One Night With My Alpha Professor

59

The next few days were a blur of classes and assignments.. and of missing Tina. I hardly saw her, and when I did, our interactions were brief-if we even had an interaction at all and didn't just turn and run away from each other.

To cope with our argument, I threw myself into my work. It was the only thing I could do to distract myself from the ache in my chest every time I saw Tina. She was still giving me the cold shoulder by the middle of the week, refusing to sit next to me in class or even acknowledge my presence.

By Wednesday, I felt like I was going to explode. Tina was my closest friend-the only person who wanted to speak to me, the only human at Grayspring Academy, when I had first attended. And now...

All throughout class, I could hardly focus. It didn't help any that Edwin was the professor, either-a real double whammy when it came to awkward tension

By the time class ended, I had had enough. I grabbed my things in a haphazard pile, not even bothering to put them in my satchel, then ran over to where she was sitting across the room before she could leave.

As I approached, she pretended not to see me. But just as she turned to leave, I blocked her way. "Tina. Please talk to me," 1 pleaded, grabbing her arm.

Tina froze for a moment, her eyes flickering down to my hand around her arm. But then her lips pursed and she just shook her head, shrugging off my grip. "I'm late for my next class," she muttered, brushing past me without another word.

I watched her go. feg helpless. This wasn't like us. We had never fought like this before.

As I was packing up my things, 1 heard Edwin's voice call out to me. "Audrey, could I see you in my office for a moment?"

I tensed, remembering our kiss from the other night. Great, the last thing I wanted was to see him today, but I couldn't exactly refuse. "Um, sure," I said, following him out of the classroom

Once we were in his office, Edwin closed the door and turned to me. "Is everything alright? You seem... distracted lately"

I blinked for a moment, surprised by his candor. But then I shrugged, avoiding his gaze. "I'm fine. Just busy with assignments.

Edwin raised an eyebrow. "And it has nothing to do with the fact that you and Tina haven't spoken all week?"

My eyes widened of their own accord. "You noticed that?"

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He nodded. "You two are literally inseparable in class. It's a little infuriating sometimes. But this week, you've been sitting on opposite sides of the room; not to mention that little interaction I saw just now." Da**it. It was that obvious, wasn't it? I bit my lip and looked away, not finding it in me to meet his eyes. "Well, it's nothing. Really,"

"Audrey," Edwin said a bit gruffly, "whatever is going on is affecting your work-bosh as my student and my teaching assistant. You should tell me."

So that was what it was; my performance, not him simply caring about me. In a strange way, that was a bit of a relief. although it still stung

But still, I hesitated, fidgeting with the strap of my bag. How could I explain this to him when he was part of the reason for

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our fight? But Edwin's steady gaze wore me down, and I knew there was no leaving here without telling him at least part of the truth

"Fine. Tat me, I lially admitted, "Because I didn't tell her about... About you modg for us."

Edwin's expression softened ever so slightly. "Ah, I see. And she feels betrayed that you kept that from her?"

I nodded miserably. "She said it affected all of us, and I should have at least told her. And she's right. I just... I wasn't thinking.

Edwin leaned against his desk, considering me for a moment before he sharply inhaled through his teeth. "Audrey, let me

u some advice. In life, it's important to be open with your close friends. If someone isn't trustworthy enough for these sorts of things, then you can't really consider them a 'best friend."

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His words hit me hard. Tina was trustworthy. She had always been there for me, through everything. And I had gotten so caught up in everything that I didn't even think about how my lies might affect her. "You're right." I said, straightening up. "I need to talk to her. Really talk to her."

Edwin nodded and turned, shuffling papers around on his desk, Good. I think that's for the best."

I turned to feave, but then hesitated at the door. "Speaking of talking," I muttered, my face reddening, "Edwin... about the other night. When we kissed. I'm sorry if I crossed a line."

Edwin's shoulders tensed, and he said nothing for a moment. When he finally spoke, he didn't even turn to look "Let's j

just put it behind us, shall we? It was a mistake, one we won't repeat."

I nodded, ignoring the twinge in my chest at that word: mistake. "Right. Of course."

As I opened the door to leave, however, I caught sight of something red poking out of Edwin's bag. The scarf.

So he had kept it, even after everything. I couldn't help the small smile that crept onto my face as I left his office.

me.

I spent the rest of the day looking for Tina, but she seemed to have vanished. It wasn't until late that evening that I finally spotted her in the library, hunched over a textbook.

I approached cautiously, my heart pounding "Tina? Can we talk? Please?

She looked up, her expression guarded. For a moment, I thought she might refuse, but then she nodded, gesturing to the chair across from her.

I sat down, taking a deep breath. "I'm so sorry, Tina. You were right. I should have told you about Edwin."

Tina's face softened slightly. "Why didn't you?"

"1. I wasn't thinking." I admitted, my fingers worrying the hem of my skirt. "I was acting selfishly, on autopilot. All I cared about was winning the fashion show. I didn't stop to consider how my lies might affect you. Tina's eyebrows shot up. "That's it?" she asked.

I nodded tightly, fighting against the sting of hot tears at the backs of my eyes. "That's it. I was an idiot, plain and simple. 1 know I can trust you-more than anyone-and yet I acted like I couldn't."

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There was a long, weighted silence after that. I didn't dare to meet Tina's gaze for fear of her denying my apology and leaving me yet again. But she didn't speak, nor did she move, for a long time.

And then, suddenly, Tina reached across the table and took my land. I snapped my gaze up to meet hers, and her eyes were sincere-and misted over with tears.

"I'm sorry too," she whispered, her voice shaking ever so slightly. "I overreacted. I was just hurt because it seemed like you didn't trust me enough to tell me.

I laughed slightly and squeezed her hand. "I do trust you, Tina. More than anyone. It won't happen again, I promise."

Tina smiled, the first real smile I had seen from her in days. "Good. Because I hate fighting with you."

"Me too," I laughed, wiping away a tear that had slipped free.

Tina stood up, pulling me to my feet and into a tight hug. I hugged her back, feg the weight of the past few days lift off my shoulders.

"I missed you," I whispered.

Tina's arms tightened around me. "I missed you