She checked her watch. He was late. She checked the clock on the wall. He was still late. Last interview slot in the day, and still he couldn't find a way to be on time.
She had been stuck in this room all afternoon, interviewing one 'bright hopeful' after another, and wishing only for the day to end. The majority were nothing but insufferable. Smug teenagers trying so hard to mask the gaps in their knowledge and attempt to come off smarter than she was. How desperately she wanted to tell all of them where to shove it, but the university wouldn't have that. Their admission numbers had to be filled, even if 99% of them were utter troglodytes.
'It's fine.' She thought to herself. The weekend was nearly here, and she could look forward to getting blasted and fucked by the strangers she'd meet in a nightclub. She could almost be there now if it wasn't for this useless latecomer. She reached into her handbag at the side of her chair. Popping open her compact mirror, she checked her face to see what the day's events had done to her makeup. It was a warm room, and she had a habit of touching her face all too often, and so was pleasantly surprised to see an absence of smudging or uneven complexion. She angled the mirror down, catching sight of the black blazer she had on. Buttoned up and waist hugging, the blazer brought out the best in her figure and framed her bust well, cleavage happily on display thanks to an incredibly low-cut top. She knew the outfit might be a bit much for interviewing prospective students, but in all honesty if they couldn't keep their nerve in front of a nice pair then they really weren't what she was looking for in the first place.
Finally, she heard a knock on the door. Her colleague had at last come to inform her that the final candidate for the day had arrived. Impatiently, she barked at her colleague to go get him and wondered why they hadn't just brought him along anyway. A few minutes later the colleague was back, leading in a somewhat nervous and out of breath young man. She put on her fake smile, and stood up to greet him, extending out a hand to shake. He looked different from the rest she'd seen today. Older, more adult, if only slightly. He was quite casually dressed for this sort of thing, though her own perceptions may have been skewed by how hard previous applicants had tried to impress with their overly warm, oversized suits. Still, his anxiety was still there for her to see, and she was looking forward to the next half hour poking and prodding and just generally unravelling him the best she could.
Introductions over with, they both sat, and she took another look over the notes she had on him. He was older, a couple of years in fact. He decided university wasn't the right choice after leaving school, and so took the time to travel. Or work. Or whatever it was she had down on the notes she had only skim read.
Opting to omit the various softball questions as to why he was here, or what he finds so exciting about whatever it was he wished to study, she curtly started the interview asking for an explanation of his lateness. It caught him off guard, and he went from his clearly rehearsed, faux relaxed posture, into one that was upright and defensive. He sounded off an improvised excuse about a road closure, and due to him driving, couldn't possibly phone ahead to inform them of his lateness. She admired the quick thinking to an extent, but honestly wasn't interested in an answer, more in making him squirm as he sat there, in his untucked shirt with no tie. She decided she would at least have a little fun this time.
As the interview went on, she settled back into the more standard questions, though would call out any half thought out or unprepared answers.
"So what would you say speaks most to you about our values?" She asked.
"Well, obviously the one that speaks to me the most is. Erm, this institution's commitment to knowledge." He replied, pride on his face.
"That isn't a value of ours but do go on. Explain to me why a commitment to knowledge is so important to you." She responded.
The pride had gone from his face, and his eyes looked around for an answer. Apparently, he seemed to think the answer lay in the region between her breasts, her seeing his eyes constantly landing there while searching for inspiration.
"I don't think the answer is nestled in my tits, love, and I don't think a commitment of knowledge is really something you hold dear. I have your grades right in front of me, they aren't anything special." She said, patience now gone.
He was silent, and she saw his face begin to turn red as she continued.
"I think maybe. Maybe this place isn't right for you. You arrived late, know extraordinarily little about the course, and I worry if I ask you the name of this place you won't actually be able to answer. Perhaps you should give us a miss and go back to travelling in the Far East. Alright?" She went on, not fully meaning her words but finally fully expressing her frustrations with the day.
He remained silent and looked quite insulted. She wondered why he hadn't got up and left yet. As she pondered the reasons, from spinelessness to true desperation on his part, her heart began to race at how far she could take this.
"Are we done here, or is there something you would like to add?" She teased.
"Please don't. I can't leave here without something. It might be hard to understand but I really need this. My trust fund is gone, I really need to get an education." He said.
She looked at him. Inspected him up and down. He wasn't bad looking, and while did come across as both spineless and desperate, those were qualities she sometimes liked in men. Made them easier to direct. She knew he wasn't university material and could happily bet that he'd drop out within the first year, but then again accepting him would get her admissions numbers over the line. She could slack off for the rest of the semester, really phone it in. Focus on the important things in life, like leaving work early. Still, nothing is free. She wanted something from him first.
"You really are keen to get in, aren't you?"
He nodded.
"Well. I can't promise anything, but I can certainly see what I can do. Stand up."
He got up out of the chair.
As he stood there, her mind filled with the things she could get him to do. She needed to vent her frustrations, and he seemed the perfect candidate to do so. She moved the chair back a bit from the table she sat at, and looked down at her skirt. Her gaze returned to him.
"I want you to get on your hands and knees, and crawl toward me, to under the table. We'll see if you are actually useful for something." She said, fixing her hair and cleaning her glasses.