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“You know that I only attend students by previous appointment, right?” She speaks coldly in a monotonous tone that never seems to abandon her.
“No, you don’t,” I retort without wanting to lose time on this. I don’t owe her respect that she doesn’t deserve. I’m going to be blunt about what I have to say. “I’m here to clear something up. Something that dragged the wrong person.”
Her expression remains the same.
“Enlighten me then.”
I lick my lips.
“Stanley wasn’t the one cheating in the class,” I start to say, and it catches me by surprise that my voice isn’t trembling. “It was me. It’s always been me. I copied from him to get a better grade because I’m terrible at the subject, and you were never an excellent professor. I got desperate, and I started dating him to get advantage of that. It’s fucked up, I know, but it’s what happened.”
She squints, and her eyes trail off to Carter.
“What are you here for? Moral support?”
“I was the person that left you the anonymous report,” he states in a simple but firm tone.
Swallowing the lump in my throat, I prepare to keep up with this lie.
“I used to date him until I decided to change him for his roommate—Stanley. When he found out, he decided to punish the wrong person.”
The professor frowns and leans in, her elbows on the wooden surface.
“Why are you saying it now?” she questions, analyzing me.
“Because I feel guilty that someone innocent has to pay for my mistakes. I’m past that,” I respond, and I’m sincere.
She stays quiet for a full minute. Time has slowed down, and the wait is mortifying. I can barely breathe as she makes a decision. My heart hammers against my thoracic cage, numbing everything else around me.
“Do you understand what will happen if you admit that you did it?”
I nod.
“In the worst-case scenario? You guys kick me out of this college,” I guess because you don’t need a detective for that.
She moves her head in an affirmative mode.
“You could be expelled,” she agrees. “Do you want that? Another college won’t accept you with a complaint like this in your file.”
I gulp, hesitating for a second, but I’ve made up my mind.
“I can handle it, but I could never live with the fact that I screwed someone else’s life,” I reply in a lower tone because I can sense the relief coursing through me as she feeds from my lies.
This is happening.
I’m actually taking the fall for Stanley to prevent the collateral damages from my acts from hurting him.
“Okay,” she accepts with ease. She doesn’t even blink. “I’ll be meeting up with the dean to know how we’ll proceed with this. You can go now.”
Her dismissal is so abrupt that it makes me wonder if she has an ounce of empathy in her bones. A new wave of courage flows through me, and I can’t prevent the verbal vomit that climbs my throat.
“This wouldn’t have happened if you were a better professor,” I let out angrily. She lifts her eyebrows, startled by my brutally honest words. “Do you want a piece of advice? Not even the diplomas covering the walls of this office will save you from the fact that you’re an awful professor and a terrible human being. You lack empathy, accessibility, and the spirit to connect with your students. Not everyone can be a science genius, but you surely don’t make it any easier. Honestly? It’s worthless to be so smart if you’re dumb inside.”
I don’t want to see her reaction before I turn and abandon the office. The adrenaline is sending a rush of energy through my body. At a distance, I can hear John following me, but everything is drowned out by the pressure that rounds my ears. Stopping in the middle of the hall, I bow down, gasping for air.
“What you did was pretty brave,” Carter recognizes.
A skeptical laugh escapes from my lips.
