Redemption: One More Chance at Love

ONE

Hila's day began with the feeling to be extra cautious, to look over her shoulder to make sure she was safe.

In one word: Paranoid.

She did not feel completely safe until she got to class at about noon. Hila Hansen, she was twenty-four years old and about to graduate from Hellas University in Boston this May with her Masters. Three months away. She was studying to become a counseling psychologist. Since she could remember she always had a passion for helping people. She remembered she had wanted to be a doctor when she was a little girl but after she graduated from high school. She found out she wanted to be a psychologist. When she took her first internship as senior in high school as an assistant to the secretary of a doctor in one of Boston's hospitals. Her second internship as an assistant to psychologist in her years as an undergraduate it was when she discover what she wanted.

She entered her classroom and sat down at the corner almost at the back of the classroom and quickly got ready to take notes.

Time passed slowly as she listened to her professor continue to lecture in a monotone voice. Her eyelids began to feel heavy. She had to pinched herself many times to stay awake. She continue to write her notes but her handwriting was starting to turn sloppy as she fought sleep.

'It's too late!' a voice snapped Hila out of the drowsy sleep. She looked around the classroom, everyone was focused on taking notes and some had already fallen asleep. The professor was still talking and changing the slides. No one had yelled. She shook her head, she was going crazy. Hila turn back to her notes ignoring the cold feeling in the back of her neck.

After class ended, Hila shoved her notebook into her backpack and walked out of the classroom and out of the university psychology building. When Hila left the building, she felt the warmth of the sun as well as the cold wind. It was sort of a nice day in Boston. Partly sunny clear skies. It was still pretty cold but not too bad to not wear a light jacket.

Hila walked to the Starbucks on the college campus. It was about a mile away from where she was. Fine with her! She would be able to enjoy the nice Boston weather.
Hila was walking through the courtyard to get to the starbucks, she couldn't shake the feeling that something was about to happen.

"HILA!" a girl's voice sounded behind her.

Hila turned around to see her friend Katerina Miller running, her dark brown hair flying behind her. Katerina had decided to stick with her Bachelor's and focus on her creativity. Kat was almost always covered in paint... well at least her jeans were. Also, she works part time as a waitress.

"Hey Kat" Hila hugged Kat.
"Are you heading for lunch?" Kat asked.
"I was going for coffee but lunch sounds better... Do you want to join me?" Hila asked.
Kat nodded "yeah... I need to ask you something"
Hila nodded and they both walked towards the food courts.

The food court was noisy and full. Almost every table was taken and the conversations combined into a loud hum. Kat went to order their food and Hila went scouring the food court for an empty table. She walked around and over backpacks that were sitting on the floors below and beside their owners. Through the harsh search for a table and almost tripping on a couple backpacks that had fallen on her path. She found a table, three dark haired young men seemed to be getting ready to leave. Hila could be wrong so she decided to ask them.

"Excuse me?" Hila asked as she approached them.

They all turn their heads towards her but one of them made her almost gasp. He had the most beautiful blue eyes she had ever seen. His presence reminded her of a rainy day.

"Are you done with this table?" She asked quickly.

The young man with the darkest hair responded first "yes we were finishing packing our backpacks"

Hila nodded " Thanks. My friend and I need a table."

"In that case we will get out of here" The man with sea colored eyes said.

The first two that has spoken to her were already pulling away. Only the first young man she noticed stayed behind and their eyes met. She felt intoxicated in his presence, her heart thumped so fast that she hoped the entire food court did not hear her heartbeat. The feeling did not stop until his friend pulled him away from her. When he was away she felt as if something, a piece of herself, was missing. She walk slowly and sat at one of the chairs placing her backpack under the table. Hila shook her head from the feelings and thoughts of this person he just met.

Did she just meet him? She felt as if she already knew him. Hila racked her memory to know were she seen him before. All she got was the smell of rain.

"Earth to Hila" Kat snapped her fingers in front of her face.

"What?" Hila asked then she noticed Kat sitting on the other side of the table and the food set up.  Kat had bought Greek food from one of the establisments in the food court. Hila had a gyro sandwish in front as well as an iced tea. Kat had bought her usual, the gyro plate with coke. Hila absentmindtely began to eat.

"So are you going to tell me who that was?" Kat asked.

"I-" She was about to say I don't know but that was sort of not true because she felt like she did know him. "I have no idea" she said instead which was more true because she did not have an idea or memory from where she had known him. Hila had always had a hard time lying. The white-lies that her friend Kat threw around sometimes, Hila had a hard time phrasing them. For some reason lying was also her pet peeve.

"Did he gave you his name or number?" Kat asked her.

"No and neither did his friends" Hila said.

Kat pouted "Oh well."

"Enough about men. How is your art? Any buyers?" Hila asked her and took a bite of her sandwich.

"Only individual people like the ones that are already in retirement" Kat waved.

"Hey! Maybe they are are rich and hanged it in their living room or give them to their grandkids" Hila said.

"if they were rich, they would offer pay more. Also, I hope you aren't talking about the toddlers" Kat shrunk in her seat as if thinking about her paintings getting destroyed by kids.

Hila grinned "No, I meant the grandkids that are out of diapers and possibly in or out of puberty"

"Yeah that still does not make me feel better" Kat raised an eyebrow.

"Maybe it wasn't, maybe it was supposed to" Hila shrugged.

Katerina and Hila finished their meals while continuing their little conversation. They got up and threw their meals leftover trash away. As they turned and walked out of the food court, Hila noticed the sky had darkened. Heavy grey clouds hung over them, threatening to rain down.

"You brought your umbrella?" Hila turned to Kat.

Kat nodded "You?"

Hila opened her backpack and took out a blue-green umbrella. She zipped the backpack again and placed it on her back. Feeling the weight of her backpack in her shoulders and looking up at the sky. She groaned, rain plus school work never equaled good news.
"I gotta get to my dorm quickly and finish my homework and study for my final. " Hila told Kat.
"Want to take my car or walk in the rain?" Kat asked.
"As much as I would like to create a nice rain montage. I like to take the car" Hila nodded.
"Sad or upbeat montage" Kat asked heading towards the parkinglot with Hila.
"Are you actually focusing on the montage?" Hila asked surprised.
"Its the artist in me" Kat said as Hila rolled her eyes.
Kat opened her 2007 Toyota Corolla and got in with Hila in the passenger seat. She drove to their apartment.