The Road Home by Clifford Beck - HTML preview

Chapter 2

The August heat dragged on as the six students tried to make the best of a miserable situation. Having enough student loans and grant money, they had no need for gainful employment, and as difficult as their respective programs were the only thing they did need was rest. The upcoming semester would be the beginning of their last year at the university. However, those studying engineering had decided to move on to a Ph.D. program, eventually earning the title of ‘Doctor’. But once again, with the summer heat beating down on the city of Tacoma, the students had grown accustomed to sleeping naked leaving fans in the windows to keep cool. Naturally, there occurred some indiscretions as the sight of a nude feminine body proved to be too much for young men, whose bodies teemed with the hormones of arousal. And of course, the women consented. But it was all seen as recreation— commitments were obstacles to educational progress.

August had finally come to an end, and with it the beginning of the next semester. Once inside the hallowed halls of higher education, the world took its leave, replaced by the grinding pace of academia. The air within the classrooms and lecture halls was cool and clean, clearing the mind and soothing the soul. Both teachers and students could finally think without the oppression of the summer heat. When it came time for research, the six graduate students would spend as much time as possible in the

campus library, taking advantage of both its seemingly endless rows of knowledge but also its air conditioning. Occasionally, they would manage to find an unused office to spend the night in— away from the searching eyes of the library staff. Closing time did not exist for them.