My Professor's Secret

20

twenty

Going home that night didn't provide the sense of release I desperately needed after making the break from Professor T's office. Instead I came home to a two hour long debate on wether or not turning in the letter we received would be of any help to either of us.

Recounting the discovery of my necklace, we spent the rest of the night meticulously searching for any other personal items that had gone unnoticeably stolen while deciding what the best thing to do was.

After an intense match of disagreement, it was decided that we wouldn't involve the Dean. Not because we had hashed out the reason Rachel had such a hold on the both of us but because neither of us could confess to one another what it was.

That was reason enough just how terrifying the public airing of our discretions would be.

Apart from the mutual agreement not to involve the Dean, our next best option was our Residence Advisor, Presley.

Within the last couple of days, her presence hovered around our dorm frequently. Two nights ago I caught her slipping out of Shaylynn's room wiping away a stream of tears pouring from her eyes. When we passed each other on her way to the elevator, she didn't even attempt to hide them. She grabbed ahold of my hand, wished me a peaceful goodnight and disappeared behind the metal doors. I stood in the hall for what felt like an eternity deciding wether or not knocking on Lynn's door was a good idea.

Her and I hadn't talked to each other since the night she abandoned us at Wyatt's party. Even when Taylor and I planned lunch and study dates between the three of us, Lynn was either a no show, or she never responded to the messages in our group chat. I couldn't figure out why.

In the end, I figured if Lynn felt it more imperative to seek guidance from our RA apart from us, it was her choice and I hoped she would come to us when she was ready. Whenever that day came.

Between the two of us, a pair of heels each, Taylor's Dolce & Gabbana handbag, white gold hoop earrings that once belonged to my mother, and my necklace—recently retrieved—manage to vanish underneath our noses. Given Rachel's connection to Tay's sister, it wasn't hard to decipher that she only took items that belonged to Taylor under the pretense that they were mine. Taylor had nothing to do with the beef going on between Rachel and I so it was safe to assume her motives behind roping Taylor in was means to keep her from being the one who reported it. Or because unlike me, Tay didn't care what anyone thought of her or how Rachel would perceive her incisive need to call her out on virtually everything she did. Wracking my brain to figure it out was pointless since Rachel did involve Taylor the moment she stole her things.

The next morning, her and I trotted all the way to Presley's hall in desperate need of a solution to at least part of our predicament. Resident Advisors get the largest dorm in the hall free of charge in exchange for their exceptional job of providing the upmost care for the students they are to assist.

Presley welcomed us in with smiles way too friendly to be disingenuous and even offered a cup of tea while she attentively listens to us discuss our issues.

We refrained from the truth, knowing it would only conjure questions in regards to the missing key.

Taylor ends up going on a spiel about a creepy ex boyfriend who stole her key without her knowledge only to have it duplicated without our permission. She even went as far to say he kept the original and replaced hers with the copy.

Lying to Presley felt wrong. Especially after catching sobs fall from her lips minutes before midnight when as she left Lynn's room. But it was the only way to avoid paying for the replacement key and explaining to her that the quality insured four key ( two extra incase they were to be misplaced ) security policy was useless. Which would've been an even harder lie to convince her of.