Alex loved the spring semester, it was her favourite time of the academic year, after the spring vacation the weather got noticeably warmer, the trees and flowers really came into bloom, the sun seemed to make everyone just that little bit happier, that bit less stressed, year end exams were coming up which meant her classes were lighter and she could let the students dump some pressure with a few ‘free-format’ classes; ‘free-format’ Alex Bennett style meant ‘do what you freakin’ like for an hour, just don’t destroy the school while you’re at it’ . And of course in a few short weeks the three months of summer vacation would be here.<em>School’s Out forever!</em>as Alice Cooper once said, and Alex could say goodbye to her smart suits and heels for a while and wear nothing but a bikini and a wrap and slob out by the small communal pool in the back lot of her condo. It was only a tiny pool, ten metres by four and shared by the 30 apartments but it did have a small hottub in one corner and it was a great suntrap. And being the only teacher in the apartments, over July and August she often had it to herself until the late afternoon. The only thing was the upkeep was a killer add-on to the maintenance charges.<br/><br/>Still…<br/><br/>Summer, huh? Neat. Summer meant salads too, another bonus. Especially if your drive home from school every day took you past two KFCs, a MacDonalds, a Wendy’s and a Nando’s. Each drive home for Alex Bennett was like a gruelling test of willpower and discipline for a Tibetan shaman; resist the powers of the flesh. Alex Bennett wouldn’t have made a very good Tibetan shaman, unless that school of religious fervour was recruiting Brandy Alexander-loving lard asses. She rarely passed the test.<br/><br/>The week-old spring semester, the beginning of April, saw her drive onto campus and park her four year old nondescript Toyota, making her way to the teachers lounge. It was early and only a few students were straggling in.<br/><br/><strong>“Hi babe,”</strong>she called out to Jenny as she entered and dropped her bag by her desk. Well, it probably was once a desk, it now looked a lot like the municipal paper recycling centre. Sure there was a desk under there somewhere. Probably. Alex fished about in her bag a minute, then defeated in her quest called over to her colleague,<strong>“Have you got any codeine or aspirin? My head’s going to burst. I can’t believe we did it again last night. I’m getting too old for your party animal lifestyle.”</strong><br/>