My hands were trembling as I sat down behind my desk at the front of the lecture hall. I can't believe she had the nerve to come here and loudly tell me she was leaving me in front of my entire class. And telling them she was sleeping with someone else too! Angry didn't begin to describe how I felt. Angry and hurt. I just wanted to get back to my office and have a stiff drink or two and let my nerves calm down before I went home to an empty house. I was just thankful that it was the final exam and I wouldn't have to try and teach feeling like this. I'm sure I'd end up taking it out on one of my students and that wouldn't be fair.
I taught a freshman history seminar at a relatively large university whose name is unimportant. The classroom was huge and filled with all manner of students who were just coming back from various student activities for the night class. A few football players joking with each other, some cheerleaders gossiping back and forth, a couple of marching band members exhausted from carrying instruments through countless marching drills. They all dutifully took their seats and quietly began the exam. I closed my eyes and leaned back, trying desperately to calm myself and trusting the honor of my students not to cheat during the exam.
By the time the exam finished I still had my eyes half closed and tried my best not to look at any of my students for fear of them offering some sort of platitude when I knew damn well there was nothing they could say or do that would make me feel better. I stacked the exams together after everyone left and flipped through them to even out the pages when a small handwritten note fell out. In neat feminine script it said, "You can do so much better than her." I smiled slightly to myself and, for reasons I still can't explain, I stuffed the note in my pocket and took the exams back to my office with the intention of leaving them to be graded until next week.
When I got to my office, I noticed one of my students standing outside the door. She was still dressed in her uniform, and although I knew I shouldn't, I couldn't help noticing how good she looked in it. Her hair was tied back in a high ponytail and her eyes shone in the fluorescent light in the hallway. Her olive skin was set off nicely against the dark blue and crisp white of her uniform top; a top that almost looked to be stretched a little too tight over a pair of large firm breasts. Her thighs were smooth and strong under her short pleated skirt, probably toned from a few years of standing at the bottom of pyramids hoisting the smaller cheerleaders above her. She definitely wasn't one of the boyish, flat-chested cheerleaders that a lot of men seemed to like for some reason. Her curves were lush, full, and feminine. Before I let my mind wander any further afield, I composed myself and approached my office door and greeted her.
"Do you mind if I come in for a moment Professor? I have a couple of questions I was hoping you could answer." I was exhausted and really didn't feel like discussing coursework anymore, but she seemed so kind and eager that I figured a few more minutes wouldn't hurt. I unlocked the door and let her in. She sat down in front of my desk and folded her hands in her lap, a picture of perfect innocence in her uniform. I closed the door and dropped the exams on the desk and leaned back in my chair.
"Well, what would you like to know, uh....."
"Nicole. And I was wondering if you got my note." Her eyes took on a playful flirtatious quality as she asked me. I blushed slightly and was a bit confused for a moment until I remembered the folded slip of paper in my pocket. I swallowed hard and worried about where this was going.
