Seven in the morning classes. Few had signed up for the English class time slot and most had only done so because they’d gotten around to entering classes after the later classes had filled up. The professor is quick to hand out a syllabus and explain all the major points.

First assignment due next class would be a short writing of their personal story as way of introduction. And then most other grades would be a combination of small journal entries and a few larger papers throughout the semester. Everything seemed like it would be easy enough for Abe… That is until a notation under a larger paper due near the middle of everything. A research paper to be done with a partner…? How is he supposed to guarantee a satisfactory grade if he had to rely on someone else as well?

He glances around, trying to tally up how many other students there were and hoping he could ask to work alone by reason of an odd number of students. Assuming everyone was currently here and no one dropped out, he might be able to request in… He’d heard professors were usually super strict or very laid back and this one seem to be a chiller one. 

Which he was really relying on as his glance around also made Abe aware most of his classmates seemed the muscle brained types. His grades were sure to suffer if he got stuck carrying someone too busy participating in sporting events and partying. A hand full of guys and even one of the girls looked like they could easily bench press him in their sleep. Even if he wasn’t lucky enough to manage working alone, he made a mental note to make sure not to be paired up with any of them at the very least.

***

Arty had already established herself as a part of the woodsmen team. Tom and the rest invited her to have lunch together and just hang out between classes. Some of them had even made borderline flirty offers to show her around campus. She took them up on the offer for help some of the time, but was careful to not accidentally lead anyone on. Dating and team sports were a rickety position to put oneself in and she also needed to make sure to balance her schoolwork going forward too.

She looks over her Accounting 101 syllabus. Maybe she should look into what tutoring services are available early so she can avoid falling behind once things get harder. “Hey, guys… Is there somewhere I can go to sign up for tutoring and shit? I wasn’t paying much attention during the campus tour I went on…”

“Oh, yeah. There’s an office on the second story of the library. But it’s only the first week of classes.” Stan, the team’s main competitor for birling events, speaks up. “Are you already having problems understanding things?”
“No, but I got to keep my grades up, ya know? I don’t want to wait to get help until I’m really struggling and drowning in work…”

“Heh, that’s pretty smart of you. I can show you where it is after lunch.” Stan grins. “Maybe I should follow your example and sign up for tutoring early too…”

“Maybe?” One of their teammates heckled him. “If your low grades cause you to miss any of our competitions this year, I’ll throw you in the lake myself. Repeatedly.” There were good hearted chuckles around the table.

Artemis was glad she tried out for the woodsmen team, everyone was so welcoming and helpful. She only hoped the other sports teams she joined would be just as accepting and friendly… From what she understood, woodsmen had meets the entire school year so she could probably participate in one other sport each season before it interfered with her grades. Hmm… Cross-country had tryouts next week.

***

Abe’s alarm beeps and he looks up from his textbook. Already? Time really flew when he’s working on stuff.

He supposed he should make his way to the campus cafeteria… He’d run out of snacks too quickly if he didn’t have some proper meals. The fact that properly made food would be beneficial to his health, and thus improve capability to learn, was an added bonus.

Paper meticulously ordered and put in their place before he gets up. Books carefully marked and closed. Writing instruments put in their holder… Abe makes sure his desk is pristine and then checks he has his keys and everything else as he heads to the door. He remembered where the meal hall was from the tour, though it was likely to not be quite as civilized now that there were students using the facilities… Hopefully he could still have his meals in peace.

The walk to it was pleasant enough. No one stopping him to talk or even giving him a glance as he strolled past. As he approached the large building housing the dining hall, though, there was a more energetic atmosphere to the air. An almost buzzing of activity as students entered and exited through different doors, usually in varying sized groups.

Abe enters and makes his way to the dining hall entrance, paying by scanning his student ID as he goes in. While there were a few other places to buy food on campus, like the school store, the dining hall was the most cost effective due to only charging a set rate per a visit. And most meal plans students could pre-buy were enough to cover three or four meals a day (they opened for a few hours late at night most nights for those up late studying). It made things easier for Abe as he didn’t need to waste time considering things like cost when picking out meals, but it also meant that the dining hall was sure to be popular most of the time.

Like right now… He was struggling to find a nice, quiet seat as he picked up some spaghetti and a garden salad with breaded mini shrimp. A moment of looking reveals one unoccupied table in a corner… right past a particularly rowdy table. Well, beggars couldn’t be choosers. He makes his way to the seat.

As he walks, fate decided to give him a touch more bad luck in the form of timing. Just before he goes to pass said rowdy table, one of the guys pushes back their chair to get up right into his path in front of him. It takes all of Abe’s coordination to not spill the food he had balanced in his hands.

“Hey!” One of the few girls sitting there snaps. “Pay more attention, Idiot.”

Abe tries to ignore her and quickly hurries away, not wanting to get involved with them or worse. He had no interest in getting beat up over something out of his control. Especially not so early in the semester.

***

Artemis notices the potential collision only split seconds before it happens and without enough time to do anything. She was secretly quite impressed with the other person’s reflexes when her teammate suddenly pushed out his chair into them. The guy hadn’t dropped either dish as he pivoted out of the way. That sort of balance might put Stan to shame.

Speaking of Stan… She snaps at him for not paying attention and turns to the other guy to have Stan apologize, but the shorter student had already hurried off. Well, hopefully she’d see him around. Maybe she could apologize on Stan’s behalf at least.

“Alright. I guess we’re heading to the library now… Who all is coming?” Half the table starts getting together their bags and miscellaneous items. 

It honestly doesn’t take long for those going to the library to pack up and start walking that direction. Once they entered the large two story building that houses the library, some parts of the group started to disperse to find books or secure a study area to work. Artemis, Stan, and a handful of other students from the team make their way up the main stairwell and through an open door with the words ‘Student Resources’ in bold letters beside it. 

A cheery woman with silvery hair in a loose ponytail and deep smile lines on her otherwise youthful face sits at a desk right as they walk in. “Well, hello, Lovelies. How can I assist you today?”

No one speaks up so Arty decides to go first. “Well, um… I was hoping to be proactive and wanted to know about what I needed to do to arrange a tutor or something for some of my classes. You know, have everything prepared in case I need it before things actually get busy…?”

“How very smart and responsible of you, Deary. I’ve got some paperwork you can fill out to start a file for you here… Just some basic stuff like what classes you’re taking and what resources you are most interested in using. We can pair you up with tutors as needed, but we also have other things we do to assist as well. Like having someone proofread papers and such. And some students find they benefit from having regular meetings with a staff member to just check on how they’re doing assignment-wise.” The woman, the nameplate said Glenn, ruffles through some papers before handing some to Artemis to fill out. “Don’t fret too much. This is just to have a record that you’re taking advantage of our services and so we have something to reference on who you are when you want or need anything from us. Practically everything on there can be updated as desired whenever.”

Arty looks it over as she goes to one of the tables to fill everything out.