Office Hours |h.s|

ninety eight

Harry

"Okay guys, great session today. As always, office hours will be held tomorrow at noon until two. Stop by if you have any questions about midterms or any of your upcoming papers. Enjoy the rest of your day."

Slowly the lecture hall empties out. My students mumble goodbyes to me before getting wrapped up in their own little conversations about parties or coursework. Once the room is pretty empty, I start to pack up my stuff so I could head out too.

Wednesday nights have become my favorites over the past few months. Since August, Maude and I have dedicated almost every Wednesday to watching an episode of whatever Netflix show we've decided on and ordering take out. We alternate who's hosting on a weekly basis, but this week is hers. As long as I get to hang out with Maude, I'm more than happy.

Things haven't moved past the friends zone, which is kind of disheartening. We've just been in this weird gray area where we're friends, but we'll flirt with each other. Of course I want us to finally make a decision on whether or not we commit to trying again, but I'll take what I can get as long as she's still in my life.

After things ended, I tried to get back into dating. I made profiles and let Mitch introduce me to people, but it never felt right. Deep down, I knew I had already met the love of my life. It just was easier for me to avoid dating altogether, just so that I wouldn't have the constant reminder that I had Maude but I fucked us up forever.

I didn't think I'd ever get another chance with her. Honestly, I had gotten used to just being alone and had accepted that I wasn't going to have that companionship or a family. It's the reason I adopted a dog. I just couldn't see myself truly being happy with anyone else, and I didn't want to put someone through that. Nobody deserves to be with someone who will always be hung up on someone else.

I didn't even want Maude to see me at the graduation. My plan was to just watch her speech, see if she was happy and moving on, and then leave. Nobody even knew I was going, or else I'm sure they would've told me it was a bad idea. But I guess it all worked out in the end since we're gonna be eating dinner on her couch tonight.

To say that Mitch and Sarah were surprised to hear I got back in touch with Maude would be an understatement. They worried about me a lot during the months right after we broke up, and I think they still worry about me now. If not more than they did three years ago since it's been months and I'm still confidently telling them that we're getting back together with nothing to show for it.

Last week was a big week for us, though. We're starting to talk about it all. She brought up that this was around the time we first started dating, and that our first trip to Maine was three years ago. We didn't spend too much time talking about it, but just the fact that she brought it up felt like a door opening.

I guess we'll see what tonight brings.

As I walk to my car, I say goodnight to any coworkers I see on my way. It's definitely been weird being back in the university setting these past few months. The last time I roamed these hallways as a professor, I was sneaking around with Maude, but it's nice to just be a professor this time around.

Having to make friends in the university was a bit intimidating at first, especially given how my last set of professor friends turned out. If I end up seeing Niall or Shea in the hallway, I'll be polite, but that friendship is over. It's a shame, but with how everything turned out, I can't say I'm too torn up about it.

Juliet left after the spring semester from what I heard. Apparently since she had already been on board to teach a bunch of courses and it was too short notice to find a replacement for her, so she just rode out her contract and left afterward. I also heard the university paid her off to never speak about why she left. Not surprising, but at least I don't have to worry about bumping into her in the halls.