Chapter 2

Hoshi spent the next few weeks texting Rowen since they met, in fact, she had never done so much texting until she met him. They were both busy with school, of course he was studying and she was lecturing, so they didn't have a second meet up as soon as she would have hoped but they both understood. They're texting was almost constant, and they pretty much covered every topic from politics on Earth to what knew astrophysics technology was making waves, but he never asked for an answer to the question he gave her and he never asked what happened to her. She was almost giddy at the thought of him. She had never felt so...sooo... irrational. Sometimes, she would stop and stare at the papers she was supposed to grade and wondered how he would write them for her.

I'm Free on Friday, he texted her on her break.

She messaged him back, a stiff grin on her face, I'm free after my last class. It ends at 4.

She went back to her papers, and felt her phone vibrate but the door opened and Leea barged in. Leea grinned and instantly grabbed the phone, "what do we have here?"

Hoshi controlled her urge to blush as Leea read her texts aloud, "oh, he's free on Friday, huh? And so are you!"

She weakly reached for her phone, but Leea grinned and played keep away. "Give me that! Can't you see I'm busy?"

"Busy texting Rowen maybe, you've had that stack on your desk for two days now, Ms. Chairman," Leea replied as she handed the phone back with a look of approval.

Hoshi glared at her, she could be so nosey, "what is to you?"

"I just heard that the ultra hard professor who doesn't give a single A, gave out three last week," Leea said with a sarcastic and mocking sort of concern. "Is he cute or what?"

"He is, but we only met that once."

Leea blinked ins surprise, "and you're acting like this? Oh my, I can't wait to see how you'll react after the next date!"

"It's not a date, we're just friends."

"A cute guy friend," Leea added as she began to leave. She winked on her way out, "see if he has any friends, would ya?"

Hoshi rolled her eyes, and looked at the last message.

Do you want to do dinner at my place?

Hoshi's eyes got wide, and she turned hot. His place? He was already inviting her over? She wasn't ready, what should she ware? Then she stopped herself, and realized she was acting like a school girl. She sighed, as she back down. This alarmed her, she had never felt like this before. Especially, over a guy she just met. Her last boyfriend had been an ass from the beginning, she had just never noticed it. Rowen was definitely different, and in a good way.

"Professor?"

Hoshi looked up to see a young girl peer in. The girl was one of her favorite students, and she was glad that she would bring her some distraction to the boy issue. Ruby was only a few inches taller than her with deep black hair and blue eyes. She was petite in much the same way, but seemed more withdrawn than the average girl in college. Hoshi found her papers brilliant, and adored everything the girl wrote for her.

Ruby sat down at her desk sadly, "I don't want this A."

Hoshi looked at the girl shocked, "I can't take a grade back, dear. Just be content, you deserved it for all the hard work you have put in."

Ruby frowned at her, "but that's what's troubling me professor, I don't want a grade based on past work but on this one."

Hoshi shook her head, "it's a good paper."

Ruby frowned even deeper, "just good? You hate all the papers I do based on Mia Koji's work."

Hoshi paused to think, is that what had Ruby's paper been about? Was she that engrossed with Rowen that she didn't even notice her student writing about her least favorite person in academics at the moment.

Hoshi considered her answer carefully, "well, as much as dislike the evidence that fantastical mythologies exist, and I don't much believe in it. She is a brilliant researcher, much like her grandfather, and you have written a well executed paper arguing such. It doesn't matter what my personal bias is, it's the fact you were convincing of it."

Ruby looked down at the paper as if she didn't believe what she had said. She looked back up, "do you really believe me?"

Hoshi paused to study the girl, "what do you mean?"

Ruby groaned with frustration, " I wasn't convincing enough I suppose."

The girl rose up and took off quickly. Hoshi frowned, even her students were noticing her twitterpatedness. She looked at her phone, and thought maybe when she saw him, that her feelings would subside. It was foolishness to feel so strongly about a guy so soon. However, she had this feeling that it was exactly how she should feel.