Sorry Professor, You Said You Are WHAT?

Episode10

KATHLEEN'S P.O.V.

"Ugh, bloody hell," I groan in frustration.

After my encounter with James, who had so graciously kept me company until Lexi arrived, we both headed out to grab something to eat.

We had talked for a while, but even Alexia's company couldn't keep me distracted from my wandering thoughts, thoughts I'd been having ever since James pointed out my sketching.

"Okay, I can't deal with this anymore, spill. What's on your mind?" Lexi demanded.

I shrugged off her question, avoiding eye contact as I scooped some ice cream from my cup and licked it. "Nothing's on my mind."

I could feel her scrutinising gaze. "You're lying, and we both know it. You've been awfully quiet, not to mention I doubt you've been listening to anything I've said within the last ten minutes. And you've been avoiding my eyes."

I exhaled softly, my eyes fluttering shut for a moment, knowing I'd been caught. Still, I tried to deflect.

"That is not true; I was listening. And I wasn't avoiding your eyes; I was simply...simply." I caught her watchful expression, her eyes raised in expectation of the lie I was about to say.

"Simply," she dragged in a mock tone.

"Simply, focusing on my ice cream." It took everything in me not to cringe at my pitiful excuse.

Lexi leaned forward, taking a scoop of my ice cream.

"Hey, that's mine." I cried out in displeasure.

"Whatever, now, since you were 'oh so focused on what I was saying', how about you tell me a little bit of what I'd been talking about?" I gulped at her words, a fake wide smile plastered on her lips.

"Uh, you were talking about classes?" Her smile dropped instantly, morphing into a scowl.

"Classes? Seriously, Kat? See, you weren't even listening."

I sighed in defeat, pinching the skin between my brows. "I'm sorry, Lexi. I just...I've just had something on my mind that's really been bothering me."

Her expression softened immediately as she reached for my hands. "You want to talk about it? Get it off your chest, Kat."

I bit down on my lip unsurely; was it worth telling her about?

"Hey, I can see the wheels turning in that head of yours; spill." She urged softly.

And so I told her everything, Professor Dawson: our 'date', that nervous feeling I get around him, and lastly my sketch. Once I was done, she looked bedazzled and surprised.

"Holy s**t, girl, I mean, I felt you had balls, but I didn't know you had BALLS. Going out on a date with your professor? That's some serious shit." She exclaimed.

I shushed her, eyes roaming to see if anyone had caught on to her words. "Why don't you speak a little louder? I doubt everyone heard you." I grumbled sarcastically.

"Sorry." She chuckled, and then her expression grew serious as she leaned forward once again.

"But seriously, you've really had it going on for you, girl. Can I see the sketch?"

I nodded, "Sure." Fishing out my sketchbook, I handed it to her.

"Woah, these are really good. You drew all these?"

"Yep." I grinned softly, pride surging within me. My art was something I was proud of, and to have someone appreciate it and see its value was something that excited me.

"You could make good money out of these; make it a profession. I mean-" she suddenly stopped short, her movements paused. I glanced at the sketch to see that she was looking at the werewolf sketch.

"Did you draw this?" She asked quietly, her eyes darting between my sketch and me. I nodded solemnly.

"You have a gift, Kat. This is amazing." She smiled sincerely at me; I smiled back.

"Thank you." Lexi studied the sketch for a few seconds before handing it back to me, muttering something under her breath.

"What was that?"

"Huh? Oh, nothing. I was just muttering to myself about how I'd love to have you sketch me." She grinned.

"Really? I'd love to." Our conversation carried on smoothly, and in no time, I'd forgotten about whatever had been bothering me.

However, the next few days carry on weirdly normally. And when I say weirdly normal, I mean normal for a student. There's no lingering stare between Professor Dawson and me; he doesn't call on me in class or look at me for more than a second, which strangely bothers me. I mean, I was glad to not have any awkwardness between us, but then there was something...I couldn't place my finger on it. It was like what happened between us never existed! Not that anything out of the ordinary happened, but that's by the way.

Soon enough, class ended, and students dispersed slowly. From the corner of my eye, I caught Professor Dawson speaking to another professor, a female; unconsciously, I felt a tug at my chest. Although they looked to be discussing freely in the most harmless way, it still made me feel jealous. Just a teeny tiny bit.

Just as I reached the door, passing by them both, our eyes connected. My breath hitched, my heartbeat quickened, and I could hear the thrum of blood in my ears. It felt like the world was spinning at that very moment, like there was an unspoken connection. A connection that was broken all too soon the moment he looked away.

I exhaled softly, casting my eyes to the ground as I clutched my bag tightly. For f**k's sake, what was I doing? He was my teacher, and he had every right to act the way he did. As I stepped further away from his class, I pushed away all thoughts of Professor Dawson.

That night, I feel the itch to put my fingers to use, to make myself busy, so I sketch while listening to soft music.

A couple of hours later, I'm done with my sketch, my body shaking with nerves as I scrutinise it. There was no face; no, instead all there was was a shadow, a shadow of a man wearing a suit, a brooding countenance with very precise angular features. The moon crested above him, forest trees surrounding him.

But I knew who it was; without a shadow of a doubt, I knew. And it terrified me how much control he had over me without even doing so much. I was f****d.