My Professor

41. Answers

A few days passed and I hadn't heard from Theodore. I didn't know what he was going through and I tried not to assume the worst from his silence. I continued to go to my classes and began the process of preparing for finals.

I was camped out at the library working when I decided to get up and take a coffee break. I packed up my things and walked to the nearest coffee shop, to the left of the library. The line was long but I didn't mind. I was enjoying the fresh air.

When I stepped out of the coffee shop with my latte in hand I'd begun the walk back to the library when I ran into a familiar face. Marcy walked past me and gave me a dirty look as she passed.

Under normal circumstances I would like to think I would've taken the high road and let it go, but I was so tightly wound and the time and I couldn't take her attitude. I turned around and called after her.

"Hey! Marcy!"

She turned around and I walked closer.

"What do you want?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at me.

"Why'd you make that face at me?" I demanded.

"Excuse me?"

"I saw you pass me just now. You made a face. Why?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," she said before trying to turn away.

"No, I'm serious," I said. "What's your problem with me?"

That caught her attention. It was bait she couldn't refuse.

"What's my problem with you?" she asked. "I'll tell you what my problem is with you. You got Theodore fired!"

"What would you know about that?" I hadn't heard the result from his meetings with the administration and I doubted he would talk to her about it before me, if at all. She was probably being dramatic, but it still took me off guard.

"I know plenty," she smirked. "I'm the one that reported you two."

I knit my eyebrows together and stared at her in disbelief.

"You must've thought you were so sneaky," she sneered.

"How did you find out?" I couldn't resist asking. I had to know how much she knew.

"Last Thursday I opened Theodore's office door to poke my head in when I overheard you two whispering sweet nothings to each other." She sounded disgusted. "Of course, I had to do the right thing and let the administration know."

I was relieved that she hadn't seen anything worse. "Our relationship had no impact on my grade. We weren't hurting anyone."

"That's not your call to make," Marcy said. "And something tells me the administration disagreed with your assessment."

"You're such a bitch, Marcy," I fumed. "There was no reason for you to do that."

"There was all the reason to report you! It was completely inappropriate, totally against the rules, and you were profiting off your 'relationship''." She did air quotes when she said relationship.

"Well, thanks to you we're both in hot water," I said.

"No, thanks to you a good man is going to permanently have a sullied record," she shot back. Even in the end she was defending Theodore.

"It was a two way street," I said. "I think the truth is that you are just jealous."

Marcy grit her teeth while she thought of a response. "Jealous?" she replied. "Hardly."

"You've been riding my ass all semester," I said. "You were annoyed that I was around, taking up Theodore's attention, and when you realized how he truly felt about me and how you'd never be able to win him over, you lashed out in the only way you could."

"Maybe I'm just a decent person," she said. "Maybe I don't appreciate little sluts dragging people down with them."

I pressed my lips together as I stared her down. She had a lot of nerve talking to me that way. I had too much going on, too much stress, and all I wanted was to get the last word in.

"I'm a slut now?" I asked. "Please. Theodore loves me. He loves me and he will never love you." It wasn't the most creative comeback, but my heightened emotions were getting the best of me.

"Keep telling yourself that," she scoffed. "You've ruined his life. We'll see how long he keeps you around after this."

My heart lurched in my chest. Her words cut like a knife.

"That's right," she sneered. "Your days are numbered. And maybe, just maybe, you'll learn a lesson from all of this. Maybe next time you're sitting in Chemistry you'll actually keep your legs closed."

Rage consumed me. Marcy was talking out of her rear end, but she was still getting under my skin. At that moment, my emotions took over. I closed the gap between us and I slapped her with all of my might.

The slap echoed through the courtyard and several people around us stopped and stared. Marcy held her hand to her face in disbelief, staring at me. I stepped back, shocked by what I'd just done.

"You are so done!" Marcy yelled. "I'm reporting this!"

I stumbled back a few more steps and a larger crowd around us began to form.

"You'll get expelled for this!" she yelled.

I didn't have anything to say. I knew I'd made a mistake as soon as I slapped her but there was nothing I could do about it. Instead of sticking around to be dragged off by a member of the faculty, I turned on my heel and got out of there as fast as I could.