She stepped to the wall-mounted trash bin outside Room 104 and dropped the coffee cup into the metal liner.

Claire walked out through the automatic doors of the atrium.

The late afternoon air had a sharp bite that cut right through her thin sweater.

She kept her head down, avoiding the groups of parents standing on the pavement.

The heavy brass competitor medals hanging in the display case still flashed in her mind.

She crossed the huge university parking lot to her old Buick.

The broken heater rattled loudly inside the dashboard the moment she turned the key.