Chapter 23
Andrea's adventure at the Sims University had FINALLY begun! Yes! She thought enthusiastically, I'm out on my own, pursuing my dream. No more dealing with family members and their drama, it's just me, myself and I. Ok, that sounded kind of c-o-c-k-y but whatever! I'm just so EXCITED!! And being here a year earlier than planned, woo hoo! Her original plan was to find her own place to live, but there wasn't any money for that. It was free to live in the dorms and while she preferred having her own place and solitude, living among others would just have to do. Besides, it's not like she wasn't used to it anyway.
After getting settled into her dorm room, which had a nice fireplace, she decided to start her new adventure with a makeover. She didn't want to go too crazy with it, just wanted something done with her hair to make her look more grown up. She was pleased with the result.
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She attended the welcoming at the Student Union building and was excited to learn about her classes for the term. Also to meet her professors and other classmates. One professor in particular, Lewis Rogers, reminded her too much of her dad. Wow, is this just a common look for men in the medical field?
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After introducing themselves to each other, Andrea expressed her enthusiasm for being there and told him that she would work and study harder than anyone else on campus.
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Lewis smiled at her and said, "Let me guess...you've had a lot of medical influences in your life?"
Andrea's eyebrow raised. "My father, yes," she answered. "He's a Medical Doctor."
"Well, he must have been a pretty good one then?"
"Oh Yes. Very knowledgeable, professional, kind and caring. Almost everyone in town had him as their primary care physician."
Lewis nodded. "Well, that's wonderful. I wish you the best in your endeavors. If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask."
"Actually, I do..."
After visiting with Professor Rogers, Andrea made her way over to the freebie table. She didn't really care for getting a university frisbee or kicky bag, but hey she would take a candy bar and soda. The soda was good, but the candy bar about made her puke! After throwing the candy bar into the trash bin with force, she looked around at all the other students playing pool, getting into the photo booth, playing arcade games or just chilling on the couch. I really should try to make some friends, she thought to herself, I just...have the hardest time making and keeping them. Why do I have to be so anti-social!? Ugh! I HAVE to get over this! I'm going to be a doctor for crying out loud! If I want to succeed in this career I can't just look at my patients as thing of science, they are PEOPLE! So she did her best to get out of her comfort zone and approach strangers.
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Back at her dorm, she did the same. She thought she saw one guy out of the corner of her eye, with dreadlocks, checking her out, but she just rolled her eyes and thought, In your dreams! This girl is chasing her career, not men!
"Hey?" she heard a deep voice say. She turned to see a guy with dark hair, thick eyebrows and a pointy nose holding his hand out toward her.
"I'm Daniel Vaughn," he introduced, "I like to get to know everyone I will be living with. And you are?"
Hey, saved me from having to approach him. "Andrea," she replied. "Andrea Holland."
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"Nice to meet you," Daniel said with a smile. "Gosh this is great isn't it?," he asked, looking around at whatever, "Getting out on your own, entering college life, discovering who you are meant to be and just breathing in the air of freedom? Like the whole world is at your fingertips?"
Wow, Andrea thought, I feel EXACTLY the way he does! "Yes!" she nearly cried, "I've been waiting for this since I was a child!"
"What are you majoring in?"
"Medicine."
"Wow," Daniel said in an impressed tone, "that's awesome. You've got a lot of schooling ahead of you!"
"Yes."
"I'm majoring in Fine Arts."
"Oh really? I actually got a full ride scholarship for Fine Arts, but...my dream has always been to become a doctor."
Daniel gaped in surprise. "So what's your Fine Arts talent?"
Andrea blushed a little. "I like to paint. I took classes all throughout high school."
"No kidding!?" Daniel cried, "I love to paint too!"
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Andrea began to feel a little too much out of her element. Conversing with boys, especially attractive ones, was never easy for her. "Really?" she asked, hoping the sweat forming on her brow wasn't noticeable. "That's great!"
"I'd love to show you some of my work," Daniel continued, "if you'd like?"
Brushing her hair behind her ear, Andrea hoped she wouldn't regret saying, "Uhh...sure."
"Awesome," Daniel said, seeming to calm down. "I'm glad I met you, Andrea. I'll see you around then?"
Andrea nodded. As she watched him move on to other people living in the dorm and introducing himself she thought, That was...interesting.
That night she slept soundly in her cozy, little room and looked forward to class the next day.
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*************
"Eeek!" Andrea squealed as she entered the building where her first class was located. She couldn't remember ever being this excited for school!
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Throughout the term she kept a pretty strict schedule. Even when she was invited to Juice Kegger parties at the Frat house she usually said, "no thanks," and spent most of her time attending class religiously and studying, inside her dorm room and out.
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I can't BELIEVE I didn't have the answer to the professors question right then and there! I gotta look this up!
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Why yes, I DID know that condition off the top of my head.
Some days she studied so hard that she forgot to eat. The others in the dorm just shook their heads at her, while watching her study. In fact that's ALL they ever saw her do. They thought she was a geek and a workaholic.
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"Hey, so you're hot for a geeky girl, you know that?" the guy with the dreadlocks said across the table from her.
"Get lost," Andrea said frankly, not removing her eyes from her laptop.
Daniel didn't feel the way the others did however. He still hadn't been able to catch her so that she could look at his artwork. When her stomach really began to growl at her, Andrea had to stop and find something quick to make. TV dinners were becoming her best friend.
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When Daniel saw her sitting down and eating, he grabbed a plate of burned waffles made by one of the other residents in the dorm and sat down beside her. Gross! He thought looking down at the waffles, but I couldn't come sit by her without any food. That would look too much like I WANT to chat with her. She seems like the type who could get scared away easily.
"Hey Andrea," he addressed her.
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Andrea didn't realize she was wolfing down that small TV dinner. "Oh, Hi Daniel," she said between chews.
Dang girl! Slow down! What's the rush? "Hey, it's been a few weeks and I was hoping you could give me some pointers on my artwork?"
Andrea paused, completely forgetting that she agreed to look at his work.
"Oh," she said, putting down her fork and looking at him, "I'm so sorry Daniel! I've just been so busy."
Only because you MAKE it that way. "You know," Daniel said, "you should really take a break from all that studying and get out and have some fun. It's good for ya."
Andrea knew he was right, but she didn't want to admit it. She had a passion and it was hard to break away from it. "I know," she said, "when I have some free time I will."
Daniel could accept that. "So," he began, "do you have a moment now to see my artwork? It's in my room."
Glancing at her watch, Andrea gasped. "Oh my gosh! I've completely lost track of time! I'm gonna be late for class!" She picked up her TV dinner tray, tossed it in the trash and ran toward the stairs to get her backpack. Then, for a second, she remembered Daniel sitting back there. She turned to him and said, "It will have to be another time Daniel, sorry!" and up the stairs she went.
Daniel lowered his head in dejection and pushed the plate of burned waffles away from him.
**************
This class was the most boring one out of all of Andrea's classes. Professor Cramsky literally had no sense of humor and all he ever did was talk, talk, talk in that monotone voice of his. It wasn't uncommon to see people sleeping through his lectures.
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Andrea even had to keep herself from dozing off, but she asked lots of questions to help her focus and stay awake.
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To awaken her mind after his class, she would go over to the science lab and study many different and exciting specimens.
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After that she returned to her dorm room, needing some solitude, sitting beside the warm fire and reading a good book. It was starting to feel very relaxing until she heard music start to blare through the wall. Ugh! Why do these walls between the rooms have to be so paper thin!? This wasn't the first time she was disturbed by her "neighbors" loud music and she finally had enough. Slamming her book closed she got up and headed next door.
After knocking she heard the voice shout, "Come in!" Andrea didn't hesitate doing so.
This was the room of the jock of the dorm, Stephen Brackney. Andrea always felt annoyed seeing the way he would strut himself, giving fitness advice to everyone and thinking he was God's gift to women. She just didn't realize HE was her next door neighbor until now. He was doing jumping jacks and didn't turn to see who opened the door.
"Excuse me," Andrea said indecently, "I am trying to read next door. Will you turn that music down?"
That got Stephen to turn. Upon seeing who it was he merely went back to doing his jumping jacks and said in the same tone as hers, "Excuse me, but I am trying to work out here!"
Andrea glared at him in disgust. She slammed the door and stomped the short distance back to her room.
As the evening wore on, Andrea felt quite frazzled and having to endure the noise from Stephen's room didn't help. Thankfully, he turned it off a few minutes ago, after going for an hour. Rubbing her forehead, she remembered Daniel suggesting to her that she should get out and have some fun. Not two seconds after thinking of that, she got a text from a guy in one of her classes saying he was throwing a juice kegger party at his place. Maybe I should go, she thought, Daniel is right...I do need a break sometimes. Juice kegger parties were most definitely out of her comfort zone, but tonight she didn't care. Another text message came and it read, Come in your swimwear. Odd, Andrea thought, but she shrugged it off. She just really had to get out of here.
When she entered the house, the host was quite surprised to see her. "Wow Andrea," he said, "I didn't think you would come!"
Funny. "Yeah, well, here I am," she said.
"Cool!" he said putting a hand on her shoulder and escorting her into the living room. "Have a drink and there's some snacks in the kitchen."
"Thanks."
Snacks sounded good. She figured she could munch on them while debating whether she wanted to drink or not. An older gentleman passed in front of her to grab something from the table and Andrea had to do a double take. "Professor Rogers!?" she asked in shock. Glad I caught myself from saying DAD! "What are you doing here?"
"Oh, Andrea," he answered, "Sometimes I like to get out and join the parties and see what the college kids are up to."
The shades he was wearing didn't help him look any less like her dad and his muscular physique looked pretty impressive for an older guy.
"You ok?" Lewis asked her, curious why she was staring at him.
Immediately coming out of her thoughts, Andrea answered, "Yes, I'm fine."
"I'm going to try doing a juice keg stand! How about you?"
Biting her bottom lip Andrea said hesitantly, "I dunno..."
"Well, come watch me do it then."
It took a couple of guys to lift Lewis up, but once he was there he began gulping large amounts of "juice" from the keg. After he was done, he cried out with his fists in the air, "Woo hoo!"
Then the host, seeing Andrea watching, shouted out, "Now it's Andrea's turn!"
Andrea's eyes widened. Soon everyone was chanting her name. Oh gosh, why did I come here!?
Lewis came up to Andrea and took her arm leading her to the keg. "Come on Andrea! They are waiting for you."
Andrea wanted to pull away so badly, but another part of her wanted to show everyone that she wasn't just some anti social geek who had nothing better to do but study. Plus she was quite thirsty.
"Fine," she said to Lewis, "lift me up!" Everyone cheered.
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The stuff tasted terrible but Andrea forced herself to drink a ton anyway. When she was done she struggled to catch a breath while everyone cheered and patted her on the back. She hated to admit it to herself, but it did feel quite exhilarating. The rest of the night went by in a blur, but once she felt okay enough to drive, she headed back to her dorm.
While she slept a crazy image popped into her head.
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Jumping up from her bed she cried in a loud, high pitched screechy voice, "EWWW!" She ran into the bathroom, constantly splashing water on her tongue and spitting in the sink. Hunched over she slowly looked up into the mirror at herself. "Oh my gosh what happened?" she whispered to herself, but there was no doubt in her mind. She kissed Professor Lewis that night. She started to feel very sick to her stomach. Lowering her head she thought, Oh gosh. This is why drinking is very VERY BAD!
As the weeks went by, Andrea avoided Professor Rogers as much as possible. She inadvertently ignored Daniel and after a time he just gave up on her. That darn Stephen was still blaring his workout music next door, however none of that could bother her. She had to focus on her studies since finals were approaching.
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One night, while sleeping soundly, she was interrupted by a sharp knock on her door. Jumping up and throwing a shirt on over her underwear she called out, "Just a minute." When she opened the door she saw none other than Stephen hunched over in front her, hand on the wall holding himself up and gasping for air.
"What's wrong with you?" she asked harshly.
Stephen took his hand off the wall and stood up straight before her. "I need your help," he said in a raspy voice.
He wants MY help? What? To do his schoolwork for him? "Now?" she asked. "Do you know what time it is?"
"Yes," Stephen replied with a look of pain on his face, "could you follow me for a second?"
Trying not to roll her eyes, Andrea did so. Stephen led her into his room and closed the door.
"What are you doing?" Andrea asked, not liking where this could be going.
Standing before her beside his bed, Stephen said, "I don't know what's wrong? It's happened a few times lately. I've been having some intense chest pain, usually after I work out. I feel lightheaded too and I'm having trouble breathing."
Curiously, Andrea said, "Why are you telling ME this?"
"Because, everyone says you're taking medical classes?"
"Yes?"
"I need you to find out what's wrong with me."
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Andrea rubbed her neck. "Stephen, I don't think I can help you. If you feel this is serious, you should go to the ER."
"I can't afford to go there!" Stephen cried. "Please, help me!" He rubbed at his chest. "Please," he begged again, "everyone says you gotta be the best medical student on campus with all that studying you do."
Oh, really? That actually made Andrea feel good, but she had to focus on the task at hand. She wasn't exactly sure if she wanted to help her annoying neighbor and she was pretty sure there'd be nothing she could do for him. Still, there was something about glancing at his ripped out chest that made giving him a check up quite inviting.
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No! she yelled in her head, Get it together Andrea, c'mon! What are you going to do? Sighing she said to Stephen, "Fine. I'll check you out and see what might be wrong."
Stephen was very appreciative.
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"Hang on a minute, I'll be right back," she said to him. She went back into her room and got her medical kit which her dad gave to her as a graduation gift. Upon returning to his room, Andrea ordered Stephen to lay down while she proceeded to check his pulse, blood pressure and heart rhythm.
Carefully she listened and his heart didn't sound right. "I'm definitely hearing an irregular beat," she told him. "Have you been having heart palpitations?"
"Huh?" Stephen asked.
"Do you literally FEEL your heart pounding?"
"Yeah...especially when I am having the chest pain."
Andrea removed the stethoscope and wrapped it around the back of her neck. C'mon, I KNOW what this is...why can't I think of it?
"Please don't tell me I'm having a heart attack!" Stephen panicked.
Andrea tried not to roll her eyes. "Do you have pain in your left arm?" she asked him.
Thinking for a second, Stephen replied, "No."
"Then you aren't having a heart attack."
Dropping his head back down on the pillow, Stephen let out a breath of relief. "Thank goodness! I'm WAY too young for that."
Andrea's head stood up, like a light bulb turned on above it. Young, she thought. Now she had to ask some questions.
"How often do you work out?" she asked Stephen.
"Every day," Stephen answered as if that was a silly question, "ever since I was a teenager."
"Are you an athlete?"
"Well, yeah. Professional sports is really what I want to get into."
"So how often has the chest pain occurred after you work out?"
"I dunno, it's been happening recently. I think I always kind of felt it but lately it's gotten worse."
Getting up from the bed, Andrea said, "Let me look something up and I will be back." After a few minutes she returned and found Stephen sitting up in his bed now.
"Well," Andrea said, "I believe I know what's wrong."
"Really? What?"
"There's two possibilities," she began, "you could have a cardiac arrhythmia or I'm thinking more along the lines of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy."
A worried expression appeared on Stephen's face.
"Which," Andrea continued, "you need to get checked out before it becomes serious. I'm sorry Stephen, but you NEED to go see a doctor. Forget about the money, what's more important is your life!"
Stephen sat in silence for a minute and then asked, "Will this affect my career aspirations?"
"Possibly," Andrea answered suddenly feeling sad for him.
"Do you think I should go to the ER now?"
Andrea folded her arms and said, "Your vitals were a little erratic so yeah it might be a good idea."
Carefully, Stephen stood up and said, "Wow. Thank you."
"You're welcome," Andrea said with a smile, "would you like me to drive you over?"
Nodding Stephen said, "Sure. That would be great."
From that time on, Stephen never blared his music in his room anymore.
**************
Finals came and gone and Andrea was thrilled to find that she passed them all with an A and got on the Dean's List. The term was over and it was time to head home. She'd be returning after the break for a second term and wondered if she would see Daniel, Professor Rogers or Stephen again. She had to make some things right.
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:)
Stay tuned!!
(Oh my it is almost 1 o'clock in the morning! This was a much longer chapter than I expected it to be. ;) Hope you enjoyed Andrea's college adventure. See you back here soon!)
