All I could do was stare at his strong fingers holding my arm in a gentle but iron grip. "I was terrified," I said, "I don't remember much."
He grinned and my insides flipped. "You can't lie. And I meant what I said."
My vision furred around the edges. "About what?"
"You can't go back to being all ultra-focused. Now that you pushed your own boundaries, there's no going back." Ford slipped his hand down my arm to squeeze my fingers.
"Did I get the A+?" I asked.
He rolled his eyes. "Yes. Happy?"
I walked out of the lecture hall before he could see me smile.
In the foyer of Thompson Hall, I let out a wobbly breath, then almost screamed as someone called my name.
"Clarity? Jeez, sorry. Are you okay? I didn't mean to startle you," Thomas reached out a hand to steady me, then shoved it in his pocket instead. "I was just waiting in case you wanted to grab a coffee or something."
"Thanks, Thomas, that's nice, but I'm going to head over to the library," I said.
"Maybe tomorrow," Thomas said. "Hey, I've got the notes from today's lecture if you need them. Professor Bauer really zeroes in on you, doesn't he?"
I stopped and turned back to my classmate. "Why do you say that?"
Thomas brushed his shaggy brown hair out of his eyes and shrugged. "Everyone thinks you're Professor Bauer's prized student. I mean, you're the one he calls on with all the hard questions, and you're usually the first to make him clarify something."
I cleared my throat around a rising knot of panic. "I don't think he singles me out. He's hard on the students he thinks aren't paying attention."
"That's not you, usually," Thomas said. "Usually you're more than ready to hold your own."
I knew Thomas wanted to say more. He shifted from one lanky leg to the other. "What is it?" I crossed my arms and looked up at him.
"It's just, well, I feel like you should know the rumors, even though you're totally above all that." Thomas didn't know what to do with his hands and they flapped around until he shoved them deep in his pockets again.
Thompson Hall started to spin around me. "What rumors?"
Thomas cleared his throat. "Professor Bauer, people say that he, I mean, he has in the past ..."
I groaned, "Just spit it out, Thomas!"
"Professor Bauer seduces students."
I stepped back and gawked up at my tall classmate. "You think Professor Bauer tries to sleep with students? And you think you need to warn me about this?"
"It has nothing to do with you," Thomas yanked his hands out and held them up in surrender. "I just thought you should hear that rumor in case he starts paying you, you know, too much attention."
His eyes darted back and forth and his nerves made sense. Thomas had been trying for a year and a half to ask me out, but he'd never gotten up the courage. We were friends and I never encouraged him past that. Now he was warning me as a friend, but also as a jealous rival. Thomas couldn't stand the idea of Professor Bauer getting close to me when he wasn't.
"Thanks, Thomas," I patted his arm and walked away.
"I'll see you at the football game tonight?" he called.
I waved over my shoulder and kept walking. Our class was meeting at the football game to practice capturing quick details and to try the fast pace of sports journalism.
It was just my luck that when I arrived at the game, the only available seat was right next to Ford. I had intended to spend the whole game thinking of ways to insulate myself against gossip, but now with Ford cheering beside me, my good intentions were scattering.
"More important than the game is the crowd," Ford told me and the students near us. "The reader is one of the cheering fans, so it's important to them to know how the real fans reacted in the stands. Look around and take note of what you see."
"I see Professor Appleyard in face paint," I said.