The Hall Speaks #fallsemester

Homecoming

#Sage

Alana rushed down the hallway of the fourth floor. Facing a certain door, she noticed a sign hanging from the door knob: Please Don't Disturb. She knocked seven times. No answer. So she repeated the same knocking pattern.

"It's Alana," she announced quietly.

Finally the door opened. Sage stood in the doorway, his lanky form dressed in a white t-shirt and jeans. "Hey," he exhaled, his tone slightly husky. Eyeing her, Sage raised a brow. "Is everything all right?" Sage was surprised. Alana never visited him this time of night, and never wore her pajamas in public.

"I can't sleep," Alana explained apologetically. "Can I come in?"

A hopeful smiled appeared on Sage's face. "Yes." But as he looked closer into Alana's concerned eyes, his smile faded. He could see that it wasn't the kind of visit he had in mind.

Alana wiped the chair and sat, turning to Sage. "I'm glad you're still awake. I have an idea. I think it's a good one." She hesitated, as if she were trying to convince herself more than Sage. "But I need your help; you're the only one that can pull this off."

Sage pulled up a chair close to hers and sat down. "I'm all ears, what's up?"

Alana sighed. "Well, I was hoping that you'd be interested in starting an organization for men, the main focus being to end rape and sexual violence." Alana spoke so quickly that Sage had to replay the words again in his head. He paused, realizing she was very serious. Sage's gaze flickered to meet Alana's, her sincerity piercing him to the core.

Shaking his head back and forth slowly, Sage mumbled, "Ah, I don't... hum."

"Sage, please, just think about it first. VBU doesn't have an organization like this, and you're the kind of guy that guys would listen to and respect." Alana spoke with conviction and tears of passion formed in the corners of her eyes.

Sage wondered why she was suddenly feeling so strongly about this, and he spoke before thinking. "Are you okay?" he blurted.

"Yes," she answered quickly. Suppressing her emotions, Alana tried to stick with the facts. "Do you know the statistics of rape in America, or in the world for that matter?" Sage didn't respond. It wasn't a thought that crossed his mind... ever.

"You're all about catching bad guys, I just thought you'd like to stop a few before they do something horrible," she said lightly in an attempt to lift the mood.

As he mulled the idea over in his head, Sage couldn't stop looking at Alana, thinking that she must be an angel. Her beauty was definitely swaying his original decision. "Okay," agreed Sage. "I'll do it."

Alana's eyes brightened. "Great! Thank you. I'll help. Oh, I'm sure Landon would be the faculty advisor for the organization. You two together, it'll be wonderful."

#Alana

Early the next morning Alana had planned to talk with Landon about the rape incident and gather his thoughts on being the faculty advisor for MAR: Men Against Rape. But instead she ran into Marcus.

"Alana! Thanks again for taking duty last night. How was it?" he asked, his expression apologetic. At that moment his phone started vibrating, and he looked like he wanted to throw it into the fire.

"It was fine. I had an incident that I need to talk with Landon about."

Marcus eyebrows rose. "What happened?"

Alana chewed her lip, shaking her head. "I can't say..."

"Right," he said, the word drawn out like he understood a secret code word.