The classroom was bigger then Simon had thought it would be. He walked in the door and down a flight of stair about halfway. He stepped into the row of seats and sat down in a chair after taking his messenger bag off and setting it on the floor. Simon looked around at the bare walls and the stage at the front of the room. Off to the left side of the stage was a desk with papers scattered all over it. Behind the desk was a podium and a cart with an over head projector. This wasn't that different from high school Simon thought as the room filled with students.

Simon had settled on attending the College of Southern Idaho because his parents needed him to stick around after high school. He had planned on attending a college on the east coast to get away from the little town he was raised in. For a time he had considered San Diego State because it was the top party school in the west but had given that up because it was too close. Over his senior year he set his sights on Virgina, Florida, and Penn State. One by one rejection letters came and Simon was forced to look at smaller schools where he could be accepted on his average transcript. In late February Simon's dad was in an auto accident and his dream of getting out of town came to a crashing halt. He knew that it was better for him to stay and help his mother but he longed to get out of Wendell Idaho which he had grown to hate since moving there three years prior.

Simon watched as the class filled up with students ranging in age. The thing about a community college is that there are people from every generation in the class. He noticed the freshman because they all looked a little like him. They wore new clothes and had new bags to carry their books in. They all seemed a little nervous, not knowing quite what to expect. Then there were the kids that had been to college for a semester or two. The guys came in with a notebook, a pen and an I don't care attitude as they slumped in their chairs waiting for class to start. They all seemed to wear the same thing; baggy shorts, flip flops, and a wrinkled shirt that looked like they had worn it for a couple of days. The girls were dressed nicely but you could tell that there clothes weren't new. They came in with friends and sat together talking about other classes that they were taking.

The group then took an odd turn, there were several middle aged people sprinkled around the room sitting alone. This set of people was funny to Simon since this was Western Civ 101. This was an entry level class yet there were some old people in it. At the very bottom of the classroom was an old lady who looked to be in her 90's. She sat quietly with no one sitting next to her. Simon thought that maybe she was here to review the teacher but saw that she had the Western Civ book for this class. This was another thing that irritated Simon about going to CSI, it seemed like a glorified high school with older adults and grandparents attending. He wanted to be at a university where all of the students were kids, but no he had to stay in Idaho and make the 30 minute drive to Twin Falls every day to go to school.

Simon sat there stewing about the idea as the course instructor walked in a side door on the stage and walked over to the desk. He was an older gentleman probably mid 60's and moved across the stage with ease. He kind of surprised Simon at first glance but he didn't know why. It wasn't like Simon was thinking he would have Indiana Jones as his history professor but he wasn't expecting an older teacher either. Simon had seen a lot of young teachers at freshman orientation and had thought at that time that professors probably come to smaller institutions to prepare for big universities. Why would anyone stay at a junior college for their entire career? The professor walked back to the middle of the stage and introduced himself as Dr. Howard and then walked off the left side of the stage and started up the stairs handing out the syllabus. Simon took one when the instructor handed a stack to him and passed the rest on. He wasn't happy to be here and he wasn't sure what he was going to get out of this small college. He dreamed of bigger and better things then Idaho and this small junior college. He wanted some excitement, he wanted something to happen.