Classified | MJ Fanfiction (18+)

six

Author's POV:

Laura jolted in her seat in response to a loud door slam coming from down the hall.

She closed her laptop halfway and discreetly opened her office door to see what the commotion was about. Upon peeking her head outside the door, she caught sight of Zaria's familiar frame flying down the stairs at record speed. It was clear that she was upset about something.

"What the hell was that about?" she questioned while scanning the length of the hallway for any possible clues. Mere seconds passed before she finally put two and two together. There was only one faculty member, to her knowledge, that evoked such a visceral reaction from students.

She closed her office door behind her and headed down to Michael's office.

Michael was sifting through a stack of papers when she walked in.

"If you're gonna make a habit of pissing off your students, you might wanna invest in a door stopper ASAP."

He rolled his eyes in response to her recommendation and continued organizing the mess on his desk.

He was clearly agitated about something.

Laura's facial expression shifted from pleasant to concerned, and she quickly closed Michael's office door before indulging in a conversation.

"What's eating you?" she pried, hoping to get to the bottom of his current sour mood. She grabbed a piece of candy from the jar on his desk and popped one in her mouth.

"Your little friend has an issue with keeping quiet in my class. I told her about herself and she stormed out. I'm too old for this shit, Laura. There's an obvious lack of respect among this new generation. They're entitled and unmotivated. I left high school because I thought college-level students would be an upgrade from the teenagers I used to work with, but I was wrong. It turns out grown-ups are just as bitchy as teenagers."

"Oh, come on, Michael. Show a little more patience with them, and they'll come around. Change your perspective. Think about younger Michael in his early 20's, just getting used to adulthood in undergrad. I refuse to believe you were the perfect gentleman back then. Hell, you barely make the cut at 35."

Michael shot her an annoyed look and Laura covered her mouth to conceal her laughter.

Looking back on his past was something Michael often avoided, since there weren't many positive memories at the forefront of his mind. Michael grew up in a two-parent household among several brothers and sisters, but as he remembers, he spent a lot of time battling the overwhelming feeling of loneliness. His mother coddled, and nurtured him as any loving parent should. She consistently provided him the proper safe space needed to express himself and navigate the complexities of his inner emotions. His father, on the other hand, lacked such grace and compassion, resorting to spanking or beating him at the first sign of vulnerability. It was a harsh environment for a child, and certainly caused some deep psychological turmoil for Michael as the years flew by.

It wasn't until Michael left home to attend college that he was able to find his own version of temporary relief from his issues: sex. Lots of it, with any willing partner he came into contact with. It started out small, with only one or two partners a week. It later spiraled into several partners in and out of his dorm room a day. By the time senior year came around, he finally got the courage to seek help for his guilty pleasures. Soon after, he learned that he had developed a debilitating addiction, and would need steady treatment to keep the outward symptoms of it under control. Engaging in sexual activities with unlimited partners, while lacking the capability of developing a relationship of substance was his normal, but not necessarily normal on any professional's spectrum.