Note: Keep in mind: I don't know a thing about law school. I tried to avoid too many details so I wouldn't get everything wrong. But if I did, I'm sorry, please let it slide and enjoy it purely for its entertainment value.
This is my first shot at fan fiction so I hope its okay. I really love the stories about how Mac and Rod met so here's my take on it…
Tuesday Morning…
Rod Calloway walked into and took a seat in his first class on his first day of his first year at Yale Law School. He wasn't normally the nervous type. In fact, he excelled in stressful environments. But today, he was nervous. Nervous because the clock said exactly 8:00 AM and his father was walking into the classroom. Nervous because his father was an amazing lawyer and a great teacher, a man who expected a lot of his son and would accept nothing less. Nervous because he could only pray that he could deliver.
"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I'm Professor Calloway and this is Ms. Allen," Rod's father said as a young lady entered the lecture hall. "As I am still a practicing attorney, there may be times when I will not be able to make it to class. I often have upper-level students assist me and fill in when I cannot be here. Ms. Allen will be graduating this spring and is one of our top students, if not THE top student, here. You all will benefit greatly from her presence here, I can assure you."
Rod was in awe. An instant crush had developed. She was tall, a perfect fit to his 6 foot 5 inch frame; beautiful, though unconventionally; and smart, also a perfect attribute as Rod was quite intelligent himself.
His concentration was broken when he heard his father say, "Exam."
"Is he kidding?" Rod thought. "We've only been in class 15 minutes."
He obviously wasn't kidding. Ms. Allen was already passing them out. As she made her way up the steps handing a stack a papers down each row, Rod thoughtfully congratulated himself for choosing an outside seat.
She reached his row and they locked eyes as she handed him his stack. They both smiled.
Mackenzie Allen almost tripped on the next step up. "Cute," she thought. "Sure hope he didn't notice that." He did, of course, and took it as a good sign.
Professor Calloway left Mackenzie to watch the students as they took their exam. A quiet room with no lecture to pay attention to left her free to daydream. She skimmed across the names on the class roster. There were well over a hundred names on that list. She'd never be able to guess his. He was cute, with an awfully sweet smile. She glanced in his direction occasionally, careful not to stare, and her mind began to wander…
"He looks tall. Athletic-tall, not gangly-tall though. Bonus points for that.
He must be pretty smart too. He wouldn't be HERE if he wasn't.
But this is a first-year class. Could he be younger than me? He doesn't look that young.
Seriously, Mackenzie, what are you thinking? You don't even know him."
Still, she just couldn't help it. There was something about him.
Wednesday Afternoon…
Rod was supposed to meet his father at his office at 5 o'clock. They had plans to meet his mom for dinner. It was only four but he had run out of ways to waste time so he dropped by anyway in hopes he could convince his old man to skip out early.
As Rod entered the suite, he spotted Ms. Allen at her desk immersed in grading the exams from the day before.
He caught his father just as he was walking out of his office. "Might there be any chance of us getting out of here any time soon?" Rod asked. "Not right now," his dad answered. "I've got a meeting with the chancellor. Why don't you hang out here and crack open one of those books you're carrying around. I'll be back before five, I promise."
Professor Calloway was about to walk out the door. "Ah, Mackenzie…" he said. "Rod, you remember Ms. Allen. I'm sure she would be glad to help you study while I'm gone."
"Dad, she's busy," Rod defended.
"Actually, no, I'm finished," she said as she straightened the stack of tests.
And with that, the professor was gone.
Rod Calloway, yes, she had remembered seeing that name on the roster. Knowing now that he was the boss' son really put a damper on (but did not extinguish) her excitement at seeing him again.
"So, Mackenzie," he said, glad to find out her name. "Can I call you Mackenzie or is that too informal?"
"No, not at all, Mackenzie's fine. Or Mac, most people call me Mac."
"Well, Mac," he said with emphasis, "if you don't have anything too pressing to do, would you mind helping me study?"
She agreed and they dove into one of his case studies. Mac listened to him go over the material for about 20 minutes before interrupting, "Rod, what in the world did you ask for my help for? You know this stuff."
Mac gestured towards the stack of papers she had been grading, "It must be in your blood. You had the highest score in the class on this exam. And it wasn't easy."
His heart skipped a beat. She recognized him from class. There were a hundred faces in that class and she had remembered his. And now that she knew his name, she remembered his score off-hand. He couldn't have been more thrilled.
Rod took this as a good sign as well and decided to play the charming card.
"Honestly," he said, "I was just hoping to command your attention for a little while."
She smiled. (Yes, mission accomplished.)
Now it was her heart's turn to skip a beat. Was he flirting with her? She was speechless.
Professor Calloway returned from his meeting with the chancellor just in time to save her from blushing. "Ready? Get your things; I'll meet you at the car."
"Sure," Rod replied.
He looked at Mackenzie, "Thanks for your help. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?" she said, still a bit flustered.
He smiled. She was so cute. "I'll see you in class tomorrow."
Nothing could keep her from blushing this time. "Right," she said studiously. "I'll see you tomorrow."
