The Hall Speaks #fallsemester

Controlling the Problem

#Carly

After Thanksgiving break, the staff, along with the residents, returned to campus. With finals approaching, students seemed less than rejuvenated by the shortness of the Thanksgiving holiday. It served more as a teaser, a taste of the much anticipated main course—winter break. The month off tended to be the great motivator for these next two weeks of finals.

It was mid-afternoon and Carly sat at the front desk, explaining her plot to get Patrick back to the nosy Jody.

"Patrick is finally talking to me... sort of. Our families are pretty close since usually we were at their house for Thanksgiving. He was... cordial," said Carly dubiously.

Jody laughed. "What have you done to smooth things over?"

"I apologized..."

"You gotta be a little more romantic than just apologizing," Jody implied, moving the computer mouse around the flat desk surface.

"What should I do?"

"I don't know... you've known him since fifth grade, right? I'm sure you can figure it out."

Owen walked up. "Hey can you hand me my mail." He said to Jody. She handed him the flyers that were in his mailbox.

Jody's eyes locked in on Shandi as she came through the lobby, and her jaw dropped. "Whoa."

Owen turned to see, as did Carly.

Shandi looked unrecognizable. Her once long mousy brown hair was gone. Now she sported a short pixie due, tapered all the way around, too short to even curl. It was dyed a black-brown color which brought out the golden flecks in her hazel eyes.

Carly leaned toward Jody. "Oh my god, she looks like Sage's little brother... or a lesbian," she whispered.

"Hey guys," Shandi greeted as she approached the desk.

"Your hair looks amazing!" said Carly with fake smile. Owen looked at Carly disapprovingly, having overheard her previous comment.

"Thanks, I got it cut and donated it. Plus I just needed a new look," she said. But sadness still spoke through her eyes. Nothing could mask the grief of losing Levi. New clothes wouldn't help, nor would a wider smile, and definitely not a haircut.

"It really suits you," said Owen genuinely. "So what are you up to?"

"I need to talk with Landon, but maybe we can grab dinner at Sebastian's tonight," she said, walking towards Landon's office.

#Shandi #Sage

"Hey, Shandi," said Landon, smiling as he answered the door. "I like the new cut."

Shandi looked down at the envelope she held in her hand and gave it to him.

"Thanks. I'm not here long," she said as Landon gestured for her to take a seat. "I just wanted to let you know that I'm staying. And I wanted to thank you for everything."

Earlier that morning for their one-on-one he had taken her to a local elementary school to volunteer. Surprisingly, she loved it. Seeing the children's innocent faces and listening to their stories changed her perspective. Not that it solved the issue, but it gave her a little hope that she could help people again.

"You're welcome! I want to thank you as well, I've learned a lot from you—I think we all have."

At that moment, Sage came barging through Landon's office door, his expression twisted.

"Sage, what's wrong?" Shandi asked, concerned.

Landon took in a deep breath like he had to deliver bad news.