The Highest Learning

Chapter 15-Addressing Suzanne

He finishes his lecture and grades his seminar, a solid 6.5 out of 10...no wait...Fuck that! It was at least a 8 out of 10. All the students leave class blown away by the last hour of edutainment Mr. Hardwick had just laid upon them...except for Suzanne.

He's pretty sure he didn't say anything inappropriate this class, but maybe something slipped out and he didn't realize it. Maybe it was nothing, but she's figured out a way to twist his words into something that she could find personally offensive. Perhaps she'd womansplain to him how it's offensive when he tries to mansplain the material.

She approaches him after all the students have left. He's a little nervous, seeing as how their last interactions have gone, and he is almost positive that she's going to confront him about something he said that insulted her again.

She seems much more relaxed though than the last time she walked up to him. He stops her, by saying "Hello Suzanne, can I help you?"

"Its ok, you can call my Suzy. You know something Pat," she says, "I thought your lecture today was just great!" she gushed.

What's this? She wants him to call her by the cute nickname? She's on a first name basis with him, as well? She's being nice to him all of a sudden? Mr. Hardwick put on his armchair psychologist hat on again and added borderline personality disorder and bipolar disorder to the list of diagnoses he gave Suzanne.

"Well thank you," he replied. "I'm glad you enjoyed it." He lightly smiled to her. He then let her know that their interaction was going to be a formal one. Even if she seemed like she was in a good mood, he didn't want to take any chances.

"You know, Dean Sheppard called me over the weekend." Mr. Hardwick was stopped dead in his tracks and he physically froze just long enough for Suzanne to notice his lack of movement.

"Oh yeah?" he said, trying to distract from the fact that he was beginning to sweat and his face felt flush.

"Yeah, he did Pat. You know what he said?"

Mister Hardwick did not speak, but shook his head no, so she would move on with the story she was teasing him with.

"He said he spoke with you and that you were really concerned about me." She seemed like a preschooler that was teasing him. She's just rubbing in the fact that he was disciplined.

"Well Suzy..." Let's keep this formal he thought. "I'm concerned with all of my students."

Suzy remained in the teasing tone of a child as she said, "Yeah, but he said you were concerned with me".

He knowingly acknowledges her comment with a light smile. The pseudo intellectual in him pulled out his nonexistent degree in mental illness and the armchair psychologist then added narcissistic personality disorder, dissociative identity disorder, and possible psychopath and/or sociopath to his growing list of diagnoses for her.

On a dime, her voice changed back again to a more stern tone. "Can I level with you Pat?"

"I think Mr. Hardwick, at least when we're in the classroom," he corrected.

"Mr. Hardwick, can I level with you? I need to tell you something." The look of concern started to grow in her face.

Crazy or not, Mr. Hardwick knows that look. He made sure the students knew they could be comfortable giving him that look. He's dealt with that look before when students have opened up to him in the past. That's the look of a student who's in distress. He remembered the class he previously took on active listening when he was a teenager working for the student crisis hotlines for a whole weekend.