Forbidden Desires: A Tale of Cold Hearts and Feiry Souls

Part-12

The next day, I found myself sitting with Leah at one of the campus cafés, nursing a coffee that had long gone cold. I was fuming, my mind still wrapped up in yesterday’s tense encounter with Professor Wright. Leah had been going on about something, but I wasn’t really listening. My thoughts kept circling back to the professor and how she seemed hell-bent on making everything as rigid and difficult as possible.
“She’s driving me nuts, Leah,” I finally blurted out, interrupting whatever story she was telling. “Wright’s so damn uptight, it’s like she’s got a stick permanently lodged somewhere.”
Leah raised an eyebrow, clearly used to my outbursts but curious nonetheless. “What happened now?”
“She’s just so… rigid,” I growled, leaning back in my chair and crossing my arms. “Everything’s by the book with her, no room for flexibility, no room for—hell, no room for anything remotely human. It’s all rules, rules, rules.”
Leah chuckled, shaking her head. “Well, she is a professor, Ash. It’s kind of her job to enforce the rules.”
“Yeah, but she takes it to a whole new level,” I shot back, frustrated. “It’s like she’s allergic to fun or something. I swear, if she smiled, her face would crack.”
Leah laughed, a little louder this time. “You’re exaggerating.”
“Am I?” I challenged, leaning forward. “I’m not asking her to throw a damn party, but would it kill her to loosen up a bit? She’s wound so tight, it’s a miracle she doesn’t snap.”
Leah looked at me with a knowing smile. “Sounds like she’s getting under your skin.”
“She’s under my skin because she’s making everything harder than it needs to be!” I snapped, then sighed, running a hand through my hair. “It’s like she’s trying to push me, trying to see if I’ll break under all her rules and discipline. But I don’t break, Leah. I push back.”
“Sounds like you’ve met your match,” Leah teased, her tone light but her eyes watching me carefully. “Maybe she’s just what you need.”
I scoffed, shaking my head. “I don’t need a hardass professor breathing down my neck. I need someone who gets that not everything in life can be planned out to the last detail. Life’s messy, unpredictable. You’ve got to be able to roll with it.”
Leah sipped her drink, her smile never fading. “Maybe she just hasn’t met anyone who challenges her the way you do.”
I paused, the words hanging between us. Leah had a point, not that I’d admit it out loud. Professor Wright and I were like fire and ice, constantly clashing, but maybe that was why I couldn’t get her out of my head. Every encounter with her felt like a test, a battle of wills that I was determined not to lose.
“I just don’t get it,” I muttered, more to myself than to Leah. “She’s so damn controlled, so in charge. Doesn’t she ever get tired of it? Doesn’t she ever want to just… let go?”
Leah watched me for a moment before replying, her tone more serious now. “Maybe she does. But maybe she doesn’t know how. Not everyone’s as comfortable with chaos as you are, Ash.”
I stared at her, the thought sinking in. “She should learn,” I said quietly, more to myself than to Leah. “It’s not healthy to be that bottled up.”
Leah smirked. “And what? You’re going to teach her?”
I leaned back, smirking. “Maybe. Someone’s got to show her there’s more to life than rules and regulations. She needs to learn how to let loose, how to live a little.”
Leah shook her head, still smiling. “Good luck with that. Just don’t get yourself in too deep. Professor Wright doesn’t seem like the type who plays games.”
“Oh, I’m counting on it,” I replied, my smirk widening. “I’m not looking for games, Leah. I’m looking for a challenge. And something tells me Professor Wright is exactly that.”