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“I don’t know who that is.”
“The young woman you tried to get removed from your class.”
“It’s not ringing a bell.”
“You picked her up from Boston for me. Rememberthat?”
“I wish I didn’t.”
“Every time I look at her file, I wonder what I’m doing wrong.”
“I could’ve sworn conversations about students were off limits tonight.”
Especiallythatstudent.
“Now and then we admit an intellectual who is miles ahead of her peers.” He sips his wine. “ABeethovenin a world of musicians.”
“The invitation mentioned authentic Cuban cigars.” I change the subject. “Where can I find those?”
“She’s gifted beyond measure,” he says. “There are some college literary journals that publish her writing under a pseudonym," he says. “She denies this, of course, but it’s gone on far too long for me to do anything about it.”
“Were theylyingabout those cigars?”
“Last semester, I hired a Harvard professor on a part-time contract and asked him to create a course just for her.” He pulls a cigar and a lighter from his pocket, handing them to me. “Shefinished his syllabus in five weeks, and then he started using her to grade the college students’ papers.”
I light the cigar and inhale, refusing to ask any follow-up questions.
“She’s always struggled to make friends and acquaintances here, and between you and me, I think some of the students may be a bit jealous.”
“Or maybe she’s just a trash individual who lies to every man she meets.” I shrug. “That’s not jealousy.”
“I’m not sure what else I can do with her if this latest punishment doesn’t change things.” He looks at me expectantly, as if I have the answer.
“I got into trouble in high school all the time,” I say. “Not sure what you want me to say.”
“She reminds me of you.”
“I never snuck off campus.”
“You’re right, your behavior was far worse.” He laughs. “What made you change?”
“A teacher noticed I had a slight interest in business, so he took me under his wing and taught me about day trading.” I shrug. “I became obsessed and that was it.”
“So, he was like your mentor?”
“Something like that, yeah.”
“Hmmmm. How did he pick up on your interest?”
Okay, that’s it. “I’m going back inside to enjoy my last night of freedom before the semester gets hectic.”
“I wonder how much of your transformation was due to his influence, and how much was your work ethic.”
He’s clearly talking to himself, so I walk away. I don’t even mind putting up with the blatant flirting from the other teachers the rest of the night.
Anything is better than talking about Genevieve Edwards.
11
