ART PROFESSOR

Chapter 3

GINA

I sat in the back seat of the Jeep, lost in my thoughts as we drove to campus. My mind was far away, and I didn't even realize we had arrived until the car stopped. Stepping out, I saw a few vehicles parked nearby. It was pretty clear that my Dad had set this up. He always found ways to make his presence felt, even when he wasn't physically present.

A lot of people look at me and think I've got it all, being a rich man's daughter and all. But the truth is, I feel distant from my own life. Even though I pretend to be happy in public and in front of cameras, deep inside, I'm not. This feeling of emptiness has stuck with me ever since my younger sister passed away years ago. My dad forever blamed me for her death and that guilt became a burden for me. There’s no day in the week that won’t pass without us quarrelling, even today.

I was headed towards my department, lost in my thoughts, when out of nowhere, Mira, my best friend, popped up. She had that cheeky grin on her face, the one she always had when she was about to drag me into something I wasn't really up for.

"Hey, G! You're coming to the Lady's all-night party, right?" she asked, excitement sparkling in her eyes.

I sighed inside. Mira knew I hadn't been to a party in years, not since my sister passed away six years back. It just didn't feel right without her. "You know I don't do parties much anymore, Mira," I said, trying to sound casual.

Mira's face fell for a moment, but she bounced back quickly. "Come on, G! It's gonna be a blast. You can't keep locking yourself away forever. Your sister wouldn't want that for you."

I appreciated Mira's concern, but it wasn't that easy. Losing my sister left a hole that parties and socializing couldn't fill, especially considering that parties were part of what led to her death. "I get you mean well, Mira, but I'm just not up for that yet."

Mira was about to say something, but she got distracted all of a sudden. We both turned to see what had grabbed her attention. And there he was – a really good-looking guy, walking through the hallway. We looked at each other and instantly knew we were both wondering the same thing – who was he?

Mira's eyes went wide, and she nudged me with a playful smile. "Wow, G, check him out! Is he a new student or what?"

I shrugged, unable to stop looking at him. He seemed so sure of himself, and people just noticed him without him even trying. "I dunno. Could be a new professor or something."

Mira gave me a sly look. "Well, I wouldn't mind signing up for his class if that's the case."

I rolled my eyes at her teasing. "Mira, you're something else."

As we were on our way to class, a friend of ours named Harlan came up to us. Harlan was known as a scholar because he was really smart. He had a reputation for being very intelligent.

What was also intriguing about Harlan was that he was attracted to both girls and guys, which is called bisexuality. This meant that he liked people of both genders. He had a diverse range of romantic interests. It's not often you meet someone who's attracted to both guys and girls, so it made Harlan stand out. He wasn't just book-smart; he had an interesting aspect to his personal life too.

"Hey Harlan, how's it going?" Mira said with a friendly tone as we approached him in the hallway.

"Hey, guys! Have either of you seen the new professor around?" Harlan asked, his curiosity evident.

I had a feeling about this. It seemed that my intuition was correct – the person we were talking about was indeed a professor. "Yep, we caught a quick glimpse of him heading down the hallway," I replied.

Harlan nodded, and a hint of excitement played across his face. "Let me tell you, he's not only a professor but also quite the handsome one," he mentioned, giving us a clear picture of the professor's good looks. It was pretty obvious that Harlan had developed a crush on the new professor, even though he was already in a relationship with both a boyfriend and a girlfriend

"Oh, and I heard he's going to be teaching art, year 4" Harlan added, sharing a new piece of information.

As we processed this information, Mira and I exchanged a knowing look. Suddenly, it hit us – the person we were discussing was going to be our new professor for the art class. The realization brought a mix of surprise and curiosity to our expressions.