Chapter 5 -- Professor Smith
Kyra swore at the dumb rugby jock who'd just knocked her books out of her hands, walked in to her next class.
"Bloody, buggerin' hell. What are you doin' here?"
"You know, for someone who's barely seventeen, you've managed to dwarf nearly every child on the planet. Accelerated through school, on an advanced course at Oxford. If I didn't know better, I'd say you were a long lost Time Lord."
"You're teachin'? You do that? You don't even have a proper name!"
"Yes, I do. John Smith."
"Oh, that's older than you are!"
"It is not!" he protested. "Just older than you. And that's Professor to you."
"This is a joke," Kyra said. "You're always poppin' up. You even showed up at my graduation! Standing back there, grinnin', like some schmoe who'd won the lottery."
"No, I didn't win it. But your Professor did."
"Professor Markey? He doesn't even play the lottery! Says it's for fools!"
"Hmm. He mysteriously found the winning ticket under his door. He'll be back in a week or so."
"You're here for a week?"
"Yep."
She rolled her eyes and took her seat. "What did I ever do to deserve this?"
"I'm just checkin' on my investment."
"Investment?"
He grinned as other students started to file in.