Brain Like NYU

Pilot

[A/N] HEY FRIENDS! Look I'm sorry it's been a hot minute since I wrote anything, I really missed you all. But the good news is I've got this new thing and it's cute as hell and I hope you guys love it as much as I do :) It's mostly pre-written so updates will be very regular. Here's the first bit, please, please let me know what you think!

           

Mitch doesn't know where he's going. He knows where he needs to be, and he knows it's probably bad form to be late on the first day, but he's lost on Broadway, and there's rain collecting in the lid of his coffee cup, and he's absolutely getting grumpier by the second. He's walked too far, he must have already passed it, there's no way the goddamn building is this far away from campus... but it is. Finally he sees it, "Tisch School of the Arts" carved into the stone above the main doors. He shuffles in, checking his phone to see he has exactly one minute until the class begins, and quickly scans the lobby for any signs that indicate the direction of the theater. Ugh. He hates being late. It always means...

Yep. No seats. He finally gets inside the damn classroom and there are no reasonable seats. He doesn't like sitting in the front row, but neither does anyone else, so that's what's available. Oh well. It's just one day—he won't be late again now that he knows where to go. He quietly folds up his jacket, trying not to bring attention to his tardiness, and pulls out a notebook and pencil.

"Hi everyone!"

Mitch looks up to see a tall, young, beautiful man walking in from the side of the room. He'd previously been cursing his front row seat, but if this was the view... well, there were worse things.

"Welcome to Intro to Cinema Studies! I'm Scott Hoying, your instructor for this course. Gosh, this is a big class..." He glances down at the roster on his laptop. "Two hundred kids, wow. Any freshman? Welcome to NYU!"

Many people clap and cheer. A huge percentage of the class appears to be freshman, which Mitch supposes is to be expected in any introductory course. Instead of rolling his eyes at the irritatingly excitable kids, he chooses to study the very pretty teacher in front of him.

As a fashion student, Mitch was used to beauty. Perfection, even. He'd worked with so many gorgeous models, the usual thrill of seeing a stunning person hardly even phased him anymore. Maybe it was because he didn't walk into this classroom expecting to see a model, maybe he'd been caught off guard. But something about this guy... Mitch was intrigued to say the least. Even if the class sucked, Mitch would at least probably show up just to look at him for a couple hours a week.

"So, I'm gonna level with you guys here. You'd have to try pretty hard to bomb this class. My guess is most of you are here to fulfill a distribution requirement, and I'm not gonna be the asshole who brings down your GPA in an intro level class. The kids who are actual cinema majors are in a different section, so it's fine by me if we're all just here to watch great movies and have a good time. I only ask that you respect each other, me, and the movie playing. If you're gonna be on your phone the whole time, you really don't need to bother coming in at all, you know?"

Okay. This man was attractive. And Mitch wasn't only attracted to the fact that he'd basically already been promised an A in the class. Mr. Hoying had a smooth, kind voice that he paired with superfluous gesticulations as if moving his hands was the only way he knew how to speak. Mitch might have paid extra attention to the gesturing because of the way the teacher's navy blue flannel hugged his broad shoulders, the way the rolled-up sleeves accentuated the muscles in his forearms... Lost in his own thoughts, Mitch barely registers the teacher explaining the format of the class.

Soon a girl with bushy red hair and glasses decides she has to be that person who asks a question by raising her hand, waving it around slightly, and calling the professor's name all at once.

"Dr. Hoying?"

He smiles, a tiny crooked grin, and Mitch feels his heart beat twice in rapid succession. "Oh, I'm not a doctor. Not yet anyway; I just got my Masters last year. So unless any of you feel like calling me 'Master Hoying,' just Scott is fine."

He freezes briefly, and Mitch tries hard not to snicker, unsure whether "Master Hoying" would be funny to everyone or if he'd just be exposing his own kinky ass. He can't completely hide his raised eyebrow and slight smile, though, and of course Scott chooses that exact second to glance in Mitch's direction. They catch each other's eye, just for a moment, Scott looking mildly alarmed at what he's just said, and then clearing his throat before moving right along. "Anyway, what was your question?"

"I was just wondering about the homework..."

The girl fades to the background as Mitch doodles in his notebook, waiting for Scott to start talking and moving his arms again. He sketches an arm while he waits.

"Okay, well I think that's it in terms of first-day business! This is my first time teaching a class... ever, actually. The head of the department told me not to tell you guys that, but," he says, shrugging adorably. "He also told me not to let you go early on the first day, but we aren't starting a movie until next class and I have nothing else to say. So have a great day! See you all Thursday!"

Everyone laughs at the abrupt dismissal after only about twenty minutes of class, and people start filing out around Mitch. He notices a handful of girls staying behind and loitering by the podium and rolls his eyes. Sure enough, one by one, the girls introduce themselves to Scott and tell him they were so interested in film or they were super excited about learning from him. The poor guy looks overwhelmed and is nice enough to shake their hands before basically making a run for the door. Mitch shakes his head with a chuckle and he won't admit it, but he's already thinking about what to wear on Thursday.