[i]Fairy tales always lie. There is no happy ending, and there sure isn’t any prince charming coming to save the damsel. No. Reality is a mixture of used and being used. Disappointment of those closet to you. Everything. Dad walked out a long time ago, and mom could careless, drowning her days in toxic alcohol. If only people could relish the fact that they’re still alive. One day, I will teach all of them that. [/i] Petra sat behind a desk. Her brows arched in concentration. She was finishing up her chemistry lab as the time to the lab’s finish neared. The burner and vials were all in use as she scribbled on her notepad. The other students present were all colluding answers between groups. The cheating bastards. Even though they received decent marks on the lab portion, their exams were far below the average. Petra knew. Though many were embarrassed to share their grades, the spoke at a volume to their friends, which brokered eavesdropping. How annoying. “This is impossible!” Rick, one of her lab partners, stabbed his pencil against his page. He looked disinterested. “I don’t get it. If this is an introductory course, why does the professor make the work impossible. Jesus, I can’t take this.” Petra frowned as she completed the balanced equation. She moved onto writing the results. “It’s a weed out course for a reason,” said Amy, the final member of the lab group. “How’s it going Petra?” “Nearly finished.” Rick looked her way, his eyes alight. “Seriously? You sure what you did’s correct?” “Mostly,” she said. “If you actually tried to help, you’d see it for yourself.” “I try. I’m just not good at this … crap.” Petra looked up. She hated Rick from the start. He reminded her of the woman that she called mom. Day in, day out, she’d just drink and smoke. Petra never went back to visit if she could help it. It depressed her too much to see how useless her mom had become. Mom was an anchor that brought her into a reminisce. She wished dad were still here. Everything fell apart after he passed away from the accident. Before anything else could be said, the TA at the front announced that time was up. Petra got up as she began to clean the tools on the table. She saw Rick look at her notes. The sudden urge to snatch them away and yell at the guy boiled in her body. But why did it matter? Like all the other mediocre students in the room, he’d do bad overall in the long run. What difference would it make if he copied what she had on her lab report. “I’ll give you a hand,” Amy said as she closed her lab book and began to disconnect the bunsen burner. “Any plans tonight?” “Not that I’m aware of,” Petra said as she washed the chemicals out. Amy smiled. “Let’s do something then.” “…I’ll think about it.” --- “Why do you let him do it?” Petra was sitting on her bed reading from one of her books. Amy had come over to her dorm room. Surprisingly, she got a single — a rarity for a freshmen. “No harm done to me. I’d like to avoid talking to that guy as much as possible. He rubs me the wrong way.” Amy ruffled her warm, hazel, brown hair. “You’re always so blunt Petra.” “Don’t see a reason to be otherwise.” “Want to go out?” Petra looked up from her book. “Excuse me?” “Heard there’s something going on downtown. It sounds fun, don’t you think?” “Amy?” “Yes?” She shut the book and tossed it on her bedside table. “I’m getting dorm fever. Lets go.”