My Professor

23. Disagreement

The time I spent with Theodore over the Thanksgiving break was amazing and it came to an end far too soon. Sunday afternoon I forced myself to pack my things and leave; I needed to catch up on laundry and prepare for school the next day.

Maria called and told me she was back in town. She informed me that one of the frats farther from campus was throwing a party and she was wondering if I wanted to go; we could ride together.

Feeling low because I had to return to my normal life without seeing Theodore everyday, I agreed. At least it would be a way to keep myself busy until I could see Theodore again the following morning in class.

Maria was ecstatic and she picked me up at my apartment promptly at 8pm.

"I'm really surprised you agreed to come out without putting up a fight," Maria said as she drove off of campus.

"It's my last year of college. I have to live it up while I can," I replied. I didn't want to reveal my true motivation of going out. The last thing I needed was to trigger her into hounding me about my mysterious boyfriend. Periodically she would ask me about him, but I kept my mouth shut and over the past few weeks she finally seemed to have let it go.

Once we got to the party, Maria and I got drinks and melted into the crowd. I drank and danced and let all of my troubles go. I just wanted to come out of my shell for a rare moment and let loose.

After a few hours of hanging out, I was standing on the back porch with a freshly filled solo cup when Huey of all people appeared next to me.

"Hey, Indy," he smiled.

"Hey," I replied, feeling a pit in my stomach. Upon seeing him, I remembered that I was supposed to hang out with Huey during the break. I'd totally forgotten about it. "What are you doing here?"

"Maria invited me," he said. "I decided it wouldn't hurt to stop by. I missed you this week."

"What?" I asked, taken aback.

"I mean we didn't see each other like we were planning."

"Right. I'm so sorry about that. It totally slipped my mind."

"I guess you had better things to do," he said, attempting to come off as humorous. I could sense the serious edge in his tone.

"I was at a friend's house," I said, feeding him the same explanation I'd given Kelsey.

"Who?" he asked.

"No one you know," I replied.

"Sure," he said. "And is it safe to say they're more interesting than me?"

"Huey, don't be like that," I said, growing exasperated. "It wasn't like that. I just forgot."

"It's fine," he said. "I know you didn't mean anything by it."

"Thanks." I was glad he was willing to let it go. I took a sip of my drink, unsure of what else to say. This encounter with Huey was becoming painfully awkward.

"We can just rain check," Huey said. "Maybe sometime soon."

"Maybe," I replied. I didn't have the heart to cancel with him so I pushed it off. "I need to power through the rest of this semester."

"I'm sure you can free up a few hours for an old friend."

"Yeah, of course," I replied. "I'll look at my schedule."

"We could do Sunday night, if you're free," he pushed.

"We'll see," I insisted. "I don't know how much work I'll have for my classes. I'll have to get back to you."

I excused myself and went back inside the house, hoping to shake Huey off in the crowd. The lights were low and the music was blasting; it wasn't long before I ran into Maria at the edge of the dance floor.

"Hey!" she greeted me. "Where've you been?"

"I was outside," I said. "Did you know Huey is here?"

"No. I invited him, but usually he doesn't bother to show up."

"Yeah, well, I think he showed up here to see me. He was just hounding me about hanging out."

"I thought you were going to do that over the break."

"Yeah, well, I forgot," I confessed.

"Indy!" Maria exclaimed.

"I told him I was sorry! I got distracted."

"By who? Your secret boyfriend?"

"He's not— please don't start with that," I said.

"Whatever," Maria smirked, rolling her eyes. "What's your problem with Huey?"

"Nothing. It just feels like he's trying to set up a date, not just a hang out."

"Does he know you're taken?"

"No, and he doesn't need to."

"Why?" Maria demanded. "So you can keep him on the hook?"

"No," I shot back. "Why would you even say that?"

"I'm just saying, all you seem to do is complain about him. It's a simple solution, unless you have something to gain by not telling him."

I didn't like her accusatory tone. Not one bit.

"If you have something to say, then say it," I told her.

"I don't know why you won't tell him, but honestly, you're being a total tease."

"I don't want things to get awkward at work," I explain, growing frustrated.

"Really? Because it looks to me like you're enjoying the attention. What you're doing is selfish."

"Selfish?" I exclaimed. "I'm selfish?"

"You're not insinuating I'm the selfish one, are you?" Maria was getting agitated, as well.

"All you do is talk about yourself, but I'm the selfish one," I said.

"I'm not the one leading people on," she shot back. "For what? Your ego? You are a snotty, pretentious bitch!"

I stared at Maria for a long moment, unable to come up with anything to say. I was beyond angry and nothing I could say would help the situation. I turned my back on her and pulled out my phone from the pocket in my dress. I stormed out of the house, onto the front porch, and sent Theodore a text with my location and a request for him to come pick me up. I was sick of Maria, sick of the party, and sick of the stupid drama.

I waited impatiently for Theodore to arrive, and when he did I quickly crossed the lawn and climbed into the passenger seat, slamming the door behind me. I couldn't believe the nerve Maria had, talking to me like that.
I didn't bother to text her that I was leaving as Theodore drove away.