Jared Abitol is ugly, past his prime, and desperate for love.
Years of being hyper-aware of his own looks have made Jared develop social anxiety. When you look like Jared, love isn't easy to find. Jared might not have the looks or confidence, but h...
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"Thanks again sir," Abby said as she got up from the chair by Jared's office. It was four in the evening, and Abby had caught him by himself in the office, so she came to ask him about the week's assignment question. Even though he had told her to only come by during office hours, Jared had the bad habit of not being able to say no. So, he sat through it, explaining the question he was sure Abby already knew how to do. That's one of the reasons these odd drop-ins annoyed him. Abby was the top of the course he and had no idea why she kept coming in to bother him with questions he already knew she could answer.
"It's no problem," Jared said, tightening his jaw as he watched Abby pack up. The blonde-haired girl was wearing hair long hair up in a ponytail as she bickered on about coming over again. Jared opened his mouth before closing it again as she wondered whether what he wanted to say was too confrontational.
"Abby," he started, deciding that he should just tell her. The girl looked up, raising a confused blonde brow as Jared sighed and held his fingers together over his desk. "Can you please stop coming over when it's not my office hours?" Jared asked, watching as the girl's expression dimmed. She looked like she was caught in headlights. She looked away, mumbling something under her breath as her face and ears became red. As Jared guessed, she knew what she was doing, and she wouldn't stop unless he called her out on it.
"I need the free time to myself to assess school work," Jared mumbled, the last few words running together like he wasn't too sure of what he was saying. Abby barging into his office when it wasn't his office hours had always been annoying, but Jared guessed it became more annoying because she was taking away the free time he could use to talk to Darnell, not just time he used to mark assignments.
"Then I'll come and help you do that instead," she said, sitting back down on the chair beside Jared's desk. The fan blades were creaking as they moved above, and the sound of students coming from the hallway filled Jared's off as they walked by the door.
Jared took a deep breath, combing his hair back with his hands before he started talking again. "You're a really bright student, and everything you ask me to explain to you I know you already know because you submit your assignments a few days early—"
"You still don't get it, do you?" Jared looked over at Abby with a raised brow. He squinted at her, wondering why she looked so worked up — so upset.
"I still don't get what?" Jared asked, watching as Abby bit down on her bottom lip and played with her fingers. She had on those shot acrylic nails that looked pretty but still managed to be functional.
"It's not about my grades, and it's not about being a teacher's pet. I chose this exact class because—" the girl paused, maybe realizing she was saying too much. She sighed, giving Jared a small smile as she raised two fingers high enough so that he could see them. "Two months. Two months before this semester ends. I hope you can figure things out before then," she said, before getting up from her seat. "I'll only come during office hours, but I can still email you, right?" Abby asked, and Jared hesitated a bit before nodding in confirmation.
