Chapter 4

Catherine felt sudden exhaustion. Working all day long started to affect her. She decided not to stay after classes and go home to have a rest. She even refused going out for dinner with her colleagues bringing up an excuse about feeling down and sick. Actually, she was not lying. She was not sick but she felt down for some reason. Probably, lack of sleep and long hours of work without rest made her like this, she thought to herself.

Once she was at home, she cooked herself nice meal and had her dinner. Since she was feeling guilty for not spending enough time with Ethan, she took him for a walk and at the same time, she paid a visit to supermarket to buy a few stuff for home.

Once they were in the house, she laid down on the sofa with Ethan next to her on the ground. "What would you like to watch buddy?"- She smiled at him grabbing TV remote control and then added, "Let's see if there is anything interesting for both of us".

She turned on the TV and started switching channels. She stopped on one channel after she saw Jackie's image. The presenter was talking about Jackie's career, which drastically went up right after premiere of Neptune movie. Apparently, she already signed up for two more projects and one of them is going to be a huge deal.

Catherine was happy for Jackie. She could not have imagined her to stay with her in Bloomington. She would feel guilty for a lifetime to deprive her this opportunity. Besides there was no guarantee that Jackie and her would last forever. Probably, they would break up anyway. "What would happen if we still stayed together?" Catherine asked this question herself frequently.

Catherine turned of TV and leaned down to hug Ethan. "Do you also miss her?" Ethan looked at her with sad eyes and Catherine did not know whether it was due to moving to New York or because Ethan also missed Jackie. She exhaled deeply. Then she stood up to take her laptop from her briefcase and sat down.

She turned on her laptop and opened her email box. It took some time for her emails to load. While waiting she remembered the encounter with the woman in the library a few days ago. Slonim? Where did she hear that surname before? Forgetting about her emails, she opened Google and typed Alexandra Slonim. As soon as she pressed on the enter button, the results emerged on the monitor very quickly.

She clicked on the first link, which was a Wikipedia page. She saw a photo of the familiar face. She started reading about Alexandra.

Alexandra Slonim was a so-called prodigy in the field of Sociology. She graduated from Yale with a major in Sociology and a minor in Psychology as she mentioned to Catherine. Then she concluded her Master's degree at Yale and moved to New York after enrolling as a PhD student at the University of Columbia. She is mostly renowned for her book called "Memoirs of a stranger" which she published while being a Masters student. Her book consists of data she gathered through qualitative methods while she was traveling during summer holidays since she was 19. She travelled to more than 20 countries where she talked to citizens and noted her memories. Many Sociology and some Psychology scholars are using the book as an extracurricular reading.

Catherine stopped reading for a while and started bringing up every little detail about the night when she met Alexandra. No wonder she was so pushy and cheeky. Apparently, she thinks too much about herself. What about the accent? Catherine continued to read.

Alexandra was born to Jewish parents in St. Petersburg, Russia. She is 26 and spent most of her life in St. Petersburg before moving to the USA at the age of 17 to get education at Yale. Oh, that is where the accent comes from; Catherine said loudly and continued reading. She speaks five languages fluently.

OK, Catherine simpered to herself, an all-knowing snob. Then she looked at some of the scientific articles Alexandra wrote and it hit her right away. Yes, the name Slonim was a familiar one. Catherine read an article by her where the author claimed that every single psychological trait was driven by the society we live in or the people surrounding us. Moreover, Catherine used the same article as a resource for her article "Reversal of self-denial" and put Alexandra on the reference list. She tried to remind herself the details of the article and thought that in general it was great though there were a few questions in her mind. She could not have imagined that someone so young wrote the article.

She returned to her email box. There was nothing important, so she turned it off and went to bed.

The next morning, she greeted an old fellow professor while opening her office door with the key. The professor, whose name she tried to recall came close to her asking about her well-being.

- Catherine, darling, hope you feel better. We all were worried about you the other day. Is everything OK?

Luckily, Catherine just remembered her name.

- Professor Smith, so nice of you to ask. Yes, I feel better. I was so tired and exhausted that I went home and had a rest.

- I understand. In fact, we were talking about you and mentioned how hard you work since you came here. You might be young and full of energy but it does not mean you should not rest. Give yourself a nice rest occasionally.

- Well, I learned my lesson. Next time I will definitely be careful with that.

- We will have a lunch with some of the department professors in the cafeteria. Would you like to join us?

- Sure, I will join. I will be there at 12pm exactly.

- Good. See you at lunch.

Catherine did not want to go for a lunch with a group but she did not want to estrange herself from other staff members too. Therefore, she was in the cafeteria right at 12pm.

After a group of a few professors sat down at the table. They started talking lively. At first, they talked about how they all hate finals week due to lots of pressure and students coming to their offices and asking for help. Suddenly, Professor McKay turned to Catherine.

- Professor Stark, how do you handle students coming to your office and asking for help?

I am sleeping with them, Catherine said in her mind.

- Professor McKay, it depends on the student. If this is a student who really tried the whole semester but somehow could not succeed, I will do my best to help him or her. However, if this is someone who does not bother himself to come to the class without an excuse, sleep during classes or does not listen to lectures, then I cannot help but pray for that student.

Everyone at the table laughed. Professor Smith asked Catherine.

- So, how do you like our university? Are you getting used to the new atmosphere or is it uncomfortable?

- I am getting used to it slowly. It is a bit difficult though. You know, I lived in a small town and I moved to New York. Everything here is new and enormous. Sometimes I like it but sometimes I find it too much.

- You will definitely like it here. I do not know why a young and energetic woman like you would work in Indiana. Here you will have more opportunities for yourself. By the way, students say only great things about you. They seem to enjoy your classes very much.

Catherine shyly smiled at Professor Smith's compliment. The other staff members complimented her also bringing up her dedication and hard work she presented while working at the university. Catherine was getting her self-confidence back. It was great to be surrounded by the professors who respected and treated her well.

They started discussing other topics like courses and curriculums. One of the professors mentioned about possibility of a new member joining staff. Janette who was sitting next to Catherine and who was the same age as she was, spelled out:

- So, is this true? Professor Walters wants her to join us.

Another professor, replied while still chewing his bite:

- Apparently, he does. It would definitely be great to have her around us. The interest for the department will definitely increase. In addition, everyone likes her courses at the other department.

- Oh, come on Professor Barnes. You say that because you like her book and you will be please to work by her side. I like her writings too but I am annoyed that Professor Walters wants to invite someone else to the department when every single one of us can teach the course. Right, Professor Smith?

- I agree with you, Janette. Everyone in the department can teach that course.

Janette looked at Professor Barnes with a satisfied and happy face. Professor Smith, on the other hand, continued talking:

- Nevertheless, Janette, dear, I should also admit that practically she is the only one to use the knowledge of qualitative research methods in real life situation until now. I find her works a little progressive but it is quite impressive as well. She has quite a potential and if she uses that potential in the right direction, I think she will be the next Bourdieu or Durkheim of her period.

Catherine could not help but interfere:

- Sorry, I am lost. Who are you all talking about?

Alexandra Slomin, Janette responded quickly both with spark in her eyes and annoyance in her voice.