Throughout the Years (Tronnor AU)

Epilogue

Professor Gadbury sat behind his desk, reading the last page. His muscular neck straining forward in tension. I twiddled with my fingers and nervously bit my lip. His erratic eyes scan the last page.

He then set down the paper on his desk and looked off out the window in astonishment. His mouth was agape and he was shaking his head slightly. I began to shake with nervousness, hoping he gives me my extra credit. He turned back to me with his eyes still wide.

"Nicola, I've got to say, for a freshman in college and took the time to develop a whole complicated plot line, you've definitely blown this assignment out of the water. Hands down." Professor Gadbury said, smacking his hands on his desk.

I smiled ear-to-ear and jittered with excitement. After constant nights of slaving and staying up until ungodly hours, I finally got it. Constantly texting or Skyping Connor to get the facts right and googling so many different types of Youtubers finally payed off.

"Thank you, Professor!" I say excitedly. The grade would totally make up for a few quizzes and tests i totally bombed.

"The way you just tossed into the story with Mr. Graceffa's death of his father was brilliant. You also must've evolved your writing style immensely over the semester, because your few beginning chapters are child's play compared to what you accomplish in the end." Professor said. I just nodded along, listening to every word.

"Now, I do promise that you are going to get full extra credit, but do you mind if I give you a few writing critiques?" He asked, slightly cocking his head. I just nodded and said 'mhm.'

"There seems to be a few side plots unfulfilled. For example, Alfie and Zoë. We just got a brief explanation from Joe as to what happened. It just seems like sloppy writing to me. But, I do understand you needed to get the date line on this assignment. And please don't think I hate it, because I absolutely love the story. It's so complex and you can tell you put a lot of thought into it."

Professor Gadbury just went on and on about the paper. Just endlessly talking and critiquing and praising it. While it appeared I was following along with him, I was just thinking how Connor was gonna think about the story. While he did help me out, he never got to read it. I just wanna show him and watch his reactions. Just see his cute little face showing all of the emotions.

"-nd the way you showed Caspar's self esteem and confidence at the very beginning just take a plummet through this story was excellent. You could tell he was getting self conscious and wanting a relationship, but was too scared of his own identity. It was just an overall intriguing story and well-written." He said, finishing his little rant.

"I'm guessing your brother was a huge influence and source for this paper, right?" He asked me. I nodded proudly.

"I'm also guessing you reached out to Tyler, Joe, and Caspar through him as well?" He asked again. More declarative than interrogative. I just nodded again and said 'yeah.'

"Well, you picked a wonderful subject and a wonderful cast of characters." He said, slumping back in his chair and the paper thrusted towards me with his hand. He wore a smile as he kicked back.

"Thank you, Professor Gadbury." I say smiling, my hands shaking with relief and excitement.

"Have a wonderful Christmas break, Miss Franta." He said with a smile.

"You too, Professor." I say, smiling. I felt a sense of déjà vu, remembering the beginning of the book with Connor and Mr. Holt. I turn on my heels and head for the door of the classroom.

"Uh, Nicola?" I heard Professor Gadbury from his desk. I turned around,wondering what he could want.

"Tell Connor I said thanks again for letting us use his book for a class novel."