Page 5 of Freed By the Witchbone Knife

He pointed out the problem in question. A cart speeding down a ramp. I double checked everything then sent him on his way, shuffling through the remaining students as quickly as possible.

“Yo, Professor M. You’ll be in your office at 10 tomorrow, yeah?” Sonny shouted across the hall, hesitating by the door.

“I’ll be there.”

“Great! See you then!” He grabbed his skateboard and disappeared.

I exhaled, finally alone.

For a few moments, I simply stared at the empty chairs, letting the tension leave my shoulders. Lectures were draining but satisfying. I had already learned all my students’ names, careful to use their ID photos on their portal registration to memorize them. First assignments had been issued and would be due in a few days. Things were off to a solid start⁠—

The crash bar sounded as the lecture hall door opened. I jerked and looked up as an older gentlemen strode in. He had dark golden skin. His hair was a mix of salt and pepper. He carried a briefcase and looked like the very serious sort.

Like he belonged at a university and not a community college.

I glanced at the clock. Somehow I’d lost a solid ten minutes. Rushing, I reached for the eraser and set about cleaning the board.

“No need to hurry,” the man said. “I like to set up early in case my students come in before class.”

I finished and turned to him.

“Idris Najjar,” he said, setting his things down on the table before holding out his hand. I smiled and shook it.

“Rebecca Miller.”

“Ah, yes! Our newest faculty. You’re the PhD from WU, correct?”

My skin flushed. “Yep.”

“A bit overqualified, are you not? That’s not an insult,” he hastened to add. “We don’t have many Doctors of Philosophy on faculty here. Most Ph.Ds prefer to go for a post doc before teaching at universities and doing research.”

“Yeah…” I sighed. “I wanted something a little more…relaxed.”

“You could have stuck with a masters.” He lifted a brow.

I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. There was a lot more to it than that. Mainly, I needed to be here—in Redding.

“Suppose so.” I lifted a shoulder.

“First semester going okay?”

“As well as can be expected.”

“This isn’t your first time teaching, I assume?”

“No. I taught undergrad physics during my doctoral program. But this is my first time teaching some of the higher level courses, like atomic physics.”

“Ah. Not to fear. You’ll do great.”

“Thanks. Well, I should get going.”

“Of course. Take care. And feel free to let me know if you need anything. Adjusting to something new can be overwhelming. But we have great faculty here. Everyone is family.”

“Thank you. I… I really appreciate it.”

I grabbed my bag and slipped from the room, heading out into the daylight.

Because Redding was nestled in the Thornback Mountains, fall was almost here, despite it being early September. I took a moment to breathe. The air was the perfect temperature, warmed by the sunshine. A couple of weeks from now, the trees would start turning colors. I couldn’t wait to see that.