Sydney was three weeks into her ten-week tour. She thought of it as a tour because she felt as if she was living in a war zone. It was her against everyone else. Anyone from the outside would have said that she was exaggerating, but they only had a view from the outside looking in, and she had to admit that on the surface everything looked fine. In reality that was not the case.

She had never felt so alone or isolated in her life. She hadn't been able to determine whether the forced isolation was intentional or not, but from the moment she had arrived, she had been placed on her own. Almost everyone had a roommate, but she was the odd girl out, so she had been given a private room. Which wasn't bad in itself, but that coupled with the fact that she had also been given the job of cleaning and cataloging all of the artifacts found, which was a solo process, proved to her that she had been separated from everyone on purpose.

As usual, she tried to look on the bright side, she was in the air-conditioned trailer instead of the hot sun, but it was little comfort. Especially in the evening when everyone was going off as a large group and she was left behind, and it had been that way from the beginning.

Theresa Ruiz was a beautiful grad student and Dr. Easton's right hand. She was the one in charge of the scheduling and the day to day management of the site which left Dr. Easton able to focus solely on the dig. Theresa had taken an instant dislike to Sydney. Sydney had a feeling that she shared Easton's opinion that, since she wasn't an Archeology student she shouldn't be there.

Theresa had set Sydney's schedule to be different from everyone else's. The bus left the hotel, where they were all living, at eight in the morning, and left the dig site at five in the evening. Sydney had been instructed that she didn't need to start until ten, would finish at four, and she would need to make up her remaining hours on the weekend when everyone else was off having a good time. It had made using the bus impossible, and when Sydney had pointed this fact out to Theresa, she had been told that her ability to get to and from her job was Sydney's problem.

Thankfully, the elderly couple that owned the motel had overheard the conversation and lent her their daughter's bicycle to use. It was a five-mile trek to the site which was about a forty-five-minute bike ride for her, but she didn't mind since it gave her time to think and make plans for her future.

One of the few silver linings was Flora. Flora was Dr. Easton's very large black Russian Terrier. She was the sweetest soul Sydney had ever met. Flora stood above Sydney's waist on all fours, weighed at least 120 pounds, and on her hind legs she had to be at least six feet or more. Dr. Easton was only on site during the week and on the weekends, when he left to go who knew where, he left the dog behind. Sydney's first weekend there Theresa had tasked Sydney with taking care of the dog since she had to work on the weekends anyway.

Sydney had fallen in love at first sight with Flora and was glad to do it. Most weekends, when she wasn't helping out the Millers who owned the hotel, or her new friends at the diner on the highway, she would camp out on the couch in the trailer and spend it with Flora. It was a plan that suited them both.

Realizing it was time for her to finish for the day, she started to pack up her cleaning tools and power down her computer as she prepared to leave. The site itself was a good ways away from the trailer, so the area was always quiet and there was no one to say goodbye to except Flora, who gave a little whine as she realized she was leaving.

As usual, another day had passed without her seeing Dr. Easton. Every once and a while he would stop in at the trailer, which operated as an office/home for him, to pick something up or drop something off and they ignored each other as best they could.

Giving Flora a kiss and a pat, she opened the door to emerge into the late afternoon. The sun wasn't as high and the heat had eased some which would make for a nice bike ride to the diner. Sydney had a habit of stopping at Eddie's, a local 24-hour diner and having her breakfast and dinner. The hotel had a large room where the meals were catered, but the few times that she had tried to eat there it had been uncomfortable for everyone.

Paige had settled in had had very little to say to Sydney except to tell her how sorry she was to have dragged Sydney into the situation. According to Paige, the consensus was that Sydney was trying to seduce Dr. Easton, and that her father had bought her a space on the dig so that she could do just that. She hated to think that Dr. Easton had spread that rumor, but since he had pretty much accused her of that very thing she couldn't help but think that it had originated from him.

He must hate her to want to make everyone around her feel the same way.

The diner was halfway between the hotel and the dig site, so she was there before she knew it, and when Sydney entered the restaurant there was a warm welcome from the staff for her. She had been waiting all week to hear how Stephanie's, one of the waitresses, son had made out at the championship soccer game. They had all been talking about it yesterday, and Sydney had taken Stephanie's shift so that she could go and watch the game.

Eddie, who owned the diner was particular about who he let work for him, and he had taken a shine to Sydney, allowing her to fill in when the other girls needed some time off for this or that. It was some welcome cash for her since her internship was unpaid.

Sydney sat in the last seat at the counter and Stephanie came over with Sydney's usual glass of water and a warm hug.

"Thank you so much for covering for me last night."

"But did Sam win the game?" Sydney asked as she gulped at the water.

"Yes, and he promised to bring in the trophy for you to see."

"I can't wait," Sydney told her retreating back as Stephanie moved to greet some of the students from the dig as they entered the restaurant. It was rare that they ate there, so Sydney was surprised at their sudden presence.

Turning her back to them, she told Patty what she wanted from the kitchen and waved at Eddie through the serving window before pulling out her book and starting to pick up where she left off the previous evening. She hadn't been reading long when more of the students entered including Paige, Theresa, and Dr. Easton.

Sydney's gaze immediately met his, but he looked right through her. Paige gave a little wave and then followed him and Theresa to the back of the restaurant where the others had gathered.

Patty started to refill her water. "Isn't that your crew?" she asked as she kept her eyes on Dr. Easton. "Who's the guy?" She leaned a hip on the counter as she studied him, not the least bit shy about him catching her at it.

"That is Dr. Cole Easton, he is in charge of the dig," Sydney said as she took another sip of water focusing on her book.

"What's it like working for him?" Patty's eyes were glued to him.

"I don't see him much, only occasionally in passing." Sydney had to fight to keep her eyes off him as well.

"That's a shame. If it were me, I would make sure I was in his way every chance I got." Patty sighed as she pushed away from the counter.

Sydney laughed and grinned as she pictured it. "I'm sure he wouldn't stand a chance then," she said, meaning every word.

Her eyes lifted to his and for some unknown reason, she had to force herself from sticking her tongue out at him and his disapproving look.

"What's with the cold shoulder, you in trouble or something?" Stephanie questioned as she joined Patty, and they started to prepare the drinks that had been ordered.

"Something like that." Sydney had to repress her urge to get up and help them. Usually, she would have, but she didn't think it would go over well if it were discovered that she was working on the side.

Both ladies stopped and looked at her with shocked expressions then started laughing at the same time. "How on earth could you be in trouble?" Patty shook her head.

"It's a long story that isn't worth the time it would take to tell it." Sydney gave a small smile.

Eddie dinged the bell and Patty turned around and grabbed Sydney's burger. She was starving, and it looked delicious, so she started to eat with gusto.

She looked up and caught Eddie laughing at her, and she gave him a thumbs up as he shook his head and started to clean his grill. She grinned back at him catching Easton's eye again as she went back to eating her burger. This time she did stick her tongue out at him, but his expression didn't change.

"Well that's one way to end a fight," Patty said shaking her head.

"If you were Sam maybe," Stephanie countered as she picked up one of the trays of drinks and Patty picked up the other.

Sydney shook her head and continued to eat and read her book. It wasn't much longer before the bell over the door gave another ding and this time she barely had time to prepare herself before eight-year-old Sam launched himself at her. "Syd,we won!" he cried, waving his trophy at her.

He wrapped his arms, trophy and all, around her waist and started to talk a mile a minute about the game. She was getting a blow by blow account of every kick and goal as she helped him on to the stool and admired his trophy.

Sam had his mother's blond hair, brown eyes, and pert little nose, and just watching him she knew that he was going to grow up to be a heartbreaker one day. He reached up and started to munch on Sydney's fries unaware that he was doing it. As soon as Stephanie had taken everyone's orders she had come over and given her son a kiss and brushed the hair out of his eyes as she asked him what he wanted to eat.

Sydney kept him company until they had both finished their meals then offered to walk him home to his grandmother's so that he wouldn't have to hang out until his mother was ready to leave. The plan was agreed upon, and Sydney spent the next hour walking along at a leisurely pace exploring ditches and rocks as they walked while not talking about anything in particular. When she got to his door and dropped him off she was sad because she was only a short distance from the hotel and an evening spent alone in her room.

Sighing, she dropped her bicycle off in the shed behind the hotel and was grabbing a bucket of ice as the bus drew up and the students started to get off and make their way to the pool where they all spent most of their evenings. Easton's truck pulled up behind the bus, and Theresa and one of the few males on the team, Peter, got out with a wave goodbye to him as they walked towards the pool too.

Without a backward glance, Sydney got her ice and walked back towards her solitary existence while wishing that things could be different. Suddenly, the thought that the next day was Friday cheered her up. It meant that she would get to spend the evening, first with the Millers because she always had Friday supper with them, and then with Flora back at the trailer. Mrs. Miller had some great books, and she would raid her shelves tomorrow night for something new to read. It sounded like a good evening to her.