Professor

Ch. 11 - Rumors

Jane remained silent for a few more seconds before a sound finally came out of her mouth,

''You're hooking up with Professor Laufeyson ?'' she suddenly hissed.

Rolling her still wet and red eyes, Alice shook her head and sniffled,

''Not anymore, I guess.'' Her heart was so heavy it seemed like it was endlessly sinking into the depths of her chest. ''I thought there was more between us, I was wrong.''

As they talked, a well-built blond haired man placed two cups of coffee in front of them.

''These ones are on the house, sweetie.'' he winked.

Jane's eyes flitted towards him, ''Oh, thank you so much !'' she giggled nervously.

Alice frowned as she noticed their little game.

''Jane,'' she whispered, ''are you hooking up with the waiter ?''

Her friend blushed and Alice's jaw dropped.

''His name is Thor.'' Jane mouthed as she took a sip of her coffee, ''Actually he's the boss here.'' Clearing her throat as she saw Thor coming near their table, Jane took a moment to think before she tilted her head, ''Your man doesn't look like the married type.''

Alice shrugged, ''He doesn't trust me anyway.''

''You don't seem to trust him either.'' Jane noted.

Alice looked away for a while. Never once she'd realized that Loki could be thinking something similar about her. Her eyes welled up with a waterfall of tears and the intense emotions became overwhelming. She felt Jane's hand resting on hers and her friend soothed,

''Calm down,'' she said, giving her a gentle smile, ''If your relationship means something to him, he won't let go. Take a few days to think about it, and then talk to him.''

That's what she did.

On Monday, the alarm she'd set rang early and Alice quickly got dressed. She took a glance at her phone and her stomach clenched. It had been vibrating all night and she knew who it was. Occupying Loki's thoughts filled her with sliver hopes she wanted to get rid of.

Alice checked her schedule and frowned. Her first class was Literature.

Shit.

She sat back on her bed and sighed. It would be pointless to attend one of his classes right now. Alice sprawled on her bed and silently waited. Time seemed to slow down or speed up, she couldn't even tell. Her eyes closed and she fell back into a deep sleep.

When she woke up, the young girl stretched out an arm and pressed a random button on her phone.

It was late. But something else caught her gaze.

From: Professor L. :

09:00: Miss Parker, I expect a good excuse for your absence this morning.

09:30: Meet me in my office as soon as you read these messages, Alice.

She scoffed disdainfully, but then read the next message.

10:03: We need to talk.

Her hands became clammy. Even when she tried to push him out of her head, his face remained burnt into her mind. Alice inhaled deeply and typed her response,

10:05: There is nothing to say.

Within seconds, he texted her back,

10:05: I have serious business to discuss with my assistant.