COLLEGE DAZE
Chapter 2
One of the requirements for being a graduate student is having to teach lower level general education classes. There are both positive and negative aspects of having to teach. The biggest positive is that I get a salary. Any money for a struggling grad student is welcome, even when my grant takes good care of most of my needs. The negatives appear to outweigh the positives. Time spent in class, preparation, and grading of homework and tests is big. Not as big as the interruption of my schedule for research, programming and writing my thesis. One side benefit is to the school, they get someone to instruct at a salary far below what even the lowliest professors make.
So, I sit on a stool behind the lectern in front of the hall for the freshman physics class, a general requirement. Three hundred seats make up the auditorium, but according to my paperwork, only a few more than one-third will be occupied.
SDSU has an eclectic student body. Being only a few blocks from the Pacific Ocean and the beach, I see all styles of dress, especially on warm days like today. I enjoy watching as the students wander in to a classroom for the first time. A sense of apprehension is evident on most faces.
The guys, wearing everything from dress pants, button-down shirts and loafers to board shorts and tee shirts, tend to spread out throughout the room, with more casually dressed sitting further back. I fit in with the more casual crowd. A black tee, Levi's, and engineer boots don't fit the mold for most college teachers. My hair is pulled back into a ponytail, not all that unusual for academia.
Outnumbered, two to one, the girls on the other hand, tend to enter in groups and sit together. Each group usually dresses in similar styles. Be it slacks and blouses, summer dresses, shorts and tees, or other choices. Occasionally, a lone girl enters, clad in a short skirt or bikini top. Something to attract attention to themselves. I seem to get more of these girls than other teachers do.
One girl I didn't expect is here. We lock eyes. The color fades out of her and she stops, letting her two friends continue. I think she is about to bolt, run away and not face what happened last night. Her friends turn and grab her. As they pull her to a seat, I let my gaze wander, not wanting to give anything away.
The class starts bad. I am still in shock from seeing her. When I left this morning, I wondered if she would still be at the house when I got back, of course, if I would ever see her again. Now, as I run through the roll, my eyes first go to her then scan the rest of the auditorium. Each time I call out a name that most likely belongs to a girl.
She squeaks out a quiet here. I look back at the list. Amber Colton. Now I know her name. Amber. I place a mark next to her name before I continue.
I recruit a couple of students from the front row to pass out the course syllabus. I sneak a look at her. She has regained her color, but is still drawn in. Her friends are prodding her to find out what is wrong. Turning away quickly each time, I glance her way, admiring her form.
Time moves quickly as I regain my posture. I explain the specifics of the class, the lab requirements, and testing policy. I then announce I need five, no make that six, lab assistants to help out each Thursday, the lab day. I tell everyone to come by my office over the next two hours if they are interested.
The bell rings.
'Ms. Colton,' I state. She stops dead in her tracks as she tries to exit quickly, so fast that her friends are left behind.
She turns and I wave her up to the front. She reluctantly walks forward. She looks amazing. Her tight, white and pink, sleeveless tee stops just below her navel. About three inches lower, her hip hugging, skinny, blue jeans start. I can't help but staring.
'Hi,' she says shyly. Her tan is so dark I can barely discern her flush.
