"I can't believe we managed to pull this off in less than a week," Lexi said, trying to settle her shaky hands. The sleepless nights of work and hacking into the LMU system were necessary to get set up for Orientation in time. Yet they also called for a considerable amount of coffee to be consumed.

"Welcome to college!" Jason said as they pulled up beside their dorm room. As soon as he parked, he turned to face Lexi and Mindy seated in the back. "Alright, it's time we catch this crook. So, remember girls, from now on you'll only call each other by your aliases. Even in your dorm room alone, just call each other Hannah and Windy to be safe." The girls nodded in response.

"And Cole," he started as her turned to his son in the front passenger seat, "has your mother texted yet?"

"Negative."

"Ah okay. That's alright. You can stay at home tonight and until we're able to get you set up. But, like I said before, you're upperclassmen anyway so it wouldn't be the end of the world if we don't manage to get you into a dorm. Just be sure to take part in all the off-campus student programs. Who knows, maybe our guy, or girl, is living off campus?" Jason turned to Lexi, beaming. "How's everyone feeling? Everyone excited?"

Mindy nodded vigorously, while Lexi took in a deep breath and smiled. The churning in her stomach hadn't stopped all morning and on the way over to the campus. "We should go," Lexi said, grabbing her bag.

"Sorry we can't help set you girls up in your dorm! We'll catch up with you after we set up everything on our sides."

"It's fine, Dad. Thanks for driving us. We'll see you guys in a few days after classes start."

The girls gathered their things and went up to the dormitory's check-in desk. The brightly decorated green grass and large welcome signs plastered across the front of the red brick building lacked nothing in school spirit. The bustle of students created a buzzing energy that made its way through Lexi. We're doing this. I can't believe we're actually doing this.

"Hi ladies! Welcome to Thompson Dormitory! We're so happy to have you here with us!" a young rosy-cheeked girl with strawberry blonde hair said. Her bright purple lanyard swayed against her bright yellow LMU as she picked up her clip board. "Names?"

"Hannah Foster," said Lexi, smiling back at the girl.

"Oh! You're Hannah! I saw you, and I presume Windy Gallant," she glanced at Mindy before continuing, "were last minute adds to the check-in sheet! And I also saw you're both computer engineer majors, just like me. We're going to be best friends, I just know it!"

Lexi smiled and Mindy jumped in. "No way, girl! That's amazing! We're so excited to be here. You have to come hang out with us sometime."

Mindy is way better at this than I am. I'm so glad we're doing this together. "Um, uh – what's your name?" Lexi managed to ask.

"Oh! Silly me. I'm Charlotte!" She held up her lanyard as if it was Exhibit A, before continuing. "It's so nice to meet you both. I'll be on your floor, so if you ever need anything or have any questions don't hesitate to ask!" she said in the most cheerful voice Lexi had ever heard. "Anywho, here are your key cards to get into the building, your keys to your room, and all of the information needed to get around campus. Go Eagles!"

"Go Eagles!" Mindy cheered back with a fist in the air.

Lexi and Mindy thanked Charlotte and made their way to their empty dorm room, which only had two beds, two closets and two desks jammed right next to each other in the four hundred square foot space. As soon as the door closed, Mindy turned to Lexi. "She's the killer! I just know it!" They both threw their stuff down and began laughing.

"Girl, this isn't a murder case!" Lexi said between laughs. "But seriously, do you think her cheeks are frozen in a smile? No one is that happy. Maybe she is the killer?"

"Seriously!" Mindy laughed. "Anyways, which bed do you want, Le- I mean, Hannah?"

"Nice save, Windy. I'll take whichever."

The girls spent the rest of the morning unpacking and going over their plans for the week. First order of business was to get to know as many people as possible in their major and look for any signs of misplay. "We should throw a party!" Mindy said as they had finished hanging their clothes within their respective closets. "That's what college kids do in the movies right? Throw parties?"

"I-uh. Yeah, I guess you're right. They do throw parties in the movies. But, where would we even host one?"

"We could do it at your house, and have Cole be the host."

"That's actually not a bad idea. Let's bring it up to Cole and my parents when we see them next."

***

"Okay, I almost have fifteen pages filled out on everyone we've been meeting. I decided to write down small facts about them that we can review more in-depth later," said Mindy as she scribbled down notes in a bright pink notebook.

"Good thinking. And I was finally able to get set up in the system. I've been familiarizing myself with the server this morning. They have a ton of firewalls here, but I think I'll manage to get through just fine. We'll just need to set up some bugs around campus to help."

A week had passed since the girls had begun their undercover assignment and Lexi was starting to feel like she could breathe easier. College wasn't nearly as bad as she had thought it would be. They had managed to meet a lot of new people and even make a few friends. It had seemed the hardest part was over. Now she would just be attending classes and pretending to listen in while she worked on trying to monitor the online activity happening at the school. Mindy did most of the socializing anyway, so things were looking up.

The girls grabbed their book bags and made the trek across campus to their first class, Advanced Cyber Security. With a hacker on the loose, they knew their best course of action was to try to get to know the students advanced in the art.

The bustle of the prior week had no signs of letting up. Students and faculty members weaved together on the roads and sidewalks, all seemingly focused on getting to their next destination. A flag football game across the street in the campus' park held a swarm of onlookers cheering. They passed by the school cafeteria and an aroma of bacon and eggs wafted through the air. Lexi breathed in the heavenly scent. With pep in her step, she led the way into the Holden Hall for their first class with Professor Miller.

When Lexi had initially seen Miller written on her class schedule, her heart fluttered and her mind traveled back to images of Tom. She thought of the way he had dropped the woman's hand when he saw her at the grocery store. Did I imagine that? On multiple occasions she had tried to block out the small run-in, but it would not stop running through her mind. It was like a viral video that was playing almost every other scroll up on TikTok.

"Hannah, Windy, wait up!" a familiar voice called out from behind them. They turned to see Charlotte running up the stairs to catch up with them.

"Oh, hey Charlotte. Are you in the Cyber Security class too?" Mindy asked.

"Yes! I'm so excited you girls are in it!" She paused to catch her breath and continued in a hushed tone. "Word on the street is Professor Miller is one grade A hottie. I've never seen him because he's new this year, but I've heard some of the other girls talking about him."

Lexi laughed. She had a feeling this Miller would never even compare looks wise to the other Miller who took up residence in her mind. "Thanks for the heads up."

The trio made their way into the classroom, and Lexi's pulse spiked as soon as her eyes landed on the back of the man at the front of the room. He was in a form fitted, sky blue shirt and fitted slacks, and was writing something on the large white board taking up the front wall. The familiar tufts of dark blonde hair forced Lexi's eyes to grow wide. There's no way.

"Let's sit there!" Mindy said in a hushed tone as she led the way to three seats in the middle of the medium sized space. Lexi stumbled forward, hoping and praying the thoughts circling in her mind weren't true. Yet, as soon as he turned around, the pulsing in Lexi's ears grew tenfold. And when his sweeping gaze met hers, it was as if time stood still.

***

Heheh let the fun commence! Thanks for reading, voting, and commenting! What are your thoughts on the story so far? ♥️