The Hunter and the Hunted (Bear Naked 3)

Chapter 25

Brianna

Brianna let the pickup coast into the parking spot and then laid on the brakes. Eastern Idaho Tech, the nearest community college, was in Idaho Falls. It was about a half an hour drive from Blackfoot. It was odd, driving Darren's truck, but Karen and Amanda had both agreed it was for the best. They only had two vehicles. The Volvo had more room and the pickup was better if the roads were bad, so they took the pickup and the rest of the pack used the Volvo. "There it is," she said, looking across at Jay.

"There it is," he agreed.

"Nervous?" she asked.

He shrugged. "A little," he admitted.

"Yeah, me, too. I thought, well I thought we'd be doing this in Dubuque and some stuff might be familiar, we might know a few people from high school, you know."

"I don't want to keep contact with anyone from high school," he muttered. "Excepting you guys, of course. So, who knows? Maybe this is one of the bad things that's really good, when it comes down to it. I mean here I can really start over. Nobody knows my past."

She looked over at him and shook her head. It wasn't just the way he dressed, there was something about Jay that was unique. The saddest part was that his uniqueness made him special, so much better than the people he was trying to so hard to fit in with. If only he could see it. She sighed and let it go. Like Amanda said, this was just something he had to work out for himself. "You ready?" she said out loud.

He nodded.

It was midterm and the college didn't have an official freshmen orientation this time of year. Not that it was really necessary. The campus was all of five buildings on the same block. They signed up for classes in the main office. Brianna and Jay sat at the same small table and bent their heads together over the schedule. They signed up for the same English and psychology class and tried to choose a schedule that matched close enough to limit the amount of driving they would have to do.

When they were done they took a flyer/map of the campus and walked around, trying to figure out where their classes were. They found the bookstore and bought the textbooks they needed. It was next to a wide open area that was marked "student life" on the map. The cafeteria was on the far side. There were vending machines, tables and chairs throughout and a big screen TV in one corner. Classes didn't start until next week and the lounge was all but empty.

Brianna felt herself relax. It was going to be okay. She could find her way around. The few people she saw scattered around looked ordinary enough. She could handle this transition.

"Ooh," Jay chirped, "look!" He was pulling her towards a bulletin board on one corner of the lounge. He pointed at a yellow flyer. "Yoga," he said.

The flyer boasted the silhouette of a woman doing downward facing dog.

"And classes are Monday afternoons," Jay said. "We have English then. We would only have to stay an extra hour or so. We could do homework until class starts. What do you say, Brianna?" he looked at her, pleading. "Real yoga classes with a real instructor?"

She smiled. "Yeah, that sounds fun. I'm in."

Jay pulled out his phone and made a note in his calendar about the time and room number. They wandered around awhile longer, but there wasn't much to do, so they headed back for home.