Alexis hurried away with his feet heavy. He really didn't want to go to his meeting, but he answered the phone. They knew he was available and he didn't need attention thrown his way again. He hated when people looked at him as if under a microscope. Alexis didn't need their help.

He headed back to the campus, making it there in much more time than it took for him to walk to the bakery. With each step away, his good mood turned into a quiet one as it so often did when he left the bakery. It was a real pity that he had to leave so soon. When he made it to his meeting, two people were waiting for him. They talked. He sat in a cheap plastic chair and let the conversation go past him. He offered all the right smiles and nods that were so different from how he really listened to people her cared about. They were concerned with him. He got impeccable grades, not quite top of the class material, and he swam seriously. He had friends among every group of people, but somehow the school psychiatrist still worried.

Alexis was fine though. He always had been and always would be. Tomorrow would be an even better day. He'd go back to the bakery and he'd try to spend as much as possible there. He headed back to the pool then and let himself fall into the warm water with his eyes closed.