When I went into class, I was quiet for once. I was late; other students were already seated and taking notes. My scores weren’t terrible, and as long as I went through the required reading, they wouldn’t fall too low, so I never worried much about my classes. Today of all days, there was no way I would pay attention, and after I sat down, I folded my arms on top of the desk. I didn’t even bother carrying any books with me, but it was just because I’d been too distracted.
I looked up and noticed Angela, the professor, seemed a bit distracted.
Did she even notice I walked in late?
Normally, she would ask to see me after class. Usually, she was focused on lecturing, even though I only half paid attention most of the time, it was easy to tell something was off this time. She kept looking at her phone. When she finished speaking and waited for the students to finish copying down the notes on the slides, she started tapping on her phone. She was probably sending a text.
My phone vibrated in my pocket. I ignored it, watching Angela. She frowned at her phone before glancing up and looking around. Her eyes fell on me for a second, and she scowled before switching the slide and continuing with the lecture.
I wanted to check my phone, but thoughts were running through my mind. For the first time since the semester started, I paid attention to the professor throughout the rest of the lesson. An idea had started to grow, and it was crazy, but I didn’t think I was wrong.
What… the fuck.
I wasn’t sure how to feel about this. It felt like I was somewhere else because it was so damn crazy. The part that surprised me most was how it didn’t bother me.
Shouldn’t it have bothered me?
I looked Angela over. Since I’d walked in late, I was seated toward the back. I couldn’t see all of her, either, with all the other students blocking the way. As usual, she was in a blouse, tucked into a skirt that fell to just above her knees. She liked to move around as she lectured, and with only her voice and papers rustling breaking the silence in the room, I could hear the clacking of her heels as she paced around. She was even more agitated today than usual, still holding onto her phone. She didn’t look at it again, but she would fidget with it between her fingers.
Finally, it was over.
“That’s the end of the lecture for today,” Angela said. “I’ll see you all for next week’s class. If you require the slides for today’s class, they’ll be up on the class email.”
As she busied herself closing down her laptop and putting her things away, the class started to clear. I stayed seated and let everyone else leave. A few guys in the row I was seated at hesitated, the closest ones to me not wanting to tell me to move out of the way. Some of them went over the seat and got out through the row behind us, while the others just waited and got out on the other side.
She was so distracted that the students managed to leave the class before she was done with everything. There was a guy that stopped to have a chat with her, and I narrowed my eyes at him. She shot him a few slow smiles as they talked, but it was quick, and he left, too.
When it was just the two of us left in the room, I finally stood up. I looked at the message on my phone. Like I’d guessed, it was the mystery texter, saying she was busy before but could meet me tonight. I walked slowly over to the teacher’s desk and stopped beside it.
“Can I help you with something?” She asked absently, not bothering to look up. She was holding her phone up, in the middle of sending another text, and when she stopped, my phone vibrated.
“Is it you?” I asked, even though I already knew.
Her head shot up, and she frowned at me. She probably hadn't expected this. All those times she’d told me to stay behind, and the one time she forgot to, I waited.
“Ben?”
Her eyes fell to the phone in my hand. She’d heard it vibrate, too. Angela was smart. I didn’t have to explain anything for her to know what I meant.
She laughed, sounding a little nervous. “I don’t know what’s going on here, but I think I should…”
Not listening, I unlocked my screen. I ignored the new text and sent one, the exact question I’d just asked.
“Is it you?”
Angela cut herself off when her phone vibrated in her hand. She blinked, then slowly looked down. She didn’t look like she wanted to, but I wasn’t backing down on this. I had been looking like crazy since I found out it wasn’t Sandra, and if it was her, then I needed to know.