My dark Professor

17

Lily

"Lily, did you submit the assignment?"

I looked up from the book I was reading.

It was James. He had a flustered look on him as he waited for me to respond.

"Yes, why?" I ask.

He rubs his head sheepishly. "Can I see? I haven't done mine yet because I don't understand the content."

"Sure."  I open my backpack and take out the assignment. I hand it to him, but he doesn't take it. Instead, he takes the sit beside me.

We were in the library. I was sitting at a huge study table. Many seats were available, so I don't know why he took the one closest to me. James and I aren't friends. We don't say anything to each other apart from the occasional hello. I don't mind him interrupting my reading or asking to see my assignment. No. What I minded was the look in his eyes. It was creeping me out.

He takes the paper from my outstretched hand.

"Thanks, Lily."

I nod in reply.

He gives the paper a once over. "Damn, Lily, you're so smart."

I smile.

"How did you write this? Did you, like, look it up online or something?"

I shake my head. "No, but I did do some research to understand it better. I suggest you do the same."

He leans forward. "Can you explain this paragraph?"

I look at the paragraph he was pointing at. I move forward to get a better look at it.

"Oh yeah, that one. It talks about the-"

"You're so pretty," he whispers, interrupting me. "How did I never notice how pretty you are?"

His eyes grew hooded as he talked.

I hadn't realized we were so close to each other. Our heads were touching.

Immediately I move back and put some space between us.

I clear my throat. "Um, thanks."

"Pretty and smart."

I squirm in my seat.

"Thanks," I say again.

He continues to stare at me.

He raises his hand towards my face, but I move back in time before he makes contact.

"James! What are you doing?" I rise from my seat in alarm.  What the heck just happened?

"Sorry." He puts his hand up in surrender.

My voice must have been loud because we earned several stares our way.

"Is there a problem here?"

My heart skips a bit. No, it skips more than a bit. It skips as if it wants to fly out of my chest.

My mind is filled with flashbacks. Me, sprawled in bed. Me, crying out. Him, quieting me. Him, assuring me and apologizes.

I still don't know why he apologized for putting me on cloud nine. Last night that was exactly where he took me, cloud nine.

My professor took me to cloud nine and apologized for it.

He told me he wasn't a normal man and his wants weren't normal. I thought he was joking. I thought he was scaring me away from him. So I giggled. Oh, my giggle soon turned into sobs. Not sobs of pain, no, the opposite.