Clarissa waved her friends ahead of her. They gave her sympathetic looks as they left the classroom; they knew she was staying behind to discuss her grade with Professor Collins, a notoriously strict and difficult teacher. She approached the desk, nervously shifting her book bag over her shoulder.
"Professor Collins?" she asked, standing in front of his desk.
"Miss Jennings," he said, setting down his pencil. He cleared his throat. "You have a question about the assignment?"
"No, that is, not about today's assignment," she said, swallowing nervously. "About the last few, actually. I – My grades aren't where I'd hoped they would be." More specifically, her grades weren't where her parents hoped and expected they'd be. They were paying for her small, private apartment and the fuel-efficient car she used to get around, but only as long as she maintained a certain grade point average. They'd made it clear that if she couldn't keep up, she'd be relegated to the college dorms and public transportation. She was grateful that her family was able and willing to pay for her tuition in the first place, but having her own place was a luxury she wasn't willing to part with, not to mention all the grief she'd get from her mother if she didn't bring her scores up.
Professor Collins frowned and pulled out his ledger, consulting. Clarissa waited silently.
"Yes, well I see you've been turning in your homework, but it really seems as if you haven't been applying yourself," he said. "If you want better grades you need to study a bit more, try harder." He closed his book and made as if to stand up.
"Wait, please," said Clarissa. "I was hoping you could detail for me a little bit where I went wrong, so I can do better next time."
"Miss Jennings, I really don't have the time to hold your hand and walk you through college work. If you have any more questions about this, please speak to my TA." He stood and began to gather his things.
"Is- is there some kind of... extra credit I could do instead?" She smiled winningly, or at least she hoped it was. "I'd be only too happy to do an extra report, or do some research work for you, or... or clean your office..." she finished lamely.
"I'm not running some kind of charity here, Miss Jennings. You do the work when it's expected of you, or you face the consequences. Good day." He picked up his briefcase and turned away.
Desperate, Clarissa fell back on her last resort. Luckily she had plenty of experience in making herself to cry to get what she wanted. It worked with her father, and all of her past boyfriends. At the sound of her first sob, the professor looked back at her. Clarissa let her eyes fill with tears and tilted her head down so she could look up at him through the tears. That usually was the clincher, and once again it didn't let her down. Professor Collins sighed.
"Very well, Miss Jennings. Follow me to my office and we'll see what we can do." He strode out the door at a brisk clip, and Clarissa had to rush to keep up, brushing the ersatz tears from her eyes. She smirked ever so slightly at the success of her ploy, although she was mostly just relieved that it had worked. She'd been truthful, she was willing to put in the extra work, she just needed him to give her a chance to.
They reached his office and he held the door open for her as she entered. She took the seat opposite his desk and waited for him to sit down. She set her bookbag down on the floor beside her chair.
"Miss Jennings. You seem to be recovering well from your little episode," said the professor dryly, indicating her now dry eyes. Clarissa had the grace to flush slightly at her ruse.
"Yes, sir. Thank you."
"Now about your grades. You're not terribly far from a decent score if you put in the effort. Are you willing to put in the effort?" Professor Collins loosened his tie and sat back.
"Oh yes, Professor," she said earnestly. A few extra assignments were nothing compared to freedom from the dorms and her parents wrath.
"And were you quite serious about cleaning my office?"
"Well, yes, of course," said Clarissa, surprised. She hadn't actually expected him to go for that. She didn't have a whole lot of experience cleaning things; her little apartment now was the first time she hadn't had a maid to do the housekeeping. "I'm not above getting my hands dirty"
The professor smiled and pushed his chair back from the desk.
"And you are open to other methods of raising your grade as well?" he asked.
