Faramir yawned, glancing at the clock. It's not even eleven yet -- how on Middle Earth am I gonna stay awake through my two o'clock class?
For the zillioneth time that morning he regretted his decision not to just go to bed last night. But when the lights in the rest of the neighbourhood had come back on yet his building remained dark, he wondered if his electricity would EVER come back on. Instead of risking his alarm not going off and him being late to his eight o'clock class, he'd decided to stay up all night, taking only the occasional catnap as he read through his textbooks. But now it's catching up with me, he thought as he stifled yet another yawn.
The squeaking door announced the arrival of another student, and Faramir glanced back to see a freshman hobbit walk in. It was easy to spot the freshmen -- they all looked lost and scared and completely overwhelmed. They look like I feel.
Faramir reached into his backpack and pulled out his class schedule. "White" was the professor's name listed for Biology I -- it sounded benign enough, but Boromir had warned his brother that the professor was a bit on the eccentric side.
The door squeaked again, and Faramir turned to watch another freshman enter. A human this time. And BEAUTIFUL! Like the other freshmen, she too looked scared and maybe even a little sad. But there was something in the way she carried herself that exuded strength. She's a survivor, Faramir thought, staring at her.
The girl remained standing at the top of the lecture hall, scanning the room for an empty seat, clearly taking it all in. As she looked around, her eyes briefly met Faramir's, and he instantly turned away, blushing.
Way to go, he chastised himself. If she didn't know I was staring before, she certainly does now.
Much to his horror, he soon realized that the girl had started down the stairs and was now standing in the aisle right next to him.
"Excuse me," she said politely, "but is that seat taken?"
"What seat?" Faramir asked blankly before realizing that his backpack was sitting on the seat next to him. "Oh, no, it's not taken," he said, quickly grabbing his backpack and stuffing it under his chair. He then stood up so that she could squeeze by him, some of her long flowing hair brushing against him as she turned to sit. Faramir suddenly found it difficult to breathe, and he was relieved to sit back down again.
He watched as the girl folded the desk arm over her lap and placed her bio textbook and a notebook upon it. Once settled, she turned to smile at him. "Thanks for the seat."
Faramir's instinct was to blush and turn away again, especially since he'd once again been staring at her, but he forced himself to smile back instead. "You're welcome. My backpack didn't really need it. It prefers sitting on the floor anyway. That's where it always sits at home." What are you DOING?! Shut up and stop making a fool of yourself.
The girl's eyes squinted as she looked at him a moment, and then realization dawned. "You were in my Freshman Elvish class this morning, weren't you?"
Faramir didn't remember seeing her -- and he thought for sure he would've remembered HER -- so he stammered, "Eight a.m., Professor Halfelven?"
The girl nodded and smiled. "I'm Eowyn," she said, holding out her hand.
He shook it, noting that her fingernails weren't neatly manicured and painted like the TriChis his brother had introduced him to, yet her hands, like her entire manner, exuded an inner strength that was far more beautiful. "I...uh...I'm Faramir."
"It's nice to meet you, Faramir. So what year are you?"
"I'm a freshman," Faramir said, fighting to keep his voice steady. "Just like you."
She instantly pulled her hand away and leaned back, putting distance between them. Faramir realized that what he'd said might have stalker connotations, so he quickly tried to allay her fears. "I mean, you look as overwhelmed as I feel, thus I assumed you were a freshman like me."
Eowyn nodded, sighing with relief, but Faramir noticed that she still kept her distance.
Not really knowing what to say, he launched into the standard college small-talk: "So...what's your major?"
"Education," Eowyn said simply.
Faramir couldn't believe his luck -- he shared a major with the most beautiful girl in school! "So am I," he said excitedly, sliding his schedule across his desk so she could see it. "Maybe we share other classes, too."
Eowyn stared at his schedule a moment. "I know I'm in Early Childhood Development, and I think I might have Intro. to Educational Theory as well." She dug her schedule out of her bag and handed it to him, now clearly convinced that he wasn't a stalker. Or at least not YET anyway.
Faramir couldn't believe his luck. She'd been right -- they had FOUR classes together. Maybe we could study together, he thought, imagining how romantic his dingy apartment had looked last night by candlelight.
"I guess we'll be spending lots of time together," Faramir said excitedly. "It looks like we have...."
Faramir trailed off as he realized that Eowyn had turned white as a sheet. She was staring in horror at the front of the lecture hall, and Faramir followed her gaze to where two people -- presumably the professor and his T.A. -- were entering through the bottom door. They were a study in contrasts -- the older wizard was straight and tall, dressed in a long white labcoat with straight white hair flowing almost to his waist, whereas the younger T.A. was slouching, dressed entirely in black with pasty skin and greasy dark hair. They both look creepy, Faramir thought. No wonder Eowyn seems disturbed.
"What is he doing here?" Eowyn asked under her breath, abject terror in her voice.
Faramir was surprised at this and didn't know what to say, not sure if he'd really been meant to hear her words. Eowyn seemed so upset, Faramir's gut reaction was to take her hand in an effort to calm her, but he worried how she might react considering she'd FREAKED when he'd showed the smallest familiarity with her. So instead he merely asked, concerned, "Are you okay?"
Eowyn jumped at the sound of his voice, as if she'd forgotten he was there, but she couldn't seem to tear her eyes away from the men at the front.
Faramir decided to try a different tactic. Trying to keep his tone light, he said, "Professor White must be one of those professors that only freshman take because they don't know any better. I'm sure the upperclassmen avoid him if they can."
"But why is...why's that other guy with him?"
Faramir shrugged, looking at the creepy younger guy. "Probably his T.A. Most of these big lecture classes have some sort of assistant. Why?" he asked, turning towards her. "Do you know him?"
But before she could answer, Professor White walked to the podium and began lecturing as the younger man began walking up the stairs, handing out sheets of paper to the students.
"...as my T.A. hands out the syllabus. Make sure you don't lose it -- this is the ONLY copy you'll receive. It lists the dates for...."
As the T.A. climbed the stairs, slowly getting closer and closer, Faramir could feel Eowyn tensing up next to him. When he glanced over at her, it was as if she were trying to disappear into the seat. He was about to say something when he realized that the T.A. had reached their row.
While he stood and counted out the syllabi, Faramir turned his whole torso towards the T.A. in an effort to block his view of Eowyn. Handing the papers to Faramir, the T.A. grinned in her general direction, saying "Good morning, Eowyn. I look forward to seeing you later." And he stood there for a moment more, smiling that bone-chilling grin, before moving on to the next row.
Man, he's creepy! No wonder Eowyn doesn't like him. But why will he be seeing her later?
Faramir turned to Eowyn to pass down the syllabi and saw that she, not surprisingly, was somewhat less tense now that the T.A. had moved on. She even forced a smile as she said, "Thanks," taking the papers and handing them to the student next to her.
"How do you know that guy?" Faramir whispered to her when she turned back around.
Instead of answering, she suddenly smiled and, grabbing his forearm, pulled him near so that she could whisper in his ear. "Laugh," she whispered frantically. "Pretend I said something funny."
Faramir was no actor, but he did his best to force a laugh. She was laughing, too, but he noticed her eyes glancing anxiously behind him. It was only then that he sensed that the T.A. was standing right behind them and this show was merely for his benefit. So he continued to laugh for her, trying not to concentrate on how her smile brought out her freckles or how good her hands felt on his arm.
Eventually, Eowyn's eyes darted away down the lecture hall, and Faramir followed her glance, seeing that the T.A. had returned to the bottom of the lecture hall and was sitting in the corner, watching the class. The smile on Eowyn's face disappeared and she immediately let go of Faramir's arm. Politely, she whispered, "Thank you."
"I...uh...of course. Any time," Faramir stumbled, not quite sure what had just happened. But he'd meant what he said -- any time she wanted to touch his arm and smile at him again, he'd be willing to help.
****
Eowyn glanced at the clock. It was almost noon -- class would soon be over. She could feel herself starting to tense up again, thinking about the meeting that she was supposed to have with Grima in the common room after class. When I agreed to that meeting, I thought that checking in with the R.A. was actually required, she reminded herself. But last night, when she'd returned home from dinner, she'd scanned through the entire residence hall agreement and realized it didn't say one word about checking in.
But how can I get out of it now? she wondered. He even mentioned it again here in class.
She quickly glanced over to where Grima sat in the corner, leering at her. She shuddered -- there was no way she wanted to be alone with this guy. Ever. The fact that she lived under the same roof as him was disturbing enough.
"That's all we have time for today," Professor White said, glancing at the clock. "Make sure you read the homework for next time."
The students all began to stand up, and Eowyn could see Grima making his way through the crowd to her. I have to put him off again, she thought, linking arms with Faramir.
"Yes, Faramir, let's get to lunch," she said loudly, hoping that Grima would hear her through the sounds of the other students as she started pushing a protesting Faramir towards the door. "I'm starving."
"Oh...Eowyn," Grima called to her. She stopped on the top stair, pulling Faramir around with her to face the T.A.
Grima eyed the boy warily before returning his gaze to her. "I thought we were meeting in the Edoras common room now."
Eowyn squeezed Faramir's arm and smiled meaningfully at him, hoping that he'd cover for her now as he had earlier.
"Well...uh...Eowyn and I were...uh...going to lunch," Faramir stammered.
"Sorry," Eowyn said, "I'll guess we'll have to meet later." Eowyn smiled to Grima before turning herself and Faramir back around and heading for the door.
"Yes...later," Eowyn heard him call after her, and his tone sent a shiver down her spine.
Maybe I've only delayed the inevitable, Eowyn thought. But later has got to be better than now. And maybe I can get Eomer to go with me later.
Eowyn and Faramir walked out the door of the lecture hall, following the throngs of students eagerly heading towards the cafeteria.
"So...uh..." Faramir began awkwardly, "how do you know that guy?"
But before she could answer, Eowyn caught sight of her brother making his way upstream through the hungry students.
"Eomer!" Eowyn called, feeling the same relief she'd felt when she was seven and Eomer had climbed into that tree to help her down. She let go of Faramir's arm and ran to Eomer, throwing her arms around him and giving him a quick peck on the cheek. "I'm so glad to see you!"
Eomer smiled and pulled her away. "You just saw me last night, you dork." He then glanced to where she'd come from. "So who's that?"
Eowyn followed his gaze to where Faramir stood in the crowd, looking lost and a little sad. Eowyn turned back towards her brother, saying, "Oh, his name's Faramir," she said dismissively. "He's an education major, too, so we have lots of classes together. But I'm more interested in YOU -- what are you doing here?"
"I wanted to see if my little sister would to join me for lunch."
"Of course!" Eowyn smiled, linking arms with him and resting her head against his shoulder as they walked off.
***
Click here to return to the index page.
Click here to go back to the previous story.
Click here to continue to the next story.