The Trench

Chapter 12 - Sherlock Ohms

Monday morning came way too soon, my alarm goes off and I roll over to snatch up my phone to silence it. I groan in anticipation and slide off the bed, cursing at the cold shock of the hardwood flooring against my bare feet. I need to buy a rug or something.

I drag myself to the bathroom and brush my teeth and run a comb through my hair. I quickly dress in my riding clothes and a cup of coffee; I'm almost out the door before I remember my backpack. I run back to my room and grab my school backpack; I can't help but to think I'm forgetting something else as I run out the door.

The weekend went by way too fast in my opinion, not that anyone wants my opinion anyways. Sunday was spent in my living room; papers scattered around me and endless sweet tea cups on the coffee table. Or what the north calls sweet tea, it's so hard to find good tea up here.

I don't have too much homework yet since we're only a few weeks in, but I like to keep up with the reading assignments and keep detailed notes. My scholarship won't allow me to let my grades down even a little bit.

Ten minutes later I pull up to the barn. The sun is still rising and hasn't warmed the earth yet, so I pull a navy blue Carhartt vest over my long sleeve white thermal shirt. I'm such a pussy when it comes to cold weather. It's only September, but in the mornings up here it's about 50 degrees. Anything below 65 for me is too cold, I prefer the summertime.

I trudge up to the barn and start flipping on lights. I'm usually the first person here in the mornings, to knock off some of my monthly board I come early on certain days and throw out hay and clean stalls. When the lights come on a few nickers come from the stalls in greeting. I walk down the isle and give nose scratches to the few horses whose owners pay to bring them in at night. Titan stays out 24/7 with most of the boarders, unless in severe weather.

I run through my morning chores quickly and it only takes about 45 minutes. The sun is finally up and I grab Titans black halter and lead and head towards the pasture gate. As soon as I whistle he comes running, I worked hard to get him to cooperate with me in this way. He came to me four years ago as a spunky six year old, full of speed and energy, and played by his own rules. Old owners deemed him crazy and I got him for a hundred bucks. After about a year of ground work, wet blankets, and determination we were finally on the same page and he is the best damn horse ever. All 16.2 hands of him. He's just about good at anything; I've sorted cattle with him, roped off of him, and we've recently been into jumping.

He got to the fence and started sticking his nose in my pockets; he knew I was too big of a push over to forget his favorite treats. I pulled out a peppermint and he inhaled it from my palm and I laughed.

"Let's get to work, buddy."

-

After putting away Titan and heading to school, I get to class with a decent amount of time before lecture starts. I spot Mae sitting in her usual seat and I take a look at what she's wearing; a dark grey sweater dress with deep purple tights and black flats. She looks adorable as she grins at me and waves.

I glance down at my attire. I'm wearing the same white shirt and navy blue vest from earlier, and the thing I was forgetting this morning? Yeah, that was my duffle bag with my change of clothes in it. So I'm still dressed in my navy blue matching breeches and black paddock boots with my hair up in a messy bun.

I shouldn't have stuck out that bad, for some reason the "equestrian look" is a trend in the fashion industry now days. However when your black boots are dusty and you have horse slobber on your shirt, it's not so fashionable anymore.

I walk through class with a few people sneaking glances at my attire and I go and sit beside Mae, today's gonna be long. She's looking at me humorously trying to hold back a smile but she fails and starts giggling.

"You're a hot mess, hun."

I swat her arm and give her a lopsided grin. "You look great though, that dress is adorable."

She beams at me and gives me a shy thank you before we hear the door shut. I look down towards the front of the class and in strides Professor Michaels. He's wearing dark wash jeans with tennis shoes today and a burgundy thermal shirt. His attire is a lot less formal than usual, and as good as he looks now I kinda miss the slacks and vests. There's something about a man in a suit that's just extremely hot.

"Good morning class." He boomed, voice traveling through the room. He had a low and husky voice most of the time when he's teaching, or when he's talking lowly.

Like when he's whispering in your ear.

Ugh...stop... I scold myself.

Leaning against the front of his desk to face the students his eyes roamed across everyone as he spoke, making brief eye contact to grab everyone's attention.

"I have a superb physics joke for you all this morning."

Since when does he tell jokes?

I glanced over at Mae who is staring at him with narrow eyes, looks like she's as suspicious as I am. He's been nothing but straight forward and formal in class, so this is new.

"What was the name of the first electricity detective?" He asked the class and bit his bottom lip holding back a laugh. I liked seeing this side of him, the side he shows off when he's outside of class, the goofy and fun Austin. The class was silent, looking between each other no one knowing the answer.

Professor Michaels stayed silent a few seconds drawing out the joke in mock suspense, a weird sparkle in his eye.

"Sherlock Ohms!" He leaned over and let out a hearty laugh that sounded truly genuine and I couldn't help but laugh with him. It was contagious. I glanced around the room and a few people chuckled and several people just rolled their eyes, pleading for class to just freaking start already.

"He must have had a good weekend." Mae says to me and arches an eyebrow, a smirk on her face. I blush slightly and break eye contact with her, not before I saw her shake her head and chuckle.

I turned my head towards the front of the class back in attention to Professor Michaels, who was staring right at me. I felt my back stiffen at the intense eye contact. He raised one eyebrow at me and gave me a small, lopsided smile before turning towards the white board. He picked up a black marker and started writing a list:

Thermodynamics

Electromagnetism

Quantum mechanics

Cosmology

Classical Mechanics

He wrote down several types of different physics before turning back towards class.

"Since I have everyone loosened up, it's time for more fun." He paced back and forth in front of the class slowly, making eye contact again. He really knew how to use body language to assert himself; which I found incredible alluring.

"We are going to be working on a project this week. It has to be Physics related, obviously. Such as sound waves, centripetal force, or any of the subjects I've listed on the board. I'll give you till the end of class today to come up with an idea, and I'll let you know if I approve or not. This is a group project, and I will be pairing you up into teams of 2."

Collective moans of dread and disappointment filled the class.