It had been the longest week of Debra's life. She had just gotten fired from her job at the bar near campus because she refused to sleep with the manager. Now, she was in her least favorite class getting the paper back that she worked 2 weeks on perfecting. This was the last grade before the final and she needed to get an A or she had no hope of passing the class. She had already failed this class the last semester and there was no way she could repeat it again. She would go crazy. The worst part is that there was only one professor who taught the class and he seemed to have a vendetta against her. The previous semester she got an F on this very same paper by 5 points. She went to speak to Professor Parker about it and he just laughed in her face. He told her she didn't deserve the grade she DID get and there was nothing she could do to change it.
So, here she was, waiting for him to call her name so she could retrieve her paper and find out if she was doomed or not. When he reached her name, she grabbed her paper and left the classroom before she looked down at it. Right there on the front page in red marker was "85-Much Better!" Was this some sort of sick joke? She was NOT going to fail this class by 5 points again!
It was already late, this was her last class of the day, so Debra decided to put the paper in her desk drawer and try her best to enjoy the weekend. She would go see Professor Parker on Monday during his office hours.
The weekend passed and Monday morning Debra headed to the English department to fight for her grade.
When she reached his office, John, one of her other classmates, was just leaving and he was screaming at Professor Parker as he left. "Oh great, he's already in a bad mood," she thought.
She went into his office and he asked her to turn the notice on the front of the door to say that his office was now closed and to close the door behind her. There were only 5 minutes left, after all. Debra went in and took a seat in front of his desk.
"Well, well, Miss Fredericks, here we are again. How may I help you?" the Professor said with a smirk. He was an old, short, portly gentleman who was probably in his late 50's.
"Professor Parker, I don't understand why I received an 85 on my paper. I followed all of your guidelines and I worked my butt off on that paper. What did I do to get 15 points taken off," Debra pleaded with him.
"Debra, can I call you Debra? I don't have to explain myself to you. Your paper was simply lacking. You are capable of doing so much more. You've grown so much this semester and proven that you are willing to work so much harder for a good grade. And this paper just didn't show the effort I was hoping for."
"But, Professor, I can't take this class again. I've worked so hard to make sure I wouldn't have to. Isn't there anything I can do? Is there any extra credit work or another assignment?"
"I told you last semester, Debra. I don't allow extra credit. You get the grade that you earned. And you EARNED an 85. You should have put more work into it. I didn't just start having office hours. You could have come to me while writing your paper for any advice on how to make it just right. I'm done talking about this. Your grade is final. Please leave my office now."
Debra couldn't even think anymore. She just broke down in tears.