He keeps his voice low, and his face soft. I want so badly to push past him, to run out of the door and never look back. A fact he uses to his advantage. To anyone else, it probably looks like he’s consoling me, the young nervous freshman.
“You think you regret spreading your legs for him? You’re going to regret spreading those lies even more. Now, take a seat, Emmalyn. Class is starting.”
I gulp, unable to move, to speak, to breathe. It feels like my entire world is collapsing, like the walls of this classroom are closing in on me, like they’re going to bury me alive.
Sterling’s eyes light with something akin to mirth as he regards me, watching the panic, fear, and pain play out across my face like a movie.
“Scurry back to your desk, little mouse.” He takes a threatening step closer to me and, like the coward I am, I whirl around and race back to my seat, hating myself for allowing him to have any kind of power over me.
I bury my face in my hands, knowing I just made a fool of myself, not only to him, but to the entire class, and even worse—in front of my academic advisor.
“Ah, Mr. Abbot,” the professor chortles, as if he found our interaction amusing somehow. “How nice of you to join us.”
“Good to see you, Professor Ellison.” I swear to God, his wicked gray gaze lands on me as he says, “I’m thrilled to be here.”
Sterling crosses the room to stand with the professor. “This is Sterling Abbot, my TA for this class. He will handle the day-to-day basics, and should be your point person for most things.”
You can do this, Emmy. Get through the next hour and then you can figure things out.
“Mr. Abbot, if you will.” Professor Ellison gestures to the podium, stepping out from behind to make room for Sterling.
“To get things started, we’re going to do an activity called Stand Up.”
My heart is pounding so hard that my pulse thunders in my ears, effectively blotting out his voice. Which is a blessing and a curse.
A blessing, because the sound of his deep, gravelly voice both terrifies and enthralls me.
A curse, because I have no clue what’s happening at the moment, other than students seem to be standing at random.
I will myself to calm down. Professor Ellison is here, he won’t allow anything to happen. Breathe.
The panic rushing my system begins to wane.
That is until the professor up and leaves the room.
Without him here, what will Sterling do? At this point, I can only hope he has enough professionalism to spare me his wrath while inside the classroom.
Waves of tittering laughter raise up around me, yanking me from my internal worry.
“Miss Price,” Sterling bites out.
My eyes fly up to his. Judging from the pinched look on his face, this is not the first time he’s called my name. Which means they’re all laughing at me.
“Y-yes?”
“Is there a reason you’re not participating?”
I stare at him, doe-eyed.
“Have your legs suddenly quit working? Or perhaps you think you’re too good to participate?”
“Um.” I try to swallow, but my mouth feels like it’s full of cotton balls. “If you could just... um... remind me what we’re doing. Please?” My voice wobbles, right along with my pride. Less than ten minutes in his presence and I’m wilting like a daisy beneath the sweltering sun.
Sterling rolls his eyes, looking as pleased as he is perturbed.
“Since you haven’t been paying attention, I’m calling out descriptors. You’re to stand if they pertain to you. Surely you aren’t so dull that none apply?”
My cheeks burn as his words hit their mark. “Right. I’m sor—”
Sterling cuts me off. “Let’s try this again, this time with Princess Price participating.”
Anger wells inside of me so fiercely, it nearly blots out the embarrassment.
“Now that I have everyone’s attention, let’s try this again. But first, please apologize to your classmates for wasting their time, Miss Price.”
“What?” I sputter. He can’t be serious.
“You heard me.” He raps his knuckles against the podium. “Please don’t make me repeat myself.”
Bile rushes up my esophagus, but I force it down. “Fine. I’m sorry for wasting y’all’s time. It was rude, and I will do my best to ensure it doesn’t happen again.”
“Satisfactory,” he murmurs, his soft voice in direct contrast with his hard eyes. “Please stand if any of the following words have any at point applied to you. Once the next is listed, take a seat if it does not also apply.”
Sterling draws out the anticipation, dragging his gaze around the room, before honing in on me. “Stand up if you are a liar.”
A few uneasy titters go up.
“Come on, everyone lies,” he goads, his focus still locked on to me.
I quickly glance around the room; my classmates look as uncomfortable as I feel.