It's between me and you

Chapter 12

Elena almost smashed her phone on the table. She pressed it against the wooden surface with such force that, if you listened carefully, you could hear the pitiful yowling of the SIM card.

"The golden empty-headed bastard. I waited half an hour for him" Pens and one of the pads flew into the bag, while Elena tried to pull herself together after talking with Ledger.

The rude boor. Did they really behave like that with the teachers in her time, too? No, there had been all sorts of things, but not like this. She had never seen such a thing. If she could, she would have strangled him with her own hands for that smug tone in his voice. He seemed to take infinite pleasure in finding out that Elena had waited for him in vain.

On the one hand, of course, Andrei hinted transparently to her in the morning that he would not show up, but the girl thought it was just a show, and his conscience would not allow him to ignore the teacher's demand. After all, he must have at least some responsibility. But it seems that instead of the usual norms of morality he has only a huge ego, displacing all the positive qualities.

Irritated girl got up from the table, pulled a cardigan off the hanger, and, having hastily said goodbye to other teachers, pushed the door into the corridor, almost hitting Mr. Lee who had just approached from the other side.

"Oh" Elena flinched in surprise.

"It's okay, dear, I'm alive," The man smiled, "I was just on my way to you, I wanted to talk about yesterday. You didn't come to see me today"

Elena sighed. She really had been avoiding the dean. But now, having "got in the teeth" with Andrew's antics, she realized that she was behaving the same way towards a man twice her age. Plus it was still her father's friend, who had been carrying her chocolates and Barbie dolls since childhood. Elena deeply respected William Lee, but with yesterday's action he turned her perception of his professional qualities upside down.

"I was busy" she answered evasively, shoving her hands into the sleeves of a burgundy cardigan. "I'll try to stop by tomorrow, if I have time. You know, there's a lot to do."

The man nodded understandingly and, politely taking her by the elbow, took her aside.

"Are you upset about what happened yesterday, Elena? Don't judge" A serious look made the girl look into the kind eyes, surrounded by strings of fine wrinkles. "It is easier to judge from the outside, without knowing the whole situation. I'll tell you sometime later why I feel this way about Andrew. I think you'll understand. Sometimes things and people just aren't what they seem"

"You mean Ledger?" Elena snorted, feeling her stomach cramp with hunger. The girl had been left without lunch because of that rich guy. "In my opinion, everything here is as crystal as glass. A spoiled rich kid who thinks only of himself and lives for his own pleasures."

"Sometimes glass can be a mirror, and to understand what's really under it, you need to take off the reflective foil" William remarked too vaguely, and then smiled kindly at the girl, "Give him time to prove himself, the guy is not so bad. He just chooses the wrong methods.

Yeah, Andrew was at his best when he didn't show up for her class the next day. It wasn't that Elena was annoyed, but rather relieved. She had an idea of what the class was going to be like if he started talking with his filthy, sharp tongue. So when, after the larger half of the class, she realized that student would not honor them with his presence, she even relaxed. On the one hand, she wanted him to show respect and attend class, but on the other hand, next to him she felt like she was stomping her bare feet on the froken glass the whole time.

The classes today went fairly quickly and easily. After sitting for an hour at the department meeting, the girl popped into the cafeteria for a cup of coffee and a cinnamon bun. The pastries in the cafeteria were amazing.