My Professor's Secret

02|

two

Taylor and I spent the rest of that evening trying to properly settle into our room together before exhaustion had the chance to tire both of us out for the night. The moment I could finally plop down on the bed was quite possibly the best feeling I had felt all day. I was sore. Everywhere.

My first lecture was tomorrow, paired with the exhaustion today left, and sleep seemed to be the only reasonable thing left to do. Taylor's schedule on the other hand was completely different than mine—not to mention she still had to attend orientation in the morning.

Because all of my classes were later in the day, I intended using the start of it to familiarize myself with the campus without having to wake up extremely early. That was probably the most exciting thing college had to offer someone like me.

Morning seemed to arrive quicker than I hoped. The sound of Taylor shuffling out of the dorm woke me before my alarm clock got the chance. She apologized for all the commotion before slipping out of the door and leaving me behind.

Having to share a space with someone else would definitely take some getting used to, but I appreciated the fact that Taylor always tried her best to make things less awkward between us, and in a way, I mentally thanked her for diffusing the anxiety I built around the first conversation after our first night rooming together.

There wasn't much left for me to do on my side of the dorm today thanks to last night's willpower, so i figured scoping the place out would only benefit me in the long run. Besides the dorm, I made sure everything else was exactly the way it needed to be weeks in advance of this day. I might have even been a little over prepared, but that was fine.

After readying myself for the day, I left to go roam the campus. The sidewalks were scattered with a bunch of other students attentively strolling around, probably with the same intent as me.

According to the campus map, the dining hall was on the opposite end of my dormitory. It'd be beneficial only if I intended on walking across campus for food. My best option was to get it from the Burt's Breakfast & Burgers—a food joint way closer than the dining hall.

Most of my morning was spent strategically planning the best route from my dorm to each of my classes. I made a miniature map of my own with all the surrounding areas, noting every place in a mile radius of my dorm, compared it to the distance between all my lectures to make sure I'd never be late. Planning was something I could always count on. I was good at it and I knew I would never mess up once I had everything chronologically written into place and had a chance to get used to this new routine. The day seemed to completely evaporate underneath me and I realized I hadn't even talked to my Dad.

"Dad?"

"Hey, champ," he says, sounding more down than I think he wanted to. "How's it going?"

"It's going great so far. My roommate and I seem to be getting along well. I start my first lesson in two hours and figured I give you a call. I kinda missed you already. You taken care of yourself old man? I know it's only been a day or whatever, but I know you dad. You're probably still in your bathrobe moping around the house."

The line stayed silent for a moment. Dad would never admit to it, but he was strictly a family man now. Marriage and children pulled him from a world of drugs, booze, and motorcycles. His whole life revolved around the sole fact of us being okay, and without us he wasn't himself. But I guess life was meant to abnormal without the people you spent your life dedicated to protecting.