"You wanted to speak to me, Dr. Miller?"
"Annabelle, please. Yes, James, it's about your assessment."
She went to the desk and started logging off of the room computer. I got the sense she was waiting for the rest of the class to file out.
She confirmed my suspicion by asking, "Close the door, please, James."
The room was on the top floor of the university building. The floor to ceiling windows looked out over the harbour, lit up by the glowing lights of creeping coal ships and tugboats. I didn't love doing the late night class, but I had to admit the views from the classroom at this time were lovely.
Dr. Miller... Annabelle... leaned against the desk, folding her arms, and smiled at me. "How do you feel you went with your assessment?"
I shrugged. "I think I went okay."
She was older than me, maybe her late forties, early fifties. She wore glasses, framed by auburn hair. Her face was splashed with freckles, made darker by an active life outdoors. She was wearing a red blouse and a simple, off-white skirt. The shoes matched her blouse.
When she smiled, it made my core feel light, yet tight. "You did more than okay." There was a purr to her voice. "Highest marks in the class. I haven't checked yet, but maybe out of all the classes in this course."
I shuffled my feet. "That's great!"
"You did... so, so well."
My heart fluttered. This is what had happened last time. I'd come to her office, to review a draft for a different assessment. We had been alone, it was late. She had praised me, I had gotten flustered. Then it had seemed we were both leaning, our lips touching...
Then she had pulled away, apologised, said she had to get home. Apologised again.
Now here we were, alone once more. The space between us was both a chasm and a single step. Enormous, yet easily crossed.
She asked in a low voice, "Would you like to leave, James? Do you need to?"