The Best Days

Chapter 10

       

It was the Monday after Ryan's party/get together or crapfest as I had decided to call it. I was sitting in my Composition I class replaying over and over in my head the events of the past weekend. Usually I'd pay the utmost attention since it was my favorite class and all but the events that had transpired had done quite the toll on me. I'd spent all of Sunday with Haley and Kendra in her room mostly just sleeping and chatting and watching TV. Basically, you know, trying to recuperate. Kendra had forced us to wake up at the crack of dawn, actually more like 9:30 am (but really what's the difference) to attend the campus church service. Then we'd spent the rest of the day doing nothing. Erika was MIA all day Sunday saying something about needing to study. I knew that was a lie from the pit of hell since it had literally just been midterms. What the heck new material could she possibly have been studying? But I digress....

I'd gone back to my dorm room for a few minutes on Sunday just to pick up a change of clothes and my school bag. Thank God Gavin wasn't there. I think he'd said he was going fishing with his dad or something since he didn't have class on Mondays. I wasn't avoiding him or anything but needless to say it was a relief...

But why was it even a relief? It's just that...

It's just that I don't know. I was clueless. I didn't understand myself and my feelings and my actions. Maybe I just needed some time away from him to figure it out. But I'm not sure how much time I was going to get since we lived together and everything but I'd make the most of what I had.

And that time happened to be during Composition I. I gazed up like I usually did from time to time to seem as though I was paying attention and somehow caught Professor Levy giving me what could only be a concerned look. I froze in my seat. I'd obviously not been doing a good job of fake paying attention. I tried to diligently take notes for the rest of the class. Pretty soon it was about eleven and class was dismissed. I would try to make sense of the jarbled mess in my notebook later...

I was about to beeline my way out the door when Levy stopped me in my tracks by calling out my name and beckoning me back inside and over to him. He was sitting at his desk with his hands folded in front of him as I approached him. The mood was tense making the whole scene feel like something out of one of those olden gangster movies. He was like the Godfather. I half expected him to start reciting lines from the movie.

He didn't though.

"Jennifer Jameson." He simply said as I reached his desk. Ah, my government name. That must mean I was in trouble.

"Professor Levy?" I managed to choke out with a tense smile. "Is something wrong?"

He winced. "I don't know, you tell me."

Huh?

My face must have registered my confusion. He let out an exasperated sigh before rolling up his shirt sleeves. I found my eyes drifting to his never before revealed golden arm hairs.

Gavin doesn't have arm hair.

Wait. What?

Why that thought suddenly came to my mind I don't know. But I needed to focus. I shook my head to clear my thoughts and forced myself to hear what Levy was saying. But it was pretty hard since I kept getting distracted by his perfect teeth....

"... and you weren't as active in class as you usually are. It was like you were somewhere else. We were even discussing Octavia Butler who I happen to know is your favorite writer. You didn't participate at all."

Wait, what?

I tried my best to formulate coherent thoughts. Hold on a minute there, Professor Pearly Whites. I don't know what I was more shocked at. The fact that he knew I liked Octavia Butler or that he'd noticed that I wasn't paying attention. Albeit there weren't very many people in my class not to notice my blatant spacing out and I'm pretty sure I mentioned in a past paper my love for her novel Kindred. But still the attention he was showing...was flattering.