Chapter 1

              Nikki stood at the university's front gate, gazing up at the school crest carved into the stone archway above. It was the first day of class, and she was still reeling from being accepted to such a prestigious school, even procuring a full-ride scholarship.

              “The University of Moonward.” She read the signage posted on the cobblestone wall that bordered the school. She took a deep breath before finally walking through the open gate. The university looked exactly like every brochure she had ever seen about it. The buildings were all made of weathered stone, proudly showing their age. At three hundred years old, the university was almost as old as Harvard. Its name, Moonward, though, was only seventy years old.

              “Oh.” Nikki smiled as she approached the famous campus statue of an astronaut on the moon. Moonward was the name of a privately owned space program that started during the space race in the 1950s. The nearby city and the university changed their names to Moonward after the program created significant wealth in the area. So, over time, everything associated with Moonward became prestigious and wealthy.

              Nikki pulled out her class schedule and read over the name of the building her first class was in. She started walking to the area where the science buildings were located, still glancing at her class schedule. It was still early in the day, and the campus was empty, so when she managed to walk right into someone, she became startled.

              “Oops.” Nikki gasped as her shoulder slammed into someone else’s. The impact was so surprising that it made her drop her books and class schedule. “Oh no.” She grabbed the paper schedule, but the light summer breeze swept it up.

              “Got you.” A large, slender hand grabbed the schedule midair before it blew away. Nikki stared up at the man she had just bumped into. He was tall, with a medium build, dark-blonde hair that curled slightly behind his ears, and a well-groomed short beard. He adjusted his glasses and looked at the paper he had just caught. He read over it before looking down at Nikki. She was still crouching on the ground after gathering her books, staring at him.

              “Need a hand?” He asked with an English accent. Nikki blushed from embarrassment when she realized she had been staring.

              “N-no.” She replied as she quickly stood up. “Th-thank you for catching my class schedule.” She thanked him as she held her books tightly to her chest.

              “Your first class of the day isn’t set to begin for at least another hour.” He said when he handed her the schedule.

              “It’s my first day of class, and I didn’t want to end up being late because of traffic or something stupid…” Nikki admitted sheepishly as she took the paper schedule from him.

              “Like bumping into a professor?” The man asked disapprovingly.

              “Oh…sorry about that…” Nikki apologized. He continued to look at her with a displeased expression.

              “Pay attention when you are walking on campus.” He told her. Nikki looked at him with a slight frown. They had both bumped into each other. Neither of them had been paying attention, so she could not understand why he scolded her.

              “Then perhaps you should do the same.” Nikki retorted. Professor or not, she was not about to let him talk down to her.

              “Excuse me?” He asked her in surprise.

              “If you had been paying attention, you surely would have avoided me.” She indicated to him. “Blaming just me isn’t very professor-like.” She openly criticized before continuing. “I expected someone older than me to be over such pettiness.”

              “You are being very disrespectful.” He glared at her.

              “As are you.” Nikki countered. His glare only became more heated.

              “What is your name?” He questioned.

              “As if I’d tell you.” Nikki scoffed. “I am leaving. Sorry for bumping into you, professor.” She mocked his title. “Have the day you deserve.” She told him while she quickly turned and walked away from him.

              “Why you!” He snarled as she rushed away from him. He continued to glare, a frown forming on his face, as she disappeared into a nearby building. He sighed, then turned and continued towards the main administrative building. He pulled back out his cell phone and then paused.

              “Damn…” He grumbled. “…she was right.” He acknowledged. He recognized they would not have bumped into each other if he had not been walking while texting on his phone. “Brat.” He scowled slightly. He then remembered the class list he had handed back to her.

              “Well, I’ll get her name in time.” He chuckled darkly. “She is in two of my classes this semester, after all.” He smirked as he continued towards the main administrative building near the campus's front gate. Nikki made her way through the building where her first class would be held. She looked at the numbers posted outside the classrooms and quickly gathered that her class was on the basement level of the three-story building.

              “Ugh, the basement.” She whined as she made her way down the staircase to the basement. It was just as dark as she expected, but it was odd since the upper floors had bright fluorescent lights that lit them up. She walked around, trying to locate the classroom. She had to squint when she finally found a sign to read. Nikki stared at the sign, expecting it to have a class number, but frowned when it turned out to be the plaque for a professor’s office.

              “I wonder how shitty of a professor you’d have to be to have an office in a spot like this.” She said to herself as she walked across the hall to the only other door on the basement floor. “Ah, there we are.” She sighed in relief when she saw the room number she was looking for.

              “Now that I know where to go, I’ll hang out in the lounge area on the third floor until class starts.” She nodded with a smile as she made her way to the staircase. The upper floors of the building were so bright in comparison to the basement floor. She could feel her anxiety fading as she basked in the bright light.

              “Good morning.” When she arrived on the third floor, an older woman in a fitted skirt suit welcomed her.

              “Oh, good morning.” She greeted her sheepishly.

              “Are you waiting for your class to start?” the woman asked with a smile. Then, Nikki realized she was a professor who had just arrived in the building. She watched as the woman used a key to unlock a nearby office door. The plaque on the office door read ‘Professor Anderson.’

              “I am. It is on the basement level, but it was so dark down there that I did not want to wait alone,” Nikki revealed.

              “Ah, yes. Professor Thorn tends to keep the lights off when he is not around. That whole level is his office and designated classroom.” Anderson revealed.

              “It doesn’t seem like an ideal spot for an office,” Nikki commented.

              “Most professors on campus would agree with you. We were all surprised he decided to stay there even after receiving tenure.” Anderson continued. “I suppose one can never fully understand what goes on in the mind of someone as brilliant as that man.” She sighed dreamily.

              “I see…” Nikki responded, uncomfortable by the older woman’s ease in displaying her crush on another professor with a student.

              “Oh, well.” Anderson shrugged, seeming to recognize she was rambling on with the student. “Enjoy your class, young lady.” She smiled before entering her office.

              “Thank you.” Nikki nodded before sighing in relief once the woman was gone. “The professors are stranger than I thought.” She mumbled as she thought about the rude professor she had bumped into earlier. She groaned, worried that people were still people even at such a prestigious university. Nikki sat down in one of the armchairs in the student lounge area and pulled out a book. She fell into a comfortable silence as she read while waiting for her class to start.