Extra Credit | Complete

01

Calista

Professor Hamilton stood at his podium in front of the seminar room, unaware that the fate of my future rested in his weathered hands.

It was Monday—everyone's least favourite day of the week. This was especially true of the seniors in any of Hamilton's classes. Not because the weekend was over and classes were back in session, but because Mondays were the day Professor Hamilton handed back our bi-weekly papers. He smiled at the group of students in front of him. It would have seemed sweet if it wasn't for the mischievous gleam in his beady eyes. Unlike the rest of us, Professor Hamilton thrived off of Mondays.

He patted the stack of papers under his arm as he addressed the class. "While there was an improvement, the majority of your papers were largely underwhelming." The elderly man paced behind his desk for a moment before continuing. "I was hoping to see connections made outside what we have discussed within these four walls, however there are only a few of you that provided that for me."

An anxious shiver ran through my spine. I had made sure to include references from other scholarly sources—as per his past feedback. Even then, I wasn't sure if it would be enough.

"If you have any questions about your mark you can come to discuss it with me after class." He waited for a moment. Then he nodded and stepped around his desk.

The rest of the seminar room was hushed as our professor began to hand out the assignments. Tension was thick in the air as he fumbled around the room. Everyone was praying for the same thing; a passing grade. Or in my case, anything above a 70.

"How do you think you did, Cali?" A voice whispered to my left.

Divya, another student from my nursing program, peered at me with large doe-like eyes. Not knowing what to say, I gave her a shrug.

I had spent multiple nights labouring over this report—as I did with anything that Hamilton assigned. After having him for a couple years in a row, I became accustomed to his exceptionally high expectations.

"How about you?" I said, "How are you feeling about this one?"

"Honestly..." she mumbled, "Not too confident."

Our conversation came to a halt as Professor Hamilton reached our end of the long desk.

"Splendid job Calista," Professor Hamilton said, placing my report face down on the table top.

I smiled as he passed. "Thank you, Professor."

It wasn't much longer until he finished handing out the rest of the papers and returned to the front of the room. The surviving time we had for class ticked by. Professor Hamilton was positioned at the podium. Even from the sixth row I could see his thick, white moustache twitch as he spoke. Professor Hamilton was part of the furniture at Fenton University. He'd been a member of the Ivy league's faculty since it first opened its doors in 1969, and had made no mention of retiring anytime soon.

And he was my one-way-ticket to the master's program of my dreams.

Walter Hamilton was one of the most highly regarded professors in the state of New York. He had numerous ground-breaking articles under his name and because of that there were a lot of people within the industry who regarded him as an expert in the field of medicine and scientific study. He was exactly the person I needed in my corner.

After his closing remarks, students began to file out of their seats.

"Wonderful lecture today, Professor." I smiled, stepping next to the podium. "I can honestly say that pathobiochemistry is not one of the most exhilarating topics, but you make it that much more enjoyable."