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can visit over hot chocolate and decorate the house and bake lots of sweets.
    Your friends will be home, too, and you can spend time with them reconnecting. You can do this.”
    “Fine,” I answered, resigned but still unconvinced.
    When she spoke again, she sounded a little exasperated. “JJ, I love you and I know you’re homesick and upset, but you can’t let one bad grade or bad day destroy you. You and I are going to stay on this phone and work this out together. Now, let’s go over all the things you’re upset about and work on solutions together, starting with that test. What can you do about it?”
    We stayed on the phone hashing everything out until I felt better about school and being away from home. I had my solutions, now I just had to put them into practice. I walked back to my dorm feeling less miserable than before. I entered the lobby of my dorm and stopped to see if anything interesting was posted on the bulletin board.
    “Hey.”
    I turned and saw the RA beckoning me. I had only spoken to him on move-in day when he gave me the key to my room, and my welcome packet. I’d seen him a few times in passing since then, but other than a brief nod of acknowledgement, that had been it. He was nice looking with hazel eyes and brown hair. He was tall and slender, and tended to dress in t-shirts and baggy plaid shorts, completing the typical college boy look with flip-flops and a stained and torn baseball cap.
    “Me?”
    “Yeah, it’s Jayden right? Room 253?” he asked.
    “Is something wrong?” I responded, confused.
    He smiled and shook his head. “Nah, no problem.” He bent over and picked up a box sitting on the floor behind his desk. “A package was delivered for you.”

    I took the box from him, grinning widely when I saw the return address. “It’s from my mom and dad.”
    “I figured as much. A lot of care packages come in during the first couple of months. Helps with homesickness. My name’s Stephen, by the way,” he offered.
    “Thanks again,” I said, and turned away to head back to my room.
    “Hey, before you go,” he called out.
    I stopped and turned back expectantly, waiting for him to continue. He tugged at his cap nervously and grabbed a colored piece of paper off the desk, holding it out for me to take.
    “There’s a mixer at The Hall tomorrow night; kind of a way for everyone to get to know people.
    You’re probably not familiar with it since you’re new and all, but it’s got good food and they have a live band on Saturday nights.” He paused to take a breath and winked at me. “I could give you a ride if you like. It’s not far, about a fifteen-minute drive.”
    I took the flyer from him and glanced over it, seeing the directions mapped out in the bottom corner.
    This was one of those things Mom and I talked about, getting involved and making the effort to meet people. He seemed harmless, but I wasn’t comfortable riding with someone I didn’t know yet. What if he drank and I couldn’t get back? It’s not like I knew anyone well enough to ask for a ride back.
    “I have some stuff to do in the afternoon, but could I meet you there instead?” I offered a warm smile, letting him know I wasn’t blowing him off, I was just being cautious, which he returned in kind.
    “Sure, no sweat. I’ll see you there.”
    It was raining and my thin nightgown clung to my legs, impeding my movement. The ground was cold and hard beneath my bare feet. I could hear the alarms screaming in the dark all around me; the shrill sound piercing my ears, drowning out the sound of my pounding heart and frantic breath as I ran. Spotlights were sweeping the area and I knewit was important to stay out of their path.
    I crawled low on the ground, crying out when the barbed wire on the fence tangled in my hair and dug into the back of my neck. I heard the dogs as they searched for my scent and the unmistakable howls when they picked up my trail from the blood oozing from the cuts and thorns in my