Bet ~Jean x Reader AU~

Chapter 3: Right Foot

Another second rolled over into a minute which ticked away, forever disappearing into the abyss. It had been ten minutes since our class had started...or rather, ten minutes since it was supposed to start. Our professor was MIA and nowhere to be seen. I could feel the atmosphere weighing heavily with aggravation and annoyance, each of my peers occasionally exchanging glances with one another. No one needed to verbalize their frustration. After all, we were all feeling it. It was only the first day of class and our instructor was tardy. We were all present and accounted for, but they were nowhere to be seen and that was annoying.

I took in a deep breath and dug into my pocket, fishing out my cell. I turned on its screen and unlocked it, scrolling through my various social media apps to distract myself. I silently snickered at a few memes that I found humorous and liked a few pictures that my cousin had posted but found nothing else interesting. And once I glimpsed up at the clock, I realized only a minute had passed. Only one messily little minute.

I dropped my stare back to my screen and switched to another app, still not bothering to exchange any words or glances with any of my fellow students. I kept to myself, still listening to the clock slowly tick, our professor still nowhere to be seen. To be honest, I was growing a bit agitated. It was the first day -the first day- of classes. There was no excuse to be that late to class, especially for a professor. It was ridiculous.

I had just exited out of the second app and was about to open a third when I heard the sound of heels hurriedly knocking at the linoleum floor, grasping my attention. I glanced up to see a petite woman rushing to the front desk where she rested her bags down. She was a verily young appearing woman with short strawberry blonde locks that fell close to her shoulders, some of those strands pulled back into a half up. Her skin was pleasantly fair, the material of her green sweater loosely, yet tastefully hanging from her short stature. An ankle length denim skirt with a slit that rose to the knee on the side fitted her lower body well, allowing us to see her black stockings and burgundy winter boots with high heels. A pair of opal earrings dangled down, occasionally brushing against her shoulder as a matching necklace rested around her neck. She was very beautiful, but I couldn't figure out who she was.

There's no way she's our professor...right? I mentally gasped. She was too young in appearance to be a college professor. She looked more like she was supposed to be one of us. My brain just couldn't comprehend the idea of her being anything but a student. But, that was the beauty of college. You never could tell who the instructor was and who was the student.

Just then, the petite woman turned to face us and clapped her palms together, smiling, "Hello and good morning everyone! Let me start this off by apologizing for my tardiness." She laced her fingers together. "I'm normally on time, but due to an emergency, I ran a little late. So, I hope ten bonus points will make it up to you all."

My eyes widened. At that moment, none of us had any points. I mean, as I already said, it was only the first day. However, the idea of all of us starting the new semester off with a generous ten points seemed nice. It was a little cushion for those who most likely were only taking the course to fill the schedule or simply because their majors required it. I myself signed up for the class merely because I wanted to. Still, ten free points were something I appreciated. And, it appeared everyone did.

"Good," she grinned after no one objected. She dropped her hands to her sides and began to dig through her bag, fishing out a handful of packets, continuing, "Anyway. This is Drawing III and I am Professor Petra Ral. If neither of those names sounds familiar, then you're in the wrong class." She paused, scanning over us before nodding, "Good. Seems like everyone here is in the right place. Alright then, please take one and pass this around."

She passed the packets to a student near her who followed her orders. The sound of shuffling paper filled the air, each person claiming their own syllabus before passing it over to the next. When it came to my turn, I took my packet and passed the rest to the student closest to me -who happened to be the petite blond boy from earlier. He took the papers, flashing me a soft smile before turning back to his friends. At that, I scanned what was printed on the syllabus. It was nothing tedious from what I could tell. It merely just mentioned a few sketch projects we'd have and model dates. It was basically what I had expected.

"Okay," Professor Ral beamed. "This is all pretty self-explanatory. You'll have three main projects that'll count as tests with six minor projects that'll count for both in class and homework grades." She made her way over to her desk and leaned against it, her palms firmly planting against its smooth wooden surface. "As far as attendance goes, it is mandatory, but I understand people still get sick and have family emergencies, so I'll give three grace days." She shrugged nonchalantly, "But after those three days are all used up, I expect a doctor's note. If you miss more than eight classes, you will receive one notice. If you receive a second notice, expect a withdrawal slip. Got it?"

We all remained silent, but I could feel a few of my classmates nod in response as Professor Ral skimmed over us. Her warm gaze scanned each of our features, her lips lifting into a pleasant smile. I mean, it wasn't like any of us were about ready to fight her on the whole thing. After all, she was the professor. She pulled the strings and we merely went along with the flow.

"Excellent," she grinned. "Second thing. You are all young adults. I'm sure you've all at some point in your lives seen a member of the opposite or same sex undressed. That said, on the dates marked in your syllabi, we will have live models coming in." She straightened her posture, crossing her arms over her chest and lowered her tone into one of seriousness. "On those days, please be respectful. These people will be donating their time in order to help you all polish your skills. So, stay mature. Okay?"

Once more, I could feel my peers all nod silently in understanding. To be honest, I didn't see why she even had to mention that but given some of my classmates had just graduated high school the summer before almost made sense. I mean, not all teens were immature about stuff as natural as the human body, but it was obvious some could be. So, I guess a gentle reminder didn't hurt anyone. But, I had no problem with the idea of models. If anything, I viewed it as something new.

Professor Ral clapped her hands together and smiled, "Alright! So let's have a great semester! Now, let's get to work!"

**Bello my sweet lovelies. Hope y'all are having a splendid day. I also hope y'all enjoyed this chapter! If ya did, then ya know the drill! As always, thank you SOOOOO much for EVERYTHING! Y'all are the real MVPs! Wuv yous!! <3**

-Noel Ross