My Professor

19. Aftermath

The next morning my head was killing me, but I still had to drag myself out of bed and get to class. I took some Tylenol and drank a glass of water on my way out of the door. I had to get to Chemistry - I wouldn't miss it for the world.

Unfortunately, even with Theodore teaching, I couldn't be saved from the savage hangover I was suffering. My brain hurt and my eyes were killing me. I wished I'd stayed home, but it wouldn't have been the responsible thing to do. Plus, I couldn't really afford to miss Chemistry. I was doing okay at the time, but it was a slippery slope. One missed class and I could end up way behind again. Office hours weren't nearly as fun if I actually had work to do.

After class, I beelined to the door, not stopping to steal an extra glance at Theodore. He had a small crowd around him, anyway. He was quite popular; most of the group was notably girls. I tried to not let that fact bother me. Not so long ago I was just like them, gawking from a distance and pining for his attention. I was just lucky enough to be noticed. If anything, I should've felt bad for them. They'd never be able to win him over. He was squarely mine.

"What the hell happened to you?"

"Leave me alone, Huey," I grumbled.

We were working another evening shift together, standing behind the front desk waiting to assist any of our current visitors if they needed the help.

"You looked...haggard," he said.

My headache had gone down a bit, but my eyes still hurt. I'd survived the school day, barely, and was disappointed when I remembered that I had to work a shift that night.

"I went to a party at Maria's last night and stayed out a little longer than I should've."

"How hard did she have to beg you to go to this one?" he chuckled. He knew our dynamic. He hung out with us a lot when we were in school together. Since he'd graduated we'd had less time to all get together.

"She didn't. I went on my own accord."

"Really?" Huey asked, looking at me with renewed interest. "Why? Did you hit your head?"

"No," I said, longingly looking at the front door. I wanted more than anything for Theodore to walk through the door, but I knew he'd still be occupied with his office hours. I hoped he longed for me as much as I longed for him.

"Why'd you go, then?"

"I was just trying to have fun," I said.

"I thought parties weren't really your thing."

"I don't have to explain myself to you," I said, growing annoyed. I was getting tired of people nagging me about it.

"Hey, I'm just surprised, is all. If I knew you went to those things I would make more of an effort to show up. Maria stills invites me, you know."

"I didn't."

"It would be cool to hang out outside of work again. It's been a while."

"It has," I said. I hated when Huey seemed to get his hopes up about me. I knew it would be better if I told him I was taken, but I didn't want to open that can of worms with him. As nosey as Maria was, Huey was way worse. He'd never let it drop.

"We could do something outside of Maria's parties, too, if you wanted," Huey said.

"I don't know if Maria is free tonight. I think her sorority is hosting a fundraiser tonight." I was being intentionally obtuse. It was the best I could do.

"You and I could do something," he offered.

"What could we do?" I asked with a forced laugh. "What needs to be said that couldn't be done here on our shift? We hang out plenty."

"Sure," Huey conceded. "I think it'd be different. We used to hang out all the time."

"I know, Huey," I said, feeling bad. "I've just been busy. You know how senior year is."

"Yeah, I do."

"Maybe over Thanksgiving break?" I offered, although I immediately regretted it when I say how he lit up at the prospect.

"Sure," he beamed. "That's the week after next, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it's pretty soon."

"Cool. I'm looking forward to it."

"Me, too," I said, hoping I sounded convincing. It was just a simple hang out, I reminded myself. I didn't need to be anything more than that. Just two friends getting together. I wondered if Maria would be in town and if I'd be able to rope her into joining us.

"How are things going in your chemistry class?" Huey asked, catching me by surprise.

"Huh?" My thoughts immediately went to Theodore, though there was no way Huey could know about that.

"You said you were having trouble with it," he said, dispelling my paranoia. "You never reached out for help."

"Right, yeah," I said. "I've been stopping by the professor's office when I run into a problem. It actually hasn't been so bad. I'm making a B."

"That's good," he said. "I'm still here if you need help, too, though. We could always meet up in the library to work on your homework."

"No offense, but I think the professor knows what he's talking about a little more than you do."

"Callahan's pretty popular, isn't he?" Huey asked. "I remember his office always being crowded during his office hours, the few times I dropped by."

"Yeah, I guess."

"It's weird. He's not a bad professor. It makes you wonder how many of them were pretending to be confused just to get his attention."

"I can't say," I said, looking away from him.  I couldn't tell if Huey was trying to insinuate something about me. Faking for attention. He was being a real tool about it.

"Poor guy," Huey continued. "Must be tough being intelligent and handsome."

"Why? Do you struggle to relate?" I asked tartly.

"Ouch. Are you getting defensive? Don't tell me you have a crush on him, too."

"I do not," I blushed.

"You do!"

"Lower your voice," I hissed at him. We still had customers looking around the bookstore. "I think he's okay, but I'm not pretending to be stupid to have a reason to see him during office hours. I don't even stop by that often. I have a handle on the situation."

"Really? Because you really do sound defensive."

"Because you're being annoying," I shot back. "If you're bitter because I don't need your help, keep it to yourself."

"Calm down, Indigo. I was just teasing you."

"Sure," I replied, unconvinced. "I'm going to go unload some books in the back. Keep an eye on the front, why don't you?"

"Sure thing," Huey said, leaning on the counter. "Whatever you say."