Damnit. I should've studied. And read my book. I can't believe I let myself fail the test…what is going on with me?...
"Miss Swan?"
I look up to see Professor Green looking straight at me.
Professor Green is probably in his sixties. He has a full head of hair, granted it's grey, with a grey mustache to match. He is quite tall. 6 foot maybe 6' 2".
"Sorry, sir. What was the question?" I asked.
"John Locke. Who was he, and what did he do for American Society?" he said, repeating the question.
"John Locke was a 17th century British philosopher, also an Oxford academic and medical researcher. He influenced the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. He is most noted for his concept of separation of government. He was an important link in the development of the modern executive and legislative powers."
"No. That isn't right!" snapped Lauren. " James Madison came up with that."
"Actually Lauren, Miss Swan is correct. Although Madison presented it, it was originally Locke's idea." He said matter-of-factly. "Thank you, Miss Swan." Professor Green said with a grin.
I couldn't help but smile. He had my back.
Lauren caught my eye. Her face was in-between hatred and shock. My eyes instantly went back to staring at the cream colored desk. It wasn't until there was utter silence did I notice something was wrong. The door clicked back into place and my eyes peeked up to see who would dare interrupt Professor Green's lecture.
The most beautiful woman I had ever seen was standing in the doorway. She looked just like a model. She looked about 5' 9" (maybe taller in those heels of hers), ivory skin, long golden hair to the middle of her back, and legs a mile long. Every girl in the room was instantly envious, and not a single guy stood a chance against her. She scanned the room for an empty desk. Low and behold the only one left was right next to me. What crappy luck I had. The clicking of her heels echoing in the silence of the classroom dragged me out of my self-pity. I looked back to Professor Green. He looked confused on what he should do. He obviously decided against yelling at her and he went on with his lecture, picking up where he left off. My eyes went straight back to staring a hole in my desk.
The class finally came to an end. Every boy in the class had been trying to sneak a glance of this new girl next to me. It was seriously getting annoying. Could they be anymore obvious? I started packing up my stuff, trying to hurry as to not be stopped. I also wanted to get out of there so these boys and their male egos wouldn't stampede me. I was just zipping up my backpack when Professor Green told me to stay behind. I let out a small sigh as I sat back down.
I could feel eyes on me… I slowly looked over to see the girl staring at me. She was about to say something when a book fell down onto her desk. Both of our eyes snapped up to see Mike Newton smirking.
"Hey sweetheart, what's your name?" asked Mike.
My eyes jumped back to the girl. She looked thoroughly unimpressed. She looked back down to her bag and started putting her stuff away. Mike's face fell but was instantly replaced with smugness. He looked straight at me.
"Hey Bella…why don't you tell your friend here," he glanced over to her, "that I'll play her little game of hard to get, but I'll get what I want…eventually."
"Bella, is it?" asked the girl
I kind of stared at her for a second not sure if she was talking to me. Her voice matched her looks, beautiful. This girl is going to be easy to hate. I finally nodded my head in realization that I hadn't answered yet.
"Will you tell this bastard, in his dreams?"
My jaw dropped. You know that whole line of "don't judge a book by its cover?" Total truth. She is my new hero. I looked back up at Mike. First, he was in shock. I don't think anyone had ever turned him down before, and if so, not bluntly and as badass as this girl had just demonstrated. Then, shock switched to furious. He ripped his book off the table and walked out of the classroom.
"Miss Swan? You can come up here now." Professor Green stated from behind his desk.
I gave one last glance at the mystery girl and grabbed my backpack while walking up to his desk in the corner.
Just as I reached his desk, he looked up. His eyes didn't meet mine. He was looking to my left. I followed his eyes and there three feet behind me was the blonde girl.
"Can I help you Miss?" asked Professor Green
"Yes, I'm sorry I don't mean to interrupt but I emailed you earlier this week," she said as she took a couple steps forward.
Surprise showed on his face. "Ah, yes! Miss Hale!" He jumped up from his desk and nearly ran over to her to shake her hand.
I slowly took a couple steps back, trying not to bring any attention to myself. I have never seen him act like this toward anyone, let alone a student.
"It's nice to finally meet you, Miss Hale," Professor Green sincerely said.
"You, too, sir. It's nice to finally be here." She sounded entirely genuine. "I'm sorry, sir. I don't mean to take up your time." She looked over to me with an "I'm sorry" smile. "I just wanted to introduce myself. Also, I was wondering if there were any papers I need or anything I need to know."
"Of course, of course! Here let me write down my website. The syllabus is on it. The book is The American Journey and it looks just like…Bella can I see your book for a second?"
I nodded my head and handed my textbook to him without saying a word. The girl (Miss Hale, I guess) looked and her gaze held for a second. She turned back to Professor Green when he read the authors names off and handed it to her to look at.
"Even though we're in a little over a month, I'm sure the bookstore will have a couple still on hand."
Then it hit me…she's in this class. She just barely registered? How is that possible? I thought there was no possible way to get registered after the second or third week. Who is this girl?
"Actually, sir, I checked and they ran out of this particular textbook. But I found it online and it's in the mail. Is that going to be a problem?" Miss Hale asked.
"When is it supposed to arrive?"
"I think in a week. Just in time for the next class."
"Hmm…that shouldn't be a problem. I didn't assign any homework this week. Just look over the syllabus and chapters 5 & 6 when you receive your book."
"Alright, sounds good. It was very nice to meet you, sir." She shook his hand again.
"Miss Hale, the pleasure is all mine. Please give my regards to Dr. Cullen and his wife. We are all so excited to have all of you here." He smiled.
All? How many?
"Of course, sir. I'll be sure to tell them." She returned his smile and turned back to me. She held out my book in front of me. I took it and put it back into my backpack. When I looked back up the door was slowly closing. Professor Green turned back to me.
"Alright, Bella."
I swallowed and met his eyes. "Yes, sir?"
He sat down on top of his desk and folded his arms.
"What is going on?" he asked.
I hesitated. "Sir?"
"Your test scores are down, you're showing up late for class, you aren't doing the reading…what is going on?" he asked again.
I opened my mouth a couple times to say something but nothing would come out. I felt like a fish.
"Come on, Bella…You're better than this! Your ACTs were relatively high. Your first year went great. I talked to your professors from last year and they couldn't say a single bad thing about you."
I looked at him appallingly. "I'm sorry, sir, but why is any of this your business?"
"Why is it my business?" he repeated. "Well…because contrary to belief I actually care about my students. I don't teach for the glorious lifestyle," he said sarcastically. "Bella, do you know why I call you 'Miss Swan' in class and in front of other teachers and students?"
I shook my head
"Because I respect you."
My head dropped.
"I'm not just saying it, I really do. As do many professors here. Do you know why? Because you are the ideal student. You are the reason we are here, the reason why we chose to be teachers…I know the potential you have. I see it! I see it in you in every class. You are very knowledgeable. And that is why I care, why we care."
"I'm very sorry, sir," I whispered.
"I don't want you to be sorry, Bella. I want you to at least try. Please, for the sanity of your teachers, try."
I peeked up and saw a slight smile playing on his lips.
I breathed out a laugh. "Alright. I'll try, sir."
"Thank you. My door is always open, Bella."
I nodded a thank you.
"I'll see you next week in class," he said, dismissing me.
"Goodnight, Professor."
I turned and walked out of the classroom. The hallway was completely empty. I walked outside and I barely felt the rain as I made my way towards the parking lot.
What a weird couple of hours.
The talk with Professor Green was a total surprise. I did not see that coming. Don't get me wrong, I'm really glad and touched but I just didn't think he (or any other teacher for that matter) even cared about students. He really is a good guy.
This mystery girl comes in, puts Mike in his place (which I totally give her mad props for), and then Professor Green is in awe of her family and her. Who is she? Or I guess more importantly, who are they?
I pulled my keys out of my backpack and unlocked my car, a white 2001 Honda Civic. I threw my backpack into the front passenger's seat and slid into the driver's seat in the same movement. I locked the doors, started the car, and put on my seat belt. I sighed as I put the car into reverse and made my way home.
I guess we'll find out next week.