Chapter 11
At work, I had plenty of time to contemplate the events that had unfolded over the weekend. There had been no signs of my professor, either. I assumed he was preparing for the first day of the semester. I had been too, on my downtime of my job. Advanced Phonology wasn't difficult, by any means. The textbooks had been provided for download onto our PADD's, and I assumed I wasn't the only one who had begun reading ahead. Inflection, connotation, and their meanings in different languages.
Language wasn't my first choice, but I was good at it. I had sought linguistics as a quick way off of Earth, my hopes to serve as an ambassador for Starfleet would give me rank, and opportunity. It was also a lucrative field, as few people, human or otherwise, were very capable of learning languages quickly enough to keep up with the demand for inter-species relations, as it grew with Starfleet's exploration deeper into space.
After searching on my PADD more, I learned that Professor Spock also taught interspecies ethics to the later-year students. If I were to become an ambassador, I would no doubt be required to take that course as well. In the upcoming semester, I had 6 courses to take. Along with Advanced Phonology, I was to learn Denobulan, Ferengi, Vulcan (as it was the Vulcans whom Humans were closest to), and an advanced English translation course. All languages, all very important.
The only other course I had on Mondays (besides Phonology) was my course on Vulcan. Tuesdays were Ferengi and Astrophysics. Wednesday was Ethics I and Denobulan, Thursday I had nothing, and Friday was Advanced Phonology Denobulan again. Every other week alternated courses, but it was easy to track with my PADD. It was a heavy course load, but I never had a track record of struggling with that.
A little more than halfway through the day, my luck turned. I had intended of introducing myself to Professor Spock formally if I saw him, as classes were starting soon and being on the good side of my professors has guaranteed me a spot on their schedule if I needed assistance with coursework (not usually likely, but a good resource just in case). And, as luck would have it, the Professor who had stopped me from eating shit in the previous week returned to the library, I assume to rent out a study room like he usually would.
So as to not come on too strong, I pretended not to notice him enter. As he approached the desk, I turned to help him.
"I would like a study room." As curt as always.
"Of course," I turn to grab his key, "Same room as always, Professor."
He took the key, and thanked me. I took my opportunity.
"Excuse me a moment, Professor," I say, and he stopped two steps away, "I noticed I'm taking your course in Advanced Phonology this upcoming semester. I wanted to introduce myself prior to the course. I'm Elle Harrett."
He nodded at my introduction, "I will see you in class on Monday, then." As a Vulcan, he was surprisingly responsive to this. I expected a nod of recognition and nothing else, but he was instead rather receptive.
"I look forward to it," I said, and turned back to the text on my PADD, not wanting to come between him and whatever it is he does in the study room every day.
Thinking about it, I wondered if he, himself, was taking any courses. If that was why he used the study rooms every day. Or perhaps he was preparing his teaching lessons. Though, as a Vulcan professor, I doubted he needed any extra preparation for a course he had obviously taught for some time. Vulcans don't tend to deviate from what they believe has worked. Don't fix what's not broken, and all that.
Whatever it was, it was important enough for him to dedicate several hours of his day to. I found myself feeling lucky I had the opportunity to meet him prior to the course. Something I'm not sure my peers would have. I have the advantage.
Professor Spock left only an hour before closing, books in hand. He had a Phonology book on the title of the book in his arms which faced outward.
Preparation, then. Question answered.
I thought more about it on my walk home. I had become so accustomed to walking by now that I was able to read as I walked. Unfortunately, I learned too late that this wasn't a nice practice, as I hadn't noticed the man walking slightly slower than me just ahead.
We bumped, and I immediately began to apologize. Looking up, I saw a Ferengi, whom I hadn't yet met.
"You should really watch where you're going. Nose stuck in a book and not paying attention to the world around you. You a student at the academy or something?" He says, looking at my shirt.
"Yes, and again, I'm so sorry. I didn't even notice you," I was almost bowing to the man, hoping to all hell that he would forgive me so I could continue home. No such luck, though.
"I feel like I should be repaid for my injury, you hurt my shoulder!" He looked up at me, and I could see an all-too familiar look in his eyes.
Ferengi were a commerce-focused people. "Opportunity" and "Profit" were their primary objectives in their society. The more profit, and the more lucrative opportunities, the higher status you become, socially. Money buys many things, including forgiveness. Unfortunately, I didn't have very much of it. My payday was at the end of the week, and I was riding on less than $50, none of which was on me. I don't think it would hurt to ask what he wanted, thankfully I wasn't wearing anything worth much.
"Well, I'd say my injury is worth at least $100, not including inconvenience, which I guess I can let go." He crossed his arms, smirking at me.
"Unfortunately, I don't carry money on me. And even if I did, I don't even have that much in my account. I'm a student, remember?" I eyed him thoughtfully. Take advantage of that, asshole.
"Well, what do you have? That PADD looks rather pricey." He leaned in, looking at it over my shoulder.
"This isn't even worth half of what you're asking. Plus, I can't give it away even if it was, I don't own it." I pulled it closer to me.
"What courses are you taking there, anyway?" He obviously had an idea in mind, but I couldn't devise what it was with his line of questioning, so I decided to play along.
"I've been assigned a Ferengi language class, Denobulan, Advanced Phonology- "
"With Professor Spock?" He was very intrigued by this.
"… Yes," my apprehension was thick, "Tomorrow morning."
"Well, if you have no money, perhaps you can pay me back with something else. I also have Advanced Phonology this semester," I looked at him, not understanding until now that he was also a student at the academy.
"Let me guess, you want my help in the class." I said, rolling my eyes.
"Depends, you smart?" He looked at me, inquisitively.
"More than you know. I'll help you with it if that would be a good deal to you," I say, focusing on what his culture deems appropriate.
"This is my second time taking his class. If I fail again, I'll have to change my course load and I won't get the job I want. Help me in the course, and I'll forget this little fumble of yours," he said, content that he was striking a good deal.
"Fine, sounds good to me. Can I go home now?" I was growing impatient. I needed a good night's rest. And now I needed it even more, since my heart was racing from the interaction. Ferengis are known for asking the impossible, and it seems like I got away easy.
"Fine. I'll see you in the morning, then," he says, and turns to walk off.
"Wait," I say, catching him before he walks off.
"What now? I need to get back,"
"What other courses are you taking? If we have any more together, and if we're already going to be studying together, maybe studying together on other subjects could be even more… lucrative?" I was desperate, at this point, to make a friend. Even if he was a Ferengi, it wouldn't hurt to have another passionate mind to work with.
"I'm not interested in helping you," he said, and hurried away.
Well, that didn't work. I guess I'll have to find someone else to study with. And someone else to befriend.
It was an odd interaction, but I decided to let it go. If he needed help in exchange for being bumped in to, I wouldn't fight it. I would probably get more out of teaching the subject than just learning. I guess he didn't understand that the best way to learn a subject is to teach it. His loss.
As I unlocked my door, my neighbor's door opened. It was James, the man I had socked in the face the night prior.
"Hey, can we talk?"
"Of course. Want some dinner? I'm making pasta," I say, desperate for a friend at this point.
"That would be great," he says, following me into my apartment.
"Listen," I begin, trying to immediately fill the awkward silence, "I'm sorry for lying to you. If you're gonna walk out on me after I've made you food again, though, forget me ever forgiving you." I set the full pot on the stove to boil, and took some chicken out of the freezer, dunking it into the sink to thaw.
"Sorry about that," he says, "I was pretty upset at getting punched in the jaw. Not the first time, but it still sucked," he was apologetic, I could tell. He sat on the couch, spreading out to take up 90% of it.
"I'm sorry too, I'm not one for physical contact, as I'm sure you've noticed," I say, trying to remain lighthearted.
"That's fine, I learned my lesson. But what I don't understand is why? You started shaking, crying, and punched me in the face. That's a rather drastic reaction to being kissed," he looked at me with a raised eyebrow, obviously beckoning me to answer.
"Well, without giving away too much personal information, I'll say that I've had bad experiences in the past, and I don't like being touched because of it," I say, looking over at him to see if this will suffice. Obviously, it won't, so I decided to divulge a little more. Trust begets trust and all that, "I just got out of a pretty toxic and abusive relationship. He was an ass, especially when he was drunk." I hadn't noticed the smile fade from my face.
"So, a recently scorned young woman fresh out of an abusive relationship comes to Starfleet academy looking for a new life, makes a few friends, and get into a bad situation. It brings back some unfavorable memories, you freak out, punch one of your only friends in the face because he showed his ass, and now you're being nice to him and divulging some pretty shitty information? Did I get all of that correct?"
I was stunned, and paused. I turned back to the food and didn't answer for a while. When I could finally open my mouth to respond, my voice was softer and lower than I intended, "Yeah that's just about it."
"Well, you're pretty trusting for a girl who was recently fucked over by someone I assume you loved. Or at least used to," he stood, making his way to the kitchen, where he leaned on the wall that separated the kitchen from the living room.
"Other than drunkenly kissing me, you've been nice enough. And I haven't been very good at making friends so far, so I don't have a lot of options," I sighed, and drained the cooked pasta. The red sauce was almost ready, and the chicken had cooked through. I was getting ready when James walked up and grabbed the ingredients, finishing the process.
I stepped away, taking my turn on the couch. As he moved, he replied, "So, what, I'm a last resort?" He chuckled.
I laughed back, "Yeah, I guess so. Don't take it the wrong way, please? I'd like to be friends. Nothing more, though."
He brought two plates out, "Aw, don't worry, I planned on wining and dining you first before I tried again," he chuckled.
I laughed back, knowing he was joking. He had promised to never try it again, and I believed him.
After dinner, James left under the pretenses of having to get ready for the upcoming semester. I knew I needed to do the same, so I turned in early. I couldn't sleep, however, and was drawn back to my PADD. I decided that the more insight I could gather, the better.
Reading my course work, I found a tab that allowed me to access my class roster. Mostly unremarkable, as well as the Ferengi I had run in to earlier. Under that, was a list of alumni. After clicking through several previous classes, and seeing no one of interest. I clicked another tab: Reviews. Apparently, graduates could leave course reviews, words of advice and criticisms. A common theme seemed to appear as I read more and more reviews of Professor Spock's Course.
"Incredibly difficult." And "Never made easy" kept appearing.
Well, if I had trouble sleeping before, now it seemed it would not be possible at all.