Chapter 6

Office Hours

"Elliot, come on. We need to focus," Olivia groaned, laying her head in the spine of her law book.

"Well how can I focus if A, I'm starving, and B, I have no idea what in the fuck we are even learning about!" Elliot complained, resting his chin in his hand as he tapped his pen nervously against the table.

Amanda, whose head was resting heavily in both of her hands, mumbled, "Intentional felonies and culpable felonies."

"Okay smarty-pants, I know that, but I don't understand them," Elliot continued to complain.

"Intentional versus culpable… dolo versus culpa… it's the basic principles of felonies, right? Because a felony can either be committed by means of deceit, or means of fault. Think of it this way. Dolo, deceit. Both start with 'D.' Culpa, fault. Both have 5 letters," Olivia said, basically word-vomiting to help them understand the terms in the easiest ways that they could.

"Huh? D, 5 letters, dolo, culpa, I can't do this!" Elliot said frustrated, finally slamming his book closed and laying his cheek against the cool cover.

Letting out a yawn, Amanda lifted her left arm up to check the time on her watch. "It's like 12:37, guys. We have class in the morning. And we didn't even study the stuff for the quiz."

"Fuck, I forgot about the quiz!" Elliot said, jerking back up and opening his book. "Shit, what is it over?"

"Intent and motive, basic law terms, and jurisdiction. So everything we have already covered," Olivia said, drumming her fingers against the table.

"I'm so going to fail," Elliot groaned, rubbing his temples as he squinted his eyes shut. "And then we have to have another paper on these two things? By Friday? It's Tuesday!"

Slipping the paper out from his folder, Elliot began reading the bullet points of the writing assignment as Olivia and Amanda listened.

"State the textbook definitions of intentional versus culpable felonies. Describe in your own words your interpretation of these two definitions. How does one determine if a felony is intentional? How does one determine if a felony is committed by means of culpa? How does intent play a role in intentional versus culpable felonies? Is she insane?!"

"No, she's just extremely smart and very thorough," Olivia said, feeling the need to defend her professor.

"No, she's insane. Hot, but insane. I can't do this by Friday! Especially when there's a quiz tomorrow!" Elliot complained yet again, getting on both Olivia and Amanda's nerves.

"Okay, look. Let's go to class tomorrow, and then why don't we just each go to her office hours? She's available from 4:00pm to 8:30pm, so we have plenty of time. Then, we can get back together Wednesday night and Thursday and work on this," Olivia suggested.

Amanda nodded, letting out yet another yawn as she put her things in her backpack. "Sounds good to me, Olivia."

"Yeah, me too," Elliot agreed, once again slamming his book closed as he threw his items lazily in his backpack.

"Awesome. Well, goodnight guys. See you in the morning."

Waving to her friends and classmates, Olivia slung her backpack over her own shoulders as she began the long walk back to her apartment.

Hearing a knock on her office door, Alex looked up from her papers and called out, "Come in!"

Opening the door, Olivia stepped inside Alex's office, taking a look around before closing the door behind her. Her hands in her pockets, Olivia rocked back and forth for a short moment before locking eyes with Alex, giving her a soft smile.

"Hi," Olivia said quietly.

"Hi, Olivia," Alex greeted back with a smile. Motioning for her to come in, Alex continued. "Come on, come take a seat."

Sliding her backpack off of her shoulders, Olivia plopped down in one of the chairs that sat directly in front of Alex's desk. As their eyes met for a second time, Alex was again the first to speak.

"Well, what brings you in today, Olivia?"

"Uhh, well," Olivia began, her voice cracking from nervousness. Rubbing the back of her neck, she cleared her throat before speaking once more. "Well, I'm here about our assignment for Friday. I just want to make sure I'm on the right track."

Leaning back in her leather chair with a smile, Alex intertwined her fingers together as she waited for Olivia to begin the discussion.

"Of course, go right ahead."

"Well," Olivia said, pulling out her laptop which contained the outlines of her paper. "I think I have the basic understanding down of these two felonies, but I'm a little hung up on the determinations."

Leaning forward, Alex placed her elbows on the desk as she listened. "Okay, shoot. What have you got so far?"

"So, when determining if a felony is intentional, there needs to be a clear sign that the offender, in doing or omitting to do an act, has done so with freedom, intelligence, and intent. And then when determining if a felony is culpable, there needs to be a clear sign that the offender, in doing or omitting to do an act, has done so with freedom, intelligence, and imprudence."

Alex took just a short moment to think about what Olivia said before nodding her head. "Yes, you're on the right track. There's also a couple other requisites you're missing from culpa."

"Hmm. Negligence?" Olivia suggested, popping her head up from her laptop to look at Alex.

Nodding, Alex gave her a smile. "One more, I'm sure you read it."

Scanning her eyes over the screen, Olivia let out a few hums before finally saying, "Lack of foresight? Lack of skill?"

"Yup, you got it!" Alex said excitedly, causing Olivia to smile as she nodded, once again scanning the word document in front of her.

"Okay. So, when talking about these different requisites, would you like us to describe or define them at all? Or just list them?"

"Whichever you prefer. I think for the point of the paper, I'm okay with them just being listed, since we will be discussing these more in-depth in class. But if you would like to define them, please feel free. Whatever you feel like doing, and whatever you feel will help you learn the material better," Alex suggested, once again leaning back in her chair.

Her smile bigger than it was before, Olivia closed her laptop and slipped it back into her backpack. "Thanks for your help, Professor Cabot. I really appreciate it."

"Any time, Olivia! This is what these hours are for. Is there anything else I can help you with?"

Shaking her head, Olivia's voice once again became shaky as she spoke. "Uhh, n-no, that's it."

Just as she was getting up to leave, Alex spoke again, causing Olivia to still her movements.

"You don't have to be nervous, Olivia. I'm harmless, I promise," Alex said with the sweetest smile, causing Olivia's heart to immediately begin beating faster. "Besides that, I can tell you're an intelligent person. You're one of my top students so far, and I'm really impressed by your dedication to the material. Please, always feel free to come talk to me or ask me questions. And keep up the great work!"

Already feeling herself blushing, Olivia smiled widely as she hung her head down to her chest, unable to speak for just a few seconds. And then, as if something changed inside of her, she sat back down in the chair.

"Actually, I'm curious. Harvard Law? That's like… one of the best law schools in the country. How did you decide on Harvard?" Olivia asked, genuinely interested in Alex's background.

Smiling about as widely as Olivia did, Alex sat the pen down that she was twirling in her hands before interlocking her fingers, leaning herself against the desk.

"Well, my father went to Harvard, and so did my grandfather. So it was always destined, you could say, for me to go there."

Nodding, Olivia continued on with another question. "But did you want to go to Harvard?"

Taken aback by the question, Alex adjusted her posture just slightly before furrowing her brows in thought. "You know. I don't really think anyone has ever asked me that before. I didn't hate it. On the contrary, I loved it. Best years of my life. It's where I met my best friend! But, to answer your question, I'd say yes. I never really knew any different path. Why?"

Olivia shrugged. "I was just curious. That's a really big law school."

"And where did you want to go to law school?" Alex asked.

Olivia didn't answer immediately. Instead, she bit her lip in thought, remembering her decisions just a year before. Then, she shrugged, meeting Alex's eyes once more.

Studying her reaction, Alex again furrowed her brows as she brought her hands up to her chin, resting them there. "Are you happy with Cornell?"

"Yes, yes of course!" Olivia quickly said. "I just… I don't know. I got my undergrad from Columbia and then came here for law school. Even though at Columbia, their accreditation is higher for law."

Seeing the concern flashing behind her eyes, Alex did what she could to reassure Olivia. "Olivia. All of that doesn't matter. It's just a popularity contest. You getting your law degree from any of the top 25, hell, even top 50 law schools, is going to land you anywhere you want to go. As long as you're happy here and do well, who cares."

Letting out a breath of relief, Olivia again smiled and nodded. "Thanks. I needed to hear that."

"Like I said. Any time, Olivia. Oh, and great job on the quiz today!"

"You graded it already?" Olivia asked surprised, now leaning back in her own chair for the first time since she came in.

"Sure did. Would you like to know your score early? Don't tell anyone I told you, though. Don't want people to think I'm playing favorites." Alex gave a wink at the end of the statement, immediately sending a new wave of blush through Olivia's cheeks.

"Oh," Olivia said, covering her mouth slightly with her hand to hopefully contain her goofy smile. "Yeah, tell me. I won't tell anyone, I promise."

"97. Again, you got the highest score of the class."

"Sweet," Olivia whispered to herself, not realizing Alex had heard her and was again smiling at her until they locked eyes once more.

"You're doing an incredible job, really. So I want you to know you can always come here and talk to me, about anything. Whether it's an assignment, or you just need a quick chat that's not about law to feel normal again. I know how much this consumes your mind once you start getting deeper into all your class material."

"Thanks, Professor Cabot, really. I appreciate that a lot," Olivia responded, truly thankful that she wasn't a stern, unapproachable professor.

Getting up from the chair a final time, Olivia grabbed her backpack and slung it over her shoulders. She gave another small smile to Alex and raised her hand up just slightly, signaling her goodbye.

"See you on Friday," Olivia said before turning towards the door.

"See you then, Olivia. Take care."

Once Olivia had left her office, Alex returned to the quizzes beneath her, shaking her head as she made marks on Elliot's quiz.