Simone and the professor reach an understanding.

The cell phone starts beeping, you turn it off and roll out of bed. Happy that the nightmares stayed wherever they go when they aren't bothering you, you hit the shower really quick and throw on some jeans and a t-shirt. Off in the kitchen, you microwave up some oatmeal really quick, grab an iced coffee from the fridge, and hit the laptop.

First, you get off a quick email to your professor. You thank him for his offered flexibility but don't think there's any way to make all three classes work and handle your personal responsibilities as they stand. You'd be open to considering alternatives but nothing seems either reasonable or doable at this point. You end it by thanking him for all his concerns. After hitting send, you concentrate on finishing breakfast and deciding how to order your afternoon.

School has to be done by 5 pm because that's when finaid closes but since you re-upped the car there's no hurry on that score. So you spend the next hour poking around at housing sites trying to decide what to do when the school withdrawal becomes official. You bookmark a few places for later and browse a few car sites. If you're going to be working regularly on a job that requires travel, it seems like a bullet that needs to be bitten. While researching vehicles, your phone rings. You look at the screen and see it is Professor Edwards. You take one last bite of oatmeal before picking it up.

"Stewart speaking, your dime."

"Hello Simone, it's Professor Edwards."

"Good morning Professor. What can I do for you?"

"I've been looking over your course load and with some substitutions, I think we can open your schedule up quite a bit. That is if you aren't bound and determined to pull out."

"It wasn't my first choice but I just don't see how I can make this work. It isn't a permanent thing, Prof. I just got myself in a bit of trouble financially and I have a plan to fix it. I think I can stabilize in a semester or two and be back."

"Well, I think I can wiggle things around a bit. All I'll need is nine hours a week commitment-wise. Five of them are very flexible but four will be Tuesday and Thursday from 8-10 pm. We could knock the flexible hours to two but that would require reducing your hours and that'd cost you a bit."

"And this will make finaid happy?"

"It should. I've done things like this before and they accepted them. If you are amendable to the changes, you could stop by my office and get the paperwork."

You open a text document on your desktop and prepare to take notes. Then you take your last bite of breakfast.

"And what exactly will I be doing these nine hours a week?"

"OK. To get the nine hours as flexibly as possible, I'd pull you out of the other two courses and keep you in mine for the first three. I teach this class four times a week. Since one of those is a virtual class, you'd only need to make it to campus three hours a month for some group work. With three physical classes, we can be very picky about when you need to be here."

You jot down a few notes.

"That sounds doable, what's up with the other six though?"

"That's where we stick you in work-study. Marsha still has a slot open for the playhouse though you'd be doing a bit more than just that to fit the six hours a week in. She's opened a game room in the back for various groups to rent during the week and the four hours on Tuesday/Thursday are ones we both are too busy to supervise. We'd been on the lookout for someone responsible to handle it rather than leaving it to a barista. That'd be your job. We can work around a rare reschedule here but it's something we need you committed to for the most part. The last two hours would be grading work and throwing together slides and stuff. Work-study also comes with a small hourly minimum wage so it won't even set you back too much financially."

You reply thoughtfully, "That sounds doable surprisingly. I assume the three-class hours will be reading and tests online?"

"Sometimes. You'll be required to record some video and submit it too. The weekly reading has to be done and if you can't make class, video will work. You could also arrange a time with me to attend one of the classes to get it done. Like I said, totally flexible. May I ask what work you've found that eats all this time?"

You giggle a bit nervously and decide it's time to evade. You pick your words carefully trying not to actually lie too blatantly.

"Well I've signed an NDA over it so I can't go into too much detail. I can tell you I did some modeling work one weekend, flew to Austin for some acting work last weekend, and did a small indy picture at a state park last night. I have to be really flexible for this stuff though, last night happened because they ended up one actress short last minute."

"That sounds very interesting, Simone. I'm glad you didn't abandon the arts entirely though I'll admit I'm very curious about what organization offers work like this."

You take a minute to assemble your thoughts. This seems the type of thing you want to keep simple so you don't trip over any lies later.

"Yeah, I'm not sure what I'm allowed to talk about here. For now, I'm not comfortable saying a lot. I can hit up my agent there and see what I can talk about later."

"Good. I'd love to hear more about it. Assuming it's above board, it sounds like a sweet gig."

"So far they haven't asked me to do anything I wasn't willing to do so it's worked. I think I can roll with your class plan, Professor. I don't think Tuesday and Thursday night will offer too many projects I'll regret missing."

"It's a plan then. You can stop by my office anytime today to get the paperwork. If you stop in at 4 pm, I'll be between classes and can talk you through it. Otherwise, I'll have it waiting with the pod receptionist and a finaid counselor can go over it with you.."

"I still have the car I rented yesterday for the indy shoot so I'll pop over sometime this afternoon and handle it. Thanks for everything, Prof! This really takes a load off my mind."

"Think nothing of it, Simone. After you turn in the paperwork, the university should update your classes in the academic portal. You'll be able to see assignments and the like there. I can tell you tonight will be your first in-person appearance though. It'll be at the coffeehouse. Show up at least a half-hour early and Marsha or I will be there to explain your duties. It's pretty boring stuff, just supervising to make sure no one roughhouses and you might be asked to set up chairs and such."

"Thanks for everything, Prof. I'll be there."

"Have a good day, Miss Stewart."

You wish him well and end the call. Things are really looking up here, you think. You dump your dishes in the sink, get another drink, and go back to web searching. The housing hunt can wait assuming the paperwork looks good but the coffeehouse work makes the car more necessary than before. Without it, you'll be really dependent on catching that last bus out so you concentrate on the car hunt. You should be able to find something without too many problems, you figure. You set your cell alarm for 3 pm in case you get too lost in the research and settle in to look at cars.