Alan

'First day of school! Get up!' Phil yelled at me, sounding ridiculously like my mother. After a week on campus, the university had finally decided to start our learning. I stumbled out of bed and yanked on jeans that were on my floor next to the bed. Phil did the same, wandering over to his wardrobe to select a shirt. I went to the foot of my bed for mine, one of my favourite Pink Floyd muscle tops. Satisfied with my appearance, I checked the time and saw I only had a few minutes to get to class.

'Don't you dare blame me!' I heard Phil say in a sing-song voice. His classes didn't start until this afternoon, and he only had to go and buy his books. 'You didn't set your alarm.'

'So?'

'So get out the damn door!'

I scrambled for my textbooks, grabbing an exercise book and shoving a few pens in my pocket. I jammed a beanie on my head before Phil placed his hands on my back and propelled me out the door with a shouted, 'go!'

I made it to my class with seconds to spare, sliding into a seat and sliding the tablet up from between the seats. I opened my book as the teacher walked in, shutting the door behind him. He introduced himself as Lance Greene, but for formality's sake he was "Professor Greene" to us. He turned and wrote on the board the name of the subject - biochemistry - and started waffling on about expectations in the class. He then backed it up with due dates for assignments, which he passed out a sheet of paper for.

'Don't lose it - it's the only sheet you'll be given with all the dates. If you do lose it, you better make a friend or have a good memory.' Professor Greene paused, and surveyed us all, letting his glasses slide down his nose. This earned him a tentative chuckle from us. He seemed pleased with our reaction and smiled widely. 'Or feel free to come up and ask me about dates. You can go to the office and ask for me, or come to me at the end of a class. Any questions?'

A few people raised their hands and answers were given.

'I'll see you all next time. Be prepared to do some hard work.'

After exiting class, I saw Andy leaning against the wall.

'Hey freshman,' he greeted, falling into step beside me as I headed towards the cafeteria for lunch.

I had no witty comeback, at the ready, and my mind was fried so I only nodded, accompanied with a simple "hello".

'Geez, why are you such a downer today?'

'I just had my first class and I'm only just realizing what hard work university is?'

'Well, that is quite the bummer. Do you want to ride some waves later?' I nodded once again. 'Come on, Alan. Talk!' Andy gestured widely. 'It's unnatural for you.'

I repositioned my books in my hands, asking, 'how was your date with Jessica?'

After their meeting last week and the outing that ensued the next day, it was easy to say that my friend was on his way to becoming smitten with the girl. Being the hotheads they both were, they had apparently had a fierce discussion about being vegetarian, and it had been the end of Andy's unsure feelings about her. He had scheduled another date and insisted that they hang out at lunchtimes. From what I knew, Jessica had drawn the line with hanging out at night and in their dorms. She also seemed skeptical about Andy, and was still unsure of her opinion of him. Their "date" had been this morning - going out for breakfast before Jessica had her classes.

'It was good. We had another discussion about the ocean and how we could better protect it and the natural wildlife.' Andy's eyes had glazed over. 'She has all these ideas, Alan, she's incredible. She's gonna go far in life, that's for sure.' He looked at me and smiled.

'How about you? Have you got a girl in mind?'

A million thoughts raced through my head, a million memories scoured my brain, a million moments all tied together with one neat name. Instead, I shook my head. Andy knew all about Diana. But he didn't know that I still ached for her. I had shot that ship long ago, and it was now resting on the bottom of the sea floor, only to be disturbed by the marine creatures that lurked in the deep, the waves steadily crashing on the surface.

Andy had continued talking while I witnessed my inner monologue. 'The best part is is that she's not just strong, she's also creative. She's taking an arts course, photography, I think, and she's been showing me these photos that she's taken over the week so she isn't completely overwhelmed. I told her that that was a silly notion, since most people are probably just taking it to get a degree and couldn't care less, but either way they're unforgettable. Did I tell you that after lunch we went surfing? Well, I did. She took photos of me.' I nodded and added in positive mm-hmm's when acceptable. I grabbed a few slices of pizza and Andy chose sushi. We sat down and a few minutes later Jessica appeared. I stood up, not wanting to intrude on anything and hit somebody. They staggered backwards with a yell, and I started apologizing profusely.

I locked eyes with their familiar brown ones and blushed. It was the first time we had been this close in a few months.

'Diana.' She shifted uncomfortably, checking to see if her food was squished.

'Alan.' Jessica looked between us, before piping up with,

'Why don't you guys sit over there?' She pointed to a table near her, while Diana stared at her.

'Actually, I just remembered some last minute... stuff I had to do.' She whirled around, ready to stalk out of there but I caught her arm. 'Let go of me!'

'No, I want to talk.'

A/N

Title cred: N/A - I will choose a song title later.

Notes

Title cred: N/A - I will choose a song title later.