Teacher/Student Au
"Did you have something to add, Anna?" Cosimo inquired of his young aide, keeping the usual aloofness out of his voice.
That afternoon he had been finishing up explaining mind-body dualism to the class. Many looked interested; a couple students were on their phones, but he didn't mind. Of course he didn't normally call on his teaching assistant, but a look had grown on her face, one that meant she didn't agree with whatever the subject was about. Anna was brilliant, but she sometimes forgot she was supposed to remain objective. She had an opinion on almost everything. Which would be wonderful if she were actually one of the students.
"Well," she ventured, "This doesn't sound like a healthy belief. Doesn't separating the mind from the body so much make us, like, robots?"
He deigned to show a smile in front of the class. "Are you a materialist?"
"I'm an idealist," she answered, chin slightly in the air.
Before he could make a retort to that, a harsh alarm rang out. He'd almost forgotten the fire drill scheduled that day. He wasn't that sorry to be interrupted. He tried to let his students arrive to their own conclusions about the concepts he taught, but this one wasn't his favorite. A pity, though; he would have liked to hear more of what Anna had to say. He always did.
He picked up his black jacket and glanced at the clock near the door. Still ten minutes left. His students had started to get up and put their things away. "All right, this way," he told them, heading out the door and down the hall. "Doubt we'll need to come back to class, but remember there's a quiz Tuesday. Study or don't at your own peril."
He saw Anna trying to catch up with him and slowed so they could walk together. They talked about the lecture and what she thought of it.
Her devil-may-care attitude belied the hardworking spirit underneath it, that patiently answered the silliest of questions their students asked while Pitch would struggle to not roll his eyes at them. He had been given the use of one of the mustiest, coldest rooms, and while he didn't mind the natural melancholy it gave off, he could not deny that Anna had a pleasing way of airing it out with her bright presence, as if all the windows had been opened to allow spring to clear out the dust from everyone's lungs and sink the room in sunrays.
He was half Italian, half English, raised near London, while he knew she came from old money in Norway. They both enjoyed residing in America, but a sort of kinship was formed from their outsider status and occasional homesickness. He didn't know how to tell her so without feeling awkward, but she had become the best part of his teaching days.
He pondered over Anna as she chatted away, the two of them exiting the building. The weather channel had promised a week of warm sunshine, but it had rained a short while ago that afternoon, and brought the temperature down surprisingly low for a spring day. He wasn't one to mind the chill. He glanced over at Anna.
She stood on the sidewalk in white sneakers and a little yellow sundress with flowers scattered all over it. Anna had a never-ending supply of dresses, but he didn't think he'd seen this one before. The misty gray of the rain didn't dim her in the slightest in it.
"Why, why did it have to rain today?" She whined, shivering in the cold with her arms crossed over her chest. It had stopped raining but the temperature hadn't risen. Apparently the dress wasn't as warm as its color. "I had to wait all month for a nice day to finally wear this dress!"
"You're always glued to that phone. Does it never occur to you to just Google the weather?"
"No," she confessed sheepishly. "Not when it was as sunny out as it was this morning. And I have a jacket in the classroom, I just forgot to grab it."
Without a word, he took off his well-tailored jacket and handed it to her.
She eyed him for a second. "Won't you be cold?"
"The classroom isn't much warmer. I don't mind the cold and obviously you do. Take it."
Anna thanked him and accepted it meekly, but could hardly hide the grin growing on her face. She shrugged into it. Cosimo was thin as a rail, though with his broad shoulders and long torso it still hung a bit loosely on her. She didn't care; she'd never worn anything of his and was elated to now. It was such a boyfriend move. She loved the cologne he wore mixed with his natural musk, but couldn't very well smell his jacket in front of him without looking like a creep.
The bell rang once more, and Cosimo looked at his watch. Class was pretty much over. Students and faculty alike began to meander back into the building. Some stayed and talked for a while or went to their cars, done for the day and eager to get to their weekend fun. The drill had taken up the rest of their class time; no reason to head back to their classes except to gather their things left behind.
Didn't sound like a bad idea to him, but he had a pile of essays to go over before he could even think of leaving campus. It was easier to power through it all in his office and not drag it out at home.
Anna, who had stayed behind with him, had other plans.
"Do you feel like doing anything before you start grading?"
He started to head back inside. "Grading is all I plan to do, actually." Anna would always ask to do things with him after work and he would pretend he couldn't. It was the waltz they always did together.
She started after him. "I meant, like, as a date?" She hoped her eagerness wasn't written all over her face, but she couldn't help but bounce on her feet a little.
He stopped and turned towards her. She had never outright used the word date. "I've got more than enough to work on, and you still need to finish grading those quizzes for me."
"I already did. Maybe you could get them back at that Mexican place I told you about before." She smiled. Her impudence knew no bounds.
He said nothing for a moment, heart pounding. Rejecting her was getting old, but he didn't think he ought to accept. "Anna, I still have over forty essays to finish grading by Monday. You know that."
"Okay, we'll order in. Do you feel like calzones or Chinese? Whatever, we'll decide later. And you don't even have to leave school if you don't want to. I'll stay and help you finish grading. That's what I'm here for, you know." She sounded so pleased with herself, as if she had him boxed in with no way out, trapped in her grasp.
Trapped with Anna. The thought almost made him laugh out loud. Not a bad fate as far as they go.
"Anna, your generosity is appreciated, but it's Friday. You'd rather be with your friends than-"
"Spending an ugly day inside having dinner with the best professor in the universe so his workload doesn't kill him? My friends have their own plans anyway." Truthfully, in the whole duration of her stay in America, she had only made a few acquaintances that were fun to study with, but all were too busy in their own work to get closer.
Cosimo had been the one true friend she'd made, the one who kept her from feeling small and alone in this big adventure she'd set out to have. He could be as sharp and unfeeling as he liked to everyone else, but he never was with her. She liked how different they were, how he made her feel more at home studying abroad than she did back in that cold, lonely mansion. She couldn't repay him enough for that.
She stared at him expectantly. He had no good reason to reject her kind offer. He had tried for a whole school year to not let his personal feelings make their jobs awkward, rebuffing any suggestions to do something together after class Anna made that sounded more than platonic. He hated doing it and hated even more seeing her excitement deflate when he did. Even holding some authority herself over the classes, Anna was still a student herself, and he didn't wish to make either of them look bad by pushing something romantic between them.
In truth, it was entirely her doing the pushing. It was not the first time she tried to make sure he'd eaten. She'd stop and talk to him after his lectures every day unless she had an exam to study for in some class of hers. Bring him coffee if she thought he looked tired. Tell him about growing up in Norway, about her older sister who'd followed their parents' footsteps in a political career, and ask him about his childhood, what England was like, how he liked it here, as if she couldn't learn enough about him.
Cosimo held no delusions that he was a nice man. His natural tendency was to remain a detached observer wherever he went, usually only interacting with others to offer a sarcastic remark. Some found him amusing for this, but many didn't. This sheltered rich girl had come along with her upbeat nature and pretty smiles and somehow found it in her to like him anyway. He never felt that he deserved Anna or her stubborn sweetness, but perhaps it was time to act like he appreciated her for it.
"All right," he finally said, defeated, and trying hard to look it as her face lit up. "You win. Let's go back." He reached for his jacket.
"Oh, no," she laughed, backing away from him. "I'm not giving this back. Consider this payback for making me wait two semesters for a date." She wrapped his jacket around herself tightly, as if to shield herself from any attacks on his part.
"Hope you don't plan to keep it permanently." They started walking back inside.
"All your jackets are black, Cos. Use another."
"I still want it back." Besides, he liked the dress. The jacket hid so much of it.
"Okay, then. We'll have another dinner date tomorrow and I'll give it back then. Fair?"
He pretended to glare at her. "I suppose I don't have a choice with you, do I?"
Anna couldn't hide her joy. She'd waited so long. He had to know she liked him as more than a friend, and she knew he liked her too, even if wouldn't say so.
She walked through the office door he held open for her and pulled the jacket around her shoulders, smug. "But I admit… I'm pretty tempted to keep it anyway."
"What would you need it for? You probably have more jackets than I have articles of clothing entirely."
"I wore it and it got me a date with you," she pointed out. "Must be lucky." Just dinner and essays, but she was ecstatic.
"Tell you what," he stood in the doorway with her, bending down to bring his face closer to her's. "Give it back or don't, but you're an excellent aide, and… and person. I'll have dinner with you every week." Her bewilderment must have shown on her face, because he laughed when she didn't respond.
Seriously, she thought to herself. I am never giving this back now.