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SUMMARY: The beginning of the fantastic story.

Steve's freshman year of college was for the most part a pretty normal and unremarkable experience. The red brick first year dormitories of Bowdoin College were warm and cozy as the temperature dropped. It was the final day of midterm examinations and the campus rested lazily under a thick blanket of soft white snow. In those days, to venture out into the cold meant two things, a final was due or it was meal time.

Steve awoke in his bed feeling utterly terrible. Today was the day of his last examination of the term. He had not exactly studied for his Introduction to Film Studies final and instead spent night before with the girls on the fourth floor, who were already done for the semester. Spending a good portion of the impromptu party in front of television featuring some movie of the week, Steve justified this behavior as adequate exam preparation, as he nursed a large bottle of flavored Vodka. It was not in his nature to drink that heavily, but this was exam period.

Steve could feel his stomach turn as he rustled about in his black sheeted twin size. He looked around the bedroom to see that his two other roommates were not there, and it was as he craned his neck that he realized he had a tremendous headache as well. Steve sent out an arm to his bedside table, knocking over a small lamp as he fumbled for the aspirin. Popping the lid, he poured several of the small white pills onto his chest and sifted through them for two, no three, suitable candidates. He dropped the pills into his mouth and splashed them down with some day old water from his plastic canteen, which he had recently been taking to bed to counter the choking dryness of the winter months.

The red digits on a small alarm clock read "9:07". Steve knew his exam was not until two o'clock and he was relieved to find he had plenty of time to shower and eat, the only two things that mattered at this point. After a few more minutes of writhing in agony, Steve kicked off his sheets and flopped onto the wooden floor. Collecting his towel and other toiletries, he emerged from his room and opened the door to the floor's only bathroom, which on an entirely male floor, was for men. Happy to discover that the bathroom was completely unoccupied, Steve twisted the cold metal handle of the shower. Hot water and steam hissed out of the old pipes and began to clear his stuffed sinuses.

Two hours later, the doors on the south side of Appleton dorm burst open and Steve stepped out into the blinding daylight, enhanced by its reflection on the fallen snow. Even from behind his dark sunglasses, he winced a little as he crossed the campus toward Wentworth cafeteria. Steve would have preferred the closer Moulton Union with its bland but reliable bag lunches, but the administration had decided to close one of the cafeterias since many students had already left for winter break.

Steve could barely open of the large doors of Wentworth as a cold wind pressed against it from behind him. He loved the snow and even the cold, but he could certainly do without the wind.