MY PROFESSOR AND I

What She Heard

Episode 12

*Sunday Evening. 6:40 PM.*

Tia came back from grocery shopping, arms full.

Two bags. Vegetables. Bread. Eggs.

She was humming under her breath until she got to the front door.

Voices.

Male voices.

In Alex’s living room.

Tia frowned. She wasn’t expecting anyone.

She set the bags down quietly and pushed the door open.

Alex was sitting on the couch.

And he wasn’t alone.

Aiden. Kelvin. Kendrick.

Alex’s friends.

They were mid-conversation. Heads turned when the door creaked.

Tia froze. “Oh—hi. I didn’t know you had people over.”

“Hey Tia,” Aiden grinned. Too wide. Too knowing.

Alex just stared at her. Jaw tight.

“Sit,” he said. His voice was flat. “Kitchen’s free.”

Tia nodded and slipped past them to drop the groceries.

But she didn’t go to the kitchen.

She leaned against the wall right outside the living room.

Just for a second. Just to catch her breath.

And that’s when she heard it.

Aiden was the first to speak.

“If you know you like her, why don’t you tell her straight up?”

Kelvin followed, arms crossed.

“Yeah man. If you know you like her, you shouldn’t just keep her here.

You have to take her out. Stop giving her the cold treatment.”

Silence.

Then Kendrick, quieter:

“After everything you did… if she found out, what do you think she’s going to do about this?”

The grocery bag slipped from Tia’s hand.

_Thud._

Her heart was in her throat.

She bent down fast, scooped it up, pretending she heard nothing.

Pretending her hands weren’t shaking.

She walked into the kitchen like normal.

Smiled. Put the eggs away.

Like she didn’t just hear her entire life being discussed.

Like she didn’t just hear:

_“If you know you like her.”_

---

*Later that night.*

Dinner was silent.

Alex kept glancing at her.

Tia kept pretending she didn’t know.

But Rule 4 was about to be broken.

Because at 2 AM, she couldn’t sleep.

And she started to sing.

Softly. Through the wall.

And Alex was awake to hear it.

---

*9:20 PM. Dinner.*

Tia finished cooking. Pasta. Garlic bread. Simple.

She served the boys in the living room. Alex, Aiden, Kelvin, Kendrick.

They talked business. She smiled, nodded, and disappeared upstairs.

She ate alone in her room.

Fork in one hand. Phone in the other. Blank.

But she couldn’t stop thinking.

_He sent me out of my house._

_Made me lose my job._

_A lot of things… just to get me to leave with him._

Anger bubbled first.

Then confusion.

_Why would he do such a thing?_

_And why… why would my professor even like me?_

The thought kept looping. Over and over.

Until her eyes got heavy and she fell asleep with the plate still on her desk.

---

*3:07 AM.*

_Knock. Knock. Knock._

Tia jolted awake.

She stumbled to the door, hair a mess, hoodie over pajamas.

Alex was standing there.

Bags under his eyes. Hair disheveled. White t-shirt.

He looked exhausted.

“What’s wrong?” Tia whispered.

He stared at her for a second. Then said it.

“You slept off.

You didn’t sing for me tonight.”

Tia’s mouth opened. Closed.

“That’s why you—”

“Come,” he cut her off quietly.

He led her back to his room.

She sat down on the floor at first. Out of habit.

He gestured to the bed.

“Sit here.”

So she did. On the edge of his bed.

And she sang.

Soft. Low. No words. Just a melody.

Within 30 minutes, his breathing evened out.

He was asleep.

Tia stayed until she was sure.

Then she slipped out, went back to her room, and set an alarm for class.

By the time Alex woke up, Tia was already gone.

She didn’t have his class that day.

So he went to his office instead.

And sat there.

Staring at his files.

Unable to stop thinking about her voice.

About the girl sleeping on his bed an hour ago.