Free Change Of Season by A.C. Dillon

building tonight.  I need atmosphere .  As chairs slid backwards and papers rustled, it dawned on her that class was already over – and she was disappointed.  Packing up her belongings and slipping her black leather bag over her shoulder, she made her way towards the front of the room, where her professor was gathering his books and tucking them neatly into a worn briefcase on the desk.
    “Um, excuse me?”
    He glanced up and smiled brightly.  “Autumn!  Thank you for steering everyone in the right direction. How can I help you?”
    Autumn held out her note timidly.  “I would take it to your office, but since you’re here...”
    “Of course.”  He took the page and immediately unfolded it.  “Let me guess:  you have Kearney?”  As she nodded, he added, “I introduced him to that video.  It’s a mandatory presentation in my post-grad course, actually.  I would be happy to bring it to the table in this class, though; it’s a very powerful concept, especially for writing of other cultures.”
    “That’s what I thought, too.”  Autumn felt herself relax slightly. 
    “It may take me until next week to tug us into that direction, but I’ll definitely get to the video soon.  Thank you for suggesting it.  I’ll see if I can dig up Adichie in my disaster of a library.”  George ran a hand through his hair absently.  “I look forward to your story tomorrow.”
    Mumbling thanks, Autumn slipped out into the hall, her head just a little higher now that the day was finished.  I survived my first day at Casteel , she thought happily.  And other than the jerk in Biology, no one besides Logan has pissed me off yet .  She followed the herd of students down a wide staircase, taking the three floors to ground level and pushing out onto the street.  Her homework in most classes was fairly minimal, so she’d have plenty of time to focus on her story for St. James.  A dark and stormy night… I have to bring it to a dark and stormy night.   Autumn was so lost in thought, she bumped into another student who’d halted in front of her to talk to friends.
    “Sorry,” she blurted out quickly.  Then froze.
    He looked like…
    “No trouble,” the tall man before her replied, looking her over.  “Hey, are you new?”
    It’s not him.  But he looks so much like him .  “Um, yeah.  I’m sorry, I have to meet someone.”
    Run, little rabbit.  Run, run, run .
    She hurried across the pavement, cutting into the quad and storming towards Ashbury, trying to talk herself down from a full-blown freak out.  Not him, not him, it’s okay, it’s safe .  The closer she got to her dorm, the safer she felt, and her mind steadied.  He won’t get me here .  She hadn’t even told Heather what school she’d transferred to, just in case he came around Jarvis.
    A memory:  winter time, darkness.  After sunset.  A truck parked outside a familiar house.  The sleet pounded the windshield as she watched a girl buckle forward in pain.  She couldn’t save her.  Head met dashboard.  Blood grazed lips as teeth sunk into their delicate flesh.
    It was a dark and stormy night …
    ***
    Dinner with Veronica had soothed her frazzled nerves.  They’d settled in over matching plates of Pad Thai, scribbling down the rest of their Math questions while chatting about musical theatre.  Veronica’s dream was to be on Broadway.  She was far less interested in Hollywood, although she was willing to work on films with less mainstream directors.  Tarantino was as big as she insisted she’d go – “Only because his dialogue is phenomenal!” she’d explained.  Autumn, being a voracious consumer of music, was fond of several musicals, including their mutual loves, Les Miserables and Spring Awakening .
    “I’m shocked we never met at all when Spring was in town!” Veronica declared, scrunching her nose at a word problem.  “I rushed endlessly on weekends and even skipped class a few times for evening