The Loving Blue in Red States Collection

Loving Blue in Red States Sweetwater, Texas –––––––– * * * * Anne HaganTuesday Evening, September 6th EMMIE SKIMMED A FINGER down to the next name. “Jorge Perez?” “Here. You the teacher?” “Your professor? No. That’s professor Fox. He’ll be in, in just a couple of minutes. I’m his teaching assistant for the semester.” “Too bad,” the man answered from his seat in the center of the classroom. The man next to him elbowed him and said in a stage whisper, “Yeah because she’s the fox.” Self-consciously, Emmie pushed a lock of hair behind her left ear then nudged the glasses she wore when she was in the classroom up just a little on her nose before continuing with the roll call. “Cassandra Prater?” “Cass.” “Pardon?” She looked up from the list on the lectern and scanned the group of twenty or so mostly male students. “I go by Cass,” a woman at the far end of the front row, opposite of the door, responded. Emmie looked at the short haired brunette perhaps a few moments longer than she should have. Cass stared right back. As she dropped her head back to her paperwork, she muttered, “I’ll make a note.” To herself she thought, ‘They’re not acting any better than my fourth graders do.’ Just as she finished up the roll, Lucius Fox entered the room. “Ms. Warren.” He smiled and dipped his head toward her in thanks. She moved toward the back of the classroom and took her seat at the desk she’d reserved for herself before the students began filing in. As she opened her laptop and prepared to take notes, both for herself and for Lucius Fox, she couldn’t help but glance to her left, across the room, at the brunette in the front row. Lucius, having arranged his notes where the attendance paperwork had lain only moments before, clapped his hands together and rubbed them rapidly. “Let’s get started ladies and gentlemen. I’m Dr. Lucius Fox. Welcome to Wind Energy 110, your introduction to wind power, and, by that, I don’t mean what is being produced by what you had for supper tonight.” Laughter arose from the adults assembled in the room. “First time in a college classroom for how many of you?” Several hands in the room went up; Emmie guessed at least 15. She noticed Cass didn’t raise hers. Shaking her head out and willing herself to focus, she made a quick note of the informal count for herself. “Those of you that are first timers can see now that you’re not alone in this. Just a couple of things about how we do things here, though. First of all, you can call me Dr. Fox, or Professor or you can call me Lucius; whatever you’re most comfortable with. A little about me: I have a Ph.D. in education and a Master’s Degree in Electrical Engineering. I’ve been working at the wind farm as the chief engineer and Director of Operations for about 10 years now. I spend part of my day, three days a week, right here in this classroom and in the turbine lab teaching the younger generation the same things you’re going to be learning in the evenings over the next 18 months or so if you stick it out in this program we’ve set up for adult learners.” Emmie looked around with curiosity as a grumble started low in the classroom and rose. Fox waved his hands to quiet the room. “I know what you’re thinking,” he said. “You’re all competing for the same jobs, you and those teenagers just out of high school. About that, I want you to remember two things: One, where there’s wind, there’s work.” He paused and let that sink in for a minute. Emmie jotted that down in her own notes. “Write that down,” he said, seemingly reading her mind. “Stamp it on your forehead; do whatever it takes for you to remember that. If you finish this program, you’re going to leave here with an Associate Degree in wind energy and something else those young fellas...sorry ladies, but they’re mostly fellas, don’t have; work and life experience. That’s the second thing I want you to remember. You have valuable experience behind you that they don’t have.” Heads nodded around the room. “Now then, there’s one other thing. In those folders Ms. Warren gave you as you entered this classroom this evening, there’s a release form.” He held an arm out toward her. Emmie sat up a little straighter as most of the people in the classroom turned to look where he’d pointed. “She’s helping out the next couple of semesters as part of her research toward her Master’s thesis. She’s going to be collecting a little data as we go along about each of you. Not your names or anything personally identifying; just some background information, fields you’ve worked in, that sort of thing. To be included in her research, you’ll need to sign the release. That will go on file here with the college, not with her. Go ahead and do that now and pass them back to her. If you don’t want to participate in any of her data collection efforts, please hang onto your form and speak with her privately, after class.” “She can collect all the data she wants from me,” the man next to Jorge called out. Uneasy laughter rose from a few people in the room and Lucius frowned but he didn’t say anything. Emmie stood and collected the forms as they drifted back to her. She received 22 in all. She’d counted 23 students in the room. Someone didn’t sign. She thought she knew who hadn’t but she didn’t dare look through them. Besides, Fox was off and running. Two hours later, as the new wind energy students filed out of the room, talking nervously about the first homework many of them had, had in years, Lucius Fox made his way back to Emmie. “What’d you think?” he asked. “You’re already over my head with the technical stuff.” “No,” he said dismissively as he shook his head. “You’re brighter than that. You’ll understand a lot more of it as we go along than you think.” “I didn’t even buy the book, Professor.” “Lucius, please. Call me Lucius. We’re going to be working together for a while Ms. Warren.” “Then,” she smiled at him, “You’ll have to call me Emmie.” “Only between us,” he said, grinning back at her. “We don’t need some of these um, men, to hear that and latch onto it.” Emmie nodded and then, with all the confidence she could muster, she said, “I was born and raised here in Texas. I can handle them.” Lucius looked around the nearly empty room. He noticed Cass lingering near her seat in the front. “Something I can help you with Miss?” “Actually, I wanted a word with Ms. Warren.” “I see.” Lucius turned back to Emmie. “If you want to give me those forms, I can run them by the administration office tomorrow morning when I’m back here. They’re closed right now.” Emmie leaned toward him. “I think that’s what she wants to talk about.” She tipped her head slightly toward Cass. “I can drop them off Thursday evening when I get here, if that’s all right?” “I guess that’s fine. Don’t forget.” “I won’t.” “Ladies,” Lucius said, as he turned and stepped backwards to view them both. He tipped a couple of fingers to his head as he dipped it like he was doffing an imaginary cowboy hat. Cass watched him leave before she approached. ”Sorry to hold you up.” “No problem. How can I help you?” “I think Professor Fox has taken quite a liking to you.” “Pardon?” “Don’t get offended. It’s just something I noticed, is all. I notice things. That’s my job.” “Then you’ve missed quite a lot. The Professor is married and I’m...I’m not in the market for dates, flings or anything else of that sort.” If she only knew, Emmie thought. “Whatever you say,” Cass said. “I didn’t come back here to argue with you.” “Why did you come back here?” Cass held up the release form, face out. “This. I need just a little bit more information before I become someone’s guinea pig.” Emmie did her best to control her temper as she addressed the brash woman. “It’s not a requirement. You’re free to skip participating and just go on your way whenever I’m...well, whenever I’m doing the things I need to do with the class for my research.” “Not very confident in yourself, are you, Emmie?” She said her name with added emphasis. Emmie threw her hands up. “I thought you didn’t want to argue? Look, if that’s all, I really do need to get going. I have a little bit of a drive to get home and I have work to do yet this evening.” “Abilene?” Cass asked, as Emmie gathered her things. “Other direction. Other side of Sweetwater, here, out a little ways.” “Really?” Cass tilted her head and c****d an eyebrow. Emmie glanced at her and then glanced quickly away. Rather than answer, she made a show of winding up the power cord for her laptop and stowing it in her bag. “My nephew is a Junior on the team this year.” “That’s nice for him. They’re looking pretty good,” she conceded as her tone went from sarcastic to monotone. “You didn’t even ask who he is,” Cass pointed out. “I’m sorry. Who, pray tell, is your nephew?” Emmie asked as she picked up the laptop bag and started for the door. “Wow, you’re something, you know? You’d catch more flies with just a little more honey, honey.” The strawberry blond whirled to face the other woman. “Don’t call me honey!” “Whoa! Sorry!” Cass held up her hands in mock surrender. She still had the release form in her left hand. “Just give me that. I’ll dispose of it on the way out.” “I’ll walk out with you. Wouldn’t do to have you walking out alone tonight.” “I can take care of myself.” “And I’m absolutely sure that you can but there’s more safety in numbers and, besides, I didn’t say I wasn’t going to participate; only that I want more information.” Emmie sighed and started walking. Cass followed. “What’s the topic of your thesis?” Emmie slowed and waited for the other woman to come alongside her. “How economic failure influences adult education.” “Ouch,” Cass said. “Is that a problem?” “Not for me. I’m not an ‘economic failure’.” “I never said you were. It’s just that programs like this appeal to people trying to better themselves, get out of the cotton fields, off the ranch...” “What’s wrong with working on a ranch?” Emmie groaned. It was coming out all wrong. “Nothing. I grew up on a ranch. It’s practically the only life I’ve known.” “Obviously not; not if you’re in a Master’s program. You’ve probably been a student most of your life...never had a real job.” “Now who’s making assumptions?” Emmie flung back at Cass. She reached the door going out, pushed it open hard, then strode ahead toward her car. She wanted to put as much distance between herself and the insufferable Cassandra Prater as she could, as quickly as she could. ###