Deriving Submission

Chapter 8

Chapter 8

My erotic dreams had mercifully stopped since I was attacked. I suppose if you had a dark enough sense of humor you could find the good in anything, and the end of the dreams was a blessing.  

It was Thursday, nearly a whole week had passed, and I wanted, no, needed, to go back to class. I needed a distraction. For the past six days when I wasn't rehashing the attack out loud to officers, I was replaying it in my mind. I needed something, anything, to distract me. So ready or not, class was the best option for me. 

The problem with returning to class, particularly on a Thursday, though was that there was one distraction that I knew I could not handle right now. Dr. Grayson. I was an emotional wreck and another supply closet incident would put me over the edge. Hell, seeing him would probably put me over the edge right now. I needed my space, now more than ever, and all Dr. Grayson seemed to do was invade mine. 

If the situation hadn't been so serious I probably would find it amusing the lengths that I was going to in order to avoid him. I arrived a full hour early to international tax audit. I parked myself on a bench outside my classroom door and God himself could not have moved me from that spot. This was a busy hallway which I realized now actually worked to my advantage. Using the less used staircases that led to hallways that held offices, rather than the popular staircases that immediately let out in hallways filled with classrooms, had led to me being alone with Dr. Grayson in the first place. The best course of action for me this whole time was to use the busiest parts of the business school. 

What I hadn't been expecting was the paranoia that set in being surrounded by fellow students. Walking up the main stairwell I felt like everyone's eyes were on me. Like everyone knew what had happened. That was impossible, right? Sure, some students obviously knew, it had happened at a business frat, but not all these people could possibly know? And even if they knew an incident had happened to some girl named Allegra, these people had no idea I was that girl, right? Right??

On my bench I kept looking up, making sure no one was watching me, hoping no one knew it was me, I was the girl that was attacked. My heartbeat was out of control. I looked down at my fitbit and I had credit for about 70 zone minutes. Great, I hadn't done much of anything in the last week, glad my anxiety was getting a workout in for me. 

I managed to make it through the rest of the time before class and hurried into my classroom the second the last of the students from the previous class left. People from my class began to slowly filter in and I chatted with a few of the girls I normally sat near. Mercifully, not one of them brought up what had happened and if they knew anything, they were doing a good job of not showing it. Once class began and Dr. Drew starting talking, I finally felt like I could take a real breath. I could do this. I had to do this. I wasn't going to let that asshole Alex impact my life more than he already had.

...

Dr. Drew was droning on and on about something which I assumed was in some way or shape related to Accounting, to be honest she could be talking about a volcano erupting in Chile and I wouldn't know at this point. I didn't even notice when Dr. Drew apparently abruptly stopped talking. The girl next to me tapped me arm causing me to look up at her - what was her name again? She signaled with her head over to the door.  That's when  I saw him, but how?  He was supposed to be teaching Derivatives right now, wasn't he?

"Ms. Palleviana, I was asking if you would please come with me?" Dr. Grayson asked for what I assumed was now at least the second time.

My throat had gone dry and I couldn't find my voice to respond. It felt like time had stopped as everyone looked at me, Dr. Grayson, and then back to me. That's when Dr. Drew, the traitor that she was, decided to speak up.