying to spot her daughter despite everyone towering over the short stature woman and blocking her view.
Curse her five foot one stature.
"Mommy?" Samantha heard Martha respond, only making the woman push harder past students to get to her daughter as fast as she could.
Breaking past a wall of students who had lined up for clubs and activities, Samantha pushed a strand of brown hair that had fallen out of her put together bun as she scanned the new spot she had found herself in. Eyes darting frantically around for any sign of her daughter, the brunette student set her eyes on a table nearby a large oak tree, a sign with the very same astronomy logo her daughter had pointed out minutes ago.
And her daughter standing right in front of the table talking...with a student?
Oh, who cared at the moment!
"Martha Freya!" Samantha called adamantly, pulling out her "mother tone" as maturity began to pour off her like a well of knowledge as she took slow but calculated strides toward her daughter.
"Oh no! Hide me!" Martha shrieked, running around to hide behind the tall figure of the student she'd been talking with at the table.
Ignoring Martha's attempt at hightailing the situation, Samantha stopped in front of the unknown student and stared up the somewhat confused man before her who had become a shield for her child.
He looked like he was a student perhaps around her age, short black hair atop their head and dark blue eyes that could drown someone if they looked too long. Unlike most students who were kind of wearing whatever they liked the first day, the guy in front of her was well dressed and wearing a form fitting black business suit with red tie and carrying a brown leather book bag on his shoulder.
Was he a student? Or faculty? He looked almost to be her age so faculty had to be out of the question. But he looked way too overdressed to be a student. Unless he was the kind of guy to dress nice on the first day of college.
He did look good from what she was seeing.
Okay, Samantha. Calm down that thirst of yours. Remember why you're here.
"I'm so sorry if my daughter is bothering you. I didn't mean to lose track of Martha like this today, I swear." Samantha spoke sincerely, clearing her throat as she gave a slight bow of her head to the stranger.
Shrugging his shoulders, the taller man scratched his black hair covered head. "It's no problem. I was just walking around campus and spotted her. Thought she might be a bit young to be taking classes here, so I decided to keep her company until the parent arrived. Guessing that's you?" The guy asked with a slight smile.
Nodding, Samantha smiled back. "I'm the lucky lady. Thank you for keeping an eye on her for me." Turning her head down to look at Martha who hid behind the strangers legs, Samantha frowned at her daughter. "Martha, why did you disappear? I told you to stay with me so we wouldn't get lost. You scared me, honey."
Peeking her head out from behind the boy, Martha dipped her head low in fear of her mother's stare. "I...just wanted to learn about the stars."
Seeing the sad look on her daughter's face along with the glum, quiet voice she squeaked out, it took all Samantha had to not turn into a pile of mush in her daughter's hands and fall to her whims. Taking a deep breath and grounding herself, Samantha motioned Martha to come out from behind the tall stronger and come to her side, which she had. Wrapping an arm around her daughter, Samantha soothingly rubbed the smaller girl's shoulder and smiled to her to reassure her worries.
"It's okay, Martha. I know you wanted to see the stars, but you have to remember that you have to stay with me when I ask so we don't lose each other. Today is really important for me today, but I promise with everything I've got that we'll come back over here after I'm done with school, okay?" Samantha asked in a soft tone, looking back at her daughter with a calm expression.
"Okay, mommy." Martha agreed, her frown slowly but surely curling into a small smile as she wrapped her arms around the woman for a reassuring hug; which her mother returned tenfold.
Picking up her daughter off the ground and holding her in her arms, Samantha smiled a bit as she turned back to face the boy who had helped her daughter. "Thank you again for your help. I don't know how I can repay you. I'd have been out of my mind if I hadn't found Martha."
"Don't worry about it. I'm just glad she wasn't lost. Just make sure to stay with your mom this time, okay Martha? If you do, I can always teach you about stars and space." The man suggested with a smile, blue eyes shifting to look at the smaller brunette.
"Really!?" The child asked excitedly, nearly falling out of Samantha' arms at the suggestion. "I promise! I'll stay with my mommy! So teach me all about stars and aliens!"
"You got it. Just so long as your mom says it's okay this time." The man said with a smile to Samantha, added by a playful wink.
Her cheeks unable to to stop warming at the wink from the stranger, Samantha ignored the surely red blush that had to be dusting her slightly pale cheeks and smiled lightly to the well dressed man. "I'll think about it. Thank you again...?
"Conner. And you?" The suit wearing man asked.
"Samantha. A pleasure, even with the circumstances." Samantha admitted, a light crimson dusting her cheeks from embarrassment. Tilting her head slightly, she motioned to the tinier brunette in her arms. "And you know this starry-eyed troublemaker as Martha."
"That's me!" Martha exclaimed, waving an arm up in their air with passionate glee.
With the introduction given, Conner couldn't help but let out a friendly chuckle at the mother-daughter combo in front of him. "Nice to meet you both. Maybe I'll see you around sometime?" He spoke calmly, though the latter part of his sentence he moved his gaze to Samantha and shined a small smile her way.
Caught a bit off guard by the gesture and unsure if it was fully directed at her, Samantha darted her gaze down to the ground nervously as she tried to come up with a response, but felt her voice close up on her.
"Yeah!" Martha yelled loudly, making the two adults jolt in surprise at the exclamation, but smile nonetheless.
Realizing she hadn't said anything back, Samantha looked back up to her newfound acquaintance and did her best to smile without looking awkward.
"Y-Yeah. Of course. I'll see you around too."
"See you around too? Ugh, what was I thinking!? Could I sound anymore boring?" Samantha groaned out, resting her head against a hardwood table stationed outside the main eatery hub of the college campus.
Long had the morning day stretched out its course and begun stressing new students like Samantha out. Perturbed by her circumstances and needing a moment to relax, eating would have been the best option. After all a full belly of delicious food always helped to soothe the soul.
Well, that and the company of friends that looked out for you.
"I'm sure it wasn't that bad." Megan spoke up, patting a soft hand on the back of the moping single mother beside her.
"Yeah, it could have been a lot worse," a blonde sitting across from Samantha added, taking a sip of her soda as she waited for her friend to recover. "From the sound of things, it doesn't seem like he hates kids, so that's a plus. And it sounded like he was interested. I think."
Nothing but a groan escaped from Samantha's mouth as a response.
One of very few encounters with a guy around her age that she'd felt an inkling of attraction to and already she'd seemingly messed it up. Not that being a mother was something she regretted. Martha was the world to her and she wouldn't trade her for anything, but sometimes even Samantha wished she had some time to herself and could go back to the days when she was just a young girl wanting to socialize and meet new people. God only knew how bad her dating game had been since she'd had Martha, and meeting people was a bit tough considering she usually spent her time either taking care of her daughter, working extra jobs to make money, or simply applying for scholarships and college classes. Even making friends was tough nowadays.
Thankfully she had Megan and Artemis by her side through it all.
"Artemis, you're not helping." Megan lightly warned, hoping to steer the conversation away to something more cheerful. "A-Anyways, it sounds like Martha at least liked him. And it sounded like he got along with her great."
"Yeah, I guess. Like it matters much anyways." Samantha muttered, turning her head on the table to rest her cheek on the table and look up at her friends seeing her in her depressing state. "He was probably just being nice and there's no way he's going to want to see me again. I probably weirded him out. Or he was pitying me cause I'm a single mom."
"Don't talk like that. It was just a bad first impression. If you see him again, just try to talk to him on a more normal level. Talk about classes or something and everything will smooth over." Artemis added with a wave of her hand, hoping to get her point across. Getting out of her seat and grabbing her backpack, the blonde walked over to Samantha's side and patted her on the shoulder. "Just hang in there, Sam. You'll make some friends in no time here. I'll see you later guys. My next class starts at three and I've got to head out."
"What!?"
Out of nowhere, Samantha sprung back to life and pulled her face off the table, head turned to look right back at Artemis who jumped at the brunette suddenly acting up like she'd been shocked by lightning.
"Did you say three!?" Samantha rapidly asked, a look of worry on her face as she interrogated her friend for information.
"Y-Yeah. I've got history at three in Watchtower over here." Artemis slowly answered, pointing a finger in the direction of her class.
Seeing Samantha's frazzled state, Megan frowned as she recalled the groups schedules. "Isn't that astronomy class you were talking about at three?"
"Oh my god, it is! I have to go!" Samantha yelled, hastily grabbing her things and making sure nothing fell out of her bag as she got out of her chair. "Which way is Justice Hall? I still don't know my way around this place yet."
"That's all the way on the other side of campus." Artemis answered, frowning at seeing her friend just about ready to explode.
"Crap! Okay, thanks for the pep talk guys. I'll call you later after classes!" Rushing out of her seat and giving one last wave goodbye, the brunette sprung into action and took off in a semi-presentable sprint in the opposite direction towards where she thought her class was going to be.
Maneuvering around students with a twist of her body and skidding to halts every now and then to wait for cars driven by students to pass by on campus, the brunette hurried herself over to the large building known as Justice Hall, thankful the name of the building was plastered with large bronzed letters on the side for her to find in her rushed state.
"What number was the class again? You idiot! Why can't you be more organized on the first day!?" Samantha muttered in heavy breathes, never stopping her movement as she tried to dig her hand into her bag for her schedule she'd stuffed in there.
Unfortunately, the brunette should have probably watched where she was going when she turned the next corner if she wanted to avoid any more problems that day.
Not even sure what she'd slammed right into, all Samantha could guess was it was some kind of brick wall as pain radiated through her body at colliding with the stronger force and was stopped in her tracks. Falling back onto her butt from the force the collision caused, all Samantha could do was groan in pain as she tried to stop the rattling of her brain inside her skull and wait for the shock from her body to subside.
God, could she be any more of a wreck right now? And what had she run into?
"Samantha? Are you okay?"
That voice...
Oh, God no. Please don't let it be who I think it is.
Opening her eyes after letting the pain she felt slowly fade away, brunette eyes wandered above her to spot Conner, of all people standing above her. A worried look on his face and seemingly watching her to make sure she hadn't concussed herself, the blue-eyed man reached a hand towards her and offered it. "You're not hurt, are you?"
Oh God, it was him.
What were the odds? It hadn't even been the end of the day and already she'd met the same guy from this morning, but found a way to ruin the second impression she'd hoped to make with him.
She needed to say something. Anything. Or at least something that sounded normal in this kind of situation.
"I...fell."
Idiot! Of course you did!
"Heh, looks like it. Here, let me help you up." Taking her hand and slowly but surely pulling the brunette in an upright position on the ground, Conner moved a steady hand to help dust off any dirt that may have gotten on her from her fall. "Sorry you ended up like this. People sort of tell me I'm like a brick wall."
Unable to stop the short laugh that escaped her lips at the description Conner gave of himself, the brunette quickly covered her mouth and shook her head. "N-No, it's fine. It wasn't your fault at all. It was all mine for running like a maniac on a crowded campus. I should have been looking where I was going." Taking short steps to get back onto her feet, Samantha tried to smooth out her outfit, and combed her long hair with her fingers after it had fallen from it's perfectly placed bun. "This is what I get for being late for class on the other side of campus."
"You're late? What class are you looking for?" Conner asked curiously.
"The Study and History of Astrology. I know it's in this hall somewhere, but I couldn't remember the class number, which was why I was looking in my bag and crashed into you." Samantha admitted, blushing a little at being reminded of their not so grand second meeting.
"Astrology?" Conner asked before his curiosity slowly morphed into a look of amusement. "Like daughter like mother huh?"
"Oh, yeah. I've loved the stars for a long time, and the trait passed down to Martha. So I thought with the credits I needed left for the semester, this class would be the best pick."
"Well if you're looking for help, I can point you in the right direction. I'm actually heading there too."
The brown orbs in Samantha's eye sockets nearly fell out with how wide she felt them open at Conner's offer. The coincidence was too good to be true!
"R-Really? You'd be helping me a lot. Thank you so much." Samantha said gratefully, watching Conner motion to follow him and did just so.
"It's no problem. It wouldn't be a nice thing to do to let another member of class be late."
Minimally chatting in the halls of the building as one by one the two passed by classroom after classroom, the last classroom at the end of the hall seemed to be their destination after Samantha noticed Conner slow down in step and stop at the door.
"Just a minute to spare," Conner mentioned, checking his wristwatch and showing it to Samantha.
Checking the time to be sure, the brunette sighed in relief and grinned to Conner. "Just what I like to hear. Thank you again so much for helping me. I feel like I'm becoming a bother to you after all you've done to help me today. And on the first day of school too." She mused, shaking her head at the lack of preparation on her part.
"I said it was no problem. We all go to this college together. Have to keep an eye out if we all want a calm semester this year." Conner reassured her with a shrug of his shoulders.
"Well, when you ever get some free time, please let me treat you to some coffee or something as a proper thank you," Samantha answered with a small smile. "My mother would roll in her grave if she found out I didn't properly treat someone after helping me out so much."
"If you're offering, I can't say no. We can have it the same time I'm telling Martha all about stars, space and aliens like I promised." Conner answered back calmly, twisting the door knob of the classroom and opening the door to walk inside along with Samantha.
The single mother couldn't help but feel her nerves turn into steel at the comment.
"O-Oh, no. You don't have to. I'm sure you were just trying to be nice. You don't really have to do that for my daughter. I can't take up anymore of your time than I already have. I'm sure you're just as busy with schoolwork and classes as I'll be." Samantha jumped in, hoping to calmly dissuade the taller student from his idea while she walked into the classroom.
Like many of the classrooms of the college, rows of desks sat in rows far above the classroom surrounding the lecture area where the professor was going to be talking soon. Everywhere her eyes scanned, every seat in class was filled or occupied in some manner, whether it was a student sitting in it or their things being piled on to keep them from being stolen or lost.
A bit more packed than she expected.
"I don't think I'll have to worry about that too much," Conner's voice spoke up, making Samatha turn her attention back to her new acquaintance as she saw him stare at her from over his shoulder. "You're daughter is fun to talk to. And even if I may be busy, I'm always open to take up more students."
"More students?" Samantha repeated, brow raised at that particular part of Conner's admission.
"I think there's an open seat in the front. You might want to take it before the seats fill." Conner said, pointing out a single seat in the center of the front row.
"What?" Eyes darting away from Conner to follow where he was pointing to, whatever thoughts she had about what he said proofed away at seeing the free seat that was close to her grasp. "I-I'll go take that one. You better get to your seat too, Conner. It seems like we got lucky the professor is a little late today." She said with relief, doing her best not to run like a maniac as she had earlier to the only free seat open.
"Yeah. I better get to mine too." Conner answered back, smiling at the relief on the brunette's face before walking down the walkway of the classroom towards the front of the class.
Pulling a notebook and pen out of her bag, Samantha turned her head to watch Conner come down the walkway, but felt a twinge of worry at not seeing any seats open.
But that was silly. There had to be a seat open for him. Yet everywhere she looked nothing came into view for her like it had for Conner. Maybe she could ask someone to move their things so Conner could get a-
"Good afternoon, class."
On instinct, Samantha turned her head back to face the classroom at the sound of the professor of the class, which she wondered how she had not see come in, speak to address the class. Moving her head up to put her attention onto the professor who was going to-
Wait.
"Sorry I was a little late," The professor spoke, his back turned from the class as the sound of chalk clicked against the chalkboard he wrote his name on in cursive. "Doing my good deed of the day today. Or maybe two."
The small joke made a couple students in the audience chuckle a little, draining away whatever nervousness that seemed to be creating tension in the air.
But not for Samantha.
Nope. She was far too busy keeping her eyes glued tot he person standing at the front of the classroom, and only getting more antsy at seeing them turn around to face them all.
Placing the chalk down and moving to turn back to face the class, the professor smiled as he moved a hand to address what he wrote on the board, blue eyes scanning around the room of the many students staring back at him.
Including a certain brunette who looked a bit confused.
"As the writing a the board says, my name is Conner Kent. Or Professor Kent if we want to get professional here. Conner or Professor Kent is fine with me, don't worry about formalities." Conner calmly spoke, his voice coming out a bit more stern and mature than what Samantha remembered it just a minute ago.
Feeling like she wanted to slink into whatever hole opened up from the ground, Samantha slumped a bit in her chair as she held her notebook close to her, close to using it as a shield to hide herself from the Conner's...the professor's gaze.
No.
No, no, no, no, no, no.
"If for some reason some of you are lost or may not be sure if you're in the right class, let me make sure. I'm Professor Kent, the instructor for the Study and History of Constellations," He spoke with a solid tone, looking back and forth at the many students who sat to listen to his lecture.
Showing a friendly smile to the student sitting in his class, Conner moved his gaze to the front row and spotted Samantha staring back at him, a mix of uncertainty and flabbergasted shock on her face.
He smiled a little more to try and ease her confused mind.
"I hope we can all get along this semester."
Sadly for Conner, the smile did the exact opposite to her.
Feeling like her cheeks were on fire at the smile shown her way, Samantha couldn't think of anything but move her notebook in front of her, obscuring her face from Conner...God, her professor's view to save herself.
Conner...was a professor?
Oh, God. She ran into him today! Martha and her bothered him this morning. And she thought her professor was hot! And she promised him coffee!
Samantha couldn't help but slap herself lightly with her notebook.
Why did the wheel of fate play such cruel games?