The Facebook Stalker

The Facebook Stalker -- Chapter 4

[[A/N: a big thank you to simply_forgotten303 for making an awesome cover for me/the story. check it out over there ---->>>]]

FRIDAY

Sleep had come easier than faster than expected, and when Kate’s alarm went off at six, she felt extremely well-rested. After her morning routine, she stopped back in at the little coffee shop for a quick breakfast. Continuing her walk towards the campus, she thought of her upcoming weekend home visit. She was getting more and more excited to see her friends and family again, even though it had just been a few days since she saw them last. After a brisk walk, the sun shining on her freckled face, Kate pulled open the heavy metal door and walked down the cool hallway towards Room 615. It was easily found. Entering the room, she stopped to take everything in for a quick second.  

There were desks bolted to the floors, with an aisle on each end and through the middle. The farther back you went, the more steps you went up. There was an exit door on the wall at the end of the middle aisle. The desks were pretty typical -- wooden seats and top, metal backs. A large wooden desk stood to the side at the front of the room, with a large black leather chair tucked under the middle of it. A white dry erase board stretched across the wall behind it, the length of the room. A message board had been bolted up by the entrance door, and medical posters scattered here and there on the walls throughout the room. Just your typical, basic college classroom, really. 

Kate walked up to the sixth row of seats and sat in about the middle of the row. ‘Not too close, not too far away,’ she thought to herself. There were about fifteen or twenty other students already sprinkled throughout the seats. A few sat together, most sat alone, with two or three seats between them and the next person. A steady trail of people came filing through the door soon after Kate sat down, and she watched them for a few minutes. They were all pretty much the same: walk in a few steps, stop, look around, find a seat, walk to it, and sit down. ‘Just like the first day of high school,’ Kate thought. Growing tired of watching the other students stream in, she got her notebook and a pen out of her bag and set them on the desk. She turned the notebook open to the first page, a crisp, clean, and blank white page with blue and red lines eagerly awaiting her first notes. Twenty-five minutes after Kate had arrived and found her seat, a man and woman walked through the door and over to the desk at the front of the room. They were obviously the professors, well, two of them anyways.

They chatted for a couple minutes, and then stood, surveying the crowd seated before them. Most noise had quieted when the professors had walked into the room, but clearing his throat, the man said, “Ladies and Gentlemen -- thank you for attending this meeting. It’s more of an ’orientation’ than anything. We’ll try not to keep you any longer than possible, but we just wanted to run over some things before classes officially begin on Monday.” He stopped for a second, letting his words sink in, and allowing time for anyone to get out pen and paper if they wished. Then he continued, “My name is Professor James Smith. I practiced medicine for over thirty years, and now I strictly teach.” His thin gray hair was proof of his age. Along with his belly that hung over his belt on his khaki pants. He also adorned a white button-up shirt, and a blue and white striped tie. Kate imagined he had on loafers, but couldn’t see from where he was standing behind the desk. 

The woman spoke next. “Hi. My name is Professor Jane Simmons. I practiced medicine, specializing in obstetrics, for fifteen years. I work partial time now, but mainly teach. It is such a pleasure to see you all here this morning.” Professor Simmons looked like a sweet lady. She was probably in her forties somewhere. She had her hair pulled back from her face in a loose bun, but a few strands had found their way free. She had on small brown rimmed glasses, and was thinner than her colleague. She had on a dark plum-colored blouse, and a knee length gray skirt. Black heels were on her feet, Kate had noticed when she walked in. Part of being a doctor, after all, was being unusually perceptive.