Between lectures

Part 1

All the students just started writing down after receiving the paper, but I cant seem to find anything to write. I mean I have some ideas, but none appropriate for this class. The time runs out, and people start leaving their papers on the end of her desk. I drag my pen across the paper and force myself to write

* Sofia Cruz - I want to tell the world the stories that really matter. *

There's only three people left now, me, her and some kid writing for his dear life. I throw my pen in my bag and hand in the paper before fleeing as fast as I possibly can. My stomach drops as I realize that I left my phone on the desk. *shit,shit,shit* I think to myself before contemplating my whole life right there and then. I take a breath deeper than hell before slowly turning around and walking back.

I gently knock on the doorframe before stepping in. 

"uhm, sorry I forgot my phone" she looks up, her glasses at the tip of her nose, I can swear her blouse is more unbuttoned now then earlier today. she raises a brow before responding. 

"yeah that's fine". I slowly walk up to the desk before grabbing it and walking towards the door.  As I reach my hand for the door I freeze. 

"miss... Cruz"? I slowly turn around feeling a growing pit in my stomach. "yes"? "Can you come here for a second please"? I slowly walk up to her desk, each step feels like walking on thorns.

Professor Adler doesn't look up immediately.
She takes her time finishing whatever she's writing, her pen gliding across a yellow legal pad like the world isn't on pause.

Then, finally, she sets the pen down and meets my eyes.

"You seemed... hesitant earlier," she says, her voice soft but steady. "When I handed you the paper. You didn't start writing right away."

I blink, unsure if it's a question or just an observation.
"I wasn't sure what to say," I admit. "It felt kind of... big. For a first assignment."

A small smile pulls at the corner of her mouth. "Honesty suits you."

My mouth feels dry. I nod, trying not to fidget.
She tilts her head slightly, studying me in that way again — like she's trying to see underneath my skin.

"Why did you take this class, really?"

The question catches me off guard. I glance down at my shoes, then back at her.
"I guess... because I want to understand how people fall through the cracks. And maybe how not to let that happen again."

There's a pause. For a moment, she says nothing. Just watches me.

Then she leans back in her chair, fingers laced together.
"That's not on your paper."

"I didn't think it was the kind of thing I should write on the first day."

"Well," she says, her voice low, "the best stories are usually the ones we hesitate to tell."

My heart skips a beat. I nod again, unsure what to say.
As I start to turn, her voice stops me one more time.

"Sofia?"

I turn halfway back, hand still on the door.

"I look forward to reading what you really have to say."

I don't answer. I just leave... fast ...phone clutched in my hand like it might anchor me. 

My face heats even more than before.