Emily returns to her room

Holding the branch loosely in her left hand, Emily returns to her room. For some reason she feels more lively than she has in weeks, a light spring in her step as she makes her way up the three flights of stairs to her floor. On the way she bumps into Alex, a fellow student and one of her few friends on the course. Alex is almost a polar opposite of Emily, plump where Emily is gaunt, and with a lively attitude that matches her brightly dyed hair.

"Hey Em..." the other girl replies, "Coming back from your morning coffee-run?" she adds with a cheeky grin.

Emily nods, flashing a rare smile of her own to her friend, "You know it! Got to keep awake somehow! This stuff seems better than their usual swill though, really perked me up!"

"And is the stick to impale Locke through the heart before the withered old corpse rises from his tomb to harass us poor students once again?" Alex jokes as she spots the strange branch in Emily's hand.

Emily laughs softly, "Nah, found it on the bus. Not sure why I picked it up but it seemed like a good idea at the time..." she replies with a shake of her head. "Well, back to the books for me. I guess I'll see you in class?" she adds.

"For sure, later Em!"

With that, the two girls go their separate ways.