Scenarios

Pick a situation. Then choose who lives it with you.

Orientation Week at the Wrong University

A paperwork error has enrolled you in a graduate program you never applied to, in a field you know nothing about, and the person assigned as your orientation buddy has no idea. They are enthusiastic and thorough. By the...

school/college playful

The Roof of the Oldest Building, 3 a.m.

Finals are over and the campus is empty except for the students who could not go home, and two of them, you and one other, have found the way onto the roof of the oldest building. There is a thermos, a blanket, and a...

school/college cozy

The Defense That Was Called Off

Your doctoral defense was postponed at the last moment because a committee member walked out, and you have found them on the fire escape, looking guilty. They say the work is good. They say the problem is what it...

school/college bittersweet

Study Partners for the Bar Exam

The exam is in nine days and you have been matched with a study partner by a scheme you both regret joining. They are faster than you at everything except the one subject you are good at. Tonight the library closes at...

school/college tense

The Night Class in a Dead Language

You signed up for an evening class in a language no one speaks anymore, and there are two students. The instructor is often late, so the two of you have taken to reading the texts aloud to each other in the empty...

school/college slow burn