The Movement

Chapter Four - Part 3

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Troy knocked on the wooden door.

“Dr. Cole?” he asked through the door.

“Yes, come in!” shouted a jovial voice from inside the office.

Dr. Cole, a person of large gird, sat as his oak desk, wide enough for a grown man to lie across. Large bookcases enveloped the perimeter of the room. Dr. Cole had the face of a bulldog and was in his early fifties. He stood up from his leather chair to welcome Troy.

“Troy! Nice to see you again. What brings you in with such urgency today?” he roared loudly in his friendly voice.

“Well, I can’t find any sources that fit my thesis. The most recent sources are all online and tainted by the government. There aren’t any resources that aren’t biased,” he explained.

“That’s what I told you going in to this thing, right?” said Dr. Cole. “You have to find those exclusive sources yourself, Troy. And it won’t be very easy—or safe—to do. The government has a tight grip on the news and media, and they usually catch anyone who attempts to break that grip from them.”

Troy stared blankly at Dr. Cole’s enormous head, complemented by his nearly-as-large spectacles and the beaming eyes behind them. His clean-shaven face allowed for the unpleasant visual of his layered chins, which jiggled at the order of his every syllable.

“Troy, you and I discussed the difficulty of this before I approved your topic. Not only are you going to face the problems of finding the credible sources you desire, but if the government finds out about your research project, chances are they will arrest you no questions asked. I’m sure there are some officials who already know you exist due to your stellar work as an academic. And I’m almost certain of that. But if they find out what you are trying to do, you might as well exile yourself to the hell’s of Mexico while you still can,” explained Dr. Cole.

Troy continued his blank stare at Dr. Cole. He was speechless. He did not expect or anticipate those words being spewed out from Dr. Cole’s mouth. He expected some secret advice and names to access to these clandestine sources.

After some seconds of silence, Troy finally responded.

“But….But Dr. Cole…I really need some of your help on this. I really do. I…I thi,”

“Ha!” burst out Dr. Cole in obvious amusement. His cheeks and chins jigged with much energy. “I just love doing that to you, Troy. You know what you need to do?”

“Uh, what’s that?” asked Troy.

“You need to loosen up, Troy,” said Dr. Cole with a straight smile, sipping on his large glass of soda.

Troy’s face turned beet read. He reached one of his arms behind his head and scratched the back of his scalp.

“Yeah, Dr. Cole, I think you’re right,” he replied in an unsure voice, as if he were asking a question.

“Oh, Troy. You are one of my favorite students; don’t let my nonsense interrupt that fact. Let’s back to the point of the meeting,” redirected Dr. Cole.

“Alright, thank you, Dr. Cole,” agreed Troy, erasing the shameful smile and blush from his face.

Dr. Cole looked around, stood up from his chair, and pulled the curtains over the windows behind him.

“Shut that door behind you,” he sternly demanded.

Troy had difficulty determining when Dr. Cole was being serious or when he was trying to snake him into another outburst of laughter. However, from his unusual, secretive-whispering tone, Troy knew he was now more serious than ever.