Chapter 9: Nine

I had spent the night going over so many papers trying to completely and thoroughly be versed with the concept I was supposed to the lead the discussion on in class. I had been lucky, actually, because this was one of the first topics, so it was quite simple and introductory.

I was a little annoyed that he had asked me to do this. But I was determined to prove to him that I was a smart girl and I deserved to be in his class. And like he had suggested, I didn’t need to use nefarious ways to score good grades.

The door to my room swung open with a loud thud, and there stood Cassie. She was holding two plates with pasta. “You forgot to eat, bro.” She said to me.

Hopping on my bed, she handed me a plate, “Its past midnight. Eat!”

I dug in gratefully. I hadn’t even realized how hungry I was before the smell of garlic in the food wafted to my nose. “Thanks, Cass. I’m just stressed about my presentation tomorrow.”

She shook her head, “You’ll do great. And its not like its graded.”

“Well, yeah,” I agreed, speaking while chewing, “But I want to have a good impression with the professor and the other students.”

Cassie licked her lips, “I’ve heard your EE professor is super hot.”

Yes, I thought, he is. And you’ve seen him. But I didn’t tell her that.

“You could say that, I guess. He’s my teacher so I don’t look at him like that.”

Liar. You want to jump his bones.

Cassie rolled her eyes at me. I smiled to myself.

The next morning, I woke up early and dressed up. I wore a cute shirt with black pants, just formal enough but still casual. Then I walked to class instead of taking my bike because I didn’t want to mess up my hair.

When I got to class, only Declan was there. I was early. Just my luck.

“Good morning,” I muttered to him. He spared me a rough glance, but then he looked up again, his gaze washing over me. “Good morning.” He responded.

“Did you have any trouble with the work assigned to you?”

“I had a doubt in the paper by Spivak.”

“Go on.”

I asked my question, and he explained it to me patiently. As the rest of the students filtered in, he kept talking, and they all listened to him intently. He was such a good orator, and he knew how to capture the attention of a room. As he was speaking, a fire was building in my chest, and I was thinking, I’m so attracted to him right now, in a crazy, insane manner. I wanted to grab his face and kiss him.

I thought I did well in my discussion. I introduced the topic well and everyone else engaged with me. Declan looked like he found the same to be true. When class got over, he gave me a curt nod.

I met up with Mara as we all walked out.

“Did I do okay?” I asked her, looking for confirmation.

“Yes!” She said, “You were great. Dr. Ashwell looked impressed.”

Really?

“Did he?” I tried to sound as nonchalant as possible.

“Yeah, he smiled a bunch of times,” a man sounded from beside me. I turned to see a familiar face from class.

“Sorry for butting in,” he smiled shyly, “I’m Jacob. We haven’t met yet.”

“Hi, I’m Willow,” I shrugged to my right, “This is Mara.”

“I liked your interpretation of Spivak,” he said, “I hadn’t thought of it that way, and it really made me think.”

I flushed. “I’m glad. But Dr. Ashwell put those ideas in my head, so I can’t take full credit.”

Jacob nodded, “I hope I can convince him to be my dissertation supervisor. His work is just amazing.”

Mara chimed in, “Truly! I wish I’m half as good as an academic as him when I’m his age.”

“He’s not much older than us, no?” I asked.

Jacob caught my eye, “He’s mid thirties, I think. So, no.”

“He looks young.”

He nodded. “Do you guys wanna get some coffee before the next class?” He was asking us both, but he was looking at me. Mara looked at me, too.

“Sure.”

As I walked alongside Jacob and Mara, I felt a sense of contentment wash over me. The day was already feeling long and tiring, but it felt good to make friends.

Mara, was going on about her roommate and her unhygienic habits. As we approached the Starbucks, she spotted a friend across the plaza and waved enthusiastically. "I'll catch up with you guys later!" she called over her shoulder, her voice barely audible over the din of the approaching traffic.

I watched as Mara disappeared into the crowd, leaving me alone with Jacob. My heart pounded in my chest, a mix of excitement and nervousness. Jacob was a charmer, with a way of making me feel like the only person in the room.

"So, Willow," he began, his voice low and husky. "I was thinking, maybe we could grab dinner sometime?"

My stomach did a flip-flop. Wow, he didn’t waste any time.

"Um, yeah, sure," I replied, trying to keep my voice steady.

As we walked towards the Starbucks, Jacob continued to talk, his words a pleasant hum in my ears. He told me about his favorite bands, his favorite movies, and his plans for the future. I listened intently, occasionally interjecting with a comment or a question of my own.

When we finally reached the Starbucks, we ordered our drinks and found a table near the window. As we sat there, sipping our coffee, Jacob asked me about myself, my hobbies, and my family. I was surprised by how easy it was to talk to him. He seemed genuinely interested in getting to know me, and I found myself opening up to him in a way that I hadn't done with anyone else.