The Experimental Professor 2

She looked up to the man who had said that. She had never seen him before. He was propped up on the door. “Anyone who stands up to that guy not only deserves a chance to do whatever they want but a raise as well.”

“I wasn’t working for money,” Jasmine said. She looked at him and saw that he was tall and slender. Not dressed in a suit, he was in a dress shirt and a pair of khakis that were loose enough to not hug his muscular thighs.

“Oh, really? A college student who doesn’t need money? That is an interesting new concept.” He said as he half-smiled. “If not money, what were you working for?”

“Time.” She replied, and the other professor she was supposed to work for began to stutter things out that made no sense. He was trying to back peddle on their deal to make it look more legit. It was almost hilarious to the two other people in the room to what this rotund little man try to get something that made sense out. “I have enough money.”  

“Enough, Tighe.” He said as he leveled a stare at the man. His piercing gaze looked right through the other man. His light blue eyes were laser-focused on him as he spoke. They almost looked like the ice after a few days when it got the lightest of blue tint. “Time for what?”

“I need to have access to the lab.” She said with a sigh. “Professor Tighe is in charge of allowing non-graduate students to get access. It is almost impossible for non-graduate students to get any access to the labs and the library of chemicals.”

“I see.” He said as he looked her over. She looked like every other college student to him. A young woman who had big thoughts and dreams to make a discovery in something. He knew better at his age. “And that was all you were looking for?”

“I just need to prove one thing.” She said. “Then everything else will just work.”

“Excuse me?” He asked.

“I have a theory. One of the things I need to do is prove this one factor to the reaction, which hasn’t been done before. If it works the way I think it will, it could change the way we actually do things in life.” Jasmine said. She was confident in her theory. Though she needed to be the one to prove it, though. “Though it is just an idea at the moment, every person I have talked to said, in theory, it would work. It is that in theory part, I need to either prove or disprove.”

“And if you do this and it doesn’t work, then what?” he asked. He knew that the idea she had shared might actually work if she had talked to others about it and that they had agreed. Now he was curious more than he was before she had said that.

“Then I can stop trying to get it to work in my head,” Jasmine said.

“I see.” He said as he looked like he was thinking about what she said. “Chemical or biological?”

“Chemical and environmental.” She replied, and he looked at her, this time, a grin forming on his face. This was something that he could work with more and more. It would be a two-for-one win in his mind. He didn’t like the dean. He was finding that he really didn’t like the university or the rules they had. The way they handled the students was one thing. The way they handled the professors who were favored was another.

“I have access to a non-university lab. Would that allow you to do what you need?” He asked, “I can get the supplies for you for the part of the chemical reactions when they are needed.”

Professor Tighe interjected, “Not from the university.”

“Of course not from here. You could never stand up for yourself and be a man Tighe.” The stranger said as his laser-focused gaze went to the man he was talking to.  He turned back to Jasmine and asked, “Would this work?”

“What would I have to do for you?” Jasmine asked as she met his eyes. She had taken on office hours for the other professor and most of his grading as well. He would just have to input the grades into the computer. She was actually not working for him if this worked out. Maybe her brother had saved her in his own way and given her more time to do other things that were more important.

“A bit of light paperwork. Maybe help set things up for the next class. Some light washing as well. That is if I do anything in one of my classes as an experiment.” He said as he just held her gaze. “For as long as you need in the lab. However, for my helping get you the supplies when you do either prove or disprove this theory of yours, I get a byline in the study paper.”

“That sounds fair,” Jasmine said as she looked at him. She was making deals which again was not like her. She just knew somehow it all came down to this moment. She had tried to do this in another way she could. She knew what she had thought when it came to her mind. No one would believe it was a good idea to mess with things as they were. However, the more she worked out the details, the more people listened to her. Now she just had to get it out of her head by doing this experiment. She needed to figure out if she could do it and then repeat it over and over for the results.  

He put out his hand for her to shake, and she placed her hand in his. It dwarfed hers as he shook her hand. He then let go and turned, “You start now.” He then walked out, and she grabbed her notebook and followed him. She had no idea of who he was. “What is your name?”

“Jasmine.” She said, “Jasmine Martin.”

“Well, Jasmine Martin, I honestly have no idea where anything is in this place. I have never seen a departmental building so disorganized or run so shoddy.”  He said, and then he stopped and turned to look down at her, “Your brother, the dean, is a horrible leader. I don’t think I have ever worked in a department that was this bad.”

He looked at her to judge her reaction to this announcement. He was gauging if he could speak freely around her or if she would defend her family. She was the one people did this most with. She had been tested before. She knew how to handle this easily.  

“My parents bought this for him,” Jasmine said flatly. “At least that is what I have to believe. He was not a science major in school, from what I remember. I think he got a degree in English. He failed more students than anyone else I heard. It was because he could not make a point, and no one understood him. That was even if he showed up to the classes he was supposed to teach. He is my parent's favorite, so having him be a Dean would be a huge feather in their caps.”

“So you’re one of those Martin’s?” he asked.

“I was one of them. However, my mother said I was nothing but the failure of the family.” She said as she hung her head low. It was something she had come to grips with early in her life. She couldn’t remember a time that her parents had even remotely acted like parents to her. She had been raised by her nannies. She had very little to do with the family unless they needed to make themselves feel better about themselves somehow.

“I don’t see how you could be considered a failure. You haven’t even begun your life yet.” He chuckled. He knew how people thought they were in dire straits when they got out of a school of any kind. Sometimes it took time and a few failures in life before they could thrive. Something told him this young woman in front of him was not going to have any of those problems. She would thrive on her own. Standing up to the Dean of a school was one thing, even if that was your own brother. “Tell me that when you are thirty or forty, not twenty.”

“They all say it, though.” She said.

“Well, kid, I am not wrong in this. Someone who got fired and then rehired even more quickly isn’t a failure.” He said as he grinned again.

“You only hired me because you don’t like Gavin.” She said.

“No, I don’t like an idiot like him pushing people around. However, listening to you and seeing that you are passionate about this, I see it could be a thing. If nothing more than another paper with my name on it to pad my already huge ego.” He laughed.

“You asked for my name, but you haven’t told me yours?” Jasmine asked.

“Josh.” He said, “Josh Tillman.” 

“Alright, professor Tillman where do we start?” Jasmine asked.

“Let’s go to the office and discuss this side project of ours.” He said as he walked to one of the side offices that was further down from every other.

Jasmine knew he was the type of person who just didn’t like people like her brother. Though it wasn’t a personality trait she could disagree with, she really didn’t know anything about this person. She hoped that he wasn’t like some of the professors who would be difficult with things or one of those who had office hours and after office hours with the student body they were attracted to.

In her few years at the school, she had come across both types of professors and not many in between. She observed the way he was walking in the hallway. Though not in a suit, he was in working casual clothes. He had no ring on his finger, and it looked like there never had been one there. He was tall and slender, but she could see the outline of where the muscles that were there were pulling on his sleeves when he moved. He was graceful when he walked as well, much like a lion walking around the pride.

“Welcome to the office.” He said as he motioned for her to go in, “I may need some help clearing this out a bit as well.”