#p:kat

Rory walked down the corridor in silence, uncertain and alone. The hall was sprinkled with lingering students, but she passed on by, the soft padding of her footsteps following beneath her. As she inched towards Professor Hillard’s office, she couldn’t imagine what the advisor might possibly want from her, being only two days into the spring semester. Her grades were mediocre at best, but she didn’t think she had performed that poorly on her final exam. Taking a deep breath, she tried to ease the dread seeping into the pit of her stomach.

You can do this. You can handle academic probation. Who cares if you can’t play football next year. You’re a photographer. Rory rounded the corner and slowed to a stop when Professor Hillard’s door came into view. “Please don’t throw me out of the program…” she muttered to herself. That, she couldn’t handle. And she certainly couldn’t afford to repeat courses. Yep, I’m definitely gonna hurl.

As she stood, the pasty walls of university interior did little to ease her mind, and the bleakness left her feeling trapped and secluded. With her thumbs hooked through the straps of her bag, Rory could hear the soft buzzing of a country song humming through the earbuds draped around her neck, but she remained quiet, too nervous even for music. Cautiously, she stepped towards the room, as if delaying entry would somehow halt the impending conversation, but alas, time and space had failed her.  

Whatever happens, happens, she thought to herself. She summoned the courage to enter before she could dwell too long on the idea of fate and destiny somehow protecting her dreams.

“Professor H?” She called out. “You wanted to speak to me?”

“Ah, Ms. Marshall. Yes. Please come in,” she welcomed the student.

Motioning for Rory to take a seat, she folded her arms before her and took a steadying breath. This was going to be hard, even for her. Worry was written all over Rory’s usually happy-go-lucky face, and it tore at her heartstrings to even see it, let alone be the cause. It was painful. Using her arms, she slid the document in front of her closer to a chest and contemplated abandoning the whole thing. Over the past six months, Katherine could tell that they shared a kind heart. Hardening that would be a crime. Even so, she kept a calming smile on her face, hoping to ease any concerns that Rory might have.  

“First of all, you aren’t in any kind of trouble,” Katherine began, watching as Rory took a seat and visibly relaxed at the words. “I’ve checked with your fellow professors and you’ve passed all your classes.”

“Okay…” Rory furrowed her brows, slipping her bag to the ground. Her stomach untwisted at the words, and she felt like she could breathe again. “That sounds awesome. So why am I here? Because if this is some kind of booty call, I don’t really think—“

“What?” Katherine interrupted, eyes widening in surprise. “No,” she responded firmly. “No, of course not. Why would you— you know what, never mind,” she sat up straight and smiled instead. “What I was going to say was that you passed all your courses, but just barely. You’re going to have to put in some real effort this semester, Ms. Marshall. Your studies will only get more difficult from here.”

Truth. Truth. Truth.

Rory listened carefully, knowing full well that her professor was right. She shifted uncomfortably in her chair, her hands folded together nervously in her lap.

“You passed my class by a half point awarded for creativity during your final essay topic describing Crusoe as a God among goats. Let’s not cut it that close again, okay?” she pressured, fighting the guilt that weighed in on her chest. Her muscles relaxed and she lifted her arm to grip the slip of paper. Hesitantly, she slid it over. “I want to offer you and a small group of friends the chance for extra credit. That way, if you run into any troubles later on, you’ll have a bit of padding to fall back on.”

Rory reached for the paper and looked it over. The Story of Shadow Island. “I get to tell my own story?” She questioned, and as if it were too good to be true, she continued. “On any platform of my choosing? I can film this?”

Her face lit up, and Katherine had to swallow the sour taste filling her mouth. Her eyes snapped away from the half sheet of paper in Rory’s hand to meet blue. Rory looked as if she had won the lottery. Katherine felt like she was serving a death sentence.

“That’s right,” the professor forced a smile. In the long run, the extra credit would be helpful. Especially since so much of their time would now be dedicated to fighting bad guys. “I’ve written out all the details there. It has been arranged for you and your friends to spend Sunday night on the island. You’ll be taken there by boat in the morning and picked up early before classes on Monday. So make sure you pack enough supplies for the night. It’s said to be haunted so take plenty of cameras. I know how much you love the horror genre.”

Rory nodded along, excitement filling her by the second. Eurydice Costas. Bianca Rivera. Reese Marshall. Griffin Sayoc. “Is this who you want me to choose?”

“You’ll need a crew,” Katherine chuckled quietly. This time, it was a genuine grin that crossed her face. “You wouldn’t want to be out there all alone anyway. They made the most sense.”

Rory gave her a questioning look, and Katherine couldn’t help but point out the obvious. “You’re rather close to Ms. Costas these days, always causing trouble. And I’ve realized that your brother makes you feel safe. Mr. Sayoc’s your floor ambassador and Ms. Rivera is responsible,” she chided playfully.

“I’m responsible.”

“Hmm. Take her anyway.”

Rory laughed at that. “You’re okay, Professor. H. I’ll see what I can do. I appreciate you letting me do this. I know I… struggle sometimes with the readings, but I don’t actually want to fail. I want to be a photographer.”

Katherine nodded, finding Rory’s enthusiasm and willingness to try to be entirely contagious. It was one of the reasons she was going to make such a great ranger. It’s the right thing, she told herself over and over. 

“Just don’t take too much equipment out there,” Katherine felt obligated to warn. She’d seen Rory taking photos all over the city and knew that most of her gear was rather expensive. “Your transportation is small and there’s tons of room for damages out there. Just take what you need. And Rory?”

Rory had only been half listening as she read through the details of her assignment. “Hmm?” She looked up.

“Don’t make me regret this.”

“I won’t let you down.”