The Road Less Traveled (Prof./Student)

Chapter 56 - For us

After we had stopped at his place to 'finish what we had started', he drove me back to my apartment to drop me off. 

We agreed that it would be best if we could work on our own, without any distractions or temptations. 

So he returned to his place, leaving me alone with a last kiss and the promise that he would write the best text he had ever written. Okay, he didn't say it like that. He said that he would try his best. But despite the fact that even a plain note, which he put no second thought into, sounded brilliant, I saw the determination in his eyes. 

He was going to fight for us. Just like I did with Mr Collins. And I had no doubt, if he would have been in my position, he would have done the same. Probably with a different strategy, but the end result would have been the same. He would have convinced him. 

But now I had done it, which resulted in him being even more determined to give his all. 

He would use one of the weapons, that he controlled like no one else I've met before. I could already see it in front of my eyes. How the audience would be amazed, thrilled, devastated or however he wanted them to feel. 

He would use a tool, whose magic and power are long forgotten. 

He would use his words. 

And his words...god, they were like heaven on earth, but not in the way you expected. They were better. 

So I had not a single doubt that his speech wouldn't be fantastic. Instead, I doubted my own wouldn't.

What do you tell a bunch of professors, highly intelligent people from young to old, that would convince them to tolerate a former student-teacher relationship?  

I only had a small number as my professors in the last years. The majority, I didn't know personally. I couldn't estimate what they liked, how they thought, what they would think. 

Would an emotional speech about our relationship and how strong our love is do the job?
Or should it be a speech with a more objective contrast, strictly highlighting arguments? 

I didn't know. And it was freaking me out. 

Because we only had this one chance. I couldn't mess it up. If only his speech would be brilliant, it wouldn't be enough. We both had to convince them. 

I couldn't mess it up. 

So the minute I entered the apartment, I started working. Walking around the apartment like crazy, I thought about what I wanted to say and which words, which structure would deliver it best. 

I was leaving nothing to chance.

Julie stuck around for hours, presenting a few ideas while at the same time, trying not to disturb me. But as the clock indicated that it was almost 6 pm, she knocked on my door, saying that she would go on a date with Kyle. 

With a smile and a thumbs up I showed here how happy I was for her and she left me alone so that I could continue writing on my speech. 

Focused on the task, I forgot everything around me. The next time I looked up, it was dark outside, the sun already gone down. With a sigh, I started reading my speech again. Checking for mistakes, better words and if the content was comprehensible and convincing, my eyes went from one line to the next. I already knew every word by heart. Yet, I longed for perfection, making small changes here and then before I was finally happy with the result, simply reading it over and over again, not knowing when I'd be able to stop. 

A sudden knock on the apartment door made me look up. Julie. Why couldn't she just use her key? Gosh, she was always so lazy.

The knock erupted again but I was not going to stand up now. I was in the midst of working. So instead, I simply shouted: