"I know you're not about to pick that up without gloves." A voice shot out of nowhere, making the poor sophomore nearly jump out of his skin.

"Geez Chris, alright." He groaned, rubbing the back of his neck and reluctantly taking the gloves from her out stretched hand.
"That artifact is over four hundred years old, and I seriously don't wanna have to write the met and explain to them that good old Trinity West can't handle a little lab core examination." She scolded lightly, walking out of the lab and into the office.

"Keep an eye on Greg and the met collection. Kid makes me nervous." Christine said, walking past the student secretary sitting at the front desk.

"Aye aye captain. You out for the day?"

"Yeah, Iv got a few essays to proof before tomorow. Sarah still bringing everyone bagels in the morning?" Christine asked, hanging her lab coat in the cabinet. "Yep! Don't be late, Brian'll swipe yours."

Christine offered her a smirk. "Have you ever known me to be late?" The secretary  grinned, knowing how dedicated Christine was to her work.
"But hey, tell her to not pick any up for me, I won't be able to come in cuz of that calculus lecture in Wickman's class. I may stop by later tomorrow night."
  
The two waved their goodbyes and said their goodnights before Christine hauled herself and her bags out of the student lab and to the parking lot. 
The sight of her little Honda moped was truly a gorgeous sight after a long weekend of work. Managing the student labs on campus was not at all easy, even for a university of Trinity West's size. (Go Hawks... caw.)

She had landed the job her sophomore year and had worked her way up to head manager of artifact preservation over the course of three years. And now she was a senior with a theology minor under her belt and a major in history coming along.
Now, Trinity West was not "paradise" by anyone's standards. It was in a more rural part of Oklahoma, heavily wooded terrine, and the Oklahoma air was almost always humid.
But to Christine Davis, it was practically heaven compared to home.
Years of balancing school, five younger siblings, and a waitressing job strait outa hell... she had finally made it on her own. Besides the odd loan from mom and dad, she was practically a free adult.

For two year, she had called the Cherry Crest apartment complex home. A hike up and down two flights of stairs every morning and every evening.
The school helped to pay for the digs due to her managing position, and thankfully, it landed her only a few miles off campus, and another mile to town the other way.

Christine fumbled with her keys as she struggled to juggle her assortment of books and bags. Once she had managed to get it unlocked, she pushed it open with her foot while grabbing a firmer handle on all her things. She wasn't even in the door well when a small black cat meandered her way to the entrance, and lazily rubbed her little head against Christine's ankles.
"Molly, you really aren't any help, you know?" She scoffed, dropping her stuff on the kitchen table, and bending down to scoop up the tabby.

"How was your day, babe?" She whispered quietly, scratching Molly under the chin.

"I bet it wasn't better than mine."

------------------------

The next day was 110% not as good of a day.

Her morning lecture had droned on into the afternoon, and lunch had to be skipped in order to make it to the rest of her classes.

Finally, by 9:00 that evening, Christine had finally made it to the last item on her days to do list.

Check in on the lab.

Going into work at such a late hour wasn't something unfamiliar to her. In fact, she had even been known to sleep at the lab over night, curling up in one of the office waiting room chairs, earning judgmental looks from students the following morning.

The halls of the science building were only halfway lit as Christine made her way to the front office of the student labs. Not bothering to pick up her lab coat, she went strait for the big double doors that led into the main laboratory.
But they wouldn't budge.
She curse slightly at the little inconvenience but was silently thankful that her team was smart enough to lock up behind themselves.

Dropping her load of books and bags, she rummaged in her purse for her key lanyard. Sorting through all her keys, she couldn't find her student lab access key. "The hell?"
Furrowing her brow, she counted through the ring again, but no dice.
"That's just great." She growled, smacking the metal door in frustration. She sat down by her luggage and huffed, assessing her lack of options.

"Can I help you?" A voice broke her from her silent fit.
Christine looked up and saw one of the janitors, leaning his weight casually on a push broom just outside the office doors.

"Yes!" She exclaimed, scrambling to her feet. "You might, actually... I can't find my lab key." She explained. 
He made his way into the dimly lit office, and pulled his retractable key ring from his belt.
Getting a much better look at him up close, she could see that he was about her hight, maybe an inch or two taller, with dirty blond/ brownish hair, and a kind face.

"You work here?" He asked, still looking for the right key.
"Yeah, head of artifact preservation." She said proudly, loving the sound of her title.

"Sounds interesting. Students usually don't come in this late."

"I do, I mean... I have before. Long days, you know?"

"Don't I." He inserted the correct key and opened the door with a click.

"Hallelujah! Thanks so much." She praised lightly, hauling her books and bags up off the ground.

"No problem sugar."

"My name's Christine."

"Gabe." He extended his hand to shake her's firmly. "Well, have a goodnight." He waved as he exited the office, his eyes twinkling as he smiled his goodbye.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything except the plot and Christine.
Please enjoy.
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