She's My Cherry Pie

-1-

Salt water. Salt water everywhere. Annie had never been on a plane, but it took only one flight for her to realize she hated it. At least she had a window seat. That way, she could do stupid stuff like stare out dramatically while listening to emo rock and wonder how much salt was in the ocean. The trip from the coast of Marley to Paradis was no more than 3 hours, but for Annie, who had never stepped a foot out of Liberio, it felt like traveling to a whole other dimension.

One coronary heart disease diagnosis pushed her onto this plane and forced her into this trip. She wondered if her father was doing ok. He wasn't even well enough to see her off at the airport. It almost made her feel guilty for the time she gave him a limp. Almost.

Friedrich Leonart was one of the most revered martial arts trainers in Librerio, and he took it upon himself to teach his adoptive daughter. But as a child, Annie never understood why she ended up with broken bones while the other kids he trained only bruised. Every hospital trip resulted in her making up a digestible lie: She climbed trees, sneaked on her uncle's motorbike, played tag on the side of a mountain. The doctors always shook their heads with affection.

When Annie gave her father that limp, he had never looked so proud. Friedrich had finally molded his daughter into a Muay Thai boxer like the champions he watched on TV. Annie didn't know what to do with such a foreign expression from him. And now, ten years later, she was on a damned education goose chase for the man.

Annie surveyed the island as the taxifahrer drove her away from the airport. Though she was relieved to be out of that freezing airplane, her stomach twisted at the unfamiliar environment, so she stayed tucked in her oversized grey hoodie. The island's open, untamed surroundings contrasted with Liberio's fortified, industrial cityscape. Vibrant red, yellow, and orange overwhelmed her eyes, and the sky almost looked a deeper blue than it ever had in Marley. The concrete apartments Annie knew didn't seem to exist here, as almost every building was half-timbered and cottage-like.

The cab slowed while it passed the main assembly hall. 'Kaiserliche Hochschule am Paradies,' Annie mentally read the golden words engraved on traditional brick below the gabled roof. The campus was bigger than she expected, but she had to remind herself it was one of the only 3 universities in the country and located in Maria, the most populated town in Paradis by far. While the country of Marley had a higher population, Liberio couldn't hold a candle to the number of people in this city.

As the taxi pulled up to the dormitory, Annie fidgeted with the silver ring on her right index finger. The driver stopped and looked in the rearview mirror. "Ymirgarde?" He confirmed the building, his voice gruff. Annie nodded, unbuckling her seatbelt. She stood outside near the trunk while the man lifted her things and placed them on the cobblestone.

"Need help getting those up the stairs, ma'am?" He asked

Annie curtly denied assistance. With one motion, she lifted her smaller suitcase onto the bigger one and slung her black duffle bag over her shoulder. The driver raised his eyebrows but didn't respond as she turned her back.

Annie walked into the grey stone structure that looked more like a castle with a modern twist. The woman at the desk glanced up from her computer, her blonde hair covering her eyebrows. "Which dorm?" She asked in a robotic tone.

"Women's Graduate Residence Hall," Annie replied, observing the woman's movements in case they weren't human.

The woman handed her a small, gold key. "Out the door to your right."

Annie quickly thanked her before making her way to her new apartment. The dormitory was just a taller version of the main housing office, standing like a medieval chateau. She entered the cool building with hesitance, scoping the place out.