Suspicious New Professor

Whispers and Vacancy

3

The third day of the semester dawned with a chill that clung to the students huddled outside Lille National Institute of Advanced Technologies. As Jenissa made her way through the halls, she sensed a growing tension in the air, an unspoken conversation circulating among her classmates and professors alike. It wasn’t long before Emile caught up with her, his expression lit with the thrill of new gossip.

“Jen! Have you heard the latest?” Emile’s eyes sparkled as he matched her stride.

Jenissa raised an eyebrow, her interest piqued. “You mean something other than Professor Noir’s, um, unique introduction yesterday?”

“Oh, way beyond that,” he whispered, leaning closer. “It’s about why Professor Bergman left so suddenly. There are rumors going around that she didn’t leave just because she’s pregnant. Supposedly, there’s more to it.”

She hadn’t given much thought to Professor Bergman’s departure. The seasoned CGR professor had been well-respected, known for her thorough lectures and insistence on discipline. But Jenissa had to admit, the abruptness of her departure seemed strange. It was almost as if she had been pulled away from the institute without warning.

“What are they saying?” Jenissa asked, her curiosity now fully awakened.

Emile looked around, ensuring no one else was listening, before continuing. “Some are saying she was… pushed out. Apparently, she wasn’t happy with certain changes being made, and when she tried to raise her concerns, she was met with resistance.”

Jenissa frowned, feeling an uneasy prickling at the back of her neck. “Resistance from who? The administration?”

“Exactly. And get this,” Emile’s voice dropped even lower. “Some say Elias Noir was behind it—at least indirectly. He’s been here barely a week, but there’s talk that he might have connections with some higher-ups. No one knows for sure, though.”

Jenissa found herself growing uneasy. Elias’s arrival had been peculiar from the start, but the idea that he might have a hand in Professor Bergman’s departure sent a chill through her. She couldn’t shake the feeling from yesterday—that his clumsiness was merely an act, a careful mask hiding something darker.

As they reached their first class of the day, Digital Techniques, Emile gave her a nudge. “Don’t read too much into it, Jen. They’re just rumors, right? People like to talk.”

“Maybe,” she murmured, though her thoughts continued to circle back to Elias and his peculiar behavior.

Later that day, during a break, Jenissa found herself walking past a group of seniors standing in a tight circle, their conversation hushed but intense. She couldn’t resist lingering close enough to catch snippets of what they were saying.

“…never saw her leave so fast,” one of them was saying. “I mean, Professor Bergman wasn’t exactly the warmest person, but she wouldn’t leave just because she got pregnant.”

“Exactly,” another voice chimed in, this one with a more skeptical edge. “I heard she’d been clashing with the administration. They kept pressing her to alter her syllabus, cut down on certain topics. She argued it would affect the students’ learning, and the next thing we know, she’s gone.”

Jenissa shifted her weight, straining to catch more of the conversation. The mention of Professor Bergman’s syllabus being altered struck a chord with her. The Computer Graphics course was known for being intensive, covering complex topics in digital modeling and imaging. If the administration had pressured her to cut corners, it would make sense that she had resisted. Professor Bergman had always prioritized thorough understanding over shortcuts.