Anna's head popped off her pillow as a quick gasp escaped her mouth. Whirling to face her nightstand, her heart beat thunderingly in her chest. She was late! Again! SIlently she cursed her roommate, Crissy, who she suspected had reset the alarm. Crissy was a jogger, who woke up at the crack of dawn to get in a few miles before school, whereas Anna far preferred the warm comforts of her bed until the last possible minute. This particular preferrence had admittedly gotten her in trouble for tardiness more than once, but she just couldn't bring herself to wake up any sooner. This time, though, it wasn't simply a matter of being a few minutes late. THis time, she was a full hour late.
She leapt out of bed in a swirl of blankets and sheets, tearing her tiny t-shirt and panties away from her body as she launched herself into the shower to quickly scrub down. No time to wash her hair, she had to get into her unifrm and off to class as quickly as possible or there would be hell to pay. She was sure there would already be hell to pay! Dripping wet and clutching a towel about her petit form, she grabbed her regulation shirt, kerchief and skirt from her closet and shimmied into them, body still glistening with water droplets. Her mind spun in fluster as she grabbed at books and notepads, stuffing them into her bag. Exactly 3 minutes after waking, she was running full tilt across the quad to her class, white shirt plastered to her wet body and grey skirt flapping about her lithe backside and thighs. Her face flushed hot, both from the exertion of her sprinting and the embarrasment of such an unseemly sight she must make, judging from the looks of other students and teachers she raced past. At last she arrived at the door to her lecture hall, panting and disheveled. After taking a few moments to regain her breath, she desperately tried to put herself to rights, fluffing out her strawberry blonde hair, straightening her skirt and shirt, fixing a few misplaced buttons before she froze in horror. In her rush, she had completely forgotten to put on panties or a bra! She looked down at herself, her white schoolshirt plastered to her skin, stretched tight over her full, firm breasts. Her nipples could be seen clearly through the soaked fabric. Anna pulled at the fabric, trying in vain to keep it off of her, looking around her futily for some way to dry herself, perhaps a fresh shirt just happening to be in the hallway, anything. All she had was her schoolbag. Gulping, she hoisted it up in front of her to conceal what her damp shirt couldn't, took a deep breath, and opened the door to the lecture hall.
Every head in the room turned to look her way as the old door creaked open, and a knowing silence overtook the room. Anna skittered nervously into the hall, looking franticly for a seat close by. There were none. In fact, the only seat left was down in the front row, directly in front of the professor, who was standing, arms on his hips, glaring a hole into her. Keeping her eyes low, she skipped down the stairs to her seat, silently sliding into it, arranging her books and papers, then taking a long moment before looking up at the professor. He was still glaring at her silently. Behind her she could hear some titters and chuckles from her classmates. Nervously, she looked down at her books again, eyes looking anywhere but at the professor.
"Glad you could join us this morning, Anna," she heard him say calmly after clearing his throat. His voice was deep and resonant, his tone was light and mocking. "We are always glad when our star pupil decides to be good enough to put in an appearance." The remark stung a bit, as Anna had to acknowledge her performance in this class, English Literature, had been less than stellar so far, beyond her frequent lateness. She gulped as a few chuckles reverberated around the hall. She looked up at the professor, face flushed, looking into his eyes. Ice cold blue eyes staring hard at her from behind thin-rimmed glasses. Her mouth went dry as she tried to reply, not allowing her words but only the most embarrassing little squeek. The class laughed and she closed her mouth, mortified.
"I must say, your state of attire must be the reason this time. I can certainly forgive tardiness when it is in the pursuit of such perfection in dress," the professor continued, looking her up and down pointedly. Anna flushed even hotter, noting his eyes lingered on her chest. She squirmed slightly in her seat, the stopped as the subtle movement reminded her the other article of clothing she wasn't wearing.
"I'm sorry, sir...: she stammered, finally finding her voice. "I...uh..overslept..." She felt like a total fool.
"Ahhh, the dark coils of dreams had you in their grasp, and you were too taken with their shadowy promise to hear your alarm?" The questioned was asked in a light tone, but held an edge of dark steel within it.