Welcome to Hawnee - Week 01 - Day 02

Author's note:

Jenny's story progresses slowly but steady. So still not much nudity or lewdity here, but mostly setup for the events to come.

All comments, critics and thoughts on the story are again very welcome. I wish you a good read.

Jay Hawnee

***

Beep-Beep... Beep-beep. Jenny opens her eyes and lies still for a second, then she hastily starts to run her hand over her chest. As her fingers brush against the soft fabric of her nightwear, a sigh of relief escapes her and she sinks back into the mattress. Slowly, it dawns on her, that her naked walk through the library was nothing more than a bad, bad dream.

Beep-beep... Beep-beep. The sound of the alarm clock finally drags Jenny back to reality. She reaches for it with a groggy hand and manages to silence it. After a moment, she swings her legs over the side and frowns slightly as she rubs her temples. She gets up and walks slowly into the bathroom.

After a refreshing shower, she brushes her teeth, fixes her hair, and puts on her uniform. She gathers her backpack and heads out of her room toward the university.

When Jenny arrives at the lecture hall, Professor Cavanaugh stands at his lectern and types something on his laptop with a stern expression. She sits down in the same place as the day before and looks tensely at the front of the room.

"Hey," Sheena's cheerful voice snaps Jenny out of her thoughts. She sits down at the seat next to Jenny, leaning close. "Are you okay? You look like you wanna eat Cavanaugh alive. I wouldn't mind getting rid of him, but I think, he's not that tasty."

Jenny startles but slowly a smile forms on her lips. "Hi Sheena, I urm... just didn't sleep well, that's all."

Sheena raises an eyebrow. "Hmm... your face tells different, you know."

Jenny shakes her head quickly, her voice is tense. "It's nothing, really."

"Fine," Sheena holds up her hands in mock surrender, "keep your secrets. But if you continue to stare at Cavanaugh like that, he's gonna think you've got a crush on him, and that's a nightmare I don't need."

Jenny blushes and laughs. "Okay."

At this moment, Professor Cavanaugh, turns his head and directs his strict eyes to the audience. "Good Morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the second lecture in microbiology. As I can see, everyone has adopted the uniform rules and dressed accordingly. So I don't have to dismiss anyone today, do I?"

Professor Cavanaugh scans the rows thoroughly with his eyes and his facial expression turns slowly from excitement to disappointment: "This is... well... great, as any delay for throwing the culprit out of the lecture would go to your disadvantage. Any topics we do not cover in this lecture you will have to work out by yourself."

Professor Cavanaugh straightens. His voice rises slightly. "But now enough of chatting, There is still a wealth of knowledge to be conveyed for your future professional life as a medic and of course for the coming exam. I will give a short introduction to the smallest living creatures known on earth, which can consist only of a single cell: the bacteria. As you already know, the outermost layer of an animal cell is the plasmalemma, which is also called cell membrane. But the structure of the bacteria cell goes beyond this. It adds an additional layer to its outer limits known as the cell wall. The cell wall consists of murein, a complex of sugars and amino acids. It builds a natural barrier that supports and protects the cell just as our academic institution does with you, dear students."

He makes a sweeping gesture to encompass the entire room. "But as it is with us humans, not any bacteria can be considered harmless and fit itself seamlessly into its environment. Sometimes bacteria just fall out of their natural given role. They can trigger fevers, pains, and in rare cases even hallucinations due to toxins affecting the nervous system. They can destroy the human body up to the point of its total failure. Medical scientists are in this case, the savior of society. We know means to dissolve the cell wall protection of the bacteria by exposing it to strong antibiotics like Amoxicillin and Penicillin. This stops the reproduction of the cell wall, exposes the vulnerable inner cell of the culprit, and...", he slides his fingers grinning across his throat., "... leaves it to its certain death."

A murmur goes through the room. Sheena whispers to Jenny: "He behaves even creepier than yesterday."

Jenny looks uncomfortable: "Indeed."

Professor Cavanaugh slaps his fist annoyed on the table. "This is university and not a coffee party. If you have questions, please ask them! If you have to discuss anything private, only do so after the lecture! Now back to topic. I will now introduce you to the classification of the bacteria."

***

After the lecture, Jenny and Sheena leave the lecture hall and join the queue at the dining hall's food counter. Jenny walks with her gaze, lost in thought, while Sheena watches her with a mix of curiosity and concern. "You still don't wanna talk about what happened?" Sheena asks, breaking the silence.

Jenny hesitates before replying, her tone uncertain. "Hmm... I think I need to see a doctor." She raises an eyebrow. " I... I think I had a hallucination last night! After you left, I saw something. I don't know, it was so real, but it can't be real, l... like a ghost..."

Sheena's brow furrows in confusion, then lifts in mock disbelief. "Like some weirdo under a bed sheet?"

"No," Jenny smiles skeptically at Sheena and shakes her head. "not a bed sheet. She did actually wear nothing at all."

Sheena leans back, crosses her arms, and smirks. "What?"

Jenny puts her hand up. "No clothes, no underwear, you know?"

Sheena's grin widens, a playful glint in her eyes. "You mean like naked?"

Jenny looks away, embarrassed. "Yes, urm kind of..."

Sheena laughs. "Really? Cool! I wish I had your imagination."

Jenny's frown deepens. "This is not funny, Sheena. I could be really sick."

Sheena looks thoughtful. "Hmm... for me it sounds rather like stress. I told you not to study that long."

Jenny's face is pensive. "I don't know, Sheena... I don't think it's just stress. It... it felt... way too real... you know?"

"Come on Darling." Sheena says, her tone light. "It's well known, that working too long can cause people to daydream. But as long, as those are such nice daydreams, I personally wouldn't mind!"

Jenny mutters, shaking her head: "Nice is definitely different. It was quite a shock!"

Sheena gives her a playful nudge. "I wouldn't give too much on it, just make sure you don't overdo it again."

Jenny sighs but manages a small smile. "Okay, Sheena."

Meanwhile, the two reached the front of the queue. Denver, standing behind the counter welcomes them with a friendly stoic: "Eating what?"

Sheena beams. "Oh, the charming guy from yesterday again, I would like to have the baked potato with salmon and your phone number."

Jenny asks perplexed: "What?"

Sheena gestures and tries to explain: "Well, Jenny... salmon, the fish, you know?"

Jenny hesitates. "Yeah I know but..."

Denver says stoically: "+1-A23-555-0A79"

Sheena types the number down in her smartphone and says smiling at Denver: "Thanks"

Denver puts the salmon on the plate and passes it to Sheena. "Next"

Jenny looks astonished at Sheena. "Wow, you are quite out..."

"Eating what?" Denver asks stoically.

Jenny looks confused at Denver. "Oh..., well..., for me please: Steak with fries."

Jenny looks back to Sheena. "You are quite outgoing Sheena."

"Well, no venture, no gain." Sheena says self-assured.

Denver puts Steak with fries on the plate and passes it to Jenny. "Here"

Jenny takes the plate and looks at Denver. "Thanks" Then she looks at Sheena. "Now let's look for a table to sit down"

Denver says stoically: "Next"

***

The two go to a table and eat. After eating, Sheena turns her head to Jenny. "What do you do in the afternoon?"

Jenny replies: "I have to work."

Sheena sighs, looking slightly disappointed at Jenny: "A pity, I've got two tickets for Fight Club and was hoping, you'd join me at the cinema?"

"Fight club?" Jenny wrinkles her nose. "Never heard of that. Sounds rough!"

Sheena's eyes gleam. "Exactly! And the best part - the tickets were free - so nothing to pay!"

Jenny smiles apologetically. "Sorry, still a no, if I don't earn enough, I can drop my holidays off the bridge."

Sheena thinks for a moment. "That's a pity, but well hmm... I still got Denver's phone number." She starts to smile and looks at Jenny. "What do you think, would he..."

Jenny shrugs her shoulders. "Give it a try, you've already got his attention."

Sheena looks determined. "Yeah, you're right, I'll text him."

She takes out her phone. Jenny looks down, a little exhausted. "And now... yet another lecture with Mr. Sado."

Sheena turns her head to Jenny. "Don't mention it!"

Jenny replies with forced confidence: "Well, we'll survive it. Come on, Sheena."

Sheena nods, a little disappointed, as they gather their things and leave.

***

Sheena and Jenny sit again in the lecture of Professor Cavanaugh. Professor Cavanaugh stands straight and authoritarian at his desk. "I will now lecture about the methods medical practitioners use to counter pathogenic bacteria in greater detail. Just to make it clear, bacteria are the smallest living beings we know. I gave you this morning already an insight into the world of bacteria, its classifications, and its significance for the human being. For the good as well as for the bad. But I guess, most of you already forgot, what I said this morning. Next Monday you will have to know it definitely. I will introduce you to..."

Suddenly, a sharp "Ding" interrupts Professor Cavanaugh's presentation - a smartphone chime, bright and unmistakable.

Professor Cavanaugh gets tense. "Who was this?"

No one answers.

Professor Cavanaugh puts his hands on his hips. "I know, that it is hard for you youngsters to be unavailable for just one lecture. But if this ever happens again, and this isn't written public in the rules... but your shitty smartphones have to be turned off. If this happens ever again in my lecture, I will throw the culprit out immediately and he or she may have to rework everything told in the lecture. And if there is no culprit, the blame will fall on everyone. Is this understood?"

The students in the lecture hall look tense, but no one speaks.

Professor Cavanaugh clenches his fists and speaks louder: "IS THIS UNDERSTOOD EVERYONE?"

A female student in the front row, the same student that argued with Professor Cavanaugh on Monday says: "Yes Professor Cavanaugh"

Professor Cavanaugh looks sternly through the rows. "I really, really hope so..." He relaxes a bit. "So, back to topic... I will now introduce you to methods of treating pathogenic bacterial infections..."

Professor Cavanaugh turns around and moves on to the next slide. Sheena looks at Jenny and shows her smartphone. Under Sheena's friendly 'Hey sweetheart, wanna have some fun in the cinema with Fight Club' it shows a stoic 'Hmmm' from Denver. Sheena grins at Jenny and gives a triumphant thumbs-up.

***

After the lecture, Jenny goes to "the Stag" and meets Caroline who is waiting tables there. Lester is nowhere to be seen. Jenny goes to Caroline. "Hi Caroline, do you know where Lester is?"

Caroline smiles. "Hi Jenny, he said, he had some work to do in the office. You have to go through the back door and then to the left to get there."

Jenny beams. "Thanks, Caroline", and walks through the back door and then to the left. She sees Lester's office door wide open. Lester's sitting at his desk and glances at two naked, big-breasted women. The two are caressing each other's private parts on his large computer screen. His eyes are contorted with pleasure as he frantically rubs his manhood. "Oah yes, oah yes... oahhhh uuhhhhhhhhh..."

A big load of white liquid shoots out of Lester's glans and up onto his desk.

Jenny looks disgusted. "Good Shepherd, couldn't you at least close that damn door, when you're doing your things, Lester?"

Lester snaps: "Mind your own business bitch and stop whining." He pulls up his pants and steps closer to Jenny. He points his fingers in the direction of the kitchen. "Actually it's good that you're here. There are lots of dirty dishes to wash again. I'll give you 15 Dollars, same pay as yesterday, to take care of it."

Jenny looks at the table full of dirty dishes and startles. "Damn no, this is much more than yesterday."

She turns her head and looks determined and dismissive to Lester. "This work is not worth 15 Dollars, 25 Dollars and I will do it."

Lester looks derogatory. "Ah, I see. You're a greedy bitch, who wants to exploit a hardworking man. There may be a few more plates than yesterday, but nothing that's gonna take you much longer. I'll give you 20 Dollars and no penny more."

Jenny replies harshly: "20 Dollars is far too little. It will take an extra hour to wash all the dishes."

"Well Jenny", Lester shrugs, "if you don't want the job, I can call another applicant."

"Fuck you, Lester." Jenny is outraged.

Lester smirks. "Gladly is this an offer?"

"Leave me alone." Jenny replies dismissively.

Lester grins pretentious: "Come to me when the work is done." He leaves the kitchen and Jenny pulls out her smartphone. She starts looking for other jobs. The front page of HawneeJobs shows an advertisement: 'Lumberjack Games hires female employees in the mail department' - a full-time job, that requires a Master's degree. Jenny searches for part-time jobs in Hawnee and surroundings but finds nothing and puts her smartphone away. She starts washing the dishes just when Caroline approaches her with a worried face. "Are you okay Jenny?"

Jenny looks defiant. "Yes, I'm okay."

Caroline smiles. "I like how you stand up to him. You're quite a strong woman, you know that?"

"Thanks." Jenny's lips curl into a small appreciative smile.

Caroline's expression brightens. "Anyway, do you still have plans for tonight? I'm meeting with some friends at Ronny's Ranch."

"Sorry," Jenny shakes her head apologetically, "I'd love to, but I have to study for the entrance exam for Medicine."

Caroline startles. "Holy flock, I've heard about that. Best of luck for it! And hey, if you ever need a drink or someone to talk to, here is my number." She shows Jenny her number on her Smartphone and Jenny types it into her own.

Jenny smiles. "Thanks, Caro." When Caroline leaves she starts to wash the dishes and heads thereafter over to Lester. She addresses him harshly: " I'm done."

Lester looks dismissive. "Okay, here are your 20 Dollars. Can you come tomorrow again at the same time?"

Jenny turns and walks toward the front door. "Yes, we will see."

When Jenny walks out, Lester looks defiantly after her.

***

Jenny goes home and into the kitchen. She opens the fridge and pulls together some sandwich ingredients. Just as she reaches for the bread, she hears a soft voice: "Hi Jenny."

Jenny turns her head and looks smiling at her landlady. "Oh, hi Susan."

Susan points at a pan on the oven. "You're welcome to some casserole if you'd like. It's fresh, we made it this evening but couldn't eat it all. It's still warm in the oven."

"Oh," Jenny looks a bit embarrassed, "this is so nice of you, but I can't eat all your food."

Susan smiles. "Please. My husband and I won't be home tomorrow anyway, and we'd rather you enjoy it than throw it away."

Jenny smiles nervously. "O... Okay. Thank you, Susan."

While Susan leaves the kitchen, Jenny takes the casserole from the oven and eats. Afterward, she heads to the library.

***

When Jenny arrives at the library, she sees that Carter is working there today. He sits bent over his laptop and doesn't see Jenny approaching. Jenny smirks provocatively. "The robe merchant is also the guardian of knowledge, that's uncommon for a roleplay."

Carter smiles slyly. "Hi little enchantress, how may I help you on your journey through the realm of wisdom?"

"Oh," Jenny replies, "actually I only came by to say hi. I didn't see you yesterday. Were you here?"

Carter shakes his head. "No, I was on day shift yesterday. I had to swap today, as I was playing a part in the theatre this afternoon."

Jenny smiles admiring. "Aaah, what play were you in?"

Carter replies: "King Lear."

"Oh, cool," Jenny nods, "a Shakespearean Drama. What role were you playing? Surely a quite important one!"

Carter blushes. "Ah, no, unfortunately just a humble servant of the king. It was actually my first appearance on stage, so they didn't want to give me a big role."

Jenny nods appreciatively. "Nevertheless, nice, nice Mr. Servant. Unfortunately, I cannot stay for long to talk. I have to go and study now. But it was nice to meet you again."

"Same here." Carter replies. "I guess, as you are an applicant in Medicine, I may see you here quite constantly during the next four weeks. To make our encounters less random, I would very much appreciate if we could exchange telephone numbers."

Jenny smiles. "As the mighty guardian of knowledge, you deserve to have my phone number, so here it is." She gives Carter her number with a playful smile. "You can store it under enchantress or under Jenny". That's up to you.

Carter smiles. "This can only be enchantress."

Jenny grins as Carter types on his smartphone. "I will ring you briefly, then you have mine too." Her smartphone rings and she looks down at it. "Nice, thanks mighty servant, and farewell Carter."

"Farewell Enchantress.", Carter replies.

Jenny's smile gets broader. She waves playfully as she begins to walk away. He smiles as she leaves and watches her walk.

***

Jenny goes further into the library. She sees Sheena sitting next to two other people. A girl with long dark-blonde hair put together in a high ponytail and a guy with wavy brown hair, brows furrowed in concentration. They all are focused on their laptops.

Jenny closes in on Sheena. "Hi Sheena, sorry, I'm late."

Sheena looks up to Jenny. "Doesn't matter, I've got to know these two meanwhile." She gestures to her new acquaintances. "They are Tina and Steven. They also sit in our lectures."

Tina turns her face to Jenny. She smiles softly at Jenny through the long bangs that frame her face. Her eyes sparkle with curiosity. "Hi"

Steven looks up and waves lazily focused on his laptop. "Hi"

Jenny smiles and replies: "Hi, nice to meet you two." She sits down, opens her laptop, and looks at Sheena. "How was the movie?"

Sheena smirks. "I actually can hardly remember, had too much to do making out with Denver. The guy is passive but a damn good kisser. Guess, I'll call him later that week again for more action."

Jenny laughs nervously. "Wow, you're getting to it pretty quick..."

Sheena shrugs. "Come on, it's just for fun, not for life."

"I hope, you don't mind me asking," Tina replies softly, "but doesn't it feel empty when you move so fast? How do you even enjoy it without really knowing the person?"

Sheena looks dismissive. "Well, I rather like to keep things fun and casual. Not sure if Mr. or Mrs. Right exists. And even if, it would be too much time to waste to find them."

Tina pauses and looks thoughtful. "But what's the point if it doesn't mean anything? Don't you think you're missing out on something deeply satisfying?"

"Might be, but I'm also missing out on some deep pain, once the satisfaction is over." Sheena shrugs and leans back.

Tina frowns slightly. "That's why you have to work hard to keep it going - it's worth it when you do."

Sheena looks puzzled at Tina. "Good for you, but not my thing. Got too many other things to do..."

Jenny looks back and forth between Sheena and Tina with interest, then shrugs with a small smile. "I guess everyone just looks for happiness in their own way, but I'm also rather on the slow side of things."

"Urm... sorry girls," Steven gestures at his laptop with a half-smile, "it is interesting to listen to your discussion, but I really need to get this knowledge into my head."

Jenny says: "Yes, I agree. Let's start to study."

Sheena smirks. "Guess there's no escaping it."

All bow over their laptops to study. Some time goes by before Tina looks up. "So far, the learning material is relatively simple, isn't it? We've already covered a lot of this at school. When this continues like this, we'll pass the exam easily."

Steven looks anxious. "You lucky girl. I have much more to do with that. We had some biology in school, but never dug that deep."

Sheena says dismissively: "Yeah, this all is surely quite a lot to know, but studying is not everything in life. I'm quite sure we'll find a way to go through all this."

"You are really a lucky girl." Jenny replies anxiously. "The content of yesterday's lecture was at least partly familiar, but what we learned today went far beyond what I learned at school. I still have a lot to do before Monday. But I'm even more worried about the week after when we have anatomy. This is said to be even much more to learn than that."

Tina glances at her Smartphone. "Oh, I'm sorry, I already have to leave. I'm meeting with my boyfriend Michael tonight. She starts to pack her things."

"Oh girls and boys," Sheena agrees, "my time is running out too. Today is foxy-style night at Ronny's Ranch. Anybody wants to join me?"

Steven shakes his head. "Sorry, I still have to learn."

Jenny looks apologetically. "Sorry, me neither, I have also still to learn. I didn't come here early, and this is still a lot to know."

"Okay," Sheena shrugs her shoulders, "you don't know, what you're missing. See you tomorrow at Mr. Sado's lecture."

Tina raises her eyebrows. "Ah, no, tomorrow it's actually another lecturer. We won't see Professor Cavanaugh before Friday again."

Sheena grins. "Nice." She starts to pack her things.

Tina says goodbye and leaves. When Sheena has also packed her things, she looks at Steven and Jenny and says. "Goodbye you all, and Jenny - don't stay too long. Otherwise, you're gonna see ghosts again."

Jenny blushes. "Okay, bye-bye."

Then Sheena also walks out of the library.

Steven looks at Jenny questioningly. "What did she mean by ghosts?"

Jenny hesitates, a faint blush creeping onto her cheeks. "Oh, it's just... something silly. Yesterday, I thought I saw something weird in the library. But it's probably just my imagination."

Steven raises an eyebrow, intrigued. "Weird like what?"

"Okay," Jenny sighs.,"don't laugh, but urm... I thought I saw a naked woman walking through the library."

Steven blinks. He looks clearly surprised. "A naked woman? Are you serious?"

Jenny shrugs, half-laughing. "I mean, it couldn't have been real, right? I was probably tired and overworked. My brain must've been playing tricks on me."

Steven grins. "Well..., if you ever see her again, take a photo and show it to me, then I can tell you if I see her too."

Jenny grins suspiciously. "You just want to look at a nudie, don't you?"

"What do you think of me?" Steven raises his hands defensively. "I only wanna help a lady in need."

Jenny rolls her eyes, grinning. "Sure, very gentlemanlike. Let's just get back to studying."

Steven chuckles: "Okay, okay."

The two focus on their laptops again and study in silence for a while. Around 11 pm, Jenny stretches and closes her laptop. "It's now time for me, too. I'm going home."

Steven nods. "Me too, my head is bursting. Did you see the ghost again?"

"No," Jenny replies laughing. "I guess, it's still not her time tonight. Yesterday it was past 11 pm."

Steven raises an eyebrow. "Is this the reason you want to go?"

"Kind of...", Jenny replies, "I really don't want this to happen again."

Steven nods. "Yeah, I get it. But somehow it is tempting to wait."

Jenny laughs. "You're welcome to stay here til 12 pm."

"Oh no...," Steven shakes his head, "studying alone is urm... not my thing."

Jenny smiles. "Okay."

Steven and Jenny pack their stuff into their backpack and put them on their shoulders. Then the two walk toward the entrance door.

Jenny says: "Goodnight Steven." and Steven replies: "Same to you, Jenny. And try not to dream about ghosts."

Jenny laughs. "And you don't stay up looking for them."

Steven walks out. Jenny glances at Carter at the entrance. "Goodnight Carter"

Carter looks up and waves a hand. "Goodnight Jenny."

Jenny heads through the entrance door and walks home.

***

When Jenny arrives home, she takes out pencil and paper and starts to write a short letter to her mom.

Dear Mom,

I hope this letter finds you in good health. I wanted to take a moment to write and let you know that I am doing well and how things are going here in my first days in Hawnee.

The entrance courses for the medical study program have begun and are quite challenging, but I am determined to push through them. Our lecturer is obviously committed to ensure, that we all do well in our studies. Just getting to know him is a valuable learning experience. He is a dedicated and very strict teacher who only wants to bring out the best in the students.

I also found a job here to support me during my studies. It's not the most glamorous job, because I work in the service department of a gastronomic institution. But I'm getting by and learn to be more independent.

The library here is a fascinating place - a mix of the wisdom of the past and the thirst for knowledge of the modern. Together with my newly found friends Sheena, Tina, and Steven, we formed today a study group in there, that will make the learning experience much more comfortable.

I promise to keep you updated on my progress and I hope you are doing well in your studies. I hope, VoConTel will restore the cable communication in Shepherd's Meadow soon, so we can talk again. I know you don't like to have a mobile phone, but it would make communication much easier now that we are so far from each other. I look forward to your reply.

All my love,

Jenny

After writing, Jenny immediately heads to bed, her mind still occupied by the strange experience of the night before.

To be continued...