For 3 years, Aria Erickson has worked countless 60 hour weeks to pay her way through Lakelands Community College. Now that her GPA is up and her general education courses are done, she's about to face a whole new beast: University of Westwood. Fortunately, she doesn't have to face it alone. She has her childhood best friend, Lorraine Patton.
. . .
This is Claire St. James' first semester as visiting instructor of Criminology & Sociology at University of Westwood. After her divorce, she reconnected with her friend Imani Nazim. Imani teaches at Lakelands Community College and coaxed the woman to come to Westwood for a slower change of pace.
Aria Erickson, 22. Junior Psychology Major.
Aria left her home as soon as she turned 18. Her mother is a narcissist that has diagnosed but unmedicated Borderline Personality Disorder and has a tendency to mirror her own mental illness against her daughter. For a year after Aria moved out, all she did was struggle her way through dead-end jobs trying to make ends meet. Eventually she met Imani Nazim, a professor at Lakelands Community College, who influenced her to take a few courses to raise her GPA.
Aria is a strong-minded woman with intense internal emotions that she struggles to control. On the outside she seems well put together, but inside? Ha. She is fiercely loyal and a people-pleaser, which often drains her mental battery. Once she turned 21, she began working as a bartender at Westwood 91, a local club.
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Raine has known Aria for well over a decade. Aria has always been one step ahead of her: going to middle school first, then high school, then graduating high school. But finally, they're head-to-head and Raine couldn't be more excited to spend this part of her life on the same wavelength as her best friend.
Lorraine is a sarcastic, enthusiastic, and sassy ball of energy. She brings light wherever she goes. Raine is one of the only people who knows about Aria and her home life, going as far as witnessing some of it herself.
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Claire St. James, 32. Visiting Professor of Criminology & Sociology.
Claire St. James has never had it easy. Raised being tossed around foster homes, she never had a moment to settle and breathe. Everything in her life seemed to be exceedingly temporary. That was, until she went to university and met the two people who would make her feel like her life was finally on track: Imani Nazim, an English Literature student and Isaac Normandy, a law student.
Things were great for 7 years. Everything was steady and Claire slipped into a routine. Imani eventually met and married a wonderful woman and the two became more and more distant. As for Isaac Normandy...Claire is happy that her name is finally St. James again. Maybe now she can get back to her former vibrant self.
After her divorce, Imani convinced Claire to come down from the city to a slower, more care-free lifestyle. Claire is extremely nervous about her new journey. Will this be the last time she has to start all over again?
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Imani Nazim, 32. Professor of Literature.
Imani turned down a job at University of Westwood to teach Lit courses at Lakelands Community. While the pay at UoW was better, and the students would be slightly more interested, Imani felt drawn to the difficulty of teaching a "useless" subject at a community college. She never backs down from a challenge.
She is married to her beautiful wife, Alayna Nazim, and they have a son named Eli.
Imani is more than happy to know that she's living close to one of her absolute best college-time friends, Claire St. James. She also has a little trick up her sleeve to help Claire feel more like her old self again...
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Author's Notes:
Hi guys, I'm Avery! I'm super excited to write this story and see how it goes.
Please be aware that there will be multiple not-so-fun things being mentioned here and there. I will place TWs at the beginning of the chapter if I feel it's necessary to let you know.
There will also be some absolutely fun things being mentioned (and sometimes detailed) throughout the book.
Due to the combination of those two things above ^ this story is rated M for Mature!
