MY PROFESSOR AND I

It bothered him

Episode 9

The class ended in a blink.

“Read chapters 4 and 5,” Alex said. “You’re dismissed.”

Chairs scraped. Bags zipped.

Tia shot up from her seat, grabbed Katie’s wrist, and dragged her toward the door.

She didn’t look back. Not once.

Alex’s eyes followed her.

All the way to the door.

All the way out.

The second she was gone, the room felt... louder. Girls chattering. Phones coming out.

He packed his briefcase slower than usual.

He tried to shake it off. He always got attention. In board meetings, in lecture halls, at family dinners. It was normal. People looked. People listened.

So why did it bother him that _this_ girl didn’t give him a second glance?

_One-time thing,_ he told himself. _She’s a freshman. She’s focused. It’ll go away._

Outside, Tia was still dragging Katie down the hallway, weaving through students.

“Slow down!” Katie laughed, out of breath. “I’m trying to process that godlike face in peace!”

“Snap out of it, Katie,” Tia snapped, but her cheeks were pink. “He’s our professor. That’s it.”

Katie just sighed dreamily. “You don’t get it, Tia. He’s... wow. And he called on you. Twice.”

“It was about the lecture,” Tia said firmly. “Nothing else.”

Alex walked to his car, briefcase in hand, replaying the lecture in his head. The way she answered about the AC. The way she stared out the window. The way she left.

“Hi, my name is Beatrice.”

A voice stopped him by his car.

He looked up.

Pretty. Confident. Business Administration blazer. Smiling like she already knew the answer to a question he hadn’t asked.

He gave a polite nod. “Alex.”

And kept walking, opening his car door.

Behind him, Beatrice’s face burned red. Not with embarrassment. With anger.

“Rude,” she muttered.

He slid into his car and let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding.

Relief.

The drive to his apartment was 20 minutes. Quiet. He played classical music to clear his head. It didn’t work.

All he could think about was a messy bun and a blank notebook.

By the time he got home, the smell of jollof and fried plantain hit him first.

His apartment wasn’t empty tonight.

Aiden, his twin, was in the kitchen stirring a pot. Same face as him, but with a grin that never quit.

Kelvin was on the couch, scrolling through case files. Quiet, like Alex.

Kendrick and Ethan were sprawled in the parlor playing FIFA, yelling at the TV.

Four sets of eyes turned to him the second he walked in.

“You good?” Kelvin asked, setting his phone down.

Alex didn’t answer. He dropped his briefcase and went straight to the kitchen, grabbing a plate.

“You’re quiet,” Aiden said, watching him. “Bad class?”

“No,” Alex said. “Normal.”

“Normal my foot,” Mark called from the couch. “You’ve been weird since you started teaching.”

Alex ate in silence for a minute. Then, before he could stop himself, he told them.

Everything.

The lecture. The girls squealing. The girl in the hoodie who didn’t look. The girl who did. The way she walked out without a second glance.

The table went silent.

Then all four of them burst out laughing.

“Bro,” Aiden said, wiping his eyes. “You have a crush on your student.”

“I do not,” Alex said quickly. Too quickly.

“Yes you do,” kendrick added. “You just described her outfit, her hair, and how she walked out. In detail.”

Kelvin just raised a brow and sipped his water. “Keep telling yourself that.”

“It’s not like that,” Alex said, irritated now. “She’s just... different. She’s not here for the same reason as everyone else.”

“So you noticed,” Kelvin said simply.

Alex pushed his plate away. “I’m going upstairs.”

In his room, he tried to work. Contracts. Emails.

But his mind kept drifting back to Room 301.

To Tia tapping her pen. To her answer. To the way she didn’t clap when he walked in.

He hated that he noticed.

He hated that he remembered her name without checking the roster.

He hated that Beatrice’s confident smile from earlier felt annoying compared to Tia’s complete indifference.

His phone buzzed.

Unknown number.

_Hi Dr. Alex, this is Beatrice from Business Law. Can I ask you a question about the quiz?_

He stared at it. Then deleted it.

He wasn’t his office hours.

Another buzz.

Aiden: _Don’t think too hard about it bro. She’ll look at you eventually._

Alex threw his phone on the bed.

Downstairs, he could hear his brothers laughing.

He lay back and stared at the ceiling.

_One-time thing,_ he told himself again.

_It’ll go away._

But the image of Tia walking out without looking back wouldn’t leave his head.

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