Shelly knocked timidly on the office door and stepped back to wait. She was obviously nervous, and she fidgeted with the assortment of things she had placed in her oversized winter coat pockets. The coat was really too large—she was lost in the folds; it made her slight frame look twice its size. Shelly's huge backpack did little to help the coat do her body justice, and it bunched the coat at her shoulders, giving the impression of shoulder pads.
After a few seconds Shelly pulled at the zipper and opened the stuffy jacket at the neck. A few tense seconds later the door flew open and a short, slim woman in grey, nondescript linen pants filled the opening. "Hi, Shelly, c'mon in."
Once inside the sparsely furnished office, the older woman sat down comfortably in her large black chair and pointed at a harsh little wooden chair. "Sit down! Take your coat off. Oh, and shut the door behind you, dear." Professor Taylor had a loud voice, but it was pleasant and jovial.
"Um—Dr. Taylor, what was wrong with my paper?" Shelly's voice was small, and nearly cracked when she said "wrong."
Dr. Taylor smiled in spite of herself, and dropped her gaze momentarily to her lap, "There's nothing wrong with your paper, Shelly." Her gaze returned to Shelly's eyes and held them intently.
"But your email said..."
"My dear," interrupted Dr. Taylor, "did you know we have the same name?"
Shelly faltered, the words had been swept from her mouth. "I...I..."
"Yes, you know, my name is Michelle, and so is yours, isn't it?" Dr. Taylor smiled invitingly, and after Shelly nodded ascent, she continued. "You can call me that if you like, 'Michelle.' I like it so much better than 'Dr. Taylor.' It's much less formal." She smiled again, and this time Shelly couldn't help smiling with her.
Michelle held a smirk and leaned back in her chair, incredibly secure in herself and her surroundings. Suddenly, as if remembering herself, "How did you like
Portrait?
Your paper was very good, but you write with a certain lack of judgment that I find intriguing."
"Oh, I enjoyed it, I suppose," Shelly brightened at the praise for her paper. "But it was extremely...lengthy and longwinded. I found myself disliking both Isabel and Pansy a lot more than James wanted, I think."
"Yes," grinned Michelle, "they say reading James is like being fucked—you hope he'll be gentle and generous, but he usually ends up chaffing your wrists and ankles, and leaves you unsatisfied."
Shelly blushed bright pink at the word "fucked," and dropped her eyes self-consciously. Michelle noticed this, and changed the subject quickly.
"I think your paper was marvelous. You really had a handle on how Isabel's sexuality, or repression of it, played into her ultimate marriage to Osmand, even if she didn't like him. Did you think about how innocent Pansy's sexuality played into her imprisonment in the convent?" Michelle arched her right eyebrow in amusement as she watched a myriad of emotions cross Shelly's pretty, unkempt visage. She was pleased with the praise of her paper, uncomfortable with the subject of it, and simultaneously horrified and thoughtful of the last suggestion her professor had offered up. The struggle to find an answer to please Dr. Taylor was evident in her eyes as she searched her mind for clues.
"You mean her father locked her up because she—she had carnal knowledge?" Shelly's voice eeked out in a barely audible whisper. Her heart was in her throat, blocking her air supply, and it was drumming out a horrendous beat. She was sure Dr. Taylor would be able to see her veins throbbing blue under her pale skin.
"That's precisely what I mean," Michelle licked her thin lips, "what do you think on the matter?"
Shelly looked at Dr. Taylor resolutely, "I think it's exactly what he should have done! At that time it was not proper for a girl to go gallivanting—to have carnal knowledge! He needed to protect her virtue!" She was getting heated on the subject, and wished to appear stubborn. Her cheeks were flushed now, and her palms began to sweat.
"So you agree with Osmand's actions," said Michelle quietly as she stood and walked to the corner of the office to look at a poster of a painting of a nude woman draped in white sheets, which didn't cover anything. "You agree with Osmand's actions, even though the nuns of the convent don't? Even though Isabel doesn't? Even though James doesn't?" She turned to face Shelly.
"'Reading James is like being fucked...'" Shelly trailed off, unsure of herself in the metaphor.
Michelle crossed quickly over to Shelly and bent over, so she was eye level with her pupil. Her soft brown eyes were bright with curiosity, and Shelly felt like Dr. Taylor was looking into her past, and future, into the thoughts she couldn't control. "Shelly, are you a virgin?" Michelle stood straight and looked down on Shelly. She cut an impressive figure, her small breasts and tiny waist just visible under her large satin button-up dress shirt when she moved in a certain way. Shelly couldn't tell if Dr. Taylor moved that way consciously, but she was sure she had seen Dr. Taylor's eyes roll in pleasure as the slick material brushed across her erect nipples.
Shelly took too long to answer, and soon forgot the question altogether. "Wh...what?" she stammered, and tried to regain her small semblance of composure.
"I asked, are you a virgin?"
"N...meh...ye...yes." She finally admitted, unsure if she wanted to stay any longer.