University of Washington | Tacoma, 2022

Makenna pushed open the door and walked into class, it slammed shut behind her. All heads turned to her as she scanned the lecture hall for a familiar face, standing there, at the back of the lecture hall in her head to sole 'all black' look she was sporting yet once again. She noticed her professor, who was currently taking the class on Criminal Psychology III, had stopped mid-sentence and crossed her arms.

"Shit." Makenna cursed in recognition.

It was her first class in January after the winter break, a second-semester class in her third year of Criminal Justice. Barely twenty-four hours into the new semester and she was already getting into trouble with her favourite professor.

"Ms. Adams." Her professor's voice carried through the entire class to her, "Glad you could join us before the end of class."

Makenna walked down the stairs and made her way to one of the back seats, behind everyone else.
"Happy to be here just in time, Mrs. Kim."

She dumped her bag on the seat next to her and plopped into the chair, sliding down in her seat, she listened to the rest of the lecture. It was an intro class, nothing major just yet and Makenna was glad she hadn't missed anything important, at least she hoped she hadn't. She hadn't meant to be late, yet again.

Class ended ten minutes later and Makenna picked up her bag and got up about to leave like everyone else when Mrs. Kim called her name.
"A moment."

Makenna sighed, frustrated already with how the day was going as she walked sluggishly down the stairs and towards Mrs. Kim who was getting off the platform with her laptop in her hand.

"Here you go." Mrs. Kim handed her a piece of paper when she was a few feet away, "Handed those out before you graced us with your presence."

The corner of Makenna's lips tilted upwards in a smile as she took the paper and studied it for a moment. It was the semester's curriculum and there were some familiar topics, something she'd tried to get through over the winter break. Mrs. Kim had sent her a list of the approved topics the previous semester but the new curriculum had two extra topics that hadn't been on the previous one.

"How was your holiday?" Mrs. Kim began walking out of the lecture hall, heading to her office.

Makenna kept up with her, walking beside her,
"Productive."

"You got through all the topics I sent?"

"As best as I could."

Mrs. Kim glanced at her with a smile as they walked down the long hallway filled with students hanging out in groups on the sides and others heading to class.

Mrs. Kim had taken her under her wing in her first year when Makenna had been struggling with not just her class but every other class. She had of course been a defiant seventeen-year-old trying to find her place in not just a new environment but in civilization.

The year she was supposed to attend university with Rachel, the accident had happened and she'd not only deferred her enrolment for a year at UW Seattle but had also reapplied the following year to UW Tacoma instead and that too, for an entirely different course from what she'd originally planned to study. She'd been locked up at home in her room, during that year break, trying to take everything one day at a time and deal with one thing at a time. One year hadn't been enough to get over what happened but she knew she had to get back out there and live, if not for herself, then for Rachel.

Mrs. Kim had helped her not just academically but personally as well. She'd helped her get back everything she had lost; her confidence, her spirit. Well at least, Makenna thought she'd gotten what she'd lost but she'd gotten a version of what she thought she had lost. She was no longer the same girl she was before that year, before Rachel...

"If it's anything like last year," Mrs. Kim stopped outside her office and turned to her, "Then you're going to knock it out of the park."

Mrs. Kim smiled, turned around and entered her office leaving Makenna standing there thinking of how much she'd hated Mrs. Kim for being all up in her business her first year. Now she was glad Mrs. Kim was just as stubborn as she was and that she hadn't held back on the ramifications of everything she did, else she would have been stuck in that same place Rachel left her.

Makenna turned around and headed down the hallway, out of the Social Work and Criminal Justice building. She walked down the flight of stairs adjusting her bag strap on her shoulder, the only strap among the two that was on her shoulder. She headed towards Metro coffee, the only place in college she loved to get her daily dose of Vanilla Latte from and it was good Vanilla Latte, really good. Not to mention it was the closest place to the Criminal Justice building among the other places like Starbucks or the Bubble tea shop which she'd never stepped foot into. She was a coffee girl and not a tea girl and she wasn't looking to switch things up.

Makenna stepped into Metro coffee and headed towards the counter, chatter in the background as she smiled at Alfie, one of the baristas.

"Hey." She placed her arm on the counter as he wiped the other end of the counter.

He turned to her and smiled,
"One vanilla latte coming right up."

Her smile widened before she turned around and headed to the table near the window, placing her bag in one chair, she sat in another. She leaned back into her seat and looked out the window thinking about the winter break she'd spent at home, here in Tacoma. She loved her family, she did, but her mum didn't let any chance of telling her that she needed to find her way back to God slip past. She had no idea why her parents couldn't just be happy that she was socializing and doing good in regard to her studies. That's all that mattered to her.

Who was God? Where was God when she needed him the most?

Nowhere.

Alfie arrived with her drink just at the same time someone dumped their bag into an empty chair at her table and plopped into the seat across from her.

"Hi," He sighed as fell back into the chair,

"What happened to you?" She asked, "Thanks, Alfie."

Alfie smiled and left.

"Remember that professor I told you about?"

"The one who made you rewrite your report over five times. Yes, I do." Makenna picked up her drink and took a sip,

"Well, he showed up to class today."

Makenna put down her drink, mortified for him,
"I thought you said he wasn't taking any of this semester's classes."

"He wasn't. He was asked to replace another professor who recently left, that's what I heard."

Brandon sighed and Makenna exhaled slowly,
"It's just another semester, don't let him get to you."

Brandon smiled at her and that's when she reached for her drink again avoiding returning a smile.
"I'll go order something."

Makenna nods and Brandon gets up and heads toward the counter. After he returns, she gets up and they both pick up their bags and head for the door. Brandon steps out and holds it open for her, someone else grabs hold of the door just as Brandon lets go and walks side by side with her down the street.

"You're going to love this place, I promise." Thea said as she walked into Metro Coffee.

Atlas let the door shut behind him and smiled at his sister. They headed to the table near the window, the table that was just vacated.

"Here," Thea slid the menu to him, "Have a look."

Atlas looked up at her and then at the menu,
"What about you?"

"I already know what I'm going to order."

"Of course, you do." He scanned the drinks portion of the menu and wasted no time in selecting his drink, something he again had no idea what it tasted like.

After he returned from ordering their drinks, Thea's gaze was fixated on him and he knew that look all too well.

"What?"

"I'm just worried about you."

"Hey, I'm your big brother, I get to worry about you, not the other way round." He smiled,

Thea smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. He'd arrived the week of Christmas, wanting to spend it with her and forget everything he'd left behind in London but forgetting wasn't so easy. He hadn't planned on telling Thea anything but the second he'd seen her at the airport, he knew.

She knew.

"I'm ok." He'd told her when she ran to him and hugged him as tight as she could.

She pulled back and sadly smiled at him, her eyes pooling with tears. Then she hugged him again before they got into a cab and went to the apartment he'd rented online, Hailey. When they got to his apartment, as soon as he placed his bag on the floor, she sat down and looked at him.

"Tell me everything."

He walked over to her and sat down on the same sofa she was seated,
"I'm sure you have better things to tell me than what I can tell you."

She sighed dramatically and a smile appeared on her lips. She was happy and that made him forget for a second what he'd gone through, what he was going through.

"I met someone." She started and he listened to every word that came out of her mouth like it was gospel.

She went on and on about the guy in her classes who was majoring in Fine Arts just like she was. According to her, he was at first the Leonardo Da Vinci to her Lucy Lippard but somehow was starting to become the Pierre to her Marie Curie. Atlas had smiled even though he had no idea what she meant and only knew one of those four names she'd mentioned, but he mentally made a note to check them out later.

Now that they were seated at a table in Metro Coffee, sipping on their drinks, he understood what she'd meant. Thea was studying to be a curator and he figured the guy was an artist. He was also glad she'd made the Pierre and Marie Curie reference and not the Romeo and Juliet one. Because, unlike Juliet, Marie Curie was set in her ways and she could carry on without her partner.

"How's Pierre?"

Thea chuckled,
"He asked me to be his girlfriend."

Atlas smiled, happy she was happy, but that only meant he could make her just as unhappy. He had to meet this Pierre,
"Well then, when do I get to meet him?"

Thea's smile disappeared,
"Atlas, you are not going to drive him away."

Atlas frowned,
"Why in heavens would I do that?"

Thea rolled her eyes,
"You think I don't know that you're the reason I never had a boyfriend in school?"

Atlas gasped, clearly not shocked by her accusation. He took another sip.
"If I wasn't protecting you, who would?"

"Well, thank you, brother." Thea said, "But I'm a big girl now, I can take care of myself."

"Said every sister to their brother."

Thea sipped on her drink and thought about Atlas meeting her boyfriend. Even thinking about him made her smile. It was her and his first time being in a relationship, he knew about the one crush she had in school that never amounted to anything and she knew he'd never crushed on anyone and she was the first girl he'd ever thought of as anything more than friends.

How would she tell him that her brother wanted to meet him so early in their relationship?

Thea smiled at Atlas and sipped on her drink while Atlas debated letting Thea willingly schedule a meet and going behind her back to talk to him. He always did the latter but as she said, she could take care of herself. So, this, he'd leave to her but if he noticed any change in her, he was going after Pierre.