Her mother, a lifelong volunteer at every soup kitchen in the community and a big advocate for helping people, had always taught her to look out for others, so Emily figured it would be . . . doable, to not be a Villain. She just had to be a bit proactive about it.

Before she knew it, class was in session and she blissfully let herself forget about her Villainous woes.

Most of the lesson was more about credits, having books, when and how to hand in essays and homework, and other orientation things. The professor did give a nice speech, though, and Emily couldn’t say that she didn’t enjoy it.

There were going to be some modules later in the year where people would be working in small groups, but she figured she could handle that. She had made it through group projects in high school, and now her partners would be adults, which made everything a bit better. She hoped.

And then the bell rang, and class was over.

Emily waited until the big rush was out of the class before packing up her laptop and things into her bag. If this was how every class went, then she thought she might enjoy her time here. Maybe she would even make a friend.

Or maybe she was getting ahead of herself.

The building where Literature 101 was held was an old thing, one of the original stone edifices that had withstood the test of time. It was near the center of the campus along with most of the other stately houses of learning. For all that they were old, they had a sort of timeless elegance to them. Emily could imagine gentlemen with top hats walking down the same hallowed halls as her.

Stepping out into the bright late-afternoon sun was nice. There were a lot of people around, but they were all busy with their own things. Emily kept her head down, didn’t meet anyone’s eyes, and just enjoyed the fresh air and sunshine as she started to make her way back home.

“Heya, Boss.”

Emily startled, then turned around to see the person who had addressed her.

Part of her knew who it was even before she locked onto the short chubby form of Teddy, standing in the middle of the path in her shorts and T-shirt and with poorly tied boots on as if she had every right to be there.

“W-what are you doing here?” Emily said. She slapped a hand over her mouth. Had anyone heard her?

She felt herself sinking as a few looks turned her way. She had to get out of the entryway, or off campus entirely. What if someone noticed Teddy’s ears? They didn’t stick out that much, and they might be confused for some sort of toy, but Emily couldn’t afford the risk.