Professor Bryant

            Today was the first day back to classes since summer break. I was a Sophomore and had just turned nineteen years old over the break. I wasn’t quite sure what my major was going to be, but I had time to figure it out.             Over the break, I spent some much-needed time with my parents. I was an only child, and as their only child, they spoiled the crap out of me. We weren’t a wealthy family, but we were comfortable. I was proud enough of myself to say that I earned my seat in college with the scholarship that I received. It was an academic scholarship that I’m severely proud of. With a lot of hard work and commitment, I was able to land the college experience all on my own.            So, here I was at the University of Chicago, Illinois. Even though I had no idea what I was majoring in quite yet, I was here for four years. That was unless I decided to go for something worth spending more time on. The school was great, mostly because I was a nobody. My friend Nora, though, was very popular, mainly with the guys.            “Would you hurry it up in there already? We are going to be late for our first class!” Nora yelled. She was pacing at the door of our dorm.             We had a decently sized dorm room, thanks to Nora’s dad. He pulled some strings to get us roomed together and made sure it was comfortable enough for us. It was more like an entire suite to ourselves, which primarily only juniors and seniors got the pick of.            “I’m coming!” I glanced more time in the mirror before standing up from my desk to grab my bag. Since it was still warm out, I put on a pair of sandals with a pink tank top and some ripped jeans that I was sure Nora would give me crap about.            I made my way out of my room and down the hall toward the door where Nora was waiting.             “About time. We have to go like now if we are going to have time to stop by the coffee shop before classes start. It’s the first day back, and we are going to be the only one’s late to class.”            Nora was about crazy. She hasn’t been on time for any of the classes in a long time. “Why are you so cheery to get to class this morning?” I asked as we began making our way out the door and down the stairs.             Stacy’s Coffee House was just around the corner. It was the only college coffee shop around for miles, which meant that it would be packed.            As we walked, Nora reached into her bag and began applying the lipstick she forgot to put on. Red. It was always red. “Everyone knows that the first day is the most important, Riley. I want to make a great first impression this year.”            I rolled my eyes as she stuffed the lipstick back in her bag and locked her arm around mine. “I’m sure that’s what this is all about. This doesn’t have anything to do with needing to get an invitation to the first frat house party this year, is it?”            “You know me so well,” she perked up as we reached the coffee shop. She opened the door for me, and we were immediately hit with a line. Nora looked down at the expensive watch her dad gave her for Christmas last year. “Uh! If I didn’t need coffee so bad, I would just say to skip it. This line is outrageous.”            “What did you expect, Nora? This is the first day of classes. You knew this place would be booming.”            She shrugged as if she didn’t consider it being this busy due to it being the first day back on campus. We waited in line for over twenty minutes before finally getting to place our orders. Once we had our orders, we took off to classes. Nora and I had different schedules this semester which would be a little awkward. I was used to having a few classes with her, and now I had none. It was like I would truly experience college life all by myself this year, only seeing her at lunch and after school.            My first class was the introduction to psychology. I didn’t have a problem with the class. It was just that it wasn’t my first choice. I didn’t have a problem speaking in front of people. It was more so working with other people was my issue. I’ve always been an independent person. It was all I ever did in high school, and it turned out great for me. I kept up all A’s in my classes, but once you were in a group, you left your grade up to other people. I guess you could say that I had a hard time depending on other people.            I was the last one to walk inside the classroom other than our professor. Thankfully I beat the professor here because the last thing that I wanted to do was embarrass myself in a room full of other students on the first day back.            Right as I took my seat, the door swung open, and in walked our professor. He had his back turned to me, so I didn’t get a good look at him at first. Just from the first impression of his back, he was sophisticated. He dressed in a nice tan-colored tux and carried what looked to be a brand-new briefcase in with him.            “Good morning, everyone.”              He turned around, and I slightly jumped, hitting my knee on the desk. Everyone turned around to see the noise, and my cheeks turned bright red from all the attention. The professor cleared his throat, moving his gaze from me to the whiteboard behind him.             “My name is Professor Dylan Bryant.” He moved around and sat on the edge of his desk while looking out over the class full of other students.             I’m not sure what he was saying because I was stunned to see how young he was. Dylan was very good-looking too, so hot that my throat went dry just staring at him. He had nicely sculpted brown hair that seemed to have highlights in it when the light hit it just right. Even from across the room, I could see his light green eyes. I found myself blushing from staring at him, though I’m sure he didn’t notice. There was a little scruff on his face, but it was trimmed perfectly to fit his chiseled face. The way his eyebrows rose up and down when he talked had momentarily distracted me, other than his good looks, of course.             “Now that you know a little about me, I think it only seems appropriate that you share a little something about yourself. Since I’m new to this campus, I will call each name that I have. Please stand and tell us a little something about yourself.”             “Teresa Anderson.”             She stood up the second her name slipped from his lips. Teresa wasn’t a shy girl. That much was obvious when she went right into what she liked to do in her free time, shopping and more shopping. I rolled my eyes just listening to it. I mean, seriously. Was any girl in this place original at all?             You’re the one to talk.             Yeah, that was fair. I couldn’t judge every other girl in this class for making googly eyes at him when I was doing the same. I was just in shock. All the other professors on this campus were much older than him besides a handful. We had some younger women and men, but he stuck out like a sore thumb. It was apparent that he captivated a room whenever he entered into one. These girls in here were practically drooling, and I’m sure even some of the guys were looking at him like they wanted to be him.             “Riley Bell.”             Oh s**t. My heart was hammering against my chest. My knees chose now to suddenly become shaky and unstable. When I stood, I felt like the entire room was spinning. Why was I so nervous? Speaking was never an issue for me. Maybe it was the effect that Professor Bryant had on me. My God, stop thinking about your professor like that!             “Um,” I started off with a shaky voice that matched my knees bouncing together. “I’m Riley.” Some of the girls snickered. Of course, he knew that. He called my name off the roster. What an i***t. “I am a book nerd.”             I’m not sure why I said that. Reading books was fine, and it wasn’t like it was frowned upon in this day and age, but this school had a habit of attacking young book nerds like me.             Professor Bryant only nodded his head without commenting on my embarrassing answer. He called the following name and went on like that for another few minutes. Whenever he would call on a girl, she would smile and stand up with her chest pressed forward, showing off their big boobs. Those girls were pathetic, but wasn’t I acting like that too? I might not be trying to show off my boobs, but I was undoubtedly fantasizing about my professor, which was ridiculous.             When the bell rang, I was glad that class was over. It was hot in here, like super hot. I needed some fresh air. As I gathered my things and got ready to leave, the professor called my name.             “Riley, right?” I nodded. “Can I have a word with you, please?”             I waited for everyone to clear out of the classroom before walking to his desk. My hands started to shake. I was so nervous. What did I do or say wrong to earn a one-on-one with one of my professors on the first day?             “Relax, Riley. I’m not going to bite. I am actually a really nice guy. It was your introduction that threw me off. You don’t seem like the type of student ready to take on psychology just yet.”             Ouch. Not as nice of a guy as he thought he was. Now I was defensive. I didn’t care that he was my super hot, incredibly sexy professor. I wouldn’t let him talk like that to me or think that of me.             “For your information, I’m very smart. Psychology doesn’t bother me. It’s having to depend on other people for a good grade that bothers me.”             He smirked, propping one of his feet on his desk. “I didn’t mean that in a negative way, Miss Bell. I am very good at reading people, hence why I teach psychology. By reading your body language, I could tell that you were uncomfortable speaking. We will do a lot of individual speaking in this class, and I need students that aren’t afraid to give their honest opinions.”             “Well, you don’t have to worry about that from me, Professor Bryant. Your class won’t be a problem for me.”             I turned around to leave, but he cleared his throat. I didn’t even turn around to see or hear what else he had to say.             What an asshole! He had no right to say that I wasn’t made for this class. I needed this class, just like everyone else. It was a requirement here on campus. For him to insinuate that I wasn’t ready for it pissed me off. Now I would be in a sour mood for the rest of the day.             I hadn’t made it out into the hallway before he called out my name. “Miss Bell, you have the wrong idea about what I am trying to say. If you feel like you are ready to take this class, then I won’t disagree. I only wanted to make sure that you were ready for it. This class can be quite intense. Extensive discussions will be made, and I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable about speaking your mind. By your introduction, I could only assume that you were a little on the shy side, is all. If that isn’t the case, my apologies. I will see you tomorrow.”             I made the mistake of turning around one last time. He was leaning back in his chair, giving me this intense glare. Instinctively, I bit my lip. I’ve already embarrassed myself during my introduction. I wouldn’t do it again now. “See you tomorrow, Professor Bryant.”