Professor Bryant

Chapter Two:

            I couldn’t pay much attention in any of my other classes following Professor Bryant’s class. Okay, it was completely wrong of me to think of my professor in any other manner than a professional one, but I just couldn’t help it. I found myself daydreaming in my other classes, with the end of the pencil stuck between my lips as I imagined his face.

            Wow. What a great first day back. Sure, Professor Bryant was a little bit of an asshole, but who wasn’t that looked that good? Seriously, someone who looked like that shouldn’t be teaching but should be a model instead. I idly wondered if that was something he did on the side. If not, he definitely needed to make it a profession.

            Nora and I caught back up with each other after classes were finished. She had already found a party to go to this weekend that I wasn’t the slightest bit interested in attending. That was Nora for you, though. Sometimes she was more interested in which guy she would hook up with next instead of focusing on her grades. Last year, she barely skated by. It was a miracle that she didn’t end up with a tutor like I predicted.

            She wrapped her arm in mine and skipped down the hallway as I casually walked. “What has got your panties all twisted in a wad today? Were classes really that bad? Oh wait, don’t tell me! Does it have something to do with the incredibly sexy professor you have for your first class?” Nora started fanning herself with her free hand. “I mean, geez! If I had that class, I probably wouldn’t be able to focus either. It should be against the school policy to have someone that looks like that teaching.”

            “That is not okay, Nora! He can’t help it that he was blessed with great looks.” Nora was teasing me, but I couldn’t help but have this little crush on my professor. I’m pretty sure it was way too obvious that I liked him.

            Nora could sometimes be obnoxious, but I loved her. We have been the best of friends for such a long time that it was easy for me to look past her teasing. I know that she only teased me so much because I made it easy for her to do. That didn’t mean that if someone was bullying me or making me uncomfortable, that she wouldn’t stick up for me in a heartbeat.

            “Okay. I will drop professor hottie for now, but tomorrow, I am going to meet you outside your classroom just so that I can get a good look at the hottest guy on campus, including the students,” she laughed.

            I rolled my eyes at her but was grinning. “You do that.”

            We walked around campus a bit, talking. Mostly it was her talking, but that was sort of our thing. Nora lived this adventurous life. I was secretly living through her. Nora had some of the best stories and was a great people person. I wasn’t exactly an outsider, but I had a much harder time connecting with people than she did. Nora had this way about her that was so captivating. Anytime she would walk into the room, all the attention would gravitate to her. I guess that’s a big part of why we were friends. We were so different from each other that when we met, we instantly clicked. You know how the saying goes. Opposites attract. Well, that went for friendships too. Go figure.

            “So, Mikey is having this pool party this weekend to celebrate coming back to school.” Nora jumped up and down excitedly. “Please say that you will come with me. It’s time that we finally get you out of that little shell of yours and out into the world of dating or one-night stands, whichever you prefer. I won’t judge. I promise.”

            She was right about that. The coolest thing about Nora was that she never judged anyone for anything. Nora was so laid back about everything, which made me a little jealous at times because I had a much more serious attitude in life.

            We were back in our dorm now, sitting on the sofa watching America’s Top Model while eating our favorite food, pizza. “I don’t even own a bathing suit, Nora. Besides, wouldn’t you have a lot more fun without me? Everyone already thinks that I bring the party down instead of building it up. Having me there would be a bore. You would have more fun without me.”

            “That is so not true,” she said while smacking her lips for effect. “What those girls said to you was wrong and downright mean, but it wasn’t true. You know that they were only jealous of you.”

            Last year, Nora convinced me to go to a pool party in the middle of January. It was freezing outside. The party had a heated pool, but I’m much more reserved than Nora is. She likes to cut loose and have fun. Yeah, that wasn’t me. I didn’t mind having fun, but my version of fun and hers was totally different. At this party, I got teased by some girls because I refused to get in the pool. They called me stuck up and boring. One of the girls ended up pushing me into the pool after that, absolutely humiliating me. I haven’t been to a party since.

            “If you really want me to go, I will, but I’m only doing this for you.”

            Nora squealed and squeezed me in her arms. “You are the best, Riley.” She planted a sloppy kiss on my cheek as she stood up from the couch.

            This is what I loved the most. There was nothing like cuddling up with your best friend on the sofa while watching your favorite show and eating pizza together.

            When it was finally time to go to bed, all I could think about when I closed my eyes were those dreamy light green eyes. Why, when I finally seemed to gain a crush, it was on my professor? There were thousands of guys in our class, and I had to like someone that was completely unavailable to me. Maybe Nora was right. Going to this pool party might be a good thing and help me center myself again. I needed to get my mind off Professor Bryant and focus on living a little this year.

            Morning came by faster than I wanted it to. It took me so long to fall asleep last night that when I finally did get to sleep, I was only able to get a few hours in. I dragged myself out of bed when my alarm went off and headed straight for the bathroom. I quickly brushed my teeth and splashed some cold water onto my face to wake me up.

            I decided to wear something a little laid back today that didn’t cause too much effort—trying to look good while being tired was not ideal. I quickly put on some black leggings with my ankle boots and a beige tank top. I pulled my burgundy hair back into a ponytail, leaving my bangs out to flow over my left eye. It would hide the fact that I wasn’t going to be wearing makeup today.

            Part of me wanted to dress up for Professor Bryant, but that was only a secret fantasy in my head. Nothing would ever come of it, so it was best to act as naturally as I could.

            “Are we doing coffee this morning because I’m in serious need of coffee?” I asked Nora as I stepped out into the kitchen.

            She was already ready, of course, throwing her bag over her shoulder. “No time for me. I’m meeting up with Mikey before class to talk about this weekend.” I pouted my lips at her. “Don’t worry. I got you. There is a pot of coffee already brewed and ready for you. It isn’t the coffee house coffee, but it will do.” Nora kissed me on the cheek and took off out the door without me.

            I sighed as I rested my back against the kitchen counter. I was happy for Nora. She seemed to like this Mikey guy, and I would encourage that. Nora got very excited when it came to guys, but she never showed much interest for long. Hopefully, that wouldn’t be the case here. Sure, we were young, but isn’t college where all the potential starts? My parents were high school sweethearts, but I didn’t know if that was still a thing in society now.

            After fixing myself a cup of coffee and drinking it as fast as I could without burning my tongue, I took off to class. I wasn’t as nervous about classes today as I was yesterday. Maybe it was first-day jitters or something.

            I arrived in class first and took my seat in the back. I wanted to distance myself as far away from Professor Bryant as possible. There was no time for distractions anymore. College was important to me. It was about making my parents proud and doing something meaningful with my life. I didn’t have time to worry about guys, especially my professor.

            “Good morning, everyone!” Professor Bryant clapped his hands as he walked into class. “Yesterday, we all got to know a little bit about each other. Today, I want to go over some expectations of this class. We will have individual projects and team projects.” Half of the class groaned at the same time. “I know. I know. Projects suck. If anyone gets it, it's me. Don’t focus too much on that part. This class is more about you finding out what motivates people to find out what motivates yourself. I have high hopes for everyone in this classroom. Don’t let me down.”

            He looked right at me. At first, I thought I was imagining it, but when he turned around and stared over his shoulder at me one last time, I knew I wasn’t crazy. Why was he looking at me like that? Did I somehow give him the wrong impression of me once again before even opening my mouth?

            Professor Bryant turned back around to face the class after taking some papers out from his briefcase and holding them out in front of him. “I will go over the teams for these projects. You will work in teams of two because more than two minds working together can become a little distracting. This way, with only two minds, it will be easier to focus an idea together instead of the idea being jumbled and all over the place. Get to know your partner well because this will be your partner for each team project for the remainder of the semester. After hearing all of your introductions yesterday, I compiled a list of who I think will work well together.”

            Great! Team projects. Even if it was only just two people, they sucked either way. I was better at having ideas all on my own. I guess that you could say I wasn’t much for sharing, especially if I didn’t know you. This would be what my challenge would be for the semester.

            I was halfway paying attention when Professor Bryant called my name. “Riley Bell. You will be working with Justin Summers.”

            Awesome. Not. Justin was a cocky guy, the total opposite of who I am. How did the professor think that we would work well together? Justin looked over at me and smiled with a little wave. Could this get any worse?

            “You will get to know your partner a little in my class, but you will need to spend time together outside of class to get to know one another enough to be successful at your projects together. With that said, your first project will be this Friday. It won’t be anything super fancy, just more of a laid-back version of what you think psychology is all about. I expect minimum research on this, guys. It should come from what you think it is, not what you know by looking it up on Google. That gives you three days to work on this project, so I suggest starting immediately. For the rest of the class, get with your partners and start brainstorming. Go!”

            And that’s when the ball dropped. Of course, it had to get worse just when I said that it couldn’t.