Arielle
When I arrived on campus on Monday morning, I headed to my first class. I couldn't concentrate on taking notes, and I thanked my lucky stars that Kayla was in this class and allowed me borrow her notes. I knew I would not be as lucky for Dr. Williams' seminar.
I was lost in thought as Dr. Olivier lectured, but I was brought back to reality when Kayla nudged me to signal the end of class. I slowly stood and began to gather my belongings. I noticed Kayla watching me with worry lines running across her forehead.
I silently exited the lecture hall as she trailed behind. "I think I'll go straight to my next class." Then I whispered, "I'm not hungry," before Kayla could protest. I admittedly had a bad habit of not being able to eat when I was anxious. I continued to lose myself in my thoughts as I thought about Clara. After several minutes, I had arrived at the seminar room.
"You're early." Dr. Williams looked up in surprise from her desk as I silently entered the classroom and sat down in my usual seat.
"I was taught that early is on time and on time is late." I replied. Even though I hadn't made the best first impression on her, I wanted to make sure I didn't upset her anymore. I turned on my laptop and pretended to stare at my notes while inserting my earbuds.
The words of my sister's worthless no-good former boyfriend haunted me more than I wanted to admit. He had never loved her. I couldn't fathom how scared Clara must have been and what she had to endure to survive until now. The anxiety plagued me all weekend and I couldn't even focus on preparing myself for what I had to face today. I could barely gather the energy to complete my readings.
A familiar song came on and I gulped loudly as an old memory hit me hard.
"Let it gooo, let it gooo, you'll never see me cryyyy!" 6 year old me sang in a shrill voice as I danced around my sister in a blue tutu.
Clara giggled and sang along, grabbing my arms and twirling me around. "And HERE I stand, and HERE I'll stay."
"Let the storm rage onnnnn!!" We chorused.
Mom chuckled in amusement. "I'm pretty sure you girls have broken the world record for the number of times you've sung that song."
Clara tickled my stomach and I squealed. "RiRi just loves it."
"Promise that you'll always sing that song with me! Even when we're all grown up!" I held out a pinky to my sister and she linked it with hers, giggling.
"Cross my heart, Ari."
"Please refrain from listening to music in my class." I swallowed loudly as I was brought back into reality.
Once again, class hadn't even started yet. "Yes, Professor." I replied monotonously and winded the earphones around my phone, placing it into my bag and pulling out my notebook instead. I stared at my notes blankly for a couple of minutes. I could feel my eyes watering and tears beginning to slide down my face. Since when did I become so emotional? I would need to pull myself together if I wanted to do this. There was simply no room for mistakes.
I jumped several inches in my seat when Dr. Williams suddenly placed her hands on the table on either side of me. I could feel her breath on the top of my head. I turned slightly and saw that she was leaning in to read my notes. I instinctively shied away and lowered my head to put some distance between us.
She was so close that I could smell the scent of her perfume surrounding me. I couldn't recall the last time I had allowed anyone to come this close to me.
She suddenly frowned as she ran her fingers over a spot in my notebook. I squinted at it and realized that it was wet. Right at that moment, a residual tear fell from where it was clinging onto my eyelashes onto her hand. I gasped as she inhaled sharply. She spun my chair around to face her and slid her hand underneath my chin, forcing me to meet her eyes again. I felt the tears beginning to build up again and sniffled in an attempt to force them back.
Dr. Williams took another sharp breath in before kneeling down in front of me in concern and pulling out a handkerchief from her blazer jacket pocket. I flinched, but didn't move away as she carefully dried my tears, her nails grazing my cheeks. After a few moments, she finally spoke in a soft voice. "Whatever is the matter, it will pass. Everything will be okay. It's going to be alright, Miss Reagan." Her words made me cry harder and to my surprise, she pulled me into an embrace. I closed my eyes and allowed myself to enjoy the comfort of her embrace, even if it went against all logical thought.
A knock sounded on the door. I felt an inexplicable wave of disappointment as she pulled away. It must have showed on my face because Dr. Williams gave me a slight smirk before going to open the door. I quickly dried my remaining tears on my sleeve.
"Is Arielle here?" A soft voice asked as Dr. Williams opened the door a gap. I could recognize Celine's voice easily. I bit my lip, not liking that she was here in my classroom, but unlike Kylie, at least she had the common sense not to show up when class was in session.
"Yes." She opened the door the rest of the way and allowed Celine to walk in. I wondered what she needed. She frowned in worry when she saw me and immediately walked to my side.
She placed a plastic container in front of me with a fork on top. "I just spoke to Kayla. You need to eat, especially with what you have to do later." She said in a barely audible tone. I shook my head. "You're going to make yourself sick. Ari, I know that you're upset and I swear I completely understand, but you can't compromise your health!" She whispered worriedly.
"It's one meal. I won't die from skipping one meal, Celine." I muttered under my breath. They were all so dramatic. I knew that if I ate now, it would probably make me sick as well.
"It's never one meal for you, Ari. You know what happened last time and I don't want you fainting ag-"
She stopped talking as I cut her off with a sharp look.
Dr. Williams cleared her throat from behind us. I squeaked softly again in surprise. She seemingly had the ability to walk without any sound at all. "Miss..."
"Jamison." Celine replied.
"Miss Jamison, may I have a word?"
"Of course." Celine sighed lowly and stood up. She and Dr. Williams stepped outside of the classroom. When Dr. Williams returned, she was alone.
I ignored her as she sat down in the seat next to me. She reached over and opened the container in front of me to reveal a chicken salad. To my astonishment, she unwrapped the fork, scooped up some of the salad, and raised it to my mouth.
I blushed and turned away. "Whatever Celine told you, she's exaggerating. I'm fine, Professor."
"I'm not asking you, I'm telling you, Miss Reagan. Open your mouth." She completely ignored me and spoke in a firm tone. I froze and glanced at her in shock. "Or you can excuse yourself from my class today. I will not have one of my students fainting from hunger."
My jaw dropped in shock. She took this opportunity to shove the forkful of food into my mouth. I continued to stare at her, wide-eyed. "Need I remind you how to chew food?" She raised an eyebrow at me. I blushed and shook my head quickly. I quickly chewed and turned to look at anything but her.
She tapped my cheek lightly after a few seconds. As I turned to glance at her, she held up another forkful of salad to my mouth. This time, I silently opened my mouth and allowed her to feed me. She smirked at me and leaned in to whisper in my ear. "Good girl." She brushed her lips by my ear ever so slightly.
My face immediately turned bright red and my heart rate spiked. She placed the fork in my hand as if nothing had happened and stood up, giving my cheek another light tap. "Eat." She walked back to her desk and began leafing through her notes again. I watched her curiously until she looked up at me and the corner of her mouth twitched a bit. I blushed and turned back to my food. For whatever reason, I felt less nauseated now.
Ten minutes later, the other students began filing in and Dr. Williams took her usual seat beside me at the table. "Good afternoon, class. We have several things on the agenda for today. The first is a documentary about using the different theories to analyze a case study and apply them to the contemporary practices in the justice system. Then we will discuss the topics for the term paper and finish the lesson off with the discussion on this week's readings. I trust everyone has completed them?" A chorus of mumbling filled the room and she nodded in satisfaction. "Alright, let's get started." I had realized at this point that unlike my other classes where students came barely prepared, that was simply not an option in Dr. Williams' class. You did all of your work and showed up or you could excuse yourself from the class.
She stood up to set up the documentary, closed the curtains, and dimmed the lights before sitting back down next to me. I listened to the introduction about the background of the case. It reminded me of the mystery shows that I used to watch.
Suddenly, I felt someone grab my hand under the table. I immediately tried to withdraw my hand, but whoever it was tightened their grip. I frantically looked under the table and to my utter surprise, Dr. Williams was holding my hand. "Miss Reagan." My head snapped up. "Please focus on the documentary. It will be tested upon." She stated nonchalantly as if she wasn't the cause of my distraction.
I frowned at her only to have her tighten her hand over mine, as if she was daring me to disobey. I sighed quietly and tried my best to concentrate on the documentary. I didn't realized I had zoned out until I felt her release my hand under the table and stand up to turn the lights back on.
~~~~
"Alright, class. We will end the class slightly early today. Please remember that a 600 word reflection on the video will be due on my desk next class. I am expecting everyone to put some thought into this and I do not merely want a summary." Everyone began to stand and gather their stuff. Without making eye contact with her again, I immediately grabbed my belongings and bolted from the room.
I got about halfway down the hallway before I heard my name being called. "Arielle!"
My head snapped to the direction of the voice. "Avery, what are you doing here?" Avery was dressed in a hoodie and jeans and she donned a navy backpack. She looked...like a student.
She approached me slowly. "I've been here all day." She spoke slowly. "I was...watching Treyson Alexander for you. He's in McCallister Hall right now outside 10096."
I smiled in appreciation. "You didn't have to, you know. I could've found him. I don't want to waste your time."
"It's not a waste of time!" She spoke fiercely but quietly. "We're in this together, you, me, Celine, and Chase. Make no mistake, you may be the one entering the gang, but we are all behind you at HQ." she looked around us. "Now go."
I nodded and began to walk to McCallister Hall. I had thought a lot about the plan over the weekend, but I knew very little about Treyson Alexander as a person. I had to use my instincts this time. Deep in my thoughts, I had managed to walk straight into a wooden post. I immediately fell backwards and hit the ground, the contents of my bag scattering everywhere. I heard a few giggles from around me. I groaned inwardly and began to pick up my stationery, phone, and wallet.
I stood up and turned to keep walking when I felt a light tap on my shoulder. I frowned and turned around. "You dropped this too." An outstretched hand held my knife that Chase had given me with the agency symbol - a fire-breathing lion.
I took it gratefully and glanced up at the person. "Thank you so mu-"
"I'm Trey. Trey Alexander."
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*edited*
💜💙
-Cindy