Pawtners in Crime | Skephalo

.:My eyes are your eyes:.

CHAPTER 1

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The sun shone from my 3rd floor dormitory window. Birds sang from the tree branches on campus. I was sitting at my desk, desperately trying to finish typing an essay I had to finish for my first hour at school. At college. College was nothing like High school. No one talked to each other. There's no college romance like in the movies. No parties either. We got to choose our classes, and go to them when we felt like going to them. Teachers didn't really care about what was happening in their class, and sometimes we'd just watch a video and go home. 

Home. I missed my mom. I had chosen to live in a dorm on my college campus because my mom couldn't move two hours away from her work. I didn't want her to have to go through the trouble of moving houses and finding a new job, so I just went without her. We can visit each other at least, but her voice was always so comforting. She was always really accepting, of me especially. I sighed and pushed my chair away from the bright light of my laptop. I rubbed my eyes, feeling a familiar brushing sensation on my right knee. At least I wasn't completely alone. 

I looked to my dog, Lucy, and gave her a pat on her head. She was my service dog, and was alerting to my anxious behaviors. This specific one was shaking my leg. I hadn't even noticed. "Thank you, rat." I smiled sweetly at her, and she wagged her tail from beside me. Usually, dogs and other pets weren't allowed in dorms, but because she was my SD (abbreviation), she got a pass. "You ready to go to work?" I asked her in a soft, squeaky voice. She immediately got up from her laying position, tail wagging excitedly. I chuckled softly, saving my work and shutting my lap top. I had to go to class, so I would finish up the last of my essay before anyone noticed. It would be bad to be late and have late homework. I stood up, ignoring the dizziness in my head as I walked to the closet door. My dorm wasn't too big, there was a bed, closet, desk, and a dresser for my clothes in here. It was big enough for me to live comfortably, and that's all that I could really ask for. I searched through an unnecessary large pile of vests, eventually finding a black and red one. "Aha! Here it is." I spoke proudly, clicking my tongue to call Lucy over. She came over immediately and stood in her hind legs as I had taught her to. Bending over to do anything was dangerous for me at times, so I sat down and fastened her vest. It had a few patches. Two were on the sides, reading 'Do not pet', and the ones on the top read 'Service dog', 'Medical alert', and 'Psychiatric alert'. I sighed, realizing how... what's the word... 'messed up' I am. I hooked her leash onto her collar, holding it tightly in my hands. It was a simple black-leather leash with a leash wrap, just saying 'Ignore Us'. 

"There we go.. all dressed." I said calmly. She followed me over to my desk, and I scooped up my lap top and backpack. I made my way out the door, not worrying about whether or not I would squish her in the exit. I trained her well enough that she walks perfectly beside me without even being told to. Heck, I can even walk with her off leash and she would stay right to my side. If you let a normal dog off the leash, they'd get distracted and run off. Working dogs are supposed to be composed and controlled at all times, especially out in public. I didn't see any students as I navigated the carpeted hallways. Why would he? It's 7:30 in the morning, why would anyone sane set their classes for that time? I guess it wasn't that uncommon, because even though 90% of the school hated getting up early, there were still students that shared classes with him. 

I walked out the front doors, feeling cool morning air hit my face as I left. It was heated inside the dormitory building, but not outside for obvious reasons. It felt like the further out I went, the colder it got, until the temperature stayed the same. It wasn't even a colder month-- it was the middle of spring! By the afternoon, it would be way too hot. I couldn't be out in the afternoon, not only because my Rat's little feet would be burned, but because my dysautonomia gets worse in the heat. I didn't want to have to faint today, thank you. I took a deep breath as I stepped up the steps to my college building, bursting through the doors.