"I'm sorry, Ms Rockwaller." The perky blonde clerk in the administration building shook her head. "There's no-one of the surname 'Possible' in the current student body."
Bonnie frowned.
"Are you sure –" she glanced quickly at the woman's name-tag. "- Nancy?"
"Yep." Nancy nodded emphatically, then clicked her mouse a few more times. "But we do have a Doctor Possible workin' in the College o' Science. Is that who y'want?"
"No." Bonnie sighed and shook her head. "The girl I need to find is only nineteen."
To the brunette's surprise, Nancy reacted to this news by nodding vigorously.
"Oh yeah, that's her, then. She's some kinda child pro-di-gee." The blonde pronounced the word in three distinct parts. "She really works for NASA, over at the space center, but she's teachin' some classes here this year as part of some exchange program the Dean set up. There was an e-mail sent 'round about it. One of them 'Inter-Departmental Update' things."
Bonnie stared, jaw sagging.
"You okay, hon?" Nancy looked concerned.
"Joss Possible?" The brunette's question came out like a croak.
"Jocelyn Possible is the name I got here." Nancy punched some buttons on the keyboard. "Yeah, she's nineteen. Has an office in the Cramer Building. You know where that is?"
"Uh, yeah ..." Bonnie ran a hand through her hair and tried to gather her thoughts. Joss is on faculty? The brunette stared at the yellow sweater she'd planned to return. Well, I guess this changes things.
Now if only I could work out how.
Bonnie headed over to the Cramer building, her thoughts in a whirl. She's not a student. What does this mean for what's between us? What is between us, anyway? She gave me this sweater ... why? What did it mean to her?
A blaring horn brought the brunette sharply back to reality, and she took a shuddering breath as she realized she'd almost walked straight in front of a car.
"You're not going to get any answers if you get yourself killed on the way." The theater lecturer muttered to herself, taking a moment to let her wildly beating heart return to normal before she set out again, crossing the street to the Cramer Building.
Arriving in the entrance hall, the brunette found Joss's name on the building directory, and headed up to the third floor room. The door plaque indicated that Joss shared the room with a Doctor McKay. That explained the balding, forty-something man who answered her knock. The man peered at her suspiciously, opening the door only a few inches.
"What is it?" His tone was as unwelcoming as his expression.
"Uh, hi. I was looking for Doctor Possible?"
"Her student contact hours are on the door –" The man began, his brusque and unfriendly tone not changing.
"I'm not a student." Bonnie interrupted, flashing her faculty ID. If anything, the man's demeanor became even less welcoming.
"I wasn't aware that Doctor Possible had any involvement with the Theater program." He gave her a condescending look.
"And I wasn't aware that she'd made you her social coordinator." Sometimes, six years of being a bitch did actually come in handy. "Is she here or not?"
McKay glowered. Bonnie gave him her best scornful look in return. That's right, ugly, I wouldn't touch you even if I was straight.
"Possible!" McKay stomped away from the door, but did not bother to lower his voice. "There's some woman from the liberal arts department here for you." He spoke the words 'liberal arts' in the same manner as most people might utter the term 'steaming feces'.
"Oh, hey Bonnie!" Joss smiled in welcome as she opened the door wide. "How're you doin', today?"
Bonnie tried to gather her thoughts. The afternoon sun was streaming in through the office window, bringing out the warm luster of the auburn highlights in Joss's hair. It made her look even more amazing than usual. Say something, you idiot.
"Why didn't you tell me you were teaching here?" Not that!
The Montanan blinked.
"I figured you knew." Joss paused. "Is somethin' wrong?"
"Uh ..." Bonnie dropped her eyes, then sighed and flicked back her hair. "... is there somewhere we could talk in private?"
"Well, I've got a class in about half an hour, and the room it's in should be empty right now." Joss cocked her head to one side, her eyes creasing slightly as she looked at Bonnie, obviously concerned by the other woman's behavior. "We could head over there now and talk, if ya like?"
"I can't accept this." Bonnie held out the sweater, folded neatly into a plastic bag. "It's inappropriate."
"Inappropriate?" Joss leaned against the desk at the front of the classroom and folded her arms, making no effort to take the package. "It's a gift between friends. What's inappropriate about it?"
"Friends? We've only met twice!"
Joss exhaled, blowing a tuft of hair away from her eyes. She closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them again.
"Look ..." She said, speaking softly, but with conviction. "I know we don't really know each other very well. But I'd like to change that. Ever since I got to this town, pretty much everyone has treated me either as a scary dyke or as the science world's equivalent of a rock star. You didn't. Y'treated me like just another a person. That makes yer someone I'd like to know better."
Bonnie blinked, taken aback by the younger woman's quiet words. She opened her mouth, closed it again, then finally spoke.
"It's too expensive." Well, that was weak.
Joss shrugged.
"I can afford it."
"I can't." The response burst out of Bonnie before she could bite if off. The brunette froze in panic as she realized there were two different ways that statement could be interpreted.
"Just because I buy ya a gift, doesn't mean y'have to go out and buy me one." Fortunately, Joss took her words at face value. "And even if ya did get me something, I certainly wouldn't care what it cost. It's not about keeping score."
Trust me, in my family, that's exactly what it's about.
"Well ..." Bonnie cast about for some response. I drag the poor woman off and then I ... I don't know what I'm doing. "At least let me make you dinner, as a thank you."
Shit. Apparently what I'm doing is digging myself into more trouble.
"You cook?" Joss blinked, then blushed, her tanned skin darkening. "Sorry. That was rude."
For her own part, Bonnie was just glad the conversation was on a safe topic.
"Well yeah, I cook. You don't?"
"I can cook." Joss shrugged. "Dad taught me when I was younger. But with it just being me, it's too much hassle, usually. Most nights I just throw one of those ready-made meals into the microwave."
"Ugh." Bonnie pulled a face. "Those things are full of salt, sugar and preservatives."
"My three favorite food groups." Joss grinned. "And: yes."
"Yes?"
"Yes, dinner sounds great."
"Oh, right." Bonnie nodded, torn between being thrilled by the other woman's acceptance of her impromptu offer, and shock that she'd ever made it in the first place.
"When?"
"Uh ..." Bonnie felt herself freezing up, and struggled to force down the anxiety. I can't uninvite her. But that didn't mean she couldn't get a stay of execution. "Well, I'm afraid tonight is no good for me. I, uh, already have plans." Plans that involve going home and having a panic attack. "How's the rest of the week for you?"
To the brunette's relief, Joss didn't pry about her 'plans'.
"I couldn't do tonight, anyway." The shorter woman looked genuinely apologetic. "Got a late class. Can you do tomorrow?"
Fighting back her instinctive impulse to delay the dinner even further, Bonnie paused long enough to think over her schedule.
"Tomorrow's okay for me." She said, making her response as nonchalant as she could, given the dryness of her throat. "Seven thirty work for you? I guess you should be able to find the place, again."
"I think I can remember where it is." Joss grinned. "Seven thirty works great for me."
"Okay. I'll, uh, pick up some extra things at the store tonight. Anything I should avoid? Stuff you don't eat?"
"Nah." Joss grinned and shoved her hands in her pockets. "I'll pretty much eat anything." The words, innocent as they were, brought the pounding of blood into Bonnie's ears, causing the brunette to nearly miss the rest of Joss's reply. "But I like spicy stuff best."
"Great. Spicy it is. See you tomorrow. Gotta run: classes!" Bonnie fled before she could make an even bigger fool of herself than she already had.
Author's Notes: And so it finally emerges that the whole student/teacher angst was just a false assumption on Bonnie's part. Not to mention a cheap bit of misdirection by the author :)
How will dinner go? And just what does Joss's status as a teacher mean for their relationship?