So this is college.... Jennifer Rutherford thought. Jennifer had been at the University of Savannah for a week now and was beginning to wonder why she came in the first place. Oh yes, she recalled, her mother's desperate pleadings with her to do more with her life than she had. But that wasn't completely true, Jennifer wanted to accomplish something in her lifetime. She had grown up watching her mother struggle as a waitress to make ends meet after her father left them alone. That's the real reason she had decided to go to college: so she wouldn't have to depend on any man for survival or work her fingers to the bone trying to pay the bills. Jennifer was determined to get a great paying job one day and to help her mom after all the work she had done to support her.
Well, she had spent most of the money she had saved over the past three summers on her tuition, books, and rent, so she decided she might as well try to make the best of it here. It was Thursday, and that meant Intro to Theatre at 9:45. Jennifer began looking around the room and saw a set of the most pristine blue eyes staring right back at her. She recognized him as the tall, well-built guy who answered "here" when the teacher said "Brock Calcutta." Brock, hmmm he looks like a Brock, Jennifer mused as she quickly turned away from his insistent gaze. She didn't know what Brock was thinking, but she did know that she didn't have time for it. Jennifer was here for one thing and one thing only, freedom. And that goal did not include a boyfriend or a lover.
"I think you have an admirer," Jennifer heard as she looked around the room. She turned to see who was speaking to her and realized it was the girl who sat right next to her. "Hi, I'm Tempest. I wasn't trying to be nosy, but gosh, he's being pretty obvious." "Oh, that's o.k." Jennifer responded "My name's Jennifer. I'm new around here. I moved from a suburb of Atlanta." "Wow, it must be exciting to live near such a metropolis. I bet I could get tons of ideas for novels there, you see I want to be a writer" Tempest replied enthusiastically. Jennifer laughed "Yeah if you like to write about drive-bys and gang bangings, Atlanta has a wealth of original research opportunities." Both girls started giggling. Jennifer immediately began to feel better. She didn't know why, but she could tell that this Tempest was going to be a good friend. She hadn't had a lot of time for those in high school due to working full time and going to school, but she was determined this year to make that change. Although she would have to work parttime at Kroger, she was determined to budget her savings and have a social life while she was at school.
As Jennifer drove home from school, she had a huge smile on her face. Things were beginning to look up, she thought. She had a new friend in Tempest, and even though she wasn't interested in a relationship, it was kind of flattering that Brock liked her... As she neared her apartment, her car, the '81 Pontiac Bonneville she had since her junior year in high school began making noise and all of a sudden the engine flared and seemed to explode. Jennifer pulled off to the side, on the verge of tears. She was at a loss. She didn't have a cell phone to call a tow-truck, hell, she barely had the money to pay for the towtruck. I guess I'll have to walk home and call from there, Jennifer decided. Right about that time, a black Silverado truck pulled over on the side of the road in front of her and Brock jumped out of the front seat. "Hey, it looks like you're having some trouble. My name's Brock. I've got a cellphone if you want me to call a towtruck." Great, Jennifer thought, how convenient. "Sure, that would be great, thanks," she responded nochalantly.
About an hour later at McDaniel and Sons Automotive, the female mechanic, Jess, gave Jennifer the bad news, "I estimate it will cost around two thousand dollars," Damn, Jennifer thought. That was her entire savings. Well, she really couldn't go to work and school without her car. She told Jess to go ahead. As Jennifer walked back to the lobby, she didn't realize she was talking to herself. "How in the world am I going to pay for this and afford this semester's rent? Just when everything was going so well." "Hey, sweetie pie," Jennifer heard in a thick southern drawl. "No need to get all torn up, I might be able to help you out. The name's Natalie, but everybody calls me Nat, it's nice to meet you. Is it Jennifer?" "Yeah, that's right. Thanks for offering but unless you have some miracle job that will help me make three thousand bucks fast, I don't think you can help me," Jennifer replied. The small blonde with dark, green eyes smiled and said "Jennifer you're in luck."