If It Isn't Her

Sam woke up extra early to shower and prepare for school. She was newly moved into her single dorm room by only a week. For the first day of classes she wore a handkerchief black skirt that fell loose to her knees and a red button up short sleeved low v-neck shirt over a higher v-neck white tank top. She packed up her books for class and put a small digital camera in the side pocket before pulling that backpack onto her back. Her large camera was put back over her head so that if she ran into some good photos along the way throughout the day she could take them. She adjusted some settings and then pulled on her one inch black heels to go to class.

She walked across campus and went straight to the building she was taking her first class in.
 
"Ah, Miss Flynn." the principal of the University acknowledged her upon her arrival, with the way he stood by the entrance, Alex knew he had been waitinG for a long time. More the reason for her to rush this morning. She took one of her earphones' earbuds out to hear him more clearly, lowering the volume of her music a few levels down and looked up to the elderly man who was waiting for her response.

"Have you waited long, sir?" she inquired politely, she had every right to be nice to his man - he was nice enough to do this for her, so might as well pay the favour by being respectful.

"Not at all." he said with a shake of the head. He spoke in such a professional manner and Alex noticed it fairly quickly. But she wasn't in the right state to question any of his demeanours, it was rather common sense to know that highly respectable people always act professionally. She nodded at his reply, tugging on her cardigan to cover her collarbone which had the words "Know Thyself" just below the clavicle in cursive font, but then she remembered that she was wearing a shirt underneath, so there was nothing to worry about "Here's your schedule" he said, giving her a sheet of paper "But surely with the power of the internet, you have already check online - correct?"

"Yes, sir." she nodded. She knew of her schedule already, she took note of the fact that she'll be having tech theatre first thing in the morning. She loved the class, but the professor wasn't her cup of tea - she was an eyesore of that particular professor because of the way she dressed.

"Be on your way then."
 
Sam walked into the theatre and looked around her in awe. It was larger than her high school auditorium for sure. She walked up to the stage where a few other students were sitting and looked around as the went. The architecture was old but beautiful, with plenty of wood design work throughout the ceiling and the front of the stage that wasn't really square like most stage openings. It was rounded off. The actual stage came out in a half circle beyond this wall. The auditorium seats were blue and look very comfortable. There was even a large balcony area that was also very well done with its architecture.

Done with her gawking, she took a seat by herself and waited for the professor to walk in.
 
The professor was found sitting on the stage, reading something out from a clip with her glasses sitting at the tip of her nose. She was female, but it didn't really matter in this profession - or in any profession and certainly stern-looking. She was around 30 years old, sporting a blue blouse and dress pants, with curly brown hair resting on her shoulders. As soon as the students came in silence, she withdrew her eyes away from the clipboard and to her new students. Tech theatre in this University was taught in small groups, usually around 10-20 students - an easy number to work with in the auditorium. Too much would be a crowd, and when the day of the plays come - the professor would gather all her students who studied her course from different levels and they would all work together, which can range to around 50 people.

"Hmm...is this everybody?" she asked the silent crowd in front of her, counting them with her eyes "If so, welcome to Technical Theatre. Here I will teach you...well...technical theatre, or stage craft. You will learn the aspects behind the the play, the lighting, the script and all those sorts. Not only that. In my class, in order to test your skills, I'll be picking some of you randomly to play as actors as we go. It's all to test how you work efficiently and accruately in an actual play. That's how it goes in my class. Now, I'm not as stern as I look..." she said, standing up from her sitting position and placed her hands against her hips "...and I want to know who I'm teaching to, so please introduce yourself."
 
When it came time for Sam to introduce herself, she gulped, stood, and stated with a lack of confidence. "My name is Samantha Irvington, but please call me Sam."

Letting out a breath in relief that it was over, Sam sat back down. She looked around the room at the others, some of whom were introducing themselves as she looked around.
 
"Ah, an Irvington. You are aware your father is a known man, correct? It's a pleasure to meet his daughter." was what the professor said, examining Sam as she sat back down. As soon as she was identified as an Irvington, people began looking at her with undying impression. The Irvingtons were a family of social elites, this kind of impressions was pretty common amongst most people but they never cared the less about how the latter felt with her being talked about liked this.

The door behind them opened, it's creaking sound echoed throughout the auditorium. It was Alex. As soon as she appeared from the entrance, she saw heads turned in unison. Sensing the awkwardness her entrance made, she pulled her iPod's earphones off her ears with a soft pull - looking around the room with pursed lips.

The professor looked up at her with a frown, eyeing Alex's blonde hair - identifying it, then back at Alex's face "Ah...right." the professor trailed "So you return back here, Alexis." she spoke flatly, there was distasted present in her voice. It was easy to tell that the girl wasn't a favourite of the teacher "It's been a while, you took my course for half a year and took a break almost instantly... I was beggining to doubt your dedication."

"Yes it has, and you are still the same. I'm alive and well on the other hand, I'm not near death yet." the girl replied, rolling her eyes as she rolled the cord of her earphones around her music device, pocketing it in her capris. Professor Halter never changed, she was still the same person she was - which was hard to describe. Favouristism was present in this class, it was obvious from the treeatment she was receving "Don't worry Professor Halter I'm very dedicated."

"You are still the same too, Alexis: You talk back to teachers like you're in high school." she said, her voice echoed in the huge space, she shook her head in dismay, her eyes was still focused on the girl that stood in the entrance "Well, what are you standing around there? If you would walk down here and introduce yourself. You're a returning student and also late - this is the least you can do."

Alex shrugged as she trodded down stairs, fixing her wrinkled top, counting the steps she took as she descended down towards the stage. Eyes and head followed her like security cameras, but Alex didn't notice this - she was too busy thinking about how old these people she was with. They were for surely younger, 'fresh-from-high-school' kind of thing, and she wouldn't be surprised if there was someone more immature than her when it comes to this class; and she was in her 20s. She stopped just right in front of the professor, giving her a look before turning around to the small group of students and spoke "Alexis Flynn. Returning student. Enough said." she told them blandly, there was no hint of liveliness or interest in her voice, it was more of robotic or reciting a line from a book. After this short and reluctant introduction, she walked to the side and sank on a seat.
 
Sam looked at the newcomer, curious about what kind of student would come in late. As she looked, she thought, Do I know this person? She looked familiar to her.

Alexis? The name didn't ring a bell, and she looked to be older so she couldn't have gone to high school with her. Sam looked her over again and inwardly cringed. No, definitely wasn't from her high school. No one in her high school would dress like that.
 
The professor went on and on about the rules and regulations about working in her class, and most of the class paid attention. It's not that Alex wasn't, but she had heard this before, all of this before. Even though she hated the professor, she couldn't help but be excited - she loved tech theatre and her hate for the professor was out of this equation.

"Since this is the first day, get yourself acquainted with each other. There is nothing better than getting to know each other personally, and get comfortable...or maybe get a new friend."

Everyone stood up on this instruction, even Alex. She had to. She had no idea who the hell these people were, but since she's taking this class - might as well get to know them. A few people approached her, offering their hand to shake and introduced themselves to her in a professional manner. It was a bit surprising, it's been years since she had came in contact with newly graduates - they know their formalities.

"Alexis, right? " one of the students approached her with their hand out.

"Alex. Just Alex."

"So...." he said, examining Alex as he shook her hand. He seemed to be trying to figure out what to classify her as, she was a convincing boy but there was something that told him that she was female. In other words, she looked like a pretty boy because of her feminine face and her boyish manners "You are a....girl?"

"What do you think?" she asked him in a rhetorical manner, but was intended as a light-hearted joke. She wanted to keep people guessing, but even she doesn't know what to classify herself as. She moved around the group and introduced herself to them in a casual manner, telling them to call her Alex instead of Alexis. In the midst of introduction, her eyes caught sight of Sam and she found herself gaping at the woman. Was that the woman in restaurant? It's been ages, but she remembered that face anywhere: the girl who liked cheap food. So she WAS a new graduate... she thought meekly as she examined Sam, not caring if she was staring.
 
Sam stood off to one side, trying not to be involved in conversation. And it seemed like her name was intimidating. People would look at her and hesitate before introducing themselves to her. She knew she'd be lucky to remember their names later.

"I'm Amber, it's nice to meet you."

"I'm Kevin. How are you?"

"I'm Carey. Um, you're like super rich right?"

Sam answered in kind, and then she looked around, feeling eyes on her. She caught the gaze of the boyish looking Alexis and frowned. Didn't she know that staring was considered rude?

"You're staring at Alex? Whoa, she's staring right back!" Amber exclaimed. "I took this class with her before ya know."

Sam rose an eyebrow. Someone was talking to her? She glanced back at Alexis, who had gotten distracted by another person.

"That's... nice," she said, trying to be polite to Amber, who then went on about what they'd be learning in the class. Sam only half paid attention.
 
The sight of Amber diverted her attention from Sam, and Alex couldn't believe she was still here. Amused with this fact, she walked towards where they stood "If it isn't Amber, surprising how you're still in this level of the course..." she said, speaking with high arrogance present in her tone. She remembered Amber very well, she was also one of Professor Halter's least liked students because she skipped too much classes thus, prevented her from passing the course. She turned to Sam, who was beside the other girl giving her that uncomfortable gape once more "And this...." she said, almost calling Sam as the 'girl who liked cheap food', but stopped herself. This girl probably doesn't remember her, she's just a waitress after all "...who's she?"

And why are you here?
 
Amber grinned. "You know why I'm still here! But I swear, this time is different... maybe." She laughed. "This is Sam." She gave Sam a pat on the shoulder. "Pretty sure she's a freshman... Right, Sam? Don't worry, I don't bite! And I'm sure Alex won't either."

Sam was nervous by the sudden attention, but she swallowed and nodded. "I'm a freshman, yes," she said quietly. She wasn't used to this kind of attention. At her high school, everyone was just as well off as she was, so the constant looks from the other students, especially now that Amber and Alex were paying attention to her, was a bit unnerving.
 
Alex shook her head "Right, 'this time is different'. Are you sure you didn't say that too, the past years I was gone?" she arched a brow quizzically at the girl. She pushed up her glasses, biting her lip as she watched Amber introduced the cheap-food-fetish girl to her. The alleged girl was named Sam. She and Sam were probably the good few in this room who had boy names for women, but of course this "Sam" girl was probably a Samantha. She was obviously feminine, just hiding under an three-letter alias of her girlish name. As for Alex, her name "Alexis" can be used for both genders.

"Don't worry, I don't bite! And I'm sure Alex won't either."

"Hmph." she said subtly. Amber's words caught her, why was she giving Sam a good impression of the Alex when it's certainly the opposite. Wait, she knew that the girl was rich, judging from the fact that she was at the restaurant months ago and she knew how middle-class people always were nice to the rich and luxurious. But seeing how everyone was extremely friendly towards Samantha made her wonder: just what kind of rich girl is she, that even someone like Alex was given a sugarcoated introduction? Did she miss something when she was late? But since this is the acquainting part of the class, she decided to introduce herself again "Alex Flynn, I'm pretty sure you heard from earlier." she said to Sam, not bothering to take out her hand for Sam to take.
 
Sam nodded. "I heard. Thank you," she stated. Then it occured to her that etiquette stated she should introduce herself fully as well. "I'm Samantha Irvington, but I prefer to be called Sam."

Then the teacher called for their attention, as class was coming to a close. She announced that they would be discussing a group project next week, and that the next class would be a split lab learning the tools that they would be using.

"You will need to sign up on the stage for which lab time you will be coming to. I have a sheet waiting there."

"Let's sign up for the same lab!" Amber exclaimed, pulling Sam along with her. "Come on, Alex!"
 
"Irvington..." Alex repeated, the name sounded familiar other than the fact it was a name of a very famous financial company. With this new knowledge, she finally figured out why people treated the Sam girl so nicely - her father is a famous man. Of course this gold-digging leeches would love to latch on, that is an obvious answer.

The Professor interrupted her thoughts as she introduced a sheet of paper on the stage in which you would place the lab time they would be coming into, and most people with thier new friends chattered in excitement as they started planning to which lab they would be going to. Alex stood there stupidly, she was probably the only one who didn't make a decent acquaintance with anyone - even with Amber. She distanced herself too much, probably because she felt a bit off as being a returning student.

"Let's sign up for the same lab! Come on, Alex!"

She heard her name being called out in the distance by Amber, dragging the Sam girl along with her. Alex was surprised, was Amber for real, or was this because she wanted to look nice in front of the Irvington? Both of the girls wanted to have the same lab time with her, which meant working together. Tech theatre involved cooperation, so if this is the cooperation they offered her...why not? Nothing personal, just classmates.

"Alright." she told them, folllowing both of the girls was they lined up for the paper on the stage.
 
Sam allowed herself to be dragged along with Amber and signed her name underneath the other girl's. It seemed that there was no use in arguing or doing otherwise. She was surprised to see Alex put her name underneath theirs though. She thought the older girl wouldn't want to follow along with Amber's "commands."

"Um, it was a pleasure to meet you both," Sam said to them. "Please excuse me."

And then Sam left to go to her next class.
 
From those last words, Alex noticed that she felt uncomfortable or maybe awkward from Amber's lively friendship skills. That was so off for a rich girl, and it irritated her more than it did when Sam ordered the fettucine. What was wrong with that Sam girl? She was so weird, the rich young women who often dropped by the restaurant were outspoken and lively but why was Alex getting the feeling that this Sam character, was someone who was alone? Here she goes again, overthinking herself about other people's lives - she had to often remind herself to mind her own business.

But she can't help it, some people were just so intriguing.

She fished her pockets for her schedule in which where it told her what her next class was, she knew what it was but there was nothing wrong with assurance. She had her Architectural Design class commencing in a few minutes, that was a larger class and she won't be picked on by the professor like she did with tech theatre. The least attention she would get would probably be from the people who will be trying to identify her gender, sure it was rude to stare - but sometimes it can't be helped. She gave a nod towards Amber before turning towards the steps to the door high up at the top and made her way out of the auditorium.
 
Sam stopped outside the auditorium to pull out the planner that she had written down all her information about classes in. She wrote down her lab time under the date real quick before turning the pages to her class schedule that was taped so perfectly to the inside cover. Glancing over her classes, she winced at the next class she had; College Algebra, a general education course. Her only delight was that following that was her first photography course.
 
"Finally." Alex said as she went outside the auditorium, she was eager to finally start Architectural Design after a long break. She was ready to learn, ready to achieve, and ready to design the buildings that will soon stand in this very city someday. A dreamy thought that caught her off guard as she found herself colliding with a woman who had her back towards her and seemed to be busying herself with something. She stumbled, but she caught the girl by the wrist before she fell face-first to the ground. As soon as she got a glimpsed of the girl's face, Alex identified the woman to be Sam who held a planner on one hand and a pen in the other. "...the hell..." she said, throwing a look of contempt towards her. Why was she standing by the doorway? Even an idiot would figure out that they should step away from a doorway.

She sighed, releasing Sam's wrist that she held to prevent Sam from falling, taking her iPod out of her capris and placed the earbuds on each of her ears, giving the other girl one last look before walking away from the woman without a second thought.

What was up with that woman?
 
Sam was falling, and was surprised when she felt someone holding her up from falling on the floor. She regained her balance.

"... the hell..."

Sam looked up to see a rather unkind looking look on her saviors face, and then realized it was Alex. Before Sam could say anything, Alex had earbuds in her ears and was walking off.

"Thanks, I guess," Sam grumbled. She was very grateful that her fall had been broken. Her camera was in her backpack, and she would rather not have to replace it. She stepped away from the door, having learned her lesson, and put her planner away before walking off to her own class.
 
Architectural design class came as it went, it wasn't as exaggerated in introduction as it was in tech theatre but rather a lot more straight to the point. Alex can't blame the professor, this course was a serious one and being an architectural designer required being surrounded with professionals and being a disciplined designer was the way to go. It has only been the first day of class, but they were already starting the first lesson. Alex had to admit that she had forgot most of the things in this class, and she found herself lucky enough to remember a few things in tech theatre. She paid her attention a lot more carefully to the professor, especially because this professor was a new teacher in the school and that his was of teaching was way different than the professor who taught the class years ago.

She found herself reading her textbooks on the way towards the cafeteria, she had to study ahead somehow and review examples from architectural books. Of all the course she was taking, this one is something she need to pass badly - it was her dream, and she doesn't like her dreams being put to waste.

She fell into the line in the busy cafeteria, her eyes examining the pictures provided in the book and moved along the slow pace of the line. Soon enough, she found herself being the next one to order and absent-mindedly looked up to the choices of meals whille slowly snapping the book shut "I guess I'll have the chicken panini and a can of ginger ale." she said as she took a tray from the side, waiting for her order to come.

"No way. Alex?"

Alex looked to where the voice came from and found Travis dressed in a uniform, grinning from ear to ear as he held her chicken panini wrapped neatly around aluminum foil in between his tanned hands. "Travis..." she said in a monotone, embarassed at the fact that the guy's loud voice called attention to a part of the cafeteria. "Can you please give me my order?"

"So it was true! Manager said you're swiching your shift to part time because you're going back to college!" he exclaimed loudly, Alex wanted to melt on the spot - he was so embarassing. He was such an embarassment.

She took a deep breath, trying to control herself as she spoke slowly "Travis. My. Order. Please."

"Oh, right." the man said, taking a can of ginger ale and placing it on her tray along with the chicken panini. She felt stares coming from the line of people on her side, she hated being embarassed by people like him. It's irritating and was very bothersome.

"Thank you." she said in a full-effort nonchalantness, taking her tray of food away and proceeded away from the shop. She took a quick scan of the tables to look for an ideal place to sit, which was hard because of the scatter of students coming from different professions spread amongst the cafeteria and solitude was not common in this environment.
 
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