forbidden lectures

The toy

Melody stood up, her silk skirt swishing as she marched to the front podium. She slammed her paper onto the wood, right over Julian’s lecture notes.

"Professor Vance," she said, her voice dripping with a forced, dangerous sweetness. "I think you made a mistake. Perhaps the light in your tiny apartment is too dim? This zero... it’s quite an eyesore."

Julian finally looked up. He didn't look at Joshua, who was looming beside him like a shadow. He looked directly at Melody. "The only eyesore in this room, Melody, is the lack of effort you put into your education. You had a week to research. You chose to brag instead."

"I don't 'brag', Julian. I state facts," she snapped, her spoiled-brat persona flaring up. She reached into her $15,000 handbag and pulled out a small, navy-blue velvet box. She didn't hand it to him; she slid it across the mahogany desk until it tapped against his knuckles. "But I’m a generous person. I know that teachers in this country are... well, struggling. My father says a man’s principles are only as strong as his bank account."

She flipped the lid open. Inside, resting on a bed of white silk, was a Patek Philippe Nautilus. The white-gold casing and the diamonds on the dial shimmered under the fluorescent lights.

"It’s worth more than you’ll make in the next five years," Melody whispered, leaning in closer. "Take it. Change the grade to an 'A'. I’ll even tell my father to donate a new wing to the library in your name. You’ll be a hero. And I’ll be a student who doesn't have to deal with red ink ever again."

Joshua stepped closer, crossing his arms. He didn't say a word, but the way he tilted his head, his eyes cold and predatory, made the threat clear. Take the watch, or take the consequences.

Julian looked down at the watch. He looked at the diamonds. He looked at the craftsmanship of a piece of jewelry that costs more than some people's homes.

Then, he did something that made Melody’s heart stop.

He picked up a simple, black plastic ballpoint pen. He didn't touch the box with his hands. Instead, he used the end of the pen to slowly, methodically push the velvet case back toward the edge of the desk.

Melody watched, her breath hitching, as the box reached the very edge. Julian didn't stop. With one final, tiny nudge, the box tipped over.

Clatter.

The watch hit the scuffed linoleum floor with a sharp, metallic sound. One of the diamonds seemed to catch the light as the box lay open and rejected on the ground.

"You dropped your toy, Melody," Julian said. His voice wasn't angry. It was worse—it was bored.

"You... you threw it on the floor?" Melody gasped, her face turning a bright, indignant red. "Do you have any idea what you just did? That is a masterpiece! People kill for that watch!"

"Then I suggest they find a better reason to kill," Julian replied, standing up. He was taller than her, and as he stepped around the desk, he seemed to swallow the light in the room. "I don't take bribes from children, and I don't give grades to people who think their last name is a substitute for a brain."

He stepped over the watch as if it were a piece of trash, his polished black shoes clicking against the floor as he headed for the door.

"You're going to regret this!" Melody shouted, her voice echoing in the empty hall. "No one says no to me! My father will have you begging for a job at a gas station by Monday!"

Julian stopped at the door. He didn't turn around, but his voice carried back to her, low and ice-cold. "I look forward to seeing you on Monday, Melody. Try to bring a notebook instead of a jeweler. It’s much more useful in a classroom."

The door swung shut behind him.

Melody stood frozen, her chest heaving. She looked at the watch on the floor, then at the red '0' on her desk. She had never been so humiliated—or so strangely, terrifyingly alive. Every other man in her life was either afraid of her or wanted something from her. Julian Vance wanted nothing.

"He's a dead man," Joshua growled, his hand reaching for his phone. "I’m calling the Old Man. We’ll have his head for this."

"No!" Melody snapped, her eyes narrowing as she stared at the closed door. She reached down and snatched the watch off the floor, wiping a speck of dust off the white gold. "Don't call anyone. Not yet."

"Mel, he insulted you. He insulted the family," Joshua argued, his face contorted with rage.

"I know," Melody whispered, a slow, wicked smile spreading across her face. "And that’s why I want to be the one to break him. He thinks he’s so cold? He thinks he’s so 'above' us?"

She tossed the watch back into her bag and looked at her brother. "Monday morning, Joshua. We aren't just coming to class. We’re going to show this Professor exactly what happens when you try to discipline a princess. Bring the 'message.' All of it."

Joshua looked at her, and a slow, dark grin matched hers. "Consider it done."