It doesn't take me long to finish the paper on contraceptive magic, and I have it delivered to Professor Potsdam's office on Wednesday. I decide to go to Hieronymous' class on Thursday, and so I check in with her on Friday to make sure that she got it.
"Um, Professor," I say quickly, heading up to the front of the room after class ends. "I was just wondering, I left my essay on green magic outside the box in your office. I just wanted to make sure that you got it."
"Oh yes," she says as she rummages through the papers on her desk. "I gave it a quick read-through, but it looked like it was very thorough."
"Um, I'm glad," I say, a bit confused. "Do I, um, get any merits for completing it, or-?"
"Oh, well that would be up to the teacher that is grading it, dear," she says without looking up at me.
"The teacher that's grading it?" I ask slowly.
"Yes," she says as she looks up at me. "I believe I've left it with Professor Grabiner." She winks at me, and I feel my face flush.
"Professor Grabiner?" I repeat. "Any, uh, particular reason why?"
"It may be your body, but that doesn't mean that the men should be any less educated than the ladies," she says. "Don't you agree?"
"Um, yes," I say. Other students have questions about the final and so I quickly duck out of the classroom and make my way back to the room. Really? Did she really have to give Hieronymous my paper on contraception of all things? Sure, I guess it was important for him to know it too, but it was still so embarrassing.
I can't wait for him to get home that night. As soon as the door opens, I'm immediately on my feet. "Did you read my essay?" I ask him anxiously.
"Hmm?" he asks as he closes the door behind him.
"Professor Potsdam gave you my essay," I exclaim.
"Yes," he says simply, walking past me and setting his hat down on his desk. "It was very informative. Five merits." I'm waiting for him to smirk, or to make some sort of joke, but he doesn't.
"Is that it?" I ask him, confused as ever. He simply winks at me as he heads into the bathroom for his nightly shower, and we don't talk about it again after that.
Hieronymous has detention on Saturday, and so I decide to spend the last Saturday of the year with Ellen, Virginia, and Donald.
"So what do you want to do?" Virginia asks. We're all sitting around in the room, with Donald sitting on my old bed. It doesn't feel like my bed anymore, and every time I see it I'm just reminded of how many times I slept there without knowing that I was married to Hieronymous. It's not a good feeling.
"We can go to the gym," I suggest, and all three turn around to look at me. "Play some soccer or something?"
"You sure you're ready?" Virginia asks.
"The present is as good a time as any," I sigh. "I'm going to be on this campus for another two years, so I might as well get used to it."
"Someone's being brave," Donald teases.
"Yeah, what did Grabby say to you?" Virginia asks, and I stick out my tongue at her.
"Oh, like I'm incapable of being brave by my own merits?" I ask.
"You guys go on," Ellen says. "I'm going to stay here and get some studying done before the final. I have no idea what to expect this year."
"Uh yeah," I say quickly. It occurs to me that they probably don't know I'm not going to take the final, and I probably shouldn't volunteer that information either. "Besides, we'll have time to hang out together all summer anyway. See you Ellen!"
She waves to me as me, Virginia and Donald exit the room. "You know, I'm going to be here all summer too," Donald says.
"Summer school?" I ask him as we walk towards the gymnasium.
"Yup."
"Well, whatever you do, please keep yourself out of detention," I tell him. "I would prefer to spend Saturday afternoons with my husband."
"Is that where he is now?" Virginia asks, and I nod.
"Unfortunately."
"You know," Virginia says. "You can always get yourself thrown in detention too. And then you guys will get to spend more time together."
"Yeah, but then he'd have to punish her too," Donald says, and I have to look away as I feel my cheeks go hot.
"Oh, Tori," Virginia says as she throws her head back with laughter. "So not what he meant."
"It still sounded wrong," I say. It doesn't take us long to reach the gym, and I quickly peak inside. It's empty. It's just the gym.
"So, where did it all go down?" Virginia asks, walking inside.
"Um," I point to a far corner. "Me, there. Hieronymous, there. Damien was kind of, in the middle there."
"Then we'll just avoid that area," Virginia says. "And play on this side." She goes into the side closet near the door and pulls out a soccer ball. "Magic or no magic?"
"No magic," I say. "I haven't played in forever. I just want a nice, normal-" Virginia kicks the ball and it whizzes past my head. "Seriously?"
"Just trying to keep you focused," Virginia says teasingly. "Got to keep your eye on the ball."
We play around for a little bit, kicking the ball to each other and pretending to score on each other, even though we were playing without a net. I keep trying to tell myself that I'm okay, but I don't like it when my back is turned to that corner of the gym. It makes me uncomfortable in ways I can't even describe.
"Hey gang." I look up sharply to see Professor Coleman coming into the gym.
"Hey, Jason," Virginia says, pulling the ball away from me. "Think fast." She kicks the ball towards him and he catches it in midair, spinning it in his hands. The way he holds the ball so naturally makes me think he has some kind of athletic experience, or at least has played a fair bit before.
"Hey, do you mind if I steal Tori for a second?"
"Um," Virginia looks hesitantly back at Donald. "Yeah, it's getting late. We should probably get back to studying too."
They make a move to exit the gym and I go with them quickly. I refuse to be trapped in the gym with just Jason. Not here. Not again. I didn't realize how long we were playing for, and I could see the sky starting to get darker with night coming on. I shut the gym door behind me and stand next to him. "Don't be a stranger," Virginia says, and hugs me quickly before she and Donald head back to their dorm.
"So you wanted to speak to me, sir?" I ask, turning to face him.
"Yes," he says. "Your friends told me all about your dinner with Grabby."
"Oh?" I ask. "And they told you how he was a perfect gentleman?"
"Yeah," he chuckles.
"So this is your apology?" I ask.
"No," he shakes his head. "Far from it. He's got you fooled, and now he has your friends fooled too."
I sigh. This whole "Grabby is a bad guy" thing is getting old fast, and is more than a little immature, especially coming from another teacher. "Did you ever stop to realize that maybe the only one who's being fooled is you?" I ask. "He's not a mean person. That's only who he pretends to be in order to scare students straight. You may not agree with it, and yeah, okay, if setting a notebook on fire is any indication, he can go overboard sometimes, but he generally means well."
"People who mean well are still capable of great misdeeds," Jason says.
"And?" I ask. "That doesn't mean anything to me. He's not a social person. He's not going to pretend to be someone he's not."
"He did last Saturday," Jason says, and I just shrug.
"That's just another side to him," I say. "There are many different sides to him, just like I'm sure there are many different sides of you." He tilts his head to the side and looks at me strangely. "Well, I mean, for one, you're both really similar. You both want students to respect you and learn from you, but you both are coming at it from completely opposite ends of the spectrum. You do it through charm and friendliness, and he does it through scare tactics and a lot of yelling."
"You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar," Jason notes.
"Maybe," I shrug. "But different things work for different people. You help some people learn, and he helps other people learn. And that way, between the two of you, you help everyone learn." I smile up at him teasingly. "You know, if you can get past his whole gruff demeanor, I bet you two could even become friends."
"I think I'll pass," Jason says quickly. "I just wanted to make sure you're okay."
"And I am okay," I say. "I am very okay. And he's a big part of that."
He just shakes his head, as if there's something he still doesn't understand. Maybe he doesn't understand it. Maybe he never will. "Have a good summer, Tori."
"You too, sir." I say. I cross my arms over my chest and watch him walk away towards the direction of his office. He was so weird. At first when I met Hieronymous, I thought he was weird, but Jason took it to a whole different level.
"And what could you two have been discussing at this late hour?" I hear a voice from behind me and I spin around to see Hieronymous standing there, a smirk of amusement on his lips. "Outside the gymnasium, no less?"
"I was playing soccer in there earlier with Virginia and Donald," I tell him. He looks pleasantly surprised.
"And?" he asks.
"And-" I rub at my upper arm uncomfortably. "I don't like having my back to that wall. It makes me feel…" I shudder and shake my head. "Icky."
Even though we're standing where anyone could probably see us, he leans in and kisses the top of my forehead. "But you're still trying," he says. "And I'm proud of you for that."
I smile at him and hold out my hand for his. He sighs and glances around before taking it. "Should we take the trails back?" he asks.
I shake my head quickly. "Not ready for that yet. Sometimes it feels like I'm walking into an enchanted forest where the tree branches are going to come and snap me up."
"And you think I would let that happen to you?" he asks, raising his eyebrows.
"No," I tell him. "No, you'd protect me. You protected me this whole year, and you protected me from taking the final, and I'm sure there are other ways you're going to protect me down the line."
"Yes, well," he says. "Hopefully they won't involve any more life threatening situations, for either of our sakes."
"Nah," I say. "Although I'm still waiting for our first real fight as a married couple."
"Oh?" he asks. "And you're not afraid that I'll, what did they say? Throw you around the room and pin you to the ceiling?"
"I think you know I can defend myself," I say, smirking at him. "You're powerful, but I'm crafty."
"I think I would prefer it if you assured me that you knew I wouldn't hurt you at all," he sighs, and I laugh as I wrap both of my arms around one of his and rest my head against his shoulder as we walk.
"You couldn't hurt me if you tried," I continue, and he just sighs again as he shakes his head. "Anyway, there's only two classes left for the year, and then we have the whole summer to ourselves."
"Well, we have two weeks off," he says. "And then summer classes resume. I expect that you will talk to Professor Potsdam about what classes you plan to take."
"If I take any," I say, and he gives me a sour look. "I'm just kidding." I giggle. "I wonder if she'd approve of any secret study sessions with you."
He contemplates this. "There's no harm in asking."
"Oh?" I ask, raising an eyebrow in his direction. "Would we actually get any studying done?"
"I think that would depend," he says.
"On?"
"You," he says simply, and I don't even bother asking what he means. Instead I throw my arms around his neck and kiss him.
"Tori-" he breaks the kiss quickly, his eyes glancing around to make sure no one saw.
"What?" I ask. "Afraid to kiss your wife in public?" He stares at me for a second before he grabs me suddenly, pushing me backwards. I feel myself falling until I realize that he's got a firm hold on my back. He dips me low and presses his lips against mine, kissing me passionately. I close my eyes and kiss him back, vaguely aware that this may be the second most romantic thing he's ever done for me. When he stands me back up again, he continues walking back towards the dorms but I just stand there, dizzy and transfixed, gingerly touching my bottom lip to make sure the kiss was real.
Did that really just happen? He turns around to look at me and a huge grin spreads across my face as I run to catch up with him. I didn't know what would happen in the future, but I did know that Hieronymous would never stop surprising me, and life would never be boring. And honestly, when it came right down to it, could I even ask for anything more?
He takes my hand in his as we walk back towards our room.
No. I couldn't.