Jenni's plan was brilliant, and it was working. He'd never gotten so much done in one night. And thank god the campus library staid open till four a.m. at the end of semesters. They probably realized long before Jenni was even born that the only thing more sure than old books in a library is slackers in a university.

Jenni had known about the research project for seven weeks, and for seven weeks he had put it off. Why start it now, he had thought, then. There's plenty of time, it's only twenty pages. If I start it now, and still do only a page per day, that leaves four weeks to worry about it. Is it good enough, did I do a thorough enough job? Throughout his college career Jenni had prided himself on being able to pull off project and papers the night before they were do, and get okay grades on them to boot, all things considered.

Earlier that morning, however, even Jenni had to admit he might have put it off too long. And were had the seven weeks gone? Now it was the night before the paper was do, and he had only just started.

But it was only eight o'clock, and already Jenni had four of the fifteen sources he needed. No problem! And admittedly, he had never worked this hard, wrote this much, in any four-hour span of his life. But then again, he'd never come up with so brilliant a plan. It was simple, really. At four o'clock he had about twenty two and a half hours before the paper was due. Divide that in half, and that meant eleven hours of research, and eleven of writing. That was more than enough, he was sure. And as far as sleep was concerned, that was what the plan was all about.

Jenni flipped a few pages in the book, scribbled some more. The page was full, and barely legible, so he snagged another piece of paper from his book bag, which lay on top of the mountain of his coat, scarf, gloves, sweatshirt, and stocking cap. The clothes were already much drier than they had been, and this time no water dripped on to the paper. Jenni was wired, and took this as a good omen. Other pages of notes had ink smears on them, but it didn't really matter. He wasn't going to submit the notes, just the paper.

With a satisfied grin Jenni jotted down the three or four more bits of information he needed from the ancient tome, and closed it with a satisfied slam. A few people looked up at him from their own tables covered with books, coats, magazines, gloves, hats, and notebooks galore. Jenni wasn't the only slacker, it seemed.

He picked up a magazine that was pooled with the others on his desk. What would it be- copy out the necessary quotations, or just Xerox the stuff and use it at home? If he used the copier, that left more time for the rest of his research, but if he did it by hand, that left more money for his plan. Jenni paused, then shook his head, opening his eyes a little. Only eight o'clock and he was starting to get punchy. Well, that's what four hours in a library will do to a person.

Okay, not four consecutive hours, not four complete hours. But after looking at the number of books Jenni had looked at, Jenni was certain, anyone would start to flag. Didn't matter. Jenni had the plan. And speaking of the plan, Jenni decided to save his money and write out what he needed by hand. Besides the money, he knew that by writing it he would be that much more familiar with the information, and therefore his paper would be that much easier to write.

Jenni got what he need, made sure he also wrote down the source so that he could cite it in his paper, and closed the magazine. He stood up, put on his sweatshirt, his coat, his scarf, his hat. He slung his book bag over his shoulder, giving at the knees a bit to accommodate the weight of the six-pack inside it, and picked up the books and magazines. Make that six sources. He was practically half-way finished. He put the books in the book drop, walked down the stairs to periodicals, and returned the magazines. Back up two floors to the library entrance, which he exited. Before he stepped out of the real front doors into the cold December night, he reached into his book bag and took out a can of coke. It was warmer than he normally like them, but this wasn't for aesthetics, this was for staying awake. He popped it open and a modicum of fizz tried to escaped, but Jenni lipped the can before it could, and then, throwing his head back, he chugged half of it. A few drops ran down his neck, but although Jenni had a date, he knew Michelle Chan wouldn't mind. And neither would Paul Phoenix, King, Baek, Jun, Heihachi Mishimia, Lei Wulong, Yoshimitsu, Nina Williams, or Jack-2.

Jenni put on his gloves, belched loudly, and stepped into the fierce and bitter winds. It was already very dark outside, but Jenni knew the way and was certain he could find where he was going in a pitch-black blizzard, if he had to. Jenni had walked the path so many times he knew it better than his own back hand. He walked and sipped, grimacing against the wind when it chose to push at him, hoping, probably, to knock him over. He let all thoughts of his paper drift from his mind, for that was part of the plan. The wind screamed and did an excellent job of waking him, and that, too, was part of the plan. The sidewalk was slippery, and Jenni pictured himself slipping and falling, landing on his back, and jumping up with a sudden scream and smacking the wind with a round-house kick to the face. That would be back and left kick. Good, he was already thinking about the game.

By the time he arrived at the campus activity center his coke was already finished and Jenni was itching to fight. He chucked the can into a recycling container, and began to peel off his garments as he walked towards the elevator. It was difficult to manage with his book bag slung over his shoulder, and even more so since the darned thing was so heavy. Jenni pushed the down button on the elevator, which immediately opened, and took that as a good omen, too. He pressed "B" and set down his bag while the car descended, finishing his strip job.

The plan was simple, yet elegant, like most plans were. He had to do a lot of research, right? He had to be up all night to do it, right? Well, why not just find something that would keep him awake? Not just a stimulus, but also an incentive. Caffeine only worked until about one a.m. and he knew he was in for more than that. So he decided that he would go to the library, research a few sources, then trek over to the campus activity center, to the arcade, and play video games. Walking through the winter night would wake him up, caffeine shots would help, and the games would ensure that he didn't get fed up with the research and decide to just take an F. Perseverance was the key, and that's what video games taught a person: you only get three lives, so don't waste your quarter by giving up early.

Actually, video games wasn't part of the plan, just video game. Tekken 2, a fighting game; it was his current obsession and not a little bit the reason he had put off the paper so long in the first place. After all, why spend hours cooped up in a library when the paper isn't due for another two weeks, and also there's all those cool secret moves to discover before the other addicts on campus found them? It wasn't a question of priority,it was a question of arrangement: if he wanted to do the paper first, he would be behind everyone else, and besides, there was no reason to finish it early. Ironic, he decided, that Tekken 2 was helping him finish what it had kept him from starting.

The elevator stopped moving and for what seemed like forever just sat there before slowly opening the doors. Jenni all but bolted out of the car and ran to the doors of the arcade. Inside, he plopped his clothes and bag next to a fake tree, in easy sight of the game, and approached. Someone else was playing, so Jenni took the time to review some of his moves. Usually he played Marshall Law, just because that was the first fighter he had ever played, and Jenni was loyal. Also, there was a bit of superstition involved. And then there was the fact that Law was the fastest, if not the most powerful fighter on the game. Speed was a valuable commodity in video games.

The guy who was playing had a bald head, and his skin looked sickly green under the subdued fluorescents of the arcade. Jenni watched him play over his shoulder. He was playing Marshall law, too. According to the stats screen at the end of every game, most people, in fact, played Marshall Law. That had given Jenni a brief flash of concern when he'd found it out. He knew it was more cool to do your own thing, to not follow the crowd, let it influence you. That's why so many cool people check out what's popular, and then engage themselves in something else. Jenni had finally rationalized it by deciding to do the cool people one better, and to not do what they do, to not let them influence him. It took all of three seconds to decide and for the most part, Jenni did lend himself to what was currently cool, fashionable, hip, or in the now. Video games were a reflection of this: most "mature" college kids considered video games "childish"; Jenni considered those people "snobs."

The guy in front of Jenni wasn't doing a very good job. He had a problem with his Rave War Combo, which he executed without realizing his opponent was already crouched beneath it! Five punches, six if you knew the right button combination, wasted. And then all that recovery time, and so close to the opponents, it was no problem for them to execute a special throw. Jenni watched it happen one, two, three times before the guy was finally K.O'd. What a loser. Jenni waited patiently. And there it was, Jenni noticed, final proof of the guys loserness. He was getting beat by Jun, and only on the second stage. Jenni considered it a personal affront if he even got HIT on the second stage, especially by Jun. Sure, she snapped punches and kick-combos almost as fast as Marshall Law himself, but they were all so blockable. Crouch, crouch dammit! No, don't try the Dragon Dive now, see how your knee just comes up, and nothing happens? No, NO! You fool, you should have seen that Middle Screw Punch coming from a mile away. Two wasted tokens.

The guy stared at the "Continue?" countdown until it got to five, then walked away. Jenni stepped up, fishing two tokens out of his pocket while tapping the right punch button, making the countdown count down faster. When it was done he inserted his credits and pushed the "1P" button. The character selection screen appeared, and he moved the joystick to the right a few times, choosing Law. He hit right punch again, starting the game.

First fight: Law versus King, a muscle bound guy in overalls with a tiger's-head mask. Good, that meant he wouldn't face King on a later, harder fight. The game voice said, "begin!" and Jenni/Law stepped forward, tapping left punch and left kick at the same time. Dragon Dive. Law screamed and ran up King's chest, jumping high into the air, while King arched back from the steps. Law came down with a crushing slam, and quickly rolled off his opponent. Before King could get up, Jenni crouched down and hit the left kick button, hitting King twice more before he rolled on to his back and shot up, feet first. But Jenni was expecting the Kip, and crouched beneath it. As King fell back to the floor, Jenni hit left and right kick at the same time, then left kick: two flip kicks. Law Did a back flip, kicking hard with his left foot, twice in a row. King was knocked well back. Jenni backed up, waiting for King to get up. What next? Rave War Combo? Spinning Kick Combo? Jenni decided on a little trick he learned while watching someone play Lei Wulong, who could lay down whenever he wanted to. While King was still far away, Jenni pulled the joystick down, the flicked it up while pressing left and right kick. Law jumped high in the air, and as he came down, did a back flip, kicking at about face level. Of course the kick missed, but the hole point was that the move put Law on his back. King started to run forward for a stomp, and Jenni wiggled the joystick while pressing right kick- Law rolled over quickly and executed an unblocked roundhouse. K.O! Perfect.

So much for the first fight. Each match went best of three. "Begin" was sounded and Jenni/Law stepped in, three left punches and two right punches. Then he flipped back before King could put him in a hold. King stepped towards him, and Law through a left kick, spun around with his right, then again with his left. King fell back, and Law stepped forward with a shin kick that knocked King back some more. King rolled over side ways, dodging Law's second shin kick, then whirled his hand for Flying Cross Chop. But Law blocked it and while King recovered, Law stepped in and put him in a head with his left arm. He slowly raised his left arm, curling his hand into a fist and, his forearm shaking form the buildup of ka before he slammed it into King's face. King fell back, and Law stepped in with a shin kick. K.O. Perfect.

Jenni stood back from the machine, watching the instant replay of his knock-out maneuver, wiping his hands on his jeans. It was a sweaty game, to say the least. He popped his neck to one side, almost as if it was him in there, and waited for the next fight.

Law versus Nina. Damn, he was hoping she would be third or fourth. She was a little to easy to waste the second round fight. Generally, Jenni liked it when King or Lei Wulong were in the first few rounds, because on the later fights they were almost impossible to even touch.

So he decided to make the best of it. He practiced a few of the more difficult, but more devastating moves. Nina blocked a few, and even returned the favor on a few punches and a Scissor Leg Takedown. Jenni considered it a moral defeat if Nina damaged him at all in the first three rounds, but he was practicing. He finished her off with the Rave War Combo, and watched the instant replay. Whoopee.

The next round he went as fast as he could. Dragon Dive, Shin Kick, Two Flipkicks, Shin Kick, Spinning Kick Combo, Chastisement Punch. K.O., perfect, beating Nina was easier than beating his meat.

Third Match. Law versus Yoshimitsu. This was going to be easy. Jenni did a couple throws, a couple punches, a couple kicks. Yoshimitsu tried a sword slash, and even managed to get in a Falling Tree Kick. No big deal. Law finished him off easily. Second fight, he did the same. Jenni was on tonight, and it was no wonder. Usually he limited himself to one or two games a day, maybe more on the weekend. This was probably the most he had played in one day, counting the three games before he had gone to the library, and the three each twice in between library stints. He had this game down cold.

That is, until the fourth fight. Paul Phoenix. Jenni HATED Paul, even in the beginning rounds. It wasn't so much his fighting ability as it was his attitude. Whomever had programmed the face on Paul must have been one arrogant son of a bitch. Jenni tried a a few Spinning Kick Combo's, but Paul just ducked under them. Jenni waited for him to stand up, and tried the Chastisement Punch. That worked. Now a Shin Kick while he was down. Missed. Paul got up, but fast, and hit Jenni in the midsection with an unblockable. Then he hit him again, and again. It was all over only a few seconds later. "YOU LOSE" Came up on the screen, and then "PLAY AGAIN?" You're damn right. Jenni slipped two tokens in, fast, but didn't bother continuing. He could get where he had before easily, and it was fun to smack them around with perfect rounds.

Law jumped up, easily ten feet into the air, and did a backflip kick which smacked a first-round Paul in the face, sending a jolt of adrenalin through Jenni's chest, since the move was so rarely executable and this time it was against that asshole. Then, POW- the screen went blank, and all the lights in the arcade went out. The silence was deafening, and then Jenni could make out the dry wash of snow falling on the windows. Damn it. He stood at the machine for a moment, waiting for the power. Nothing. Finally he got fed up. Maybe this, too, after everything else, was a sign, to go back and do some more research. He was jazzed anyway- and wasn't that the point?

He stumbled over to where his coat had been, and bumped into something soft and sweet smelling, which let out a yelp. "Aw geez, I'm sorry. Are you okay?"

A voice giggled, nervously. "Yeah, don't worry about it- it's dark."

"Yeah. I was just looking for my coat. I got to get to the library."

"Is this it?" The voice pushed something into his chest, and Jenni recognized the smell of it.

"Thanks. is there a bag there too?"

"I think so. Why do you have to go to the library?" The voice was kind, but edged with just a touch of fear in the dark. Maybe she was a freshman.

"Research," Jenni replied. "All due tomorrow."

"Umm, can I go with you? I don't want to hang out in here if there's no power."

Jenni shrugged, then grinned when he realized she couldn't see it. "Yeah, sure, okay."

Outside, the campus was as black as a tomb, and the girl, now muffled under a coat and a scarf and a thick woolen hat, grabbed his hand. Staring out at the utter nothingness of the freezing night, Jenni was glad, and squeezed her hand back. Pulling her behind him, he set out. First they approached the street, but the sidewalk they were on was at least seven feet above it, and they needed to find the stairs. They almost did, But Jenni misjudged and pulled the girl down the embankment after him, falling. At the bottom she let out a big "woof!" and started laughing. "I think I'm lost already!" she yelled in the wind.

"Don't worry- we're on Sunflower, about fifty feet from the museum." Now, should they trudge up the street, around Markham hall, and over to the library, or take the shortcut through the trees behind the museum, and up the hill to the back of the library? The streets would be easier, but the shortcut would be shorter, and that meant less cold. "Let's go through the park. I think it'll be faster."

"You're not some kind of serial killer, right?" She yelled, giggling again in the fierce howling wind.

"It was your idea, lady. And I could just do it right here, if I was gonna."

She laughed louder, and Jenni found that he was staying warm, somehow.

They made it across the street, and stumbled down some steps into the park, running into a car, and Jenni realized the wind was making them veer to the right. But he also knew directly north of the lot was the path they wanted, so he was glad they'd done it. "Do you live on campus?" Jenni yelled as he pulled her along.

"Sort of. Why do you ask?"

"Just wondering if you have a car. What do you mean by sort-"

Wham. Jenni smacked his head into a tree and fell over.

"Oh my gosh, are you okay?"

Jenni had no idea what this girl looked like, but he was starting to hope she was really pretty. The wind iced the pain out of his face, and he got up with her help. "I'm fine. I thought I'd smack into the trees so you don't do it yourself."

"My hero!" she said, and Jenni thought, not sarcastically.

They stumbled onward, and Jenni felt he could tell when their progress was impeded not by the wind as much as the hill. Then they fell into another street, which was perfect. But the next part would be tricky- they would have to follow the street for a few hundred feet, then hit the library dead in the center. Otherwise, they wouldn't know which side they were on, and end up circling it.

Jenni moved by instinct. "What do you have to do at the library," he yelled, trying to make out a bush in the black."

"What?" she yelled back. He thought he might be able to smell her perfume or shampoo even through the wind. It was very nice.

"What are you doing at the library?" he yelled again. There was the bush.

"I'm supposed to meet some people there."

Jenni felt a small pain in his stomach. Probably her boyfriend. Oh well- at least they had this adventure together. "Anybody I know?" he said, trying to make a joke out of it.

"I don't know," she said, laughing again.

Jenni stopped, and leaned back, looking up. His navigation had been perfect, for he could just make out the false doors which towered three stories up the back of the library. Legend had it that the building had been built to face campus, but that campus had developed the other way, and so they had remodeled the back to look like a front. That;'s why the entrance was on the first floor. But they still let people enter through the old front,now the back.

The windows were completely black, but at least when the power came on he'd be able to leap into his research. Until then, maybe he could just talk to. "Hey, what's your name, anyway?"

"Are we here?" she said, pulling his arm. She opened the door and yanked him inside.

The wind howled at them through the door as it shut, and then all was silent. He could hear the girl starting to divest herself of her garments, and he started to do likewise, until he remembered that the if the power was out, the heat was probably off. "You might want to keep those on- I think the heat is off."

"Are you kidding? she said, as he heard her coat hit the floor. "I about sweated to death out there.

Jenni had to agree, and unzipped his coat. He checked his indiglowatch. "That can't be right.

"What?" the girls voice was moving toward him, as if she had started to walk away.

"My watch says it's ten thirty. No way we were out there for two hours." Still looking at his wrist, he pulled off his mittens, scarf, coat, and dropped his bag. He felt hot, too, and his head was swimming slightly.

"No wonder I'm so tired," she said, and grabbed his hand again. Her hand was soft but strong, and warm, and he followed. "Wait a second, our stuff-"

"We'll get it when the lights turn on." She pulled him towards what he thought was the door to the stacks, and had to shake his head a few times to realize that this was odd. "Where are we going?"

"This used to be where they stored war maps for the government. It's got a generator in the basement, and some of the study rooms are connected to it. I'll bet those lights are on.

"Okay." They hit a door, and Jenni could smell the mustiness of the books. He led out a hand to keep from hitting a shelf, but wound up putting his hand on her head. "Sorry about that." Her hair was soft, curly, and for no reason he could figure, he guessed it to be blonde. She just giggled. Actually, he was looking forward to seeing what her face looked like.

"Is that where you were going to meet your friends?" he asked.

"Yes." She stopped moving, and backed up against him. "Okay, here's the stairs, You go first." She let go of his hand.

Jenni felt around for the hand rail, and started down. He counted steps, and when he got to thirteen, the preferred number for institutions everywhere, stepped forward- into air. "Whoa!"

"Are you okay?" he voice said from the top.

"Yeah, I just misjudged where the bottom was."

"Be careful, Jenni."

"Okay." "Had he mentioned his name? He shook his head again and continued down, and eventually stubbed his toe when there were no more steps. "Alright, I made it. I had no idea there were study rooms down-"

He heard her yelp from way above, and then heard a soft thumping, shuffling sound which grew louder and faster as it came down the stairs. "What the hell-" he started to shout, and then was knocked over as she fell into him. Before he even hit the floor he was up, groping in the dark for her. "Oh my god, are you okay, did you, fall, oh geeze, what happened-"

But she found him first. "Ow, that was crazy" she said, embracing him, knocking him over again. she laughed and let go and sat back,

"Are you allright? Did you break anything, I mean Jesus."

"No, No, I'm okay, just a little shook up. But look- the generator isn't on."

It was, indeed, still dark down where they were. "is it the whole floor, or just the study rooms?"

"It's just the study room's but they're right there," she said, then giggled again. "Except you can't see me pointing, can you?"

He laughed too. "No, I guess not. uh. So what do we do now?"

"I was going to ask you that."

"Oh." He was silent for a minute. "I guess we wait. At least it's not too cold."

"Yeah, that's true."

They were quite for a minute, sitting on the floor, as Jenni thought about his paper. "Yeah, I got that project to do. Probably get an F if the power doesn't come back."

"Can't you tell your professor what happened?"

"I could, but she assigned it seven weeks ago, so."

"Oh no!"

Jenni chuckled. "Yeah. So, what are you studying here, uh. what's your name? I never-" Suddenly, the lights came on, making Jenni's heart skip a bit and his eyes go white for a second in the glare. And there was no one in front of him.

"What the-" he jumped to his feet and looked around. "Hello? Hello?" he yelled

He looked around. There weren't any study rooms nearby; he was in some kind of old boilerroom, surrounded by pipes and squat gray machinery. He ran up the stairs, and got to a door at the top in way fewer steps than he remembered. Opening this door revealed the bottom floor of the stacks, and he made his way to the back door, where he found his book bag and his coat. But nothing else.

"Hey, how did you-" a voice made him jump around. It was one of the librarians, a middle aged guy with thick glasses.

"Did you see a girl go by here? Curly hair, maybe picked up a coat that was laying here?"

"No. We closed about an hour ago."

What? Jenni checked his watch "Jesus, it's 5 a.m!"

"I know. How did you get in?"

Jenni pointed. "The back door." He looked over, and saw the chains they use to secure the security grate.

The guy rolled his eyes. "Well, I'll have to escort you out the front. Come on." Jenni grabbed his clothes and they headed for the stairs.

When he got his paper back, the professor had written "Not bad. Nice tight focus, good analysis. Could use a few more sources. Remember to check the prompt." It was for his sociology class, a paper on the uses of folk stories in popular conception and myth making. He got a B-.