Love You to Death

Love You to Death Chapter 1

She continued, "I would have talked to you in the classroom, but it's not as secure as my office." and with that she winked at me and tossed her dirty blond hair over her shoulder. We resumed walking until we got to her office, which was only a few feet away from where she stopped to talk to me in a hushed tone. Now my mind was really spinning at a dizzying rate.

We walked in her office and flipped the lights on, then setting her bags down on a nearby chair by her desk. I had been in this office many times when she and I worked on my research together. Dr. Durr had all of her diplomas on the wall from universities far away from here, in the states I wish I had money to visit. There were pictures of her children, a set of twin girls, who were fairly young and looked like spitting images of my professor. My favorite part of her office was the bookshelf with all different books on the topic of psychology. I was pulled from my thoughts when Dr. Durr gently closed the door, and locked it.

Really? I thought to myself. Is that really necessary for this conversation?

Dr. Durr turned on an electric kettle, boiling some water. She turned to me.

"This might take awhile. Would you like some tea?"

I sat down in the chair in front of her desk, setting my backpack down next to me.

"I'll take some green tea, please."

She smiled warmly at me and got out two mugs. I noticed the one mug had the United States Navy logo on it. I shifted in my seat so I could face her.

"Dr. Durr, did someone in your family serve in the Navy?" She looked at me, amused by my question.

"Yes," she began and she smirked a bit, "I served. I was in before the attacks on September 11th. CV-71, the USS Theodore Roosevelt." She turned to check on the kettle. "I was in ordinance, or what they call the weapons department."

The electric kettle was done heating the water up in a few minutes. She poured the water into the mugs and she brought me my mug. Dr. Durr sat down behind her desk and logged into her computer. She sighed a bit.

"Yup." she took a sip from her mug. "Those were the days." She gazed down at her mug, but then her thoughts snapped back to reality. "Anyway, on the topic of service for our country, I have something to tell you about that is rather...urgent."

I shifted in my seat once more, crossing my legs and fiddling with my bracelet out of anxious tendencies.

"Go on..." I looked up at her.

Dr. Durr had put her glasses on and pulled out a file folder from her desk drawer. The file was relatively thick. She opened it up and began to read it to herself mentally. She looked back up at me and smiled.

"So, the reason why I wanted to talk to you in private is because of a pressing issue that was brought up to me by the federal government, more specifically, the Department of Defense." She peered at me through her glasses, trying to gauge my reaction. My eyes went wide when she mentioned the Department of Defense.

"S-So, how does this involve me?" I stammered out, still in a state of shock.

Dr. Durr gazed down at the file again, important documents clouding her field of vision. She gazed back up at me once more.

"The DoD is looking for applicants for their new program. I cannot divulge information on this program until you apply and are accepted. That is, if you do decide to apply and get accepted." She took off her glasses, lightly chewing on the arm of the frame.

"So you can't tell me anything about this program? What would I be doing? Where I'm going?" I asked exasperatedly.

She shook her head lightly and took a sip of her tea once more. My throat was getting parched so I took a sip of my own tea.