A flurry of students ran after Marian's supposed assailant, Tenny deciding to as well. Sage may be a rude one, but he was correct. Time to toss timid behavior aside for this type of school. The students yelled as they chased the hooded figure down the staircase, cops waiting outside the doorway. They shouted to the cops that the figure approaching them is the culprit, several pointing at him.

The cops slammed the culprit, who tried to squeeze by to the ground, handcuffing him amidst cheers.

They lifted the culprit, who was fiercely adamant that it was not him. The cops ignored his pleas, placing him in a police car and shutting the door. An officer looked at the group.

“Alright, show's over. Thank you for your help."

The group was still noisy, but one by one, they retreated back up the steps. Tenny tried to get a look at the suspect, but he still had his hood up, and is in an unlit police car, at night. Giving up, Tenny went back up the stairs while looking back at the scene.

Re-entering her dorm room, Tenny closed it, walking over to her desk. Sage was on his phone, lying on his bed.

“I'd defend him.”

Tenny looked over at Sage, returning to her books.

Another hour passed, and the lights were off as Sage went to bed. Tenny got up from her desk, finishing up the last page of the reading assignment. She turned off her lamp, went to her bed and placed her phone a foot away from her. Her mind went back to the scene just hours ago, but her eyes led her down the road of sleep, shutting.

What seemed like barely a moment later, Tenny found herself standing in the hallway. Not knowing how she got there, she found herself advancing towards the dorm room at the end.

         The victim's dorm room.

Not sure of what was going on, a key appeared in her hand, silently but speedily entering the keyhole and twisting. The door creaked open, the dark room displaying itself. Turning on the light switch, the victim wakes, looking over in Tenny's direction. She is yelling angrily, but the voices are a muffled mess. A hand from Tenny's direction reached out and grabbed the victim by the mouth, slamming her into a desk. The hand violently yanked her by the hair, shoving her into a large drawer. A struggle ensued as the two fell over, the victim hitting her head against a wall and turning on her side. Her desktop computer falls off of her desk and onto her collarbone.

Tenny is even more confused, finding herself running out of the room amidst the victim's angry screams. Grabbing her left elbow in pain, Tenny noticed something. A 'y'-shaped mark on her wrist. She does not remember having such a mark. Looking back up, she tripped over one of her loose shoelaces, shoulder slamming into a wall.

Tenny jolted awake, breathing hard.

Wiping sweat from her forehead, Tenny grabbed her elbow. No pain. She checked her left wrist. No y-shaped mark. Tenny knew what this was, and it was not a dream.

She got off of her bed, transferring the loose sheets from her desk to her bag. She was all too familiar with this occurrence.

The other side to her ability, 'Trust'. This particular side of the ability allows Tenny's subconscious to be received by others' subconsciouses, allowing her to peer into their lives through their perspective, through REM sleep. This usually happens when a situation pertaining to a person weighs on her mind.

It may sound like a handy ability, but Tenny knew its drawback all too well. The opposite of 'Trust' is 'Betrayal,' and the ability finds it revolting. Tenny is forbidden from revealing what the subject does not want revealed, no matter how vicious it may be. This happens when she comes across the true identity of the subject. She tried, nonetheless, to reveal whatever she witnessed over the years. Those situations resulted in immense, immeasurable pain, immobilizing and sending her to the hospital on occasion. Not once has she gotten the full truth out. She theorizes that if she ever does, it will kill her.

Though, Tenny will not let it hold her back. Being a lawyer is the only thing she seeks. That, coupled with her ambition, makes avoiding this 'ability' out of the question. She decided that life would have its moments and added this ability to that list. Loopholes, ways around the ability, Tenny wants to traverse those paths. Because quitting is not an option for her.

Walking to her morning class, Tenny felt an emotion she did not like to encounter.

Regret.

Although adamant about her beliefs and persistent with her goals, Tenny regrets witnessing scenes she knows she can't speak about. Something as simple as a police lineup is life or death for her. And when she tries to find a way around it by simply showing a photo from her phone, she learns she's limited in that area as well.

Even when witnessing the crime from the perspective of the criminal during her sleep, she can't offer any assistance.

Regretting seeing scenes, regretting 'dreaming' about said scenes without being able to lift a finger. Everything in her body is working against her goals.

To Tenny, that's only a challenge.

She tried to shove off the regret just in time as she passed by crowds of students discussing last night's assault. Tenny looked over at the loud crowds, the only one with a complete grasp on the situation. All except the identity. That is something even the ability does not show. Audio in the perspective-viewing is also muffled for reasons she does not know.

In one of the groups, Blake emerged, walking over to Tenny.

“Did you hear about the assault? Everyone's talking about it!”

“Yeah.”

“I heard it happened on the second floor. I'm on the third. What about you?”

"Can we not talk about this?”

Mark ran over, full of energy.

“DID YOU GUYS HEAR ABOUT THE ASSAULT?!”

Tenny sighed to herself.

"Guess that's not happening.”

Mark dashed in front of the two, coming to a harsh halt.

“They caught him like fifteen minutes later! I heard he bust in on some girl's room and started strangling her! They were going to cancel classes today, but thankfully, they caught the guy. Everyone got e-mails saying to inform any faculty of what they know about the attack."

“Well, I know you're on the third floor. With how many times you barge in,” Blake said.

       “Hey, this school is all about establishing partnerships. Remember what Mr. Blackwood said? Escalate others.”

Blake shoved Mark as he laughed. Mark looked to Tenny.

“What about you? Did you hear anything?"

“Nothing new. Everyone knows the whole situation by now."

“But did you see anything? Did you see it happen?”

“I already tried, Mark. She won't tell me anything,” Blake interrupted.

Mark looked to Blake, then stared at Tenny with more curiosity.

“You saw it happen?”

Tenny glared at Mark.

“Drop it.”

“You're on the second floor, you son of a gun! Your dorm was probably right next door-”

Tenny slammed Mark against a wall, to Blake's surprise.

"I said, drop it.”

Mark stared at Tenny in shock, a group of students turning to look at the scene silently. Tenny looked around, lowering her arm from Mark and backing off.

“Forget it."

Tenny walked off to her next class, leaving behind a group of stares.

Ten minutes before class starts. Tenny sat down in one of the middle seats of the classroom, the air thick with the sullen atmosphere of everyone there. Students placed their bags down, not saying a word. The assault has everyone on edge.

The bespectacled, raven-haired Health Law professor, Professor Madison Perser, silently added some notes to her laptop. More students entered the classroom without a word.

The ten minutes swam by, and the entire class was ready with withdrawn laptops. A few looks exchanged here and there, as if to ask with their eyes if the other knows about the assault.

The professor hooked her laptop up to a projector, looking around the silent classroom. She sighed.

“I know you all know about the assault by now. This is always a topic that people find difficult to discuss. But, you'll find in this line of profession that this will be one of the many cases you'll come across. This is real life, and it's a real thing. It's all about how you handle these situations. And like in real life, there are witnesses to such incidents and crimes. To the best of my knowledge, the culprit was apprehended. However, you students can help the situation by providing any information about the assault. You may tell me or contact any faculty about what you have seen. We're all here to help. For this to happen at Vellichor, at any campus, is reprehensible and severely condemned. Check the Vellichor newsletter in your e-mails for my and other faculty's contact information. Forward anything you know or come across. Our information is available twenty-four seven. Is that understood?”

“Yes,” everyone responded.

“Good. Let's begin today's lesson in Health Law. The storage of food, where it's stored, and how it's shielded from airborne diseases. All the precautions and proceedings are to make sure the consumer base and corporations are safe from lawsuits. Let's begin.”

The students laughed a little, and the professor turned on the projector. A graph and wall of text are laid side by side as the students simplify what is spoken into outlines for them to adjust to. Tenny wrote silently, the assault she was a front-row seat to still at the forefront of her mind.

After class, Tenny headed over to a vending machine, not having much of an appetite today. Apparently, some other students felt the same, having one or two bags of chips or snacks sitting in front of them.

Sitting at a table alone, she got ready to open her purchase of granola bars, putting them down instead. She placed a hand on her forehead, the assault playing over and over.

“Tenny,” Blake said.

Tenny came back to reality, looking up at Blake, who's holding a tray of today's lunch selection. Sitting down at the table, Blake doesn't know where to begin.

“I shouldn't have helped push you. I guess I helped Mark persist. I'm sorry."

“It's fine. You guys were just asking basic questions. At least you guys have the courage to.”

“What do you mean?”

Tenny looked from her granola bars to Blake.

“Ah, I'm doing it again, aren't I,” Blake said.

“Not at all. I was about to tell you. But where's Mark? That nuisance, I guess he'd want to hear this too, wouldn't he.”

“Well, that's the rare thing I learned about Mark. No matter how much he may push, even he stops when he thinks he's crossed a line.”

Blake pointed over at Mark, who is a social butterfly with a mass group of students at another table.

“Although he will give you your space, he still feels bad over whatever he thinks is too far.”

Tenny looked over at Mark, a little impressed with him having nearly all of the basic qualifications for a good lawyer. Social, trustworthy, smart and a magnet to people. Perhaps the Vellichor admissions saw all of this when he applied, and thought they had a goldmine on their hands.

Tenny nodded at Blake to wave Mark over, Blake getting up from the table. Tenny felt awkward over their latest interaction. Blake walked over to the table that bursted with life, appearing to whisper something to Mark. Mark stood up, walking with Blake over to Tenny's table.