Connections of the Mind by Roseanne Dowell

front. After she registered and settled into her room, she went in search of the restaurant.
    The restaurant was just down the hall from her room. If she understood correctly, students from Morrisville College ran the whole place.
    “Students in different phases of hotel management and culinary courses work in the hotel as part of the curriculum.” The waitress filled her in.
    “So what quarter are you in?” Rebecca asked the young waitress.
    “I’m in my third quarter.”
    “Do you take summer courses, too?”
    “I don’t, but after we study here for a while, sometimes they hire us full time. I was one of the lucky ones.”
    “How does it work during the school year?”
    “Once a month, the hotel is totally run by students. Other times, there’s regular staff to help us. It’s all hands on learning.”
    “Sounds fantastic. What other courses do they offer?” She’d never heard of Morrisville College until now.
    “Besides the hospitality course, there’s Nursing, Business, Arts and Science, Computer and Info Tech, Industrial Tech, Natural Resources, and Public Safety. It has one of the best Police Science Technology programs around. It’s pretty much a two and four year college, but they do offer Short Term Certificate courses, too.”
    “Really like what?” That peaked Rebecca’s interest. Who knew, maybe she’d decide to take a course. Being a secretary was getting boring.
    “All kinds of stuff, Real Estate, Accounting, Web Design. They offer Certificates of Completion, Certificate of Concentration, Occupational Certificates, and Technical Certificates. My cousin even took a course in phlebotomy.”
    “What’s that?” This was beginning to sound better all the time.
    “Learning how to draw blood. She has a good job at the hospital now.”
    “No kidding. I always thought they were nurses. So there’s a specific course for that?”
    “Yep. Are you interested in taking a course?”
    “I might be.” The idea sounded better all the time. “Thanks, I’ll have to check it out.”
    Rebecca finished her lunch, anxious to get started. First stop the college. She wanted to learn more about these courses. Web Designing sounded particularly interesting.
    She followed the waitress’s directions to Morrisville College, touring the campus, and even talked to a few of the students. A counselor gave her some information on the web design course. She’d pretty much made up her mind to do it.
    The day seemed to fly by, but she missed Jeremy. After a late dinner, she went back to her room, curled up on the bed, and read a book she brought along. Her eyes started burning, and she kept nodding off. She looked at the clock. Only nine-thirty. What the heck, early to bed, early to rise.
     
     

Chapter Nine
     
    Rebecca woke the next morning and stretched, feeling completely rested. She couldn’t remember getting such a good night’s sleep. No dreams, no nightmares. She threw the covers aside and slid out of bed. Thank goodness she didn’t have to worry about disturbing Jeremy or his mother. She opened her suitcase and took out fresh clothes. Before she reached the shower, someone knocked on her door.
    She looked through the peephole and smiled. Jeremy. She opened the door and his arm shot out, pulled her to him, and he backed her into the room. He kicked the door shut.
    “Jeremy,” she whispered. “What are you doing here?” Her face burned at the desire running through her.
    He slipped his arms around her. “Visiting you. Looks like I caught you at a good time. A very good time. Why that oversized T-shirt turns me on, I’m not sure. But I love seeing you in it.”
    Rebecca slipped her arms around Jeremy’s neck. He kissed her. Just a wisp of a kiss at first then longer and more passionate. Her whole body responded to his kiss. Her heart felt like it would burst. Finally, she pulled away.
    “Morning,” Jeremy said when she put an arm’s length of distance between them.
    Rebecca could barely catch