Richard took one look around the parking lot and shook his head. It wasn't a lack of spaces that perturbed him, he had already found a spot. Even as he hung his head and resigned himself to his fate, Richard knew that there was no one to blame but himself. After all, he hadn't quite flunked out of the university, but only because he willingly withdrew after his first year there. With the disastrous results he had attained, he couldn't even call it a full freshman year. Still, he had enough credits to have a bit of an edge here, and he vowed not to make the same mistakes twice. Raising his grade point average was the only way he'd get back to a university, and community college was the best way for Richard to do it. That didn't mean he had to like it.
As soon as he reminded himself of his long term goals, Richard finally stepped out of his car and gathered up his books. In a show of defiance, his notebooks were decorated with the crests of the school he had nearly failed out of, the one he wanted to go to, and the local college he was now stuck attending. At least his course load would be easy. Richard desperately needed credits he could transfer, and banging away at basic courses was the way to do it. Besides, most of them would be easy enough for him to ace, and that would offset his dismal academic performance to date. As long as he kept his ultimate goal in sight, Richard was able to walk to class with pride, and his determination showed. A lot of his fellow students were here only because it beat getting a real job, and they had no plans beyond the two year curriculum. After his first day of classes, anyone who met Richard would know he was not like that at all.
On that first fateful day, Richard found most of his course work to be easy, even simple when compared to the rigorous academics that had felled him. However, one of his professors ran his class quite efficiently, and this provided Richard with a challenge. It was a Western History course, the kind that ran only until the mid seventeenth century, but the caliber of students seemed to be higher here. They also enjoyed a lively discussion of daily current events and such, a discussion that Richard attempted to dominate. In most of his classes, he would have been successful, but not here. A bright young lady who possessed a very different viewpoint of the world rose to his challenge, and they frequently butted heads. Her name was Amy, and she was as gorgeous as she was smart. Their debates could take up nearly half the class time, and whenever Richard seemed to be gaining the upper hand, Amy's friend Mandy would give her a hand and chime in. At times Richard seemed exasperated by the endless debates he wound up in, but his professor saw them as quite helpful and encouraged them. Richard crossed the line in class only once, calling Amy a 'seditious bitch', but he quickly apologized. The fact that he did so publicly showed Amy that he was truly a gentleman. It also raised the esteem that his professor held him in. He even went so far as to plant the suggestion in Amy's ear that she seat herself next to Richard, and of course Mandy followed suit. Often they would sit on either side of him, which further heated their debates, but Richard didn't seem to mind. He was used to being under pressure, and besides, one could do a lot worse than sit between Amy and Mandy.
While Richard spent a lot of his time clashing with the two girls, he had to admit he wouldn't mind spending time out of class with them. It was a feeling that he suspected they reciprocated, but none of them felt like being open about it, at least not yet. Perhaps doing so would be a sign of weakness, and with the spirit they were exhibiting in the classroom none of them wanted to give the slightest bit of advantage. That was a shame, for the attraction certainly was there, especially between Amy and Richard. She would go out of her way to try and catch a glimpse of him between classes. That wasn't too hard, Richard stood out against the crowd, especially with his rugged good looks and strong demeanor. He too went about trying to get an eyeful of Amy's petite figure, especially her cute little buns. More than once Richard wondered how her red hair would look while her head was bobbing up and down in his lap. Mandy was rather easy on the eyes as well, Richard had the good fortune to run across her in the library, and they'd studied together a bit. During that time he exerted a good deal of effort trying to guess the voluptuous brunette's bra size as well. Try as they would to deny it, the feelings they had for each other smoldered beneath the surface for nearly half of the semester. Day by day though, the walls between them came down just a little, and while their debate sessions were as spirited as ever, a genuine friendship, one based on respect for each other, was forming as well.
The test of that friendship came several weeks into the semester. Their class was going on an excursion to an art museum which had a famous collection of period artifacts. It almost seemed incongruous, for often half the class would be spent on current events, but there was still Medieval and Renaissance work for them to cover, and this would enhance the experience. In these categories, Richard's previous education served him well, for he had taken some more specialized courses that covered this time period. Before they went on this trip, he had cleared it with the professor that he wouldn't necessarily have to stay with the group as they went on their tour. To be fair, the offer was extended to the entire class, and Richard was a bit surprised when Amy and Mandy volunteered to go with him. He turned the tables on them by asking if they'd be so kind as to drive him to the museum.
"What's wrong with your car?" quizzed Amy.
"It's not my car, it's my mother's," came the sheepish reply.
"Oh, mom's car," teased Amy. She was enjoying this. Mandy was beaming as well. "Nice, very nice."
"Yeah, well..." shrugged Richard. He was smiling now as well, and then Mandy chirped in.
"Don't worry, Richard," she began. "Amy's car is a piece of junk."
