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Content Warning: This chapter will contain minor profanity.
Note: This chapter will be short in length.
─── ⛧⋆⋅ ♰ ⋅⋆⛧ ───
I stood outside Professor Mikkelsen's office, staring at his nameplate like it was some kind of warning sign.
Dr. Mads Mikkelsen, Department of Psychology.
It was strange seeing it so official, as if it belonged to someone... normal. A regular professor. Not the same man who had sent me to the hospital with nothing but his stare and an unspoken threat lingering in the air.
But this wasn't about that. This was about me missing class. About keeping my grades up. About proving, to him, to myself, that I wasn't weak.
Taking a breath, I knocked lightly, then opened the door when I heard his voice.
The office was exactly as I remembered it, too neat, too precise. Like it belonged to a man who had total control over everything in his life. The bookshelves behind his desk looked like something out of a high-end magazine, every book lined up perfectly, their spines crisp and untouched. His desk was sleek and black, as spotless as a crime scene before the blood was spilled. The air smelled like faint cologne and something richer, like leather and old paper. It would've been comforting if it wasn't so calculated.
Professor Mikkelsen was seated at his desk, flipping through a stack of papers, but the second I stepped inside, his eyes flicked up to me. Sharp. Observant. But today, there was nothing cold about them. Just something neutral. Maybe even welcoming.
"Eloise," he said, leaning back in his chair. "Come in."
I stepped forward, adjusting the tote bag on my shoulder. "You wanted to see me?"
He nodded toward the chair across from him. "Have a seat."
I hesitated for half a second, then sat down, crossing my legs, my posture a little too stiff. I was expecting a lecture, some condescending reminder that he didn't tolerate slacking. That missing class wasn't an excuse, even if I had been in the hospital. But instead, he simply exhaled and placed the papers down, resting his elbows on his desk.
"I wanted to check in with you," he said, his voice smooth, even. "You've missed quite a bit of class time, and I don't allow extensions for old assignments. However, I understand your circumstances were... unavoidable."
I nodded, bracing myself.
"So, to keep you from falling behind, I'll be giving you extra work. Supplemental assignments." He tilted his head slightly, watching my reaction. "It won't be easy, but it'll ensure you stay on track."
I blinked. That was it? No lecture? No unnecessary cruelty wrapped in academic professionalism?
"That's... fair," I said slowly, lowering my guard just a little.
