Her first day on campus went rather well. Gabriel took the few days before classes started to look around and figure out where everything was. Most of her classes were relativly close to the dorm, which was good. She would need some other mode of transportation besides her legs however, seeing as how her dorm was rather far from the center of campus life. The bookstore was large, newly refurnished if the new paint and carpet smells were any indication. It was two floors, dead center of the Student Resources building. Textbooks on the lower level, catagorized according to course prefix, along with office supplies and other things needed for classwork. On the upper floor she found school merchandise like backpacks as well as shirts, hats, and even teddybears with the school's logo plastered over them. This had gained the top floor the nickname 'the Ad depot' in her mind. If you wanted to be a walking billboard, you shopped upstairs.

Just outside the bookstore, off near the right end of SS was the cafeteria. Your typical college cafe, with a salad bar, entre line, and coolers of assorted foods. This school, however, had a fast food mini-restaraunt in it as well as a smoothie bar and coffee shop. It was definatly larger than the one back home. There were students scattered around in the dining area, chatting and catching up with friends from over the summer. Here she felt shy and out of place. Gabriel made a mental note to avoid the cafe when alone.

More exploring revealed some choice spots of interest to her in the out of doors. The campus grounds were very well groomed. There was a lake to the East, a calm and lovely sight with the willows dipping low into the water and a few cherry trees in bloom along the banks. Just to the south of the lake was a butterfly garden complete with cast iron benches. A perfect place to daydream or get away from it all. She would definatly have to come back for closer inspection.

The town around the college was another adventure. There was a transit bus system that took you to most major locals in the town, such as the mall, the movies, and the grocery stores. There were a few car dealerships around too; signs that this little town was growing. People bustled about Main Street; happy little worker ants content on their lots in life. Gabriel watched them with a smile, wondering if they ever thougth of themselves like that; akin to ants.

She took the bus to the center of town and just abled around. There were shops for all kinds of things: shops for candles, shops for books, shops for clocks and shops for toys. Mostly small, uncommercialized stores owned by generation after generation, but places she loved to go. There was even a bicycle/motorcycle shop near the end of Main Street.

Gabriel found that quite curious. She'd never been inside a store that dealt soley in bicycles before. Let alone a store that dealt with most two and three wheeled modes of transportation. She went in, feeling drawn to the place. It was almost as if it was her destiny to find this place. The idea thrilled her. Maybe she was to meet a dashing young count, hiding out in this small town and working there because his wicked stepfather wanted him dead so he could inherit the family fortune and title? Or maybe some rouge gambler, hiding out from the law. Her imagination began to run wild with each step she took around the store. Her heart beat in her ears, her pulse quickening. What would it be?

The store itself was not unusual in the least. Bikes up on the walls, motor scooters and a few floor model Hondas on display below them. Parts for their merchandise on shelves, gathering dust from the looks of it. And, up at the counter, a man in his 50's overjoyed to have a customer. Her heart sank a bit. Once again her imagination had run away with her, and she had let it. Real life never worked like in the books she loved; it didn't matter where she lived, she knew life rarely imitated art. Gabriel sighed.

There were some nice products however. A stylish motorscooter had caught her eye after the clerk had. It was painted a pearlecent ivory color, with crome detailing and a 50's style to its look. She looked at the price tag and bit her lip. It was kind of expensive. Her mother would have no objection she knew, but Gary would have a feild day with her for letting her daughter spend so much. She hated him, but didn't want her mother to pay for her choices. The clerk walked out from behind the counter when he saw her stop at the scooter. He smiled down at it as if it were his child. "She's quite a beauty, isn't she?"

Gabriel startled, looking at him and blushing in spite of herself. "Y..yes, she is."

The old man gave her a warm smile, almost grandfatherly. Gabriel couldn't help but return it. "She's great for riding around campus too. A lot of students use these scooters if they live too far from classes."

"H..how did you know I was a college student?" she asked, a little worried.

He just chuckled. "You look about the same age as my grandson, and he's a student over at Bard. Besides, most people your age are only here for one of two reasons. They either attend Bard, or couldn't find a job to get them out of this small town." The man ran his hand over the black leather seat of the scooter. "Vespa's are my favorite style of scooter. I had one back in the day. Very reliable."

She nodded. "I guess so. I really like the color. Its just... "

The clerk sighed. "They're a bit expensive. College students are on tight budgets. We do offer a great payment plan though, if your interested."

Gabriel got a thoughtful look on her face. "Well, it wouldn't be bad if I had to pay in payments." Gary wouldn't be able to bitch about her spending three thousand dollars if she did it in small ammounts every month. He'd be too drunk to care, she imagined. "Okay then. I'll take this one."

The clerk beamed. "Great! Just come on up to the counter and we'll sign the paperwork, and you can take it with you today." He turned towards the counter, but stopped and faced her again, hand extended. "Where are my manners. My name's Henry. Henry Cleymon."

Gabriel took his hand and smiled a shy smile. "Gabriel Tumley. Nice to meet you."

They went up to the counter and filled out appropriate forms and legal documents, then signed the whole deal. Mr. Cleymon helped her take the scooter outside and showed her all the basics to driving it. Gabriel was happy and felt at ease with the store owner. As she was driving home that afternoon, sitting pretty on her new Vespa, she couldn't help but feel good. She had made her first friend. Maybe school wasn't going to be so bad after all.

It was raining, she remembered that much. The day she left the sleepy town of Talkatte for the adventurous life of the university was the happiest of her young life, yet also the most blurred. She did remember the goodbye's. Her mother hugged her tight, sobbing into her new blouse. How sad she was to see her only child go off into the wide world. The same world that had taken her husband all those years ago. Greg, the man her mother had married and the man she refused to call any word associated with father, was more upset at the dent she would be making in her trust fund. Less money for him to spend at the track and on booze. Serves the bastard right. He didn't deserve dirt to sleep in, let alone the money her father had worked hard for in order to give her the life she dreamed of.

The train ride was long. Smokey cars with balding men and whiny kids on vacation. Plenty of time to reflect on where she was and where she wanted to be. She slipped on her Walkman and popped in the latest Garbage CD. Two years at the community college had flown by. Top in her class when she left, heading off to get her Baccalaureate in graphics design. A field that pandered to her fantasy-filled mind and dreamy disposition. Her dream was to work for the top computer animation studio in the country. Make enough money to support her mother, and allow her to dump the scumball. She couldn't help but smile at that. But first she needed to get the degree.

School was another one of her endulgences, along with the occasional food binge. Her figure wasn't outwardly offensive, but she did have poorly defined curves. Her brain was quite large however, filled to capacity with knowlege of all kinds. She used to loose herself in her school work when she was growing up. Locking herself in her room and concentrating on math and science was a good way to drown out the drunken ranting of the pig downstairs. It even made the sounds of slapping flesh just a dull hum in her mind. She graduated high school as Valedictorian, recieved scholarships of every kind, and had her trust fund to help her in housing. Even so, it still took her two years to leave. She wanted to be sure that her mother would be okay. It was in fact her mother that urged her to go off to school in New York. Bard College was a top rated school for computer related careers. Many graduates went on to work in the film industry and on the web. Her mother wanted only the best.

So, it was two days later that she arrived in the small town built up around her new home for the next two years. She was lucky enough to recieve a single occupant dorm room. She didn't mind living by herself. Interacting with others made her feel shy and clumsy. She did have to share a common room with six other dorms; some doubles, some singles. So long as there weren't too many mandatory group functions she figured she could handle it. Maybe there would be some girls from her major in the dorms too.

Moving in was rather easy. She didn't bring much; relying instead on her finances to purchase what she would need while she was there. Not like she had much to begin with. Her clothes were hers, and her books. A box of assorted knick-nacks, and some stuffed animals. And, her storybook. The book her father used to read to her. She feared that if she left that behind, Greg would do away with it, just like he had done to everything her father had owned.

She found all she needed at the local Target, and got some great deals too. Registration had been done online, and her scholarships kicked in when she registered for school. Some scholarships gave her refunds on the money they supplied because she had plenty of funds already. That money went into investments. With her dorm set up, she could finally take a look around. The idea that she had made it made her smile. Finally she was away from the pig. Finally she could have her life.

She loved fairy tales. Her mother had told her that when she was little, it was the only thing she would read. If the story didn't start with "Once apon a time" and end in "happily ever after", she wouldn't even bother. Her favorite was Sleeping Beauty; the tale of a girl, persecuted by a dark being, hidden from her loved ones only to find love in a young man, and be whisked away from him. She loved to hear of his daring rescue, and how with one kiss, the world was a better place.

Her father left when she was four. He always loved her, and from what her chilish eyes could tell, he loved mama just as much. They never fought, never had any problems that were abnormal. One day, after reading Sleeping Beauty, he walked out the front door and never came back. He said he was going out for some milk for her breakfast cereal. Mama had waved to him as he left. They found out the next morning that he had walked out of their house and into an armed robery at the corner store. Two gunshot wounds to the back of the head. He was dead on the scene. It was about then she stopped eating cereal.

Relatives came from all around to try to help her mother through the tough times. There were people she didn't even know, all of them seemed not to know her either. They never called her by her name, just called her 'poor dear'. If she had any notion, she would have corrected them, but her mind was numb. She didn't talk to anyone, not even mama. She stayed in bed, in her pajamas, holding her book to her. She would wait for him to come in and read her Sleeping Beauty again, just like he did every night. Of course, he never came.

It took a few months before anyone really grew concerned for her. The preschool teacher said that the only thing she ever responded to was the book. The children called her names, poked fun at her, kicked her legs out from under her, did all the cruelty a four year old could, but it was only if they touched her book that she grew violent. She would slap them, usually on the mouth, and then just walk away.

She was sent to a psychiatrist. He talked with her, analyzed her emotional state and her catatonic home life. The diagnosis was simple: she wasn't mentally capable of letting go of her father, and associated the book with his presence, seeing as how it was the last thing he did with her before he died. The treatment? "Let her keep the book. She'll outgrow it eventually. Time is the only cure for this."

And so, that's how it was. For sixteen years, she was left alone with that book. She never fully recovered from her father's death, and because of her quiet nature she was labeled as an outcast in scholastic society. Her mother remaried a few years later, a man who was twice her age, and not too friendly with his new stepdaughter. He was verbally abusive on a mild level, to both her and her mother, and he had once, when she was about six or seven, commented how 'she'd be much cuter if she was skinnier'. She grew up with the comfort of food, her books, and her music, choosing not to make herself anymore appealing to that scruffy man she was legally bound to than she had to. She worked hard in school, still daydreamed about her fairy tale fantasies, and mannaged to break the boundaries set on her by her cruel stepfather. She was ready, financially, to be on her own when she was 16. All she needed was the right time.

The right time was now. Now, Gabriel was 21.

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