Alba could feel her heartbeat in her ears as she stared down at her score. Eighty-nine percent. She couldn't remember the last time she'd gotten a B.
"Alright, as some of you have noticed, John is returning your graded tests from last week," Professor Pittman said. He was tall and lanky, with a shaved head and thick, round glasses that made his eyes look cartoonishly large. "Please see me during office hours if you have any questions about your scores." He paused. "Please do not show up at my home..."
His announcement was greeted with scattered chuckles, but Alba didn't smile.
"You're Alba, right?"
Alba looked over her right shoulder, still frowning.
It was Michael, one of her classmates. "Are you okay?" he asked, concern furrowing his brow.
Alba realized that she was staring at Michael, but not really seeing him. She shook her head to clear it. "Um. Yes. Michael, right?"
She wasn't sure why they were pretending not to know each other. They'd done a group project together last semester about the cosmic microwave background. He had curly brown hair and soft gray eyes.
He blushed. Alba remembered that about him. He blushed every time she spoke to him. It was pretty adorable but made conversation difficult.
"Yes. I'm Michael. I - was wondering -" He glanced toward the door and then back at her. He was starting to sweat, and Alba felt herself leaning toward him, rooting for him to find his words. "Uh. I mean, I was wondering if you'd like to see a movie with me. Or go to dinner. Or both. Like a date. Not as friends, an actual date."
Alba was surprised. She'd thought that Michael was just shy in general, but maybe he was so awkward because he liked her. "I'd love to," she said, more out of an eagerness to let him out of his misery, rather than any interest in going on a date. She was actually far too busy with her course load, especially with this B suddenly hanging over her head.
But the look of relief on Michael's face was worth the sacrifice. She guessed she could squeeze him in.
"Great!" he said, his grin lighting up his face. "I'll um...text you, we can...you know..." he turned and practically bolted out of the classroom.
Alba smiled, but her frown returned when she looked back at the paper. She flipped through to see what answers she got wrong. It was Part B of Problem 2.
She groaned. She knew the answers to this question. If asked, she would have sworn that she'd filled them out on the test correctly. But now, all she saw was a blank space with a red-x next to the B. How had she gone through the entire test and not even noticed that she hadn't filled out the answer? She always checked her answers. Always!
Professor Pittman's office hours started directly after class, but Alba didn't want to ambush him as soon as class was over. Besides, she needed a moment to get herself together. She gathered her books together and headed out the door.
Twenty minutes in line at the barista cart and a shot of espresso later, Alba headed back to the professor's office. His office was located right next to his classroom, which was handy, she supposed. He always kept his door unlocked during office hours and students were encouraged to just enter.
Alba knocked lightly anyway, before turning the doorknob. She hadn't had any reason to visit his office before, but it looked pretty typical. Big oak desk facing the doorway, with two large armchairs facing the desk. As there was no waiting room, four wooden chairs lined the wall next to his desk. The professor was behind his desk, but the room was otherwise empty.
Glad that she wouldn't have to wait, Abby closed the door behind her. "Professor, I - are you okay?"
The professor tended toward a natural ruddiness, but right now, his face was bright red, and he seemed to be out of breath.
Moaning sounds came out of the speakers and the professor scrambled to turn off the speakers, but not before Alba heard, "Oh, yeah, give it to me big boy!"
"Are you -?" Alba froze, but Regina perked up. Regina had, until this moment, been resting. Although she hadn't sought Troy out after he'd brought her to two orgasms in Ally's kitchen, Alba and Regina had been feeding on the memories for days.
The professor fumbled with his mouse until the moans and sighs stopped. "I'm sorry, I thought I'd locked that," he said into the now awkward silence. His face was still red from exertion, and now, embarrassment.
Alba wasn't sure what to do. Should she leave, or stay and act like nothing had happened? Regina had her own ideas, and Alba squeezed her legs, trying to calm Regina, but that only excited her more. Alba couldn't see anything scandalous from her position and she resisted the urge to move closer to the professor's desk. Her nipples pebbled at the idea of seeing him, exposed.
She blushed when she noticed his eyes narrowing.
"Are you excited to find me like this?" the professor asked, his breathing still audible from where Alba was standing. He had a naturally deep, melodious voice, but now it deepened and the vibrations of it made Regina's heart skip a beat. His eyes, a soft, sandy brown, almost gold, darkened. "Come here," he commanded softly.
Alba was determined to stay where she was, but Regina took over control of her legs and moved her slowly toward the professor's desk. When she reached the corner of his desk, she stopped, her gaze focused on the professor's lap.
She was as disappointed as she was relieved when she realized that the front of his shirt covered the area that she was the most interested in seeing. The cloth of his shirt twitched, as she moved closer, brushing the side of his desk with her thigh.
"Have you ever seen a penis before?" the professor asked.
Alba hadn't. She should have. She'd seen lots of them on the internet, she'd even had too many photos sent to her privately through email and social media. And, at almost twenty-one, Alba's best friend Abby said that Alba was overdue. However, her innate shyness combined with her hectic scholastic and work schedule, she never seemed to have time to date, let alone - more.
