First Impression II: At Second Glance

The last chapter of First Impression 1 so you guys can remember where we left off :)
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First Impression I

Chapter Twenty-Seven - An Ordinary Day (EDITED)

Audrey beamed cheerily as Edmund placed two cups of coffee and a plate of chocolate éclairs on the coffee table between them. While reading up on old bearded men who thought too much was not every girl's dream, this definitely was! Audrey handed Edmund her essay on Socrates' Apology with both hands, her eyes shining.

Edmund raised an eyebrow but looked over the essay anyway. Audrey crossed her legs and swung her foot impatiently, while eyeing one of the éclairs with suspicion. It looked delicious but, all the cream and milk and whatnot… She wrinkled her nose, one or a couple wouldn’t hurt. Besides it would be rude not to try anything. Decision made, she popped one into her mouth. Mmm, absolutely heavenly. She could so get used to this. But as she advanced onto her second éclair, an uneasy thought struck her. Edmund might ask some questions about the essay and how would she answer then? But he hadn’t said anything about an oral examination, only an essay. Audrey snuck a glance at him, what would he do next?

Edmund had a very clear idea of how to proceed subsequently. Phase one was complete and Audrey had been somewhat discouraged by it though not enough to give him up. He had to admit she was persistent. It was time for phase two now. He put the essay aside and turned to Audrey, "Let's discuss more about Socrates and his ideas, shall we?"

Uh oh. This was not what she had bargained for.

"So, what do you feel about Socrates' opinion on death?" Edmund asked, casually leaning in his chair, tapping his fingers on the armrest.

"Er," Audrey began, squirming uncomfortably. They said love was like a rose, beautiful but thorny. This particular rose was starting to have far too many thorns for her liking.

"What is your take on the circumstances of the birth of this work and of Plato's works?" Edmund continued coolly, apparently not noticing Audrey’s growing embarrassment.

"Ahh..." Her only thought was that she hated old bearded philosophical men as much as she hated thorns.

Edmund pressed on with more questions, relentless, until Audrey’s head felt like a ball of wool that the cat played with - a muddled mess. God, she felt worse than after a math exam. She would do anything, anything for this to be over soon –

"Did you use the assistance of a ghostwriter?"

Though she didn’t want it to end quite this way.

Audrey started - was that guy a mind reader? No, she shook her head firmly, trying to clear it, this was no Twilight movie. And she had been pretty obvious since she wasn’t able to answer most of his questions anyway...

Audrey averted her eyes, her cheeks gradually gaining colour. This was so incredibly totally utterly embarrassing. Most maddening of all, Edmund seemed perfectly calm and unfazed.