Empath (Book 1 of The Empath Trilogy)

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  It was Sunday evening. Dad left a few hours ago after helping me unload the few boxes of “must haves” that I brought with me to start my college adventure. He’d be more than happy to help set up my confusing electronics for me in a very dad-like way. Stereo, microwave and mini fridge were now all set up and, being a good daughter, I pledged that the fridge would never hold an alcoholic beverage. No worries there, I had yet to sample alcohol beyond a sip or two. The lowering of inhibitions made my curse all the more difficult to bear so I pretty much shied away from it or anyone under the influence.

  So, here I sat on my new bed which was perched on a very sturdily, and stylishly built, wooden loft by my dad. From this vantage point, not only could I look all around my ten by ten room, but I could also see out my rather large window on the far wall. The easily four-foot wide opening overlooked the freeway on the far edge of campus but was so high up, I kind of liked it. It made me feel like I was removed from it all. My own little penthouse suite, I smiled to myself.

  With classes starting tomorrow, it probably wasn’t a bad idea to get the lay of the land before I would have to perform under pressure. I figured now was as good a time as any to find the cafeteria. I could vaguely remember from orientation this summer that it was in the main building which seemed to house everything such as the bookstore, student services, and of course, food. The self-guided tour would give me an excuse to wander around and give this experiment a test run. What would it be like to be around this many strangers in an anonymous setting? And, could I really hope to be saner away from home or was I going to crack up before I turned twenty?