"Okay, everyone!" English Professor Jon Dowd's voice boomed across the lecture hall. He ran a hand through his short brown hair and sighed as a hush fell over the hall. Jon took his place at the lectern and recited the speech he'd given to every English Literature Lecture Series class since he'd begun his lengthy career at West Pine Community College nearly 20 years before. He called it his "Come to Jesus" lecture. Only two weeks into the semester, Jon had already lost ten students to voluntary withdrawal, another six were in danger of being withdrawn for failure to perform academically. Out of the 65 students remaining, he knew another 10 would flunk the course, not because the material was too difficult, but because they thought his class would be an easy one. They were wrong. Jon's lecture series was his baby, refined and reformed over the years to hit all of the most important works of literature and their authors. Jon prided himself on being strict without being draconian.
"I know some of you are having trouble with the course load." Jon began his summary, "If you are finding that you can't handle this particular course, then I would urge you to think over the next few days, whether you can manage or if you should withdraw. If you choose to continue, you will be expected to hand in the work on time and to show up."
A few students rolled their eyes, most simply stared at their desk.
"If you need help, don't be afraid to ask for it." Jon continues, "There is no excuse for failing this class."
Turning his back on them, Jon strode to the whiteboard and wrote out the next essay assignment.
"Next Friday, I want to see a real effort from all of you, to delve into the writings of Dylan Thomas." A collective groan erupted from about half of the class. Jon turned and waited for silence.
"All next week, we'll compare different examples of Thomas' works and your essays should reflect some of that as well. Don't think you can hand in your honors English Thesis from Junior year, I want fresh new work from all of you." With that said, Jon made a shooing gesture at the door and dismissed his class.
Despite all of the minor headaches, Jon loved his job. He loved the idea of bringing his students an understanding of some of the most influential written works known to man. He liked to think that he was doing his job well and he took pride in all of the assignments he handed out.
After his last class, Jon spent an hour in the campus fitness room. Nearing fifty, he took great pride in his athletic build and had vowed early on not to let himself go. By 6:00 pm, he was back in his office to gather his brief case and the stack of essays he'd collected and drove home humming to himself.
Jon sighed as he took the turn into his driveway, the front door lit by the porch light. He sat in his car momentarily and steeled himself for the trip into the house. While Jon was happy with his career and satisfied with himself as a teacher, one aspect of Jon's life was lacking. After 15 years of marriage, Jon's wife had grown cold and distant. She no longer initiated physical contact and often spent more time harping at him than anything else. With a deep resignation, Jon forced himself out of the car and through the front door. All through dinner, Jon worked to engage Jen in friendly conversation. Tonight she complained about his inability to put his coffee mug in the dishwasher in the morning. After 20 minutes of listening to her bitch at him, Jon retreated to his office saying he had papers to grade.
Breathing a sigh of relief as he closed the door, he flopped heavily into his chair and rested for a moment. Jon thought about the first years of their marriage -- the passion Jen had shown towards him, and he wondered silently why she no longer wanted his company. Shaking off the disappointment, Jon picked up the stack of essays from the lecture class and began to read. Half-way through the stack Jon looked up at the clock. It was after midnight, he was certain Jen had gone to bed hours ago, so he crept quietly to the kitchen and helped himself to beer. Returning to the stack of papers, Jon was reading one student's insightful take on William Blake's "Tiger,Tiger". He was impressed by the girl's writing style and he flipped back to the first page to check the name -- Sasha Connor, he smiled. Jon wrote a few comments on the essay and added a note at the end "Very insightful. Nice job." When Jon set the essay aside, he tried to recall the young lady who had penned the essay, but was unable to put a face to the name.
Jon spent most of the weekend grading papers in his office and avoiding his wife. He was grateful for Monday morning and drove to the college with a smile. Normally, on Monday morning Jon would hand out the graded essays without comment, today however he stood at the front of the room and smiled at the students.
"Ladies and Gentlemen," He began, "I just wanted to let you all know that it was my distinct pleasure to award the first A of the year. Sasha Connor, could you please come up and get your essay."
Jon watched as a young, slim brunette stood in the back row. Sasha was dressed in a pair of faded jeans and a skin tight tee shirt. She walked to the front of the room with her head down, obviously uncomfortable with the attention. When she reached the lectern, she looked up with bright, intelligent brown eyes and he smiled warmly.
"Very nice work, Sasha." Jon handed the essay back to her. "Everyone else, well done, I am please to say that most of the grades were Bs and no one received and F."
Jon handed out the rest of the papers and then gave the first of his lectures on the works of poet Dylan Thomas. The rest of the week went smoothly, the only difficulties coming from his home life. Jon considered himself lucky to at least have a job he loved. During the lectures, Jon noticed that Sasha was bright and attentive, seeming to soak up every word. Though she participated very little in the discussion portions, he knew that she understood the material. Friday arrived and another stack of essays went into his brief case for home.
John was half-way to his car when he heard a panicked cry from behind him. He snapped his head around and saw Sasha barreling toward him.
"Professor Dowd! Stop!" She yelled and barreled toward him.
"Sasha, what's wrong?" Jon waited for her to catch up to him.
"My -- essay," she panted, "I -- need -- it -- back." "Why?" A slight irritation crept into Jon's voice.
"I...made a mistake." Sasha's voice was strained and her eyes glistened with unshed tears.
"I'm sure it's fine." Jon reassured her. Over the years he'd experienced his share of female dramatics over perceived 'mistakes'. Most of the time, the 'mistake' was nothing more than a comma or period out of place.
"No!" Tears began to fall from her eyes, "You don't understand! I handed in the wrong paper -- it's just a rough draft."
"Sasha," Jon sighed, "I'm sure it isn't nearly as bad as you think."
"Please," She pleaded with him, her hands shaking as she held out another essay, "I have the right one here, just -- give me the other one."
Jon was taken aback by her desperation. Her hysterics made him wonder if she may have plagiarized some aspect of the essay and was afraid she would be expelled.
"Listen to me, Sasha," Jon's voice took on a stern paternal tone, "I can't give you your paper back. That wouldn't be right."
Sasha's shoulders sagged in defeat.
"Please," She whispered one last time, "I'll die if you read it."
Jon raised his eyebrows at her statement.
"Tell you what," He offered gently, "I'll accept this new essay, and as long as you 'rough draft' doesn't contain anything unethical, this whole incident will be our little secret, okay?"
Sasha nodded, still sniffling. She held out the paper, Jon took it from her and before he could say another word, she turned and fled. Left staring after her, Jon shook his head and sighed at the unnecessarily dramatic display. He stuffed the paper in his bag and drove home to face another round of miserable bitching from his wife.
