Experimental Magic ✔

The Professor

It had been two days since Markos had "visited" his sisters. Even though it had only been a couple of days, he had long since forgotten about it. It was finals week at Cabrera-Bellow and he was absolutely drowning in end-of-semester projects, tests, and papers. This was only his second year teaching and he had yet to master the time management skills that would allow him to return his student's assignments in a timely manner. 

Despite this, his students still loved him. They saw his procrastination and unorganized nature as a humorous and lovable  character flaw rather than inadequacy in his teaching ability. They often joked around with him, asking him if their papers were finally graded and trying to weasel their way out of deadlines. Surely if he couldn't even get his work done on time, they shouldn't be expected to either. But Markos would just laugh and say "Hey, I'm the authority figure here. I can do whatever I want." Then they would all groan and giggle in unison and he would continue on with his lesson. 

Markos had gotten through about a quarter the way through his stack of papers before he slammed his grading book shut in frustration. He stood up quickly, practically knocking his chair backwards. He grabbed his favorite knee-length black pea coat and threw a scarf around his neck, not caring where it fell. I need coffee, he thought and headed out the door. 

His favorite coffee shop was right down the street. Coffee was good, atmosphere was good, and best of all it was convenient. It wasn't crowded, which was unusual. Markos usually had to wait at least ten minutes before he even ordered. He knew he shouldn't have been, but he was disappointed. He was hoping the lengthy wait would give him an excuse not to get back to his work right away. 

"Hey," he said as he stepped up to the counter. 

It wasn't his usual barista, Tyrella. Tyrella was an older, slightly overweight woman who had a real grandmother vibe to her. She always greeted him with a big, warm smile and a "how you doing, baby?" Every once in awhile she'd sneak him his coffee, give him a wink and tell him it was on the house. 

He hoped she hadn't left, but at the same time he wasn't exactly disappointed with her replacement. She was a cute blonde with big, brown eyes and a beautiful smile. She seemed nervous and unsure. She must've been new. 

"Hi, what can I get for you?" She said.

Markos watched her smile spread across her dimpled cheeks in delight. The corners of his mouth turned upwards as he let his eyes wander from her smile to her eyes and back down to her smile again. Maybe his timing wasn't so bad after all.

"Can I just get a large black coffee please," he said with a charming smile. "I'm a coffee purist."

"Sure thing," she said while she looked him up and down. 

His hair was unkempt and ruffled, his shoes were untied and he looked like he hadn't slept in two days. Even still, he was easily the best looking guy who had walked in the shop. Possibly ever. 

"You look like you need it," she teased.

"I do," he laughed. "You don't know how much I need it. No one told me being a Professor would be so hard."

"Where do you teach?" she asked, intrigued and maybe just a little confused.

He looked about her age, 22 maybe 23. He seemed far too young to be a Professor. A teacher, sure. But a Professor? Didn't you need a doctorate for that? There was no way he had a Ph.D. That takes years. Unless he was some kind of wunderkind genius.

"You wouldn't know it," Markos brushed her off with a wave of his hand and smile as he reached for his wallet. "New age school. Not very popular. Enough about me, how much do I owe you?"

For the first time in two days, Markos thought of his sister. He could only imagine the hell he'd catch from Misty if she had heard the conversation he just had. "What are you thinking telling her you're a professor?", she'd say. "There's only one college in the area, Markos. She'll figure out you're not a Professor there. Then she'll be suspicious and then she'll start asking questions.  Are you trying to let everyone know your secret?" 

But Markos wasn't worried about it. There was no way she was going to care that much to ask questions or dedicate any time to fact checking  his claim. Even if she did, she'd just assume he was lying about his job to impress her and move on with her day. It really wasn't a big deal. 

The more he thought about Misty, he started to wonder about Meadow. He left her in a pretty bad spot. As satisfying as it was to knock Misty and Millie down a few pegs, he began to think maybe it wasn't the best idea. Knowing the two of them, they wouldn't learn a thing from it. Humbly accepting when they've been bested wasn't exactly their thing. Vengeance. That was their thing. It was only a matter of time before they decided to "teach her a lesson." 

Shit, he thought, I really messed up.

"Excuse me," the barista said. "Your coffee is ready."

"Oh," Markos said, bringing his attention back to the situation at hand. "Sorry. Thanks."

Markos grabbed his coffee and turned on his heel to head back to his office. 

"Hey," the barista called out gently. 

"Yeah?" He said turning back around at the sound of her voice.

"It's just you know, most people pay for their drinks," she said with a flirty smile.

"Right," Markos said with a light laugh. He dug out his wallet and tossed a $20 bill on the counter. "Keep the change."

It was probably only a $2 drink, but he didn't care. He turned to leave once more, before he realized he didn't even ask the barista for her name. 

"I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't catch your name."

"Brie," she said. 

"Markos," he said. 

"Nice to meet you."

"Same to you," he said as he raised his cup to her and turned to leave once more.

"I'll be back," he said over his shoulder as he walked out. "Probably within the hour."

The cold, bitter air hit Markos's face as soon as he stepped outside. He closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead as his mind wandered back to his sisters. I'll give Meadow a call, he thought. Right after I finish grading those papers.