EXCERPT:
One
Three Years Ago
Friday, April 10
Candace Swain forced a smile as she walked out of her dorm room.
Smiling was the last thing she wanted to do, but Candace had an image to uphold.
She was going to be late for the Sigma Rho Spring Fling—the last big party before the
end-of-year crunch. Studying for finals, capstones and senior projects, stress and more stress, and—for
some of them—graduation.
The mild April weather was perfect for an outdoor gathering. Candace had led the sorority’s
social-events committee with setup, and they’d included heat lamps along the perimeter. The Mountain
View dorm—which housed all campus sororities, each with their own wing—was on the northeast
corner of campus, adjacent to the football field. The Spring Fling was held on the large lawn that framed
the north entrance, where they had the most room. It was open to all students for a five-dollar
admission, and was one of the biggest moneymakers for the sorority, more than charities. Candace had
fought for—and won—giving the profits to a rescue mission that helped people get back on their feet.
She volunteered weekly for Sunrise Center, and it had changed how she viewed herself and her future.
She now planned to be a nurse in the inner city, working for a clinic or public hospital, where people
deserved quality health care, even if they were struggling. She even considered specializing in drug and
alcohol issues, which were unfortunately prevalent among the homeless community.
She used to think of her volunteerism as penance for her failings. She wasn’t religious but had
had enough preaching from her devout grandmother to have absorbed things like guilt, penance,
sacrifice. Now, she looked forward to Tuesdays when she gave six hours of her time to those who were
far worse off than she. It reminded her to be grateful for what she had, that things could be worse.
Candace exited through the north doors and stood at the top of the short flight of stairs that led
to the main lawn. Though still early in the evening, the party was already hopping. Music played from all
corners of the yard, the din of voices and laughter mingling with a popular song. In the dusk, the
towering mountains to the north were etched in fading light. She breathed deeply. She loved everything
about Flagstaff. The green mountains filled with pine and juniper. The crisp, fresh air. The sense of
community and belonging felt so natural here, something she’d never had growing up in Colorado
Springs. With graduation on the horizon, she had been feeling a sense of loss, knowing she was going to
miss this special place.
She wasn’t close to her parents, who divorced right before she started high school and still
fought as much as they did when they were married. She desperately missed her younger sister, Chrissy,
a freshman at the University of South Carolina. She’d wanted Chrissy to come here for college, but
Chrissy was a champion swimmer and had received a full scholarship to study practically a world away.
Candace had no plans to return to Colorado Springs, but she didn’t know if she wanted to follow her
sister to the East Coast or head down to Phoenix where they had some of the best job opportunities for
what she wanted to do.
Vicky Ryan, a first year student who had aspirations of leadership, ran up to her.
“That weirdo is back,” Vicky said quietly. “Near the west steps. Just loitering there, freaking
people out. Should I call campus police?”
Candace frowned. The man Vicky was referring to was Joseph, and he wasn’t really a weirdo. He
was an alcoholic, and mostly homeless, who sometimes wandered onto campus and wouldn’t accept the
help he had been repeatedly offered. He wasn’t violent, just confused, and sometimes got lost in his own
head, largely from how alcohol had messed with his mind and body. But his problems understandably
made her sorority sisters uncomfortable. He’d twice been caught urinating against the wall outside their
dorm; both times, he’d been cited by campus police. He wasn’t supposed to be on campus at all
anymore, and Candace knew they’d arrest him if he was caught.
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