My Professor's Secret

43 |

forty-three
one week later

"And scene!" Professor Thornton announces. The auditorium erupts in claps and chants of excitement as we finish the last scene of rehearsals. With the play happening in two days, this would be our final reading of the script as a whole before show time.

Everyone was completely off-book, but to solidify Professor Thornton's perfectionism, he insisted the last rehearsal be with the script. I shut my copy of The Scarlet Letter and make my way down the stage in pursuit of my belongings to make a break for the exit. It had been a week since I falsely admitted being in a relationship with Wyatt to Trevor and since then, we'd been adamantly dodging each other's presence except when we obviously couldn't. The last time he and I were alone was that night I went over to his house and we argued.

"If you want to leave, Go. But know that I would prefer it if you stayed. Please. It was insensitive and childish of me to say those things to you. I'm sorry." Only I didn't want to leave. I wanted more from him. More for us, but his lack of acknowledgment stung a hell of a lot more than this meaningless argument we were having.

"I'll stay under one condition..." Trevor remains silent, but closes the front door and grabs a hold of my hand to guide us back toward the living room. Once were seated, he let go of my hand and nodded for me to continue. "Tell me how you feel about me. And not how my body makes you feel. I want to know if you think there's anything between us. Anything more than just sex."

"Dude! Stop!" Someone yells in a fit of laughter, breaking me from my trance of remembrance.

My attention finds its way to the stage on a pair of rowdy castmates—Gavin and Philip—who plays Roger Chillingworth. I roll my eyes at their immaturity and grab ahold of my things to leave. Once I'm able to glance down at my phone, there's a text from my brother asking to meet up once rehearsals are over which I reply to with a yes.

I scan the auditorium for Professor first, who is huddled in the corner with a group of students assigned to the technical aspects of the play. No doubt finalizing the last few loose ends before we were to put on the show. Next, I scan for Wyatt who is nowhere to be found, but I shrug off his absence fully aware of his extracurricular activities with his fraternity who were hosting a mixer later tonight.

As I continue towards the auditorium's exit, Gavin and Philip continue to rough house even after Professor Thornton shouts in advisement against it. I shake my head and turn my neck to proceed forward but the door doesn't hold my attention much longer as a loud thud echoes throughout the room.

"Shit!!" Gavin hollers in an agonizing gasp of breath. His body is out of sight, but it isn't hard to tell where he's landed as Philip's mouth hangs agape while he hovers over the edge of the stage focused on the level below it meant for band accompaniment. Within seconds, Trevor and Philip race down the steps to assist with whatever injuries he might have sustained. "I'm okay," he says, as they help him up, but his body nearly collapses from the pressure he applies to his feet.

"Looks like it's your ankle that's not," says Trevor with a disappointing sigh. "Which translates to we're down an understudy already. Get him to the Health Center, Philip. Without any more injuries, please."

Trevor's disposition isn't hard to miss as he facepalms his hand and then glances into the distance, only our eyes gravitate toward one another.

"What do you gain from me saying something we both know won't matter in the end? Even more so now that you're already in a relationship with someone else. Whether or not there's anything between us, there's nothing more that can happen so why waste time with hypothetical scenarios?"