My Professor's Secret

05|

five

"I want you to leave this class and start on your story. Three months may sound like a lot of time, but I promise it will fly by quicker than you think," he says. "I'll see you all again next week. Come prepared because we'll be jumping straight into the basics and you'll be given a pop quiz testing what you already know. Keep a look out for emails for updates about classes or schedules. It's detrimental to your success in this class and it's your responsibility starting today. Class dismissed," Professor Thornton finalized, racing out before any of us had a chance to leave.

After class I immediately started back to my dorm before it could get any darker outside. Since summer still lingered, a slither of daylight did as well but I knew it'd be short lived eventually and walking home alone in the dark wouldn't be an option.

Taylor was already back when I made it back home. She'd been laying on her bed hanging upside down with a wooden pencil chomped between her teeth, making indents on either sides of her cheeks. Her eyes were squeezed shut while unpleasant grunts fell from her mouth.

"That bad?" I asked, setting my things down on the desk chair that was on my side. She immediately jumped up and fixed her composure on the bed.

"I didn't hear you come in," she half laughs, straightening out her hair with her finger. "The worst by the way." Taylor pries the pencil from her lips and chucks it onto the bed. "Apparently my sister has this fixation on ruining my life because today I find out that in the of philanthropy, she teacher assists for one of my classes. Not only that, but the raging hangover I had this morning nearly killed me. Definitely not my finest first day moment."

"Well, look on the bright side, you only have that class once a week so that's gotta count for something. Right?"

"Yeah, if I didn't have to see her everyday regardless," she groans, falling to her back again.

The urge to pry an answer from her about Meghan and Professor Thornton was on the tip of my tongue, but that was a can of worms I knew I didn't want to open. It wasn't my business to meddle into the lives of my professor, let alone Taylor's sister when even Taylor and I hadn't known each other that well. I let the thought slip my mind before changing out of my clothes and into my pajamas. My first day working at the Hinkhouse restaurant on campus started tomorrow and ten pm was approaching quickly.

"Oh, don't go to sleep right now," she whines once I lay in bed. "I was hoping you, Shaylynn and I could stop by the lounge for a quick bite to eat. I'm starving, plus I didn't go earlier because I thought it'd be better to go with the two of you. Lynn already bailed on us," she shrugs, subconsciously poking her bottom lip out.

I hadn't eaten since breakfast with Lynn this morning so I didn't even try denying the hunger i'd been feeling.

"Hope you're not embarrassed that I'm walking there in my pajamas. I'm too exhausted to change and then come back just to change again," I groan.

Taylor laughs and shoes me off, motioning to her attire. She wore the biggest pair of Mini Mouse house slippers that lit up every step she took, and a black slip that she'd been wearing as a nightgown. She grabbed her key from the table and slipped it into her bra and the two of us stopped by Lynn's dorm to see if she were sure about not wanting to go to the lounge, but no one answered the door, so we headed on our way.

Once we made it to the lounge, Taylor and I sat at a table in the back. For some reason I wasn't expecting to see this many people in here this late at night and my conscience slightly regretted not changing into clothing better suited, but we weren't the only ones wearing our pajamas so it eased the secondhand embarrassment trying to sway me to leave. Taylor on looked completely unbothered if she couldn't care less about the way she looked—more so about the way people would think about the way she looked. She didn't care what people would say when they saw her in those light up Mini Mouse slippers and her slip. She still walked with the same level of confidence regardless and that was something I truly admired about her.