Antonia grabbed the can of coke from her fridge and shut the door loudly. It was around eight at night and the pizza she had ordered was delayed. Her stomach was protesting in the loudest way possible, letting her know that it would promptly digest itself if not given anything else. Sighing, she leaned against her fridge, resting her head against the door. Then she opened the can in her hand and took a long sip of the hissing liquid. Her eyes wandered everywhere around her minuscule kitchen, starting from the corner of the ceiling to the corner of the floor, everywhere but the laptop seated on the dining table in front of her, with its screen shining brightly in the poorly-lit room.
When she completed her PhD in History, she was quite satisfied with herself. Being the youngest fully-trained professor to leave her university, she harboured no doubt about getting her dream job at the Queens's Academy, Britain's most sought university. She even practised speeches about what she would tell when the authorities begged her to join their University.
Unfortunately, the best things in life do not go as planned, and the first time when she sent her resume to the Queen's, she was not even called for an interview. Naturally, she was demotivated and had to look for another job. Eventually, she ended up as a History teacher in a public school, whose principal was a feisty old woman who did not like the skin-tight jeans Antonia wore to school. Her previous boost of confidence was gone, and she found it very hard to work in a place which was not the one she had dreamed about.
That was one year ago. About a week ago, one year later, she emailed them again, this time, making some changes in her resume, for example, adding her experience.
What she expected was another rejection, following which she would have to continue with another job and give up on her dreams. However, as it is said, the best things in life do not go as planned, and after a week, Antonia found herself sipping coke and waiting for her pizza, standing in front of her laptop, whose screen was all white but the words were very, very clearly visible:
From: rhysclyde@queensacademy.org.uk
To: rodriguezantonia@mephone.org.uk
Subject: Job of a History Professor at Queen's Academy
Dear Madam,
Antonia, we have checked your resume and are quite impressed with your achievements. We would like you to attend an interview session on Wednesday, the 14th of April at 9 in the morning.
Looking forward to meeting you.
Professor Rhys Clyde
Chancellor, Queen's Academy.
As Antonia took another sip of her coke, she managed to look at the screen, still having immense doubts about the letters on the screen. Was she hallucinating? Had her obsession with Queen's taken over her completely and now she was going crazy? That must be it.
Still, the mail looked so real, and she could not help but run her eyes over it again and again. She had done it, had she not? She gulped down the final remnants of her drink and threw the empty can at the dustbin, aiming for it to fall into it but she missed it by a mile. She rolled her eyes and sat down in front of the laptop, fidgeting with her fingers and biting her lips. Should she reply back? A "thank you" would not hurt, will it? She leaned over and read the sender's name.
Professor Rhys Clyde.
The Chancellor, Antonia thought, I wonder how he is like. Suddenly, it seemed odd for her to not know anything about the Chancellor about the university she could be working in. Making it a point to search about him afterwards, she quickly typed out a "Thank you, I will be there", pondering for a second whether to send it or not but sending it in due course, and closed her eyes. The 14th of April was in three days, and she could feel the fear kicking in. This time she was called for an interview, so she had better not screw it up.
The moment she opened the browser to search up the Chancellor, the doorbell rang, announcing the arrival of her much-awaited pizza. Forgetting everything about Professor Clyde to meet up to the demands of her angry stomach, she shut the laptop and ran towards the door.
She would get to know him afterwards.
And she would love every single bit of it.
*
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BEHIND CLOSED DOORS | 18+ |✔
Romance"Intimate relationships among the teachers is prohibited in this academy. So make sure no one hears your moans from behind closed doors." ~ After years of hard work, infinite patience and endless prayers, Antonia Rodriguez could finally achieve her...
