Beyond The Veil (A Paranormal Romance)

Chapter 5

Emily was late; it was already after ten. She rushed with her heavy bag through the empty hallway of the building she was pretty sure her classroom was in. As she hurried past the many doors to her left and right, she checked for the room numbers. 235, 236, 237... There, 238. That was hers. She checked the note in her hand that listed all the rooms she had to go to today and compared it to the small gray metal sign next to the door. Yes, Room 238, Introduction to Literature, Professor Cole.

She took a deep breath, smoothed her hair and clothes, and then opened the door.

Emily didn't know what she expected when she walked into that room, but it certainly wasn't this. Feeling her blood rush out of her face, she froze in front of the students that eyed her curiously. She was unable to move, her limbs were as heavy as lead, and her ability to talk seemed to have left her.

Apparently, the professor who was standing only a few feet away from her and who had interrupted his welcome speech to greet the late arrival, felt the same way. His cheerful smile died the second she caught his eye. He didn't move either, nor did he say anything, only his obsidian eyes seemed to ask, "You?"

Emily was horrified. Only an hour ago she had been sitting with this very man in that small cafe, had accepted clothes from him. For the love of God, he had given her his phone number. And now she was facing him here, in the seminar that was supposed to teach her about literature. To be precise, HE was supposed to teach her about literature. Could this morning get any worse? She wouldn't have felt more humiliated if she had shown up to class completely naked.

Emily, she called to herself desperately. Say something, move, just do something!

She noticed the other students beginning to whisper to each other, probably wondering what was going on.

It took a few more seconds until the professor was the first to regain his composure.

"Good morning." He forced a smile, but Emily could tell he actually didn't want her here. "Ms. ...?"

"Snow," she stuttered, lowering her head. "Emily Snow."

"Okay, Ms. Snow, why don't you take a seat? I was just going over the syllabus for this semester."

Silently, Emily looked for an unoccupied seat and found one in the back, next to a girl with the prettiest red curls she had ever seen. Her green eyes were glowing as she leaned over, her impeccably painted lips smirking at her.

"He's gorgeous, isn't he?" she purred, obviously lost in daydreams.

"Who?" Emily asked confused.

The girl's eyes flung wide open in surprise. "Mr. Charming over there." She nodded in the professor's direction.

He definitely was attractive. The first thing she had noticed about him were his eyes, of course, which were as black as night, and his dark hair only complimented his mysterious aura. His nose reminded her of the ancient Greek statues that were displayed in the history museum, and a lot of girls probably dreamed of kissing his sensual lips. With his smile, Emily was convinced that he could sweep every woman off her feet. The name Mr. Charming fit just perfectly.

He was writing something on the whiteboard, flexing the muscles beneath the fabric of his dress shirt with every letter he penned, making the red-haired girl swoon.

"I only took this class because of him," she confessed. "And I bet so did the rest."

Only now did Emily realize the absence of male students in this room.

"Well, I didn't."

The girl lifted her eyebrow in disbelief but chose to leave it at that. Instead, she introduced herself as Ginger.

"Excuse me, Ladies, if my seminar interrupts your conversation." Professor Cole gave them an annoyed look.

Immediately, both girls fell silent and blushed. For the remaining 42 minutes every one of the twenty-odd students stayed quiet, just listening to the professor's talk.

At the end of the class, as the students filed out of the room, chattering and laughing, Emily tried to slip out as well, but the professor stopped her.

"Can I have a second with you, Ms. Snow?"

Ginger stopped as well and waited curiously.

"Alone," he added, signaling her to leave. With a somewhat jealous expression on her face, she followed his order and left the room.

When she was gone, Professor Cole sat down on one of the student's tables, his eyes holding her gaze.

"So, you're taking my class," he began slowly.

"I'm sorry," she sputtered. "I'm sorry I was late and I really didn't mean to interrupt your speech but Ginger kept talking to me and I..."

"It's alright, don't worry," he stopped her babbling and sighed quietly before he continued. "But, you know, when I gave you my card this morning..." He paused, nervously running his fingers through his hair. "I want you to know that I meant what I said. Please don't think I was just being a hypocrite."

Emily shook her head, confused. "No, I don't think you were."

"Good. Because I think.." He paused again as a different thought seemed to enter his mind. "May I ask... How old are you?"

Um, what? Why did he want to know her age? What did it have to do with anything? But before she could ponder about those questions, she heard herself say, "24."

"24?"

Why did he sound so surprised? The tone in which he repeated that number made her feel like she had to apologize, like she had to explain herself.

"Yes, I know I'm a little too old for introductory classes at college, but my situation at home had made it impossible for me to start college right after high school, like everyone else."

Her words came out a little harsher than intended and she flinched when she saw the professor's baffled look.

He raised his hands in a defensive motion. "You don't owe me an explanation. I didn't mean to imply otherwise. And by the way, I don't think you are too old." For a moment, his facial features softened and a curious expression lay in his eyes, making Emily suddenly feel very warm. But as quickly as it had appeared, it vanished.

"Under the given circumstances," the sound of his voice had shifted from casual to professional. "Well, you should probably refrain from calling me."

"Oh." She didn't know why his words made her sad, since she hadn't planned on calling him anyway. She was way too shy to pick up the phone and call a man she had just met. Also, she didn't have a cell phone, and calling someone from the phone at home was next to impossible, with her father there, ranting and shouting.

"Don't get me wrong. It would just be really inappropriate."

"I understand."

An inexplicable cold grabbed her heart and she decided it would be better to leave now, for she felt tears welling up again. She didn't even know why, but it had felt good to know that there was someone she could turn to, even though she would never have done it. However, just knowing she wasn't all alone was kind of nice. Well. That was over now.

She fled towards the door but didn't make it very far, since he held her back at her wrist.

"I'm not that kind of asshole."

Huh? Did he expect her to respond to that? What did that mean anyway? Not that kind of asshole? He seemed to wait for her to say something, but since she didn't, he let go of her arm. Without looking at him again, she rushed out into the hallway.