13 Study Time

The next morning, Erin woke up to the sun rising in the sky--normally she wasn't much of a morning person but the jet lag was clearly affecting her sleep. She had slept soundly through the night and could not remember any of her dreams. Erin was a bit relieved to have had a solid chunk of rest in a real bed and without any strange interruptions-- it *had* been two eventful nights since she last slept in her bed, which was now far off in the midwest of the United States.

Feeling restored, she stretched her arms and enjoyed a deep, satisfying yawn. Erin didn't have to start her classes for another few days and relished in the thought of finally doing the myriad things she was looking forward to. But, instead of seeing the sights today Erin planned to pick up her student ID at the university so that she could access the library and the computer system. It had been two days without internet, as well, and Erin was feeling a strong itch to get online.

Erin dressed in jeans and a soft knit sweater, pulled on her ankle boots and looked herself over in the mirror. She left her long red hair hanging around her shoulders and it fell in loose curls just past her shoulder blades. She looked to her reflection in the mirror and was relieved to see just herself staring back. She smirked at her reflection and put on her sunscreen--her fair skin meant she had to be extra cautious with sun exposure. Finally she put a touch of mascara, some clear lip gloss and at that she was happy with what she saw. Normally she wouldn't fuss at all with makeup but if she was getting an ID card. she didn't want to have to look at a bad picture for the next year.

Erin grabbed her tan corduroy purse and peeked around for any sign of Charlotte or Olivier but they were still in their rooms and she did not want to wake them at the early hour. Grabbing her key-- which she had now placed on a lanyard from home, to keep safely around her neck to prevent any future mishaps, she left the apartment.

Erin walked down the narrow, picturesque street and crossed the little bridge over the creek. She laughed aloud and chided herself not to drop anything today The sun was peeking through a light peppering of clouds, revealing a beautiful blue sky. She continued down another little avenue and passed a couple of stores whose fronts were still tightly locked up, the city hadn't fully roused from its peaceful slumber yet.

She wasn't completely sure of the directions to the school so she planned to stop for a cup of coffee and pastries at one of the scenic cafes in the small square she'd found herself in. While sipping her coffee, she'd asked the young waitress for directions.

"Thank you so much, for your help," Erin said cheerfully as she left to make her way on the path the young woman had described to her. At last, she came upon the university's main building and there were a few students mulling about, getting things done before the start of the school term. Walking through the distinguished wrought iron gates surrounding the campus Erin felt a strange, but now somewhat familiar feeling. But, rather than just causing a tingling in her body, the moment she walked fully onto the campus, everything around her shifted.

Before Erin could think any further about what was happening to her, everything around her had completely transformed. No longer was she walking through the threshhold of the university she'd been daydreaming about for years-- now she was stood in a bustling crowd of people of all ages, dressed in strange clothing and hurrying about her. Rather than the ancient-looking administration building that she'd been progressing toward--she now found herself in a makeshift market it seemed with stalls of innumerable variety surrounding her.

She heard shouts in what sounded like ten different languages-- to her ears-- but within her mind, she was instantly able to understand them. On this realization, Erin became faint, and before she knew what happened she'd fallen in a dead faint, straight to the ground in a heap.