Chapter Two: Welcome To Hell
Belle plopped her books on the mattress of her unmade bed, and walked over to her desk pulling out her chair to sit down. Sitting in the chair she rested her elbows on the wooden desk massaging her temples as she recalled her long week of classes, and the homework she still had to complete by next week.
The Women's Studies class on Monday was the beginning of her stress as Professor Mills intensely disliked Belle already. The students got into an unintentional debate in the first class, in which Belle found herself arguing against Professor Mills. The haughty professor was the type that forced her opinion down your throat and didn't mind debates as long as in the end you agreed with her. If you didn't agree, you should keep your opinions to yourself.
"That was a great start to my first week of classes," she mused sarcastically.
She glanced at her watch, her eyes grew round as she realized she had her first European Literature class in thirty minutes. She snatched up the books she would need and ran out. She was forced to walk at a brisk pace as her books kept slipping out of her grasp, and she almost tripped on the sidewalk a couple times.
She had heard a few more opinions on the professor throughout the week when she shared the news that she was taking his class. Most, like Tink, said he was a cynical hard ass, who would put you easily on the spot, but he did it to challenge them, eventually giving his students the confidence to speak their mind. B's were acceptable, C's and lower meant failure, and A's were to be expected from his students. What actually surprised her most was much of the female student populace and some of the gay males admitted that despite his hard-ass reputation as a teacher, he was easy on the eyes and his accent was quite appealing.
There was already a good amount of students filing in, and Mary Margaret and David were sitting close to the back of room giving Belle hope that sitting close to back would help her avoid being acknowledged by the professor. She realized that was most likely a false hope on her part, as she was warned that pretty much anywhere you sat Professor Gold found you.
The man himself made his entrance, slowly walking with a black cane with a gold top, but his movements exuded a natural confidence and a demand for respect. His light brown hair touched the top of his shoulders and his matching brown eyes that were shielded with his glasses.
Stepping up to the podium, Professor Gold set down his briefcase, and adjusting his glasses, he studied his students making mental notes of what he could observe just by what he saw.
"Welcome to Hell, dearies. Or at least that's probably what you're thinking about this class and maybe some of your other classes," Professor Gold said his Scottish brogue very thick, but surprisingly easy to understand. "I'm Doctor Robert Gold. I'm not here to coddle you or let you get away with taking this class because you think it's easy. If you think because it's Literature and you can get an easy A, you may as well leave right now."
He paused, giving people a chance to leave, but everyone was riveted by his presences and too afraid to leave.
"How many of you have actually read Shakespeare? How many men in this room have Austen or Bronte? How many have Dickens? Or Even Tolkien?" Professor Gold stared at each section down as if daring them to argue. "I'm guessing the answer is 'no' for most of you. Some of the females might have read Austen or one of the Bronte sister's works, but I guarantee most have just seen the movie versions. Movies dinnae do the story justice, but literature in the form of paper is a rich tapestry of words, weaved together to arouse the imagination, to ignite a light inside the deepest crevices of one's mind, and there only goal is this…to tell a story. Unfortunately, American literature has loss this ability with their comic books and distasteful stories such as 50 Shades of Grey." He spoke with passion and wild abandon that held the female students staring dreamily at him while the males' eyes glazed over.
"Excuse me, Professor, but I have to disagree," Belle spoke, and she could hear the shifting of seats, arms sliding along the wood, and the silent gasps.
He raised his brow. "And why is that, dearie?"
"Well, yes, some of the acceptable literature today this rather disgusting, but not American literature is bad. I mean what about Fitzgerald, Steinbeck, Twain, Poe, and Plath? They're brilliant writers and American."
"True, but all those authors are dead," he pointed out.
"Do you think it's not possible for an American writer to not be as good of a writer?" She inquired.
"Well with what is acceptable I don't know, but if someone is willing to ignore American expectations then, yes he or she can bring back the brilliant literature of the 20th Century. Of course, we're not here to talk about American literature now are we, but thank you for your comment Miss?" He asked.
"French," Belle replied.
He returned to his lectured occasionally glancing at Belle as she studiously took notes and smiling to himself as he thought 'Finally, an interesting student.'
Throughout the rest of lecture, Belle kept questioning many of Professor Gold's statements, and he felt a mixture of frustration and fascinating. It had been a long time since a student had challenged him, but he didn't like be continuously interrupted.
~Page Break~
Belle's first class with Professor Gold had gone better than she expected, and she had quite enjoyed the lesson. It was true the man was a bit cold, but he was passionate about the subject he was teaching, which was all any eager student could ask for. As she read her notes while sitting beneath an old oak she had discovered earlier that week, Belle began to twist the heart shaped locket around her neck, which was the only remaindered of the her mother's presence's in her life, that had become a habitual gesture whenever she was lost in thought or nervous. She wasn't sure why, but the feeling of eyes watching her came over her, and Belle glanced beyond the area she sat, but there were too many students staring at each other or their books to determine if one of them was staring at her. Belle had returned to reading, but within a few seconds a shadow loomed over the page she was reading. She glanced up and smiled as David stood with a slight smirk on his lips, clutching Mary Margaret's arm.
"Hey, thought we'd join the teacher's pet," he said teasingly as he sat cross legged beside her.
Belle's cheeks turned crimson and she began to fiddle with her locket again.
"Don't tease her, David," Mary Margaret said sitting down beside him and smacking his arm. He grimaced rubbing his tender flesh as Mary Margaret, for such a petite and sweet woman, was a bit fierce.
"We just had one class, David," Belle reminded him, "and all I did was questioning his statements. It seems a bit arrogant of him to assume that European is the only continent to have brilliant literature.
David fell back on the grass and positioned his hands underneath his head. "The man didn't seem use to people interrupting him, let alone on the first day, and the dude smiled. I hear that's rare to get from him."
Belle rolled her eyes while Mary Margaret took out a pear and bit into it, and she wiped away the juice that trickled down her chin.
"So I hear someone made quite impression," Ruby said as she approached the group with Victor lagging behind as he drank his coke. He used to constantly drink beer, but Ruby gotta him out of habit after she told him about her dad and how drinking contributed to her parent's car accident. He held his medical textbooks hand for Victor was the only other person in the group with a heavy load of classes.
"It's not a big deal," Belle insisted, "I just disagreed with some of his comments he made."
"During the first lesson," Ruby reminded her.
Belle deliberately kept her eyes on her notebook feeling the heat on her cheeks as she scribble profusely summarized versions of what she was reading in the textbook. Ruby smirked as she took a sip of her soda, and the others all looked at each other with identical expressions.
~Page Break~
The next two months most of her time was spent in the classrooms listening to lectures, the library studying or writing her latest essay, and the occasional visit to the tree to just enjoy the fresh air. Studying her dorm was off limits as almost every in the dorm liked to party or at least listen to loud music, including her friends.
"Belle, you deserve to take a break for a few hours," Ruby insisted while she waited for Ariel to get dressed. They were supposed to meet the guys twenty minutes ago, but Ariel couldn't find the right outfit.
Belle rummaged her papers and books as she searched for her pen that seemed to have disappeared. "This is our most important year and, unlike the rest of you guys, I don't welcome distractions. I want to do well this year and that requires lots of focus."
She got out of her seat and crawled beneath the desk, running her hand along the carpet floor as well as searching with her eyes. "Aha, there it is," Belle exclaimed as she spotted the pen.
"Oh my God Belle, it's just one night! It's not gonna kill you," Ruby said.
"She's got a point you've been studying too hard and deserve a break. Who knows maybe you'll meet a cute guy," Ariel said as she popped out from the closest.
Belle all the sudden became much focused on the book she was reading, but the words were just blurred images on a page. "Well, I'm not looking for a new boyfriend. I told you that," she said, clutching her locket.
Ruby raised her brow. "What happened between you and Gaston anyway?"
"Nothing," Belle shrugged. "As I told Ariel, he and I wanted different things." He wanted what I wasn't ready to give.
"Really? Well, I'm sorry that you guys are no longer together, because you made a cute couple," Ruby said.
"Oh yeah, they should have stayed together, because they made a cute couple," Ariel said in a mocking tone.
"You know what I mean, they were great together, and you really cared about each other," Ruby said touching Belle's shoulder.
Ariel glanced down at Belle, who was writing notes on the reading material rather vigorously, but Belle's expression was sad and distant.
Ruby sighed. "I still think you should come."
"C'mon Ruby, Belle obviously isn't interested, and we shouldn't force her. Plus were keeping the guys waiting," Ariel said, now that she was ready. She guided Ruby out of the room and with a final glance, left Belle to her studies.
An hour later, Belle was in the library scanning the shelves for a book. She dragged her fingers along the spines having to turn her head at an angle to read the titles.
"Aha," she said when she came across the one she wanted. Pulling it out of the slot, Belle, with the book in her grasp, headed for one of the tables that were empty. Opening it she began to reading, but as she silently read the words a chill crept. She glanced around the room, but found the few students and librarian's head bent over going about their activities that didn't involve looking at anyone. It was probably just a chill, but for a moment she couldn't help, but think someone was staring at her, just like that first day in the quad.