Janet finished the exam with almost 40 minutes to spare. Frank had been right; the exam was challenging, but fair. After rechecking her answers to make sure she hadn't made any careless mistakes, she gathered her belongings and approached Frank to turn in the test paper.
Frank looked up from the pile of exams he was grading. He took the exam from her and smiled. "Meet me in my office around 4:30. The door is locked, so if you get there before me, just ask the department secretary to let you in. I've given her your name."
Janet nodded. "Sure thing. I'll see you then."
She walked out and looked at her watch. 3:20. She didn't want to sit in his office for over an hour, so she headed to the cafeteria to get a cup of coffee. She settled down at a quiet corner table. Since the chemistry exam was her last for the semester, she didn't need to crack open yet another textbook while she sipped her coffee. She was grateful for the opportunity to just sit and think.
It had been a wonderful semester. The nervous, insecure girl from the beginning of the semester had developed into a radiant, self-confident young woman by the semester's end. The feeling was oddly reminiscent of the sensation she'd had performing in Frank's floorshow, basking in the discovery of her own sexual power. Frank had increased her self-confidence then…and during the course of the semester he'd played an important role in helping her increase her self-confidence in an entirely different way.
The night he'd visited her in her apartment felt as if it had taken place in an entirely different lifetime. She remembered how humiliated she'd been when he rejected her blatant attempt at seduction, but now she realized how fortunate she was that he hadn't given in to her desire. Had she become sexually involved with him, she knew she would have lost sight of her goals in an obsession with physical pleasure, instead of focusing on her schoolwork and on meeting new people. She couldn't pretend to be happy about her long erotic dry spell, but she knew her life overall was much richer than it would have been had she become Frank's lover…particularly since he wouldn't have been in love with her, and certainly wouldn't have been faithful to her.
Although she hadn't believed him at the time, he was absolutely right when he told her he'd be more useful to her as a professor than as a lover. As a lover, he would have thrown her entire life completely out of balance. However, as a professor, he helped her find her way in this challenging new environment. She realized how much she had come to rely on his guidance and advice, both of which she would sorely miss with his absence next semester.
Which reminded her…she absolutely had to find out what his plans were. She looked at her watch, and saw it was already 4:05. She'd just go ahead to his office, and wait for him there.When she arrived at his office, she found she had indeed gotten there ahead of him. She approached the department secretary, a sweet older woman named Mrs. Beasley, who always gave Janet a cheery greeting each time she came to see Frank.
"Excuse me, ma'am. Dr. Furman told me to ask for you if I arrived at his office before he did, and you'd let me in. I'm Janet Weiss."
"Oh, certainly, dear. Let me grab my keys." She opened her desk drawer, and pulled out a large key ring. "Just follow me."
They made their way down the hallway. Mrs. Beasley looked over at Janet and smiled. "How did your chemistry exam go?"
"Well, I think. Dr. Furman is a wonderful teacher."
Mrs. Beasley nodded knowingly. "He must be. He's very popular with the students. His office hours are far busier than anyone else's. And he's a nice young man, too. Always so polite. His girlfriend is the same way. Just lovely."
Janet's interest was instantly piqued. "Oh? He's dating someone regularly?"
Mrs. Beasley blushed, and brought her hand up to her mouth. "Oh, dear. It wasn't my place to say anything. I shouldn't be talking about a professor's personal life."
Oh, well. Apparently she wasn't going to get any more information from Mrs. Beasley. "Don't worry, ma'am. I won't say anything to him."
The older woman smiled in relief. "Thank you so much, dear. I really should be more careful, especially where he's concerned. So many of the students, especially the young ladies, exhibit more interest in him than they really should."
By this time they were at Frank's office. Mrs. Beasley unlocked the door. "There you are. You have a lovely vacation now."
"Thank you, ma'am. You, too."
Janet entered the office and sat down in one of the chairs in front of Frank's desk. She thought about Mrs. Beasley's comment. Was Frank's girlfriend the "friend" he'd mentioned at the beginning of the semester? Had that relationship actually developed into something serious? From her vantage point, she saw something on the desk she'd never noticed before…something that looked like the back of a framed photograph. She got up and walked around behind the desk. It was, indeed, a photograph, apparently taken at a party, of Frank with his arm around the waist of a stunning, auburn-haired young woman, both beaming into the camera's lens. She picked up the photograph, examining the woman more closely. It wasn't difficult to see why Frank would be attracted to her. Her thick, glossy hair fell in soft curls around her shoulders, framing a classically beautiful, oval-shaped face. Her eyes were bright blue, and she was wearing a dress, the same shade of blue as her eyes, that clung to her perfect figure in all the right places. Janet sighed. If this was the woman Frank had met at the beginning of the semester, it was no wonder he'd turned Janet down. And, apparently, she was not only beautiful, but nice as well. Sometimes life just isn't fair.
Unfortunately for Janet, Frank chose that moment to enter his office. "Hello, Janet." He looked amused.
She hastily placed the photograph back on his desk, and looked guiltily at him. "Hi, Frank. Sorry to be so nosy."
He smiled and shrugged. "No need to apologize. If I objected to people seeing the picture, I wouldn't have it on my desk."
She made her way back to her chair, as he walked over to his desk and deposited his briefcase on it. He sat down, and leaned back wearily. "It's been quite a week. I'm delighted that it's almost over."
Janet laughed wryly. "I promise you, I feel the exact same way." She paused a moment. "By the way…she's really beautiful."
For a second he looked confused, until his eyes fell on the photograph. "Andrea? Yes, she is. Terribly intelligent, as well. She teaches English literature here."
As if "gorgeous" and "nice" weren't enough…she has to be smart, too! "Isn't she the woman you'd just met at the beginning of the semester?"
He nodded. "Yes. We've been together ever since."
"Are you…in love with her? The last time I asked you, you said it was too soon to tell."
Frank raised his eyebrows, and was silent for a moment. Then he apparently decided to answer. "Yes, I'm very much in love with her."
Now Janet was getting closer to asking what she really wanted to know. "If you're so in love with her, how can you leave? Are you really going home?"
Frank glanced at the door, to make sure it was completely closed. He then looked squarely at Janet. His voice had an edge to it. "You do understand what I'm about to tell you is completely confidential? You are never to repeat it to anyone. Do I make myself clear?"
Janet nodded firmly. "Yes, of course."
"Okay." He paused, apparently deciding how much he wanted to tell Janet. "As it turned out, my initial encounter with Andrea was not, shall we say, a 'chance meeting.' She was sent from Transylvania to Earth by my mother to find out what had actually happened to me."
Janet stared at him in astonishment. "She's Transylvanian?"
He laughed softly. "I see your reaction was much like mine. I didn't find out who she really was until almost the end of the semester. So, to get to the point, I will be returning to Transexual, and I won't have to leave her behind to do it. She's the reason I'm able to go back."
Janet didn't know what to say. "Well…congratulations! You must be excited about going back home."
Frank looked pensive. "Yes, I suppose so. Of course I'm very much looking forward to seeing my mother again, as well as some close friends. But I must admit to being a bit apprehensive, as well."
Janet was confused. "Apprehensive? Why?"
He shrugged. "Well, for one thing, one of my first duties will be to pass sentence on Riff Raff and Magenta for what they did to me. I'm not particularly looking forward to seeing them again. The thought of holding their lives in the palm of my hand isn't especially comforting, either. It's an enormous responsibility, and I wonder if I'll have the strength of character to exercise it properly." He sighed. "In addition, I often wonder if Andrea realizes what life with me will be like for her on Transexual. It's so much simpler here. Once we're back there, our relationship will be public property. It will be a difficult adjustment for someone who didn't grow up in that kind of environment. For that matter, it will probably be difficult for me. I've always had lovers, but never a real relationship I wanted to protect and nurture."
Janet tried to comfort him. "Now that you've learned how wonderful love is, I know you'll do everything you need to do in order to preserve it. You won't allow yourself to fail at something so important."
He smiled and changed the subject. "Thank you for your vote of confidence. However, what I need to do now is buy you a congratulatory drink at the Denton Arms. I shouldn't be telling you this, but I've already graded your exam…and you earned a solid A, on both the exam and the course itself. Well done."
Janet grinned triumphantly. "Thanks! I do have to admit, though…I couldn't have done it without you."
"That may be so, but you'll have to do it without me going forward – which I know you can do. Don't make a liar out of me."
"I won't…I swear."
