Professor Presley

Chapter Twelve

The next morning, my alarm stirs me out of some dream I'd been having. When I sit up to turn the clock off, I find that Elvis isn't beside me. I climb out of bed and put my slippers on. As I reach my bedroom door, the pleasant aroma of food hits my nose, causing my stomach to growl.

I turn back and grab my phone before heading downstairs. As I check the time, I see that it's earlier than I set my alarm the night before. I furrow my brow and head into the kitchen, finding Elvis making something on the stove. I lean against the doorway and bite my lip, "Did you set my alarm clock back last night?"

Elvis turns around, holding cooked slices of bacon between a set of tongs. He smiles at me, "I did. I wanted to make sure you had a proper breakfast before class." He nods towards the counter, "There's some fresh coffee brewed if you want it."

I smile happily, practically racing over to the coffee maker. I pour myself a steaming cup, dump in all my usual ingredients, then sit down at the island, clutching the mug close to my mouth as I sip from it. I watch as Elvis moves almost rhythmically in front of the stove. He flips a pancake without using a spatula, not noticing my eyes boring holes into him. I look over the clothing he'd dressed in for the day, wondering why things seemed so off the night before. I was hoping to get to the bottom of things soon, or it was just going to keep eating at me. I clear my throat and set my mug down, giving him a half-hearted smile as he turns to face me, "What's on the agenda for today?"

He smiles at me, "Well, I've got Conversations in History at nine, which you knew. Then afterward I have American History at ten-thirty, and office hours from one until two." He tilts his head slightly at me, "Why? Did you have somethin' in mind?"

I shake my head, picking my cup back up to sip from it, "No, I was just wondering is all." I smile as he turns back around. I make a mental note of his office hours; I would stop in when I got done with my class at noon, maybe find out why he'd been acting so weird. "I was thinking about stopping in when my class gets done at one. Would that be alright? Maybe I could help you with some more plans, or with grading or something." 

Elvis nods as he finishes up making breakfast, sliding me my plate. "That would be great, honey. I'll make a note that you'll be in at one. I think I have an appointment with a student at noon, so take your time comin' over. And if I'm still in with the student, knock, alright?"

I nod, picking my fork up and beginning to eat, "Alright."

After breakfast, Elvis leaves to head to campus, and I take my time getting ready for the day. I grab a quick shower, throw on some natural makeup, and style my hair into loose curls. I dress in a pair of blue jeans and a simple black shirt. Once I'm ready, I grab my bag and travel mug, then hit the road. I head to campus; my nerves left me on edge the whole way there. I was beginning to wonder what I was going to find when I got to his office, and only hoped that my anxiety was wrong. It had never been wrong before, but I wished it was this time.

***

I arrive in class just a few minutes before it was to begin and take my seat at the front of the room.  I feel Elvis' eyes on me as I quietly take my notebook and textbook out of my bag and set them on the table in front of me. I look up at him and smile softly, pulling my hair to the side so he could see the mark he'd left the night before. He nods, seeming pleased to see that I'd kept my promise. He rises from the desk as soon as the clock strikes nine and smiles to the class, "Good-mornin' everyone! I hope you all had a nice day yesterday." A few students murmur a response to him. "Great. If you could, please take out a notebook and somethin' to write with, we're goin' to jump right in. I know I let you have an easy start to the week, but now's the time to get serious." He walks back to his desk and starts up his PowerPoint. He grabs something to click through the slides and comes back around the front, walking towards the center of the room. 

I flip open my notebook and start to scribble the terms on the screen. Elvis clears his throat, "Before I begin, I just want to see by a show of hands, how many of you have read the chapters I assigned?" He looks around as a few of the fifty or so students raise their hands. My cheeks turn pink as his gaze falls to me and I realize I've forgotten to read from the textbook the last two days. His eyes linger on me longer than I wanted them to. He makes a clicking noise in his throat, "Make sure for Monday you all catch up on the readin'! And make sure you get the rough draft of your paper completed. Feel free to email me at any point over the weekend if you have any questions. Come to my office hours today if you aren't comfortable emailin'. Do whatever you need to; just get it done!" 

I scribble furiously throughout the class, listening as Elvis discusses various topics. Other students around me take notes on their laptop, but I always found I couldn't focus on what was being said. If I had my laptop out, I just wanted to shop! When class is over, he reminds us again the chapters we need to read for class on Monday. I gather my things and silently try to slink out of class. "Marissa, could you hang back a moment?" I sigh as I hear his voice call to me. A few of the students eye me as I turn and make my way back down the steps of the lecture hall.

"Yes?" I ask, my face feeling hot. I knew he was going to talk to me about not reading. I look over him, watching as he folds his arms over his chest and leans back against the desk.

"You didn't read the chapters? I'm a little surprised." I watch as his lips curl into a slight smirk. I wasn't in trouble.

I bite my lip, "Well sir... I've been a little busy with other projects and completely forgot about the textbook! But I'll have the reading done for Monday, honest."

He nods at me, his eyes lingering over my outfit, "Very well. Get to class." He turns back to gather his things and I leave class as quickly as possible. I wasn't sure why he had targeted me like that, when the rest of the class didn't read either. Don't be silly, you know exactly why. He wanted to stare at you longer. I shake off my thoughts as I make my way to my next class. I couldn't wait to get to the bottom of his behavior. He had absolutely no idea what was coming for him.