Mr. Gardner

You've Got a Friend In Me

"How was your first day, Suzzie Q?" That was the first question I asked as soon as Susan met me at my shitty old Chrysler. 

"It was alright, weird going to class not being at Western Summit anymore." She shrugged.

"At least you had Charlie." I say and she smiled.

"Yeah. I just have to make more friends to bring me out of my shell is all. Anyways, enough about me. How was your first day, professor?" She says with a raised eyebrow and I chuckle.

"It wasn't too bad. I already had to yell at some students for being idiots today so it doesn't seem too different from Western Summit to me." Susan starts laughing.

"Were they throwing spitballs at you? I doubt it was that bad." She rolls her eyes.

"No, just a bunch of frat and sorority kids thinking my class is an easy A for gen ed is all."

"Oh boy were they wrong. I'm sure you'll be known as the 'dickhead professor' to all the frat boys and sorority girls now." She chuckles.

"Language Suzzie Q. I'll be completely fine if I never see another frat boy in any of my classes." 

"So anything else besides the dumb college kids?" Susan asks and I immediately think of that woman.

"Yeah, actually this woman came up to me and apologized that I had to deal with the frat group. Then she just kinda... walked off." I say with a shrug.

"A woman?" Susan asks.

"Yeah, she looked older than being early 20s. I could be wrong though." I glance at my daughter to see a smirk on her face. "What's that look for?"

"That just reminded me that you need to get back out there." My eyes widen.

"How the hell did that remind you that I need to start dating again?" 

"I don't know, you said she was a woman, not someone my age..." She says and I shake my head.

"I will absolutely not be the teacher who shacks up with a student. No matter if we are close in age." I say sternly and Susan puts her hands up.

"Okay, just making conversation dad." I just shake my head while continuing to drive home.

~

"That is how World War I started. Any questions before I let you enjoy your weekend?" I ask, finishing my lecture for the day.

"Why was World War I so quick?" A guy in the front asks.

"Quick?" I ask, confused and the guy tries to hide his smile.

"Because they were Russian." He finishes his joke and some of the other students start to chuckle.

"Haha, good joke. Any real questions?" I say sarcastically. "Have a good weekend then." I say when I get no response as everyone rushes out of the room. "Hey, may I speak with you for a moment?" I ask the woman from earlier in the week. 

"Uh, sure." She mumbles and stands near my desk as everyone filters out of the room. I close the door and turn back to her.

"Don't worry, you're not in trouble. I just want to let you know you didn't bother me when you told me the frat group was annoying. You ran out before I could respond, you surprised me is all." I explained to her as she looked nervous.

"It's alright, I'm new here so I just don't want to be a burden to anyone when I have quite a few years to go here." 

"Well, I'm new here as well. I'm sorry I never got your name..." I ask, hinting for her to tell me.

"Oh, my apologies. I'm Mila Fuller and I'm a history major actually." She explains and I smile, reaching to shake her hand.

"Nice to properly meet you, Mila. I'm glad to see you're interested in history for the long haul." 

"Yeah, I've wanted to be a history teacher ever since I had a brilliant one in high school. She inspired me and I figured I could be like her when I grew up, so here I am." She explains.

"Where did you go to high school if you don't mind me asking." I sit at the end of my desk, feeling sucked in to this conversation. I notice she takes a seat on a desk in front of mine, probably knowing she isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

"It's not around here. I went to a small school in Idaho." I nod my head, knowing I definitely don't know any schools from where she came from.

"I hope you don't mind me asking, you don't seem like you're fresh out of high school." She chuckles lightly.

"That's a nice way of asking how old I am. I'm actually turning 31 in a month." My eyes widen, I thought she'd still be in her twenties. "I know you're wondering my story for why I'm a freshman so late in life, but it's a long story that I don't just go telling everyone..." She explains and I nod my head in understanding.

"I understand, I don't expect you to spill your life story to me." I give her a smile as she fiddles with her fingers, becoming nervous again.

"Thanks, I appreciate it Mr. Gardner." I stand up and she follows.

"You know, starting again in college is rough, especially in your position." I start and she furrows her brows. "What I'm getting at is, if you ever need a friend or just someone to talk to, I'm here if you need me. I'd like to think I'm an approachable guy." I shrug and she chuckles.

"I appreciate the offer. I may take you up on a talk once in a while if you don't mind." 

"I don't mind at all. If you want a friend younger than me, my daughter Susan attends here as well." I say and her eyes widen. "What?" I ask confused.

"I didn't think you were old enough to have a daughter in college..." She says and I laugh.

"Thank you for the compliment. I'm 42 years old, I've definitely lived through some things." It's her turn to laugh.

"I'm sure Susan is great, I'll keep an eye out if I ever run into her." She says before walking to the door. "Have a good weekend, Mr. Gardner." I smile.

"You too, Mila." I say before she walks out. 

~

A/N

I apologize that this chapter is kind of short. I'm having a little trouble starting off this story but I will try to make it more interesting later. Anyways, I hope you guys are enjoying this so far, and I'll hopefully update soon. Thanks guys!