I wake up shaken, disoriented and hyperventilating at a speed I wasn’t aware my body could process. The air seems to be barely entering my windpipe, let alone my lungs. As my gaze wanders around my dorm room, I realize that I’m okay. I breathe in a long and hearty gulp of air and taste the sweat upon my lips. Crap, I’m a mess again.

I toss Grandma’s quilt to the end of the bed, and struggle to gain momentum to lift myself from my cradle of sleep. If you can call constant nightmares sleeping!

The past few weeks have been hell. I’ve been preparing for my mid-terms. I had to cram for calculus because my tutor quit several weeks ago. Witch!

Ever since I was a little kid I’ve had this reoccurring nightmare of this beast killing me every which way imaginable.  Odd, that it never seems exactly the same.  Only the eyes let me know it’s the same evil soul time and again. Though lately, the dreams seem much more real. Almost tangible. I’ve had a hell of a time trying to rationalize the fear and all I can come up with is that it must be stress related. But that smell.  How could I imagine that smell? At the very least that must speak about something my subconscious won’t let me remember. But I haven’t the faintest idea why a werewolf?  A vampire could be somewhat more seductive and a little more alluring.  I could blame that on my raging hormones. No, not for Rachel Hicks! I get a disgusting, pukey, stinking mass of hair to contend with.  Just my lot in life, I guess. Hmph!  Exasperated from the whole experience I hustle over to the other side of my room, grab my bathroom kit and make a mad dash for the showers.  

The cold water hits me like a million little splinters of glass. I stiffen. I always seem to be the first to have to get to class. The rest of my res buddies are in arts programs. I’m stuck doing all the early morning science labs and classes. It sucks. Though, I wouldn’t be doing all this if I didn’t want to be a researcher so badly.

Ah, finally! The water is warm and caresses my body in the gentlest way.  I start to relax as the scent of fresh rain thickens in the mist. I can breathe easily now. No time to relax, I need to go. Now! If I’m not on time my teaching assistant, Brad will kick me out of lab for sure.

 I rush back into my room and grab some stray clothes off the floor and get dressed. I don’t even have a minute to fix my hair. I just grab a hold of a bunch of it, twist it into a clump and carelessly wrap an elastic band around it. I throw on my jacket, snatch my bag and take off. Yes, despite the weird and horrific nightmares I’m just a boring student with an utterly mundane life.

I rush across campus, into the Science Building and stumble down the stairs. I end up crashing into Andrew McMahon.  Drew!

“What the hell?” Andrew turns around to see me tangled on the floor.  He offers his hand to help me up. “UM! Rachel? You’ve gotta slow down.  You’re klutzy enough and it doesn’t help when you’re always rushing cuz you’re late,” he says to me with just the right hint of sarcasm in his voice. He smells so good.  I’ve had a crush on him for the last three years, but we’re only friends.

“Thanks Andrew.” I adjust myself and begrudgingly take a step back. “You ready for lab?” I ask.  I’m a brilliant conversationalist.

He nods at me. “Come on.  Let’s go,” he says as he nudges his chin towards the lab. “You comin’?” Andrew playfully looks at me with his lip curled up into a devious telling smile.

As we head into the lab, I just stare at the back of his lab coat, wondering what could be if only I had the nerve to ask him out.  He’s so casually cool, sometimes I just don’t talk during lab incase I say something dumb.  It’s easy to get lost in the flow of performing a lab.  At times I forget about the fact that Drew, the guy who every girl wants, is standing beside me.  I think he sort of likes that I’m into him, but that I’m not all over him.  I guess that’s why we’re friends.

I fumble through the entire lab. Andrew and I end with half decent results despite my lack of coordination. I ended up breaking two of five test tubes while cleaning them out. I think I need a part time job just to pay for all the glassware I break each day.

 I head back to my room to get ready for my next class. Just a few more tedious days and then I’ll be going home to see my family.  It’s my twenty first birthday on Sunday.  There’s something about this birthday though, turning twenty-one. It seems particularly important.  I just can’t put my finger on it.