A veil of hearts

•Unexpected discoveries•

6

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Professor Joshua Bennet found himself in the administration department, his heart racing with an excitement he couldn't quite explain. He knew he shouldn't be doing this, knew it was a breach of protocol, but he couldn't help himself. His fingers trembled slightly as he flipped through the student files, searching for one name in particular.

"Yilmaz, Aina," he muttered, his eyes scanning the pages until he found what he was looking for.

There it was, in black and white. Aina's birth year. Joshua's breath caught in his throat as he did the quick mental math. She was only two years younger than him.

"Two years," he whispered, a smile spreading across his face before he could stop it. The gap he had imagined between them, the barrier of age and experience, suddenly seemed so much smaller.

Closing the file quickly, Joshua left the administration office, his mind whirling. He needed to talk to someone, to make sense of the emotions coursing through him. Almost without conscious thought, his feet carried him to Mike's office.

Mike looked up as Joshua burst in, raising an eyebrow at his friend's flustered appearance. "Josh? What's going on?"

Joshua collapsed into the chair across from Mike's desk, running a hand through his hair. "Mike, I... I don't know what's happening to me."

"Okay," Mike said slowly, leaning back in his chair. "Want to be a bit more specific?"

Joshua took a deep breath. "It's about a student. Aina Yılmaz. I can't stop thinking about her."

Mike's eyes widened. "Josh, you know that's—"

"I know, I know," Joshua interrupted. "It's inappropriate. It's unprofessional. But Mike, she's... she's different. The way she focuses in class, the depth of her questions, the passion in her eyes when she talks about medicine. I've never met anyone like her."

"She's still your student," Mike reminded him gently.

"I know," Joshua groaned. "But she's only two years younger than me. I just found out."

Mike's eyebrows shot up. "You looked up her personal information? Josh, that's a serious breach of—"

"I know!" Joshua exclaimed. "I know it is. But I couldn't help myself. I had to know."

Mike sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Josh, you need to be careful. This isn't just about age. There's a power dynamic here that you can't ignore."

Joshua nodded, his excitement fading as the reality of the situation sank in. "You're right. Of course, you're right. But Mike, what am I supposed to do? I can't stop these feelings."

"You need to maintain professional boundaries," Mike said firmly. "For both your sakes. Whatever you're feeling, you can't act on it. Not while she's your student."

Joshua slumped in his chair, the truth of Mike's words hitting him hard. "So what do I do?"

Mike's expression softened. "You do your job, Josh. You teach. You mentor. You keep your distance. And maybe, when she's no longer your student... well, that's a bridge you can cross when you come to it."

Joshua nodded slowly, his mind racing. He knew Mike was right, knew that he needed to keep his feelings in check. But as he left Mike's office, he couldn't shake the image of Aina's face from his mind, couldn't ignore the way his heart raced at the thought of her.