Collide

Malcolm

Well, that was the most bizarre student-teacher encounter I'd ever had. Was she new? Because there was no way I could forget a face as welcoming and warm as hers. And her scent. I smelled it long before we collided, and some of it still lingered in the air. Closing my eyes, I inhaled the remainder of it into my nose. It was delicate, sweet, and powdery with a hint of a herbal substance. Oh, it's lavender. A sense of calm traveled through my tense shoulders, and only then did I realize Miss Summers was still standing there, looking at me with amused eyes.

"You alright there, Professor Wright?"

"Yeah, I am okay, considering." I waved my arms, drawing attention to the spilled coffee. One of the janitors handed me a towel and a clean t-shirt. I loved how attentive the staff was here. Never had to worry about going shirtless. "Thank you." He nodded and went about mopping up the coffee on the floor. "How about your friend? Is she going to be okay?"

Miss Summers waved a dismissive hand at me. "She will be fine. I'll take care of her, don't you worry."

Yeah, just like Ella. Did I think Eden was a suspect? No, but she could be holding some valuable information considering she was her former roommate. The university didn't waste time replacing Ella with who I assumed was the girl who just ran out of here. I just needed to play it cool and wait for the right moment to interrogate her. "I know you will. See you in class, Miss Summers." I forced a smile and walked off before she could say another word.

"Nice shirt, Professor Wright." Amelia and her cronies laughed. If the dean had not convinced me to give Amelia, her niece, the TA position, I would have chosen someone else. The girl was insufferable. I was impressed that the new girl dared to stand up to her. I wish she would've told me her name.

I left the dining hall and rounded the corner to find the men's room. I quickly changed and packed up my stained shirt in a plastic bag before making a second attempt at grabbing my food and coffee. Unfortunately, I was running short on time before my next class started, so I would have to eat on the go. Shoving mini spinach and bacon quiches down my throat, I raced through the quad, and when no one was around, I leaped. Being on time was ten minutes early, and I was about to be late. I slid across a patch of ice, making it to Carindale Hall, where most of the Anthropology classes were held.

Opening the door to the classroom, I skipped the stairs two at a time, humming to myself. I enjoyed the quiet before the storm as much as I loved teaching and molding young minds into believing they can be the best at anything they choose to achieve. My phone pinged, and I retrieved it from my briefcase.

Dear Professor Malcolm Wright,

I am writing to you regarding Professor Fred Belford. It's with a heavy heart that I inform you he will be taking a leave of absence effective immediately. With your credentials and raving recommendations, I have decided you would be the ideal candidate to take over his classrooms. If you are interested in fulfilling this position, please reach out to me tomorrow morning.

Best regards,

Lois Sandoval, Dean of Students

Oh, you did now.

My plan worked. It looks like I will be teaching the first-year class. I responded to her email and set up the projector to teach my next lesson.

*.*.*.*.*

The afternoon flew by, and I was in my last lecture of the day. "How do babies who are born with little to no cultural imprint grow up to express such wide cultural diversity?"

A hand shot up, but I prayed some other brave soul would speak up because, quite frankly, listening to Amelia's grating voice sucked the life out of me. "Anyone else?"

Crickets chirped.

"Okay, Miss Bernard." She straightened her spine to give the speech we all knew was coming." Well, Professor Wright, all babies can trade cultural flexibility for cultural competence without realizing it. We all do this; it’s just part of being a cultural species. To be human, we acquire cultural comforts that make us belong with “our” people but differentiate us from others. Like if you’re Pi Alpha Nu, you're already above the rest."

The fact she wasn't just a pretty face made her even more dangerous. The college boys here didn't stand a chance. "Yes, we are well aware of Pi Alpha Nu, the best co-ed fraternity in all of Colorado."

The students snickered as she gave me a smug look. "Now, moving—" I clenched the edge of my desk, a sharp pain zipping through my abdomen. No, not now. You're in a classroom full of students. Just breathe.

This was precisely why I couldn't skimp on breakfast. My panther was hungry, and boy was he an insatiable beast. It would be easier to control if I had my damn amulet! Damn, whoever stole it. Damn them to Hell!

"Are you alright, Professor?" I heard the clicking of heels, and the next thing I knew, Amelia was rubbing my back. "You're sweating. Are you running a fever?" Her hand reached my forehead, and I gently pushed her hand away.

"I am okay, something I ate. You may return to your seat."

"Okay, sir." She gave me a face-splitting grin. I hated that grin with a passion. As Amelia made her way back to her desk, I tried to picture anything else to erase that haunting grin from my memory. Then an image of the girl from the dining room popped into my brain. The way she screamed my name had my heart racing all over again. And before I could stop myself, the words "class dismissed" slipped out of my mouth, but it was too late to care. My students didn't hesitate to file out of the classroom, and soon I was alone again.

I loosened my tie, and sweat painted my skin, staining the shirt I was wearing. I guess I wasn't meant to wear a clean shirt today. The scene played over in my head, remembering her scream, and the gentle way she tended to my shirt. It was almost as if she was turned on by the whole situation, which didn't make sense; she had just had a run-in with the infamous Amelia Bernard and knocked coffee all over a professor. Plus, she was being laughed at by the entire student body. Then she just stood there, frozen in time. What was that all about? Was she one of those girls who got her kicks from being humiliated? Not a situation I wanted to partake in if that was the case. The more I thought about her and that unforgettable scream, my cock kicked in my pants. I shouldn't be attracted to a student. Why was this girl I didn't know affecting me like this?