I felt the sudden skip in my heart which signaled danger, and when I turned I saw the light green uniform of a proctor in the vague street light. My eyes were still blurred with tears. I couldn't make out his face.
"I'm sorry, but I'll have to ask you a few questions."
Shielding my face from the light, I tried to make my voice calm. I hoped my homesick tears were hidden, that my cheeks wouldn't glisten in the light. I wanted very badly for him not to see I had been crying.
"Yes?"
"I'll have to know why you're out on the streets at this time of the morning," the proctor said. "There's a curfew, you know. Unless you can show cause...."
Oh God; I had completely forgotten the city's curfew!
"I—I'm sorry, Officer. I'm new to the city and I didn't realize...."
"You're transient? Where are you staying?"
"The Statler Dormitory for Women," I answered meekly.
"And why are you out at this hour, so far from the dorm? That's down near 34th Street, almost thirty blocks south."