“Penny?”
I looked over at Tyler. He had dark circles under his eyes. He was sitting on the edge of his seat, as close to me as possible.
“Geez, Penny, I’m sorry. I don’t even remember what happened last night, besides for the fact that I obviously acted like an idiot.” He gave me a small, forced smile.
“Well, I do remember.” I wished I could just tuck my head into my sweatshirt and disappear.
“I really am sorry.”
The door closed and I looked over. As Professor Hunter walked into the room, I couldn’t help but stare. He was wearing black square rimmed glasses. His hair that was usually pushed up a little looked like it hadn’t been touched. The top was even a little curly. He was wearing the same leather jacket that he had almost let me keep. He took off his brown satchel and put it on his desk, then unzipped the jacket and placed it on the back of his chair, revealing a green V-neck t-shirt. The casual air about him made him even more endearing, if that was possible.
He shoved his hands into his jean pockets. “Doesn’t everyone look alert today?” He smiled. “So, I think the best thing to do is probably hear about your nights. The more comfortable we are with each other, the easier it will be to stand up here later in the semester and give fantastic speeches. Everyone up to share?”
Some of my classmates groaned. I looked around. I probably wasn’t the only one that was slightly hung-over.
Professor Hunter glanced at me for a moment as he sat down in his chair. He pulled out the class list from his bag and called out the first name. The first few people swore they were just studying. Some people mentioned that they weren’t lame and had gone partying.
“Tyler Stevens?”
Tyler stood up and stared straight ahead. “Honestly I got drunk and made a fool of myself. I was with this smart, beautiful girl, and I probably blew my shot with her.” With one hand he reached up and scratched the back of his neck as he looked down at the floor.
“Sounds like an unfortunate series of events,” Professor Hunter responded. I looked up at him and he was staring right at me. I gulped.
Tyler sighed and looked at me as he sat back down.
“Penny Taylor,” Professor Hunter said. While I stood up, he pulled out a small ceramic pig from his satchel. “I came prepared today. You’ll have to trust that I have some pennies in here.”
I wish I could control my blushing, but I knew my face was turning red. My heart was beating so fast. “I went for a walk in the rain with a stranger I met at a coffee shop.”
Professor Hunter raised his eyebrows. “Sounds rather enchanting, Miss Taylor.”
“It was.”
He looked at me for a second more before looking down at his paper and calling the next name. I quickly sat down and looked at my hands. I could feel Tyler’s eyes on me.
After Professor Hunter had called every name, he stood back up. “Well, it seems as though we have quite a few interesting characters this semester. And now I have a feel for things that you can all use improvement on. Speaking of which…” He rummaged in his satchel and pulled out a stack of papers. “I forgot to hand out the syllabus on Wednesday.” He pulled the top packet off and dropped the rest on a boy’s desk in the front. “Take one and pass it.”
The boy grabbed one and handed the stack to his neighbor. As the papers began to cycle, Professor Hunter sat on top of his desk.
“So your first presentation isn’t for a few weeks, but you’ll probably want to at least pick a topic soon so you can start mulling it over. All you need to do is pick a person that has inspired you in some way and tell us all about it. But please, I’m tired of hearing about everyone’s grandparents, so try to think outside the box. And next week I’ll start talking about how to give effective speeches, so you’ll definitely want to incorporate that advice. Any questions?”
A girl in the front row’s hand shot up.
“Yes?”
“Do we need your approval for our topic?”
“Not for this one. For later projects though, yes. But if you do have any questions you can always email me. My email is on the syllabus. And my office hours are listed on there too, if any of you have any questions or need some guidance on an assignment.”
The two girls in front of me giggled. I clearly wasn’t the only one that was affected by his good looks.
The pile of syllabi had reached Tyler, but there was only one copy left. He kept it for himself. I cursed silently. Why me? Now I’d have to go talk to Professor Hunter. I looked up at him and he was still holding a syllabus in his hands. He had a smile on his face. Had he purposely not let me get one?
“Any other questions?” he asked.
A normal person would probably raise their hand right now and say they didn’t get a syllabus, but my heart was beating much too quickly. He made me so nervous.
“Okay then. Make sure to brainstorm this weekend. If you have an idea in mind on Monday, then my advice will be more beneficial. Have a great weekend.”
I heard the pull of zippers on backpacks and feet shuffling. I slowly put my notebook, which was still empty, back in my bag. I pulled my sweatshirt off and stuffed it in my backpack as well. As I was doing so, a shadow fell on me. I looked up and saw Tyler hovering next to my desk.
“Second chance?” he asked sheepishly.
“I’ll think about it,” I responded.
A smile spread across his face. “Give me your phone real quick.”
I handed it to him and stood up. He typed in his number and handed it back to me. “Have a good weekend, Penny,” he said and walked away.
I lifted up my backpack and made my way to the front of the class. Professor Hunter and I were the last ones in the room. He was sitting on his desk again now, flipping through the last syllabus. He didn’t look up as I approached.
“Excuse me, Professor Hunter?” I said nervously.
“How can I help you, Miss Taylor?” he asked and looked up from the pages.
“I didn’t get a syllabus.”
“Well here you go then,” he said and handed me the one he was holding.
“Thank you.”
“So a walk in the rain with a stranger was a highlight to your eventful evening, was it?”
“It was the only good thing about last night, actually.”
“I had my suspicions after you referred to this class as a date.”
I placed my hand over my eyes, and then slowly let it slide from my face. “I thought I had dreamt that.” I was completely mortified.
“I didn’t realize I had made an appearance in your dreams, Miss Taylor.”
“That’s not what I… I mean you didn’t. Well I meant…”
Professor Hunter laughed his enticing laugh. “Have a good weekend, Miss Taylor. Maybe on Monday I’ll ask everyone to share a memorable dream they had over the weekend.”
I felt my jaw drop slightly. The door creaked open and students for the next class started walking in. “Professor Hunter,” I said, and quickly turned and walked out of the classroom.