Your Guardian Angel

Chapter 21

Ben tries to be patient, he really does. When it comes to his students and Cassie, he has most certainly tried to be better at it. He told them they had two hours and he meant it...but by God, he didn't think it would actually take that long.

The worst part were there were only two students left to turn it in. Everyone else had finished nearly forty-five minutes ago! One of them was Mr. Chamberlain and, of course, Lauren. Thankfully, she hasn't had anymore unscheduled visits, but she practically filled his entire week, every week for the last half of the semester!

The Dean was aware of this, of course, but advised Ben to proceed with caution and make them in the lecture halls. He said he wasn't allowed to just tell a student they couldn't get help. So, he played along and gave her the "help" she needed, although he knew it to be bullshit.

Mr. Chamberlain finally got up and turned in his test with shaking hands. Ben had already graded more than half of everyone's and could already see Mr. Chamberlain was going to be just fine. He'll be in for a pleasant surprise when he inputs the grades tonight.

The moment Mr. Chamberlain left, Lauren got up to turn in hers. Ben took it and noted that she was, in fact, not going to be fine. In just the first few questions, he could see her answers were completely wrong. He glanced up and could see her standing there, smiling.

He quirked up an eyebrow. "Do you think I passed?" She innocently asked. He let out a heavy sigh.

"You will know by tonight. Good day, Ms. Gardner." He focused his attention on grading the others before her. However, she didn't move an inch. "Is there anything else?" He asked, never looking up at her.

Lauren let out a sigh. "Well, it's just...I don't think I did very well. I so need to pass this class, Mr. C."

He put an x on an answer as he said, "You are perfectly capable of passing, Ms. Gardner, but the question remains..." He took off his glasses and looked at her. "...did you fail on purpose?" She scoffed at his question, but didn't bother to answer it. That was all he needed. "Ms. Gardner, if you were expecting to see me as your professor next semester because you have purposefully failed, you will be sorely disappointed."

She looked almost scared. "What, um...what do you mean?"

He smirked very smugly. "My girlfriend has taken up a position that is going to have us relocate out of the country, I'm afraid." He watched all the color in her face drain. He was laughing on the inside, but kept his cold composure.

"I...I have to retake that test, Mr. C." She sounded panicked and, truthfully, it was the last thing he wanted. However, it was deserved.

"Lauren, I'm sorry, but—."

"No, no look!" She snatched up her test, causing the others to fly off his desk. He growled in annoyance. She frantically opened it and pointed at the first question. "The answer is composition!" She pointed to the next. "Drafting! And - and..." She quickly flipped to the middle. "The reason why you use this theory is because—."

"Lauren, stop, stop!" Ben stood up and took her test away. He picked up the rest as she stood there sobbing. He put them back onto his desk and sat down. She was full on crying and while he wanted to feel bad...something in him just didn't.

"Listen..." He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers. "This is not how this works. Not in school and certainly not in life. You don't get to throw something away, then expect me to feel pity for you. You are a smart girl, but...Christ, you make the most ignorant decisions! What's even worse about all this, is that you are still on academic probation until midnight tonight. I have to submit grades before that. Do you know what you have just done to yourself?"

He could tell that did not cross her mind. "Oh my God, they're going to expel me," she said in a quiet voice, her eyes wide.

"No, they won't expel you," he explained, "but you won't be allowed back for a semester. So, even if I wasn't moving on the other side of the world, you would not have had me for a class regardless. Whatever fantasy you have of the two of us, you need to get it out of your head. What, did you think if you came back my feelings would be different? If you kept pestering me? I kept you in this class because I felt pity...but you've gone and fucked it up now."

She stood there sniffling and wiping her tears away. "M-Mr.—."

"Good day, Ms. Gardner." With that, he watched her slowly make her way out of his lecture hall and he could finally breathe. He put his attention back to grading. As he finished each student, he input their grade into the system. He hoped it would make it go by faster, but it didn't.

He smiled when he input Mr. Chamberlain's perfect grade, then sighed when he got to Lauren's. It was all wrong. Well not all, but the enough of it was for her not to pass. He did, however, linger on a question that would have made her pass. It would be difficult to defend how she got it correct, but he could play it off.

He almost left it, he was so close. He didn't know if it was the spite he felt for her this semester, or the fact that he knew she had to be taught a lesson, but he put a reluctant red x next to it. He input her grade and hit the enter key. Once all the grades were fully submitted, he closed his computer and went home.

When he entered, he was immediately greeted by his girlfriend holding up a glass of red wine. He smiled when he saw her and set his things down. "Is my son craving some wine, then?"

Cassie put the glass in his hand. "Cravings don't start for a few more months, but if he does, who am I to deny that?" That got him to laugh as he took a sip. He hummed and closed his eyes.

"God I needed this," he said before taking another sip. "Hi, baby." He kissed Cassie on the lips, then her cheek. "What made you think I'd need this?"

"Gee, I don't know, maybe your "Kill me now" text," she laughed.

He hummed. "Yeah, good guess. How was your day?" He followed her into the kitchen, where she was just unpacking some take away. He "ohh'd" and picked out a piece of chicken from one of the cartons.

"Fine, I guess. Just kind of pattered around, cleaned up here and there. How was your's? Let me guess, something to do with your favorite student?"

He went up behind her and started kissing her neck as he said, "Not fair. We both know you are my favorite student." She giggled and he couldn't help but laugh along with her. He stood back and got out some plates. "Yeah, she came to me all smug that she was going to fail and have me again next semester. Unfortunately, that isn't how academic probation works."

Cassie actually gasped. "So she purposefully failed her exam to take your class again? But also won't be able to come back next semester?" Ben nodded. "Wow...and I thought Mads was crazy."

He set down the plates and started dishing up their plates. "Told her we were moving across the world because of your job."

Cassie stopped what she was doing and cocked her head. "I don't have a job, Ben."

"Yup."

"As a matter of fact, you insisted I didn't have to work."

"Absolutely correct."

"So how are we supposed to be moving to God-knows-where because of my non-existent job?"

"Couldn't begin to tell you."

They stood in silence, staring at each other for a moment. She shrugged. "Alright. What are we watching tonight?"

Several episodes of their show later, Ben had his arm around her shoulders and was chuckling with a glass of wine in his hand. There was a sudden knock on the door. He and Cassie both looked at the time. "Who in the hell could that be?" Ben grumbled.

As he got up to go see, Cassie called, "Oh, Katie wants us to have lunch with her tomorrow, by the way!"

Ben approached the door and called back, "Fine by me!" He opened the door and nearly choked on his own air. "Lauren?"