"Congrats, Leslie," "Good job, Lez," and, "Oh em gee! You survived Uni!" are the main things they heard at the end-of-uni party for all the graduates. It was noisy, the lights were irritating and all Leslie wanted to do was go home and sleep, maybe after revelling in the joy of freedom briefly. But they were allowed to leave, officially, at 7:00, so they still had 15 minutes to deal with, according to their watch. Someone fell into them, and they stepped back, rolling their eyes. Moronic hordes of drunken students. Leslie grabbed some punch (out of the un-spiked bowl, thank you very much) and headed outside to relax. It had been a trying few weeks, and all they really wanted to do was be alone and rest. They went to sit outside the hall and gazed out over the grounds, sipping the punch (they were pretty sure it was a mixture of sweet berries, with a hint of... pineapple and coconut?).

Looking out at the grounds, Leslie realised and once again appreciated (with a touch of surprise that they felt so strongly about it) that they were really going to miss this place. Sure, it was mainly concrete, but the few garden areas were beautiful (even if a bit overgrown). And, yeah, they didn't really like the people here, but the teachers weren't all that bad (even though they give them headaches). They sighed. It could be one of the worst looking universities in the world, with some of the most snobby students and noisiest teachers, but they would still miss it. Psychological fact, probably. They would clarify with their best friend later. Leslie glanced over to the hall: everyone was still dancing and laughing, just as they had been an hour previously, when the sun was still up. Where does the energy come from? Alcohol?

Too tired to do anything else, they sat under the stars until the alarm they'd set for 7 went off, then they walked over to the gate and let themself out, their absence unnoticed.

They began walking along the footpath that lead to the varsity area where their apartment was situated. It was only a brief walk, one that they had done many times, and Leslie took the time to appreciate the view of the small lakes that dotted the field behind the school.

It was actually quite beautiful, under the bright moon and cloudless sky. The stars reflected in the pools of water and the torchlight lit the path as they switched on the flash of their phone as they walked onto the footpath beside the road.

They walked for a few metres before there was a flash of light, brighter than they had ever seen, and the sound of static.