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“You asked to see me.” I shut the door behind me and walked over to his desk.
“Yes, sit down.”
I tried to read his face but there was nothing. He was a hard guy, from down south if I remember correctly. His hair is graying but he is big and burly, everyone talks about what a football star he was back in his day. Nonetheless he could probably crush me if he wanted, that’s why it was so hard to tell what he was thinking. Was I fired? Were the police hiding? Surely, they assumed the student was underaged.
I sat down and tried to think of what to say. Should I say something first? Defend myself? Or maybe it would make me just sound guilty. But I held my own, and just sat there with my best poker face.
“I had to talk to you about something and I wasn’t sure how to approach it.”
I knew it. I had to get ahead of it.
“Look, sir. Whatever you heard isn’t true, necessarily.”
“Well, that’s good since I was thinking something entirely different.”
I wanted to tell him we cared about each other, and it wasn’t just me crossing the lines to sleep with a student. It was obvious by the expression on his face that he heard the rumors before. I had to set him straight somehow but in a good way.
“Will the student be implicated?”
I asked him. I didn’t want Madeline to be involved. If it meant keeping everything quiet, I would just quit.
“Your current students?” He inquired. I sat back, sort of frozen. Had I misunderstood in some way or was he messing with me?
“Um, maybe we aren’t on the same page.” I swallowed, smoothing out the fabric of my pants. I was so worried about Madeline getting involved I was willing to do anything to protect her. It was apparent then that my feelings for her run deep.
“I suppose not, Moyer. What did you think I was asking you about?”
Jake was the one who was good at lying, not me. I racked my brain for anything.
“The change in how final grades are weighted. I assumed I…had done something wrong. I’m more of a business guy and not a grader.” I chuckled.
He cracked a smile and stood up.
“No, that isn’t it. I want to ask you to teach a class in the fall. You can think about it, of course. I know you only agreed under special circumstances.”
I shifted in my seat as I exhaled. My whole body relaxed, he didn’t know about Madeline.
“I would have to think about it, yeah.” I finally said.
And he was right. I didn’t plan on doing another semester. It was hard enough already, maybe it was just because of Madeline. Although I do love teaching.
“Of course, of course. That’s all I wanted to talk to you about. Wanted to do it in person.”
I stood and buttoned my jacket. “Of course.” I shook his hand.
I left the office feeling light but also worried because I didn’t want that to actually happen. It was just until she graduated, then I wouldn’t feel this sword over my head.
I headed back to the office and intercepted Jake on the way up.
“What’s up with you? You look like shit, man.” He said, giving me a weird look.
“Madeline needs to hurry up and fucking graduate.”
Sixteen: Madeline
The library seemed above me somehow, and I knew it was stupid. Because I am still a student and I still have work to do. I have five classes, two of which had final essays that I am finalizing now. The last three were final projects I finished last week, one of which I was using the same presentation that I proposed. I would just have to practice.
I plugged my ears and found a secluded spot near the book shelves. Sarai was meeting me later but she said she might get held up at work, so I wasn’t all too sure. I tried to stay focus but I missed Jake and Logan. I was actually talking to them in a group message once in a while, but it wasn’t the same.
