Hard Feelings

One

// A New Beginning //

She had escaped her last city. Or maybe her last city escaped her.

Alex Vosler, brand new to this smaller city. She arrived only a week prior to her spring semester. Classes were starting and her things had still not been unpacked. It explained the panicked rush to find her books and supplies for classes only thirty minutes to her first English class. She found her things after tripping over a few more boxes and began on her way off to university, practically sprinting to her vehicle. A quick drive and a fast walk inside the building, she found her class early, as she had planned and picked a seat perfect for herself.

Other students filtered through casually, not paying any attention to Alex. It gave her mixed feelings, ones of gratitude and ones of anger. Alex was grateful for she was not interested in small talk or pointless chit-chat, but she was to be given attention. She felt as though she was forbidden, something that deserves attention, yet unavailable for any actual interaction. No doubts ever crossed her mind about the high pedestal she put herself on.

The time was ten to eleven and the professor walked in with very little care and effort. A singular binder in hand, a few dry erase markers, and a case which presumably held some sort of laptop or tablet. He had set his things down and began to prepare his materials for the lecture to come.

The class was small, maybe twenty to twenty-five students, who sat and waited for the professor to begin. The professor looked up at the clock, saw the time – eleven in the morning exactly. He then looked around to all the students smiling genuinely.

"Alright, so I'm Nate, and this is English three-oh-nine."

Alex already felt transfixed as she stared at her new professor. She examined every feature; a gorgeous smile, beautiful dark black hair, bright brown eyes, full pink lips, and a jawbone most girls fall in love with.

"Okay, so today is going to be short, mostly just going over our syllabus for the semester and a quick exercise so I can see what kind of writing level you are all at."

Nate went over the syllabus that he had pulled up on the screen, nothing too out of the ordinary, just a quick description of the course, the university standards, lecture methods and his office hours, "– if I am in my office, come on in, doesn't have to be scheduled or anything, the door is always open." Alex's excitement picked up at that. She could get help on a regular basis, not that she actually needed the help.

Soon it was onto the promised writing exercise where the students were asked to write about a time that they experienced pain. That was the prompt; could be real or false, could be physical or mental. Nate didn't care, he had just wanted to give them something to go off of for such short notice.

Alex took this as her chance to start her plan. She wrote a carefully articulated paper on the pain she had felt of losing her last boyfriend.

Alex finished somewhere in the middle of the class. Not too quick, not too slow. She walked up to him slowly and he watched her walk in the odd slowness down the stairs of the auditorium. Again, she commanded attention. She walked up to him and handed the paper to his outstretched hand.

"These, um, won't be shared with the class, right?" Alex spoke quietly and looked down as they both held a side of her paper.

He watched her with a small frown in his brow and went to speak, "this class is a more shared writing experience where the pieces of work are discussed upon, I would suggest–"

"Oh, well I understand that portion, I was just asking if these ones specifically were going to be examined or if it was just for you. It was a very real and personal experience that I am not comfortable speaking out loud about... yet anyway." Alex cut in, as she rubbed the back of her neck in a mock of slight embarrassment. Alex was not the type to be embarrassed about anything.

"Yes, these ones are only for me to understand your writing abilities and to see if you improve over the semester or not." He said confidently, crossing his arms. Alex's eyes twitched as she watched the muscles in his arm flex and move. Her mind took off.

"Well, uh, th-thanks then. Have a good day." The forced stutter. Alex was the epitome of confidence, and a stutter was not something that let out naturally. She would make it seem as though she did not want to discuss this further. 

"But–"

"Yes?"

He looked at her paper and examined it for a minute. "Would you mind coming to my office tomorrow around one, I want to discuss this a little further."

Alex sighed as though she was disappointed and nodded. 

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And so Alex's story begins...

Hope you enjoy!

~Lyss