Teasing Alaric

An officer approached Alaric, tapping him on the shoulder. "Excuse me, sir. Who are you?"

Alaric froze. Why were the cop here?

Before he could answer, the officer continued, "Are you a student at this university?"

Alaric shook his head. The officer frowned. "We received a report of a suspicious person hanging around the women's dorm. You'll need to come with us."

"Me? Suspicious? No, I'm not—I was just—" Alaric stammered, trying to explain.

"Save it for the station," the officer cut him off, leading Alaric downstairs and into the patrol car.

Vespera watched from her window as Alaric was taken away. She quickly tidied up her room and crawled into bed, feeling drained from her stomach flu. All she wanted now was to rest.

At the police station, the officers asked Alaric to explain himself. He sat there, utterly mortified.

How could he possibly explain this? That he came to see his girlfriend, and she called the cops on him because she was mad? Talk about losing dignity.

Alaric looked at