My Professor

25. Humor

That day in class I was a complete mess. I couldn't focus; all I could think about as I watched Theodore give his lecture was our conversation from that morning. I sat in the third row, close but not too close, and continued to get lost in my thoughts. My cheeks burned, my heart raced, and butterflies fluttered in my stomach.

I attempted to look like I was taking notes but I didn't know how convincing I was. Surely, I'd regret it when I inevitably ended up falling behind with my homework. At that moment I couldn't bring myself to care. All I wanted to do was sit there and stare, admiring my boyfriend from afar.

I resisted the urge to visit him at any point in the day, and I rushed off to the bookstore to clock in early for my evening shift. Anything to keep me busy, although the bookstore wasn't usually the busiest place on Earth. Still, it was better than nothing; it would keep me from fawning over Theodore in public, risking possible suspicion from others. I couldn't imagine how it would look if Marcy walked in on me giving Theodore the looks I was giving him in class. Thankfully, he didn't look over at me more than twice. He kept a straight face, of course, so I couldn't tell if he could pick up on my amorous mood.

Huey was working the evening shift with me, as usually, and I knew it would be as good of a time as any to break the news to him that I'm not available romantically.

"Hey, Huey," I greeted him with a smile when he joined me behind the counter.

"Hey, Indy," he smiled back. "What's up?"

"Nothing much," I said. "Ready to get this shift over with."

"Why? You have somewhere to be?" he asked playfully.

"I don't know about tonight," I said. I wanted desperately to see Theodore again, but I wondered if I should leave him be for a night or two. We had just spent almost a whole week together after all.

"Speaking of having plans, what happened last night?" Huey asked.

"What do you mean?" I assumed he was referring to our horrible awkward conversation the night before.

"I ran into Maria last night and she said you ran off without telling her. Said you climbed into a car she didn't recognize. She seemed pretty agitated."

"We had a little bit of a fight last night," I said, keeping it vague. "I think we both had a little too much to drink."

"I think we've all been there," Huey said. "Who did you leave with?"

"I'm seeing someone," I said, ripping the Band-Aid off.

"You're seeing someone?" he echoed.

"Yeah. It's still pretty new so I haven't exactly been mentioning it to people. It's been so long since I've been with someone, I didn't want to risk announcing it and then having it fall apart."

"Right," Huey said, keeping his voice even. I could see on his face he was trying to maintain a smooth expression.

I felt bad for him, of course, but it had to be done. I'd never considered what I was doing stringing Huey along - it wasn't like I ever encouraged him - but clearly it bothered Theodore, and I would do anything for his comfort. I loved him, more than I could express.

"Well. Congratulations," Huey said. "I guess it was bound to happen eventually."

"I guess so," I said, forcing a smile. "Now you just need to find someone."

"You know, at one point I thought I did," he said. "But, you know. I guess I was wrong."

I didn't know what to say. The conversation was brutal. I couldn't tell how he was taking the news, but regardless, I thought he could probably use some time alone.

"I'm going to go check around the shop," I volunteered. "To make sure everything looks good."

"Yeah," Huey said. "That's a good idea."

I spend as much time circling the shop as I could, then I went in the back to do some inventory. I tried to keep myself busy, but eventually I had to choice but to return to the front counter.

"Welcome in," Huey said to someone coming through the door as I joined him behind the counter. I looked over and saw Theodore walking through the door.

My cheeks immediately went ablaze as our eyes met. I stifled my smile; I didn't want to accidentally tip Huey off that something was going on.

Theodore waved across the room at him and went to the thriller section. I wanted to follow him, but I'd already completed as many tasks around the shop as I could and I had no reason to leave the desk.

"What are you all flushed for?" Huey asked with a light tone. He seemed to have recovered from our earlier conversation, at least outwardly.

"I'm not," I replied artlessly.

"Don't tell me you still have a crush on him," he prodded.

"Shhh!" I hissed at him. "I don't!"

"Be careful, Indy. You'll make your new guy jealous."

I turned away from Huey and suppressed a laugh.

"At least I know your type," Huey said.

"I don't have a type," I said, hoping Theodore was within hearing range of our conversation.

"Sure, you do. Neat, academic, intellectual."

"Brunettes," I said, humoring him.

"Brunettes," Huey echoed. "Hey, do you have any pictures of your new guy?"

"I'm not showing you pictures of him," I said flatly.

"What about his name?"

"Not a chance."

"Does Maria know about him."

"Hardly. Not that it matters. We're not exactly talking at the moment."

"Was the fight that bad?" he asked.

"It wasn't good," I replied. "Not at all."

"Why don't you go help out your dear ol' professor," Huey suggested, teasing me.

"You just want to embarrass me," I said.

"Maybe a little. It'll give us something to talk about."

"You go help him," I said. "I've done enough today."

"Fine. But if I let any secrets slip, it's not my fault."

"Huey!" I protested. "You better not!"

"Fine, I won't," he said, walking around the counter. "You're no fun at all, you know that?"

"Shut up and go do your job," I told him. "And don't mention me."

"What if he brings you up first?"

"He won't," I said. "There are like a hundred people in my class. I doubt he'd recognize me as a student."

"Huh. That's a good point. That's too bad. That would've made our night much more interesting."

"Go away," I said, shaking my head. "And don't say anything stupid."