by Emma Vikes
There was still no sign of Susan.
I began the lecture albeit reluctantly, hoping that she might walk in late. My mind however told me that I was hoping for too much. Whatever the case was, Susan had deliberately stayed away from my class this morning. This issue didn’t look like it was getting resolved today after all.
I willed myself to continue with the lecture, but anyone who was familiar with my methods of teaching would have noticed I was struggling right away. For this freshman class, however, my struggles were lost on them.
Sometime during the lecture, it occurred to me that David hadn’t looked at me or the board once. Not like I had noticed him in previous lectures or his mannerisms, but hearing him tutor Susan in the library, I knew he was the type who paid attention.
‘And today he isn’t paying attention, more like avoiding eye contact with me.’
‘Come to think of it, I never got to find out what he did to Susan last week.’
‘Could his avoiding eye contact with me and Susan’s sudden change of attitude towards me be in anyway related?’
I had been accused of extreme paranoia in the past and even I admitted I could get paranoid in some cases. But this didn’t feel like one of those cases.
‘David is somehow involved in Susan’s change of attitude, that’s if he is not even directly responsible. I just need to figure out his involvement,’ I concluded.
It might have been a reach, but even my intuition was locked on to this new fact. Figuring out David’s involvement would most likely bring the case to an end.
With renewed purpose, I finished the lecture and walked out of the class when the time was up. First things first, I needed to have a conversation with the last person I know had seen her.
Betty.
I made my way to her office and knocked on the door. The receptionist answered.
Her face lit up immediately when she realized I was the one who’d come knocking.
“Professor Jones. How may I be of service?” The receptionist beamed.
“Is the dean in? I just need to see her briefly.”
“She’s around. Please go right in,” the receptionist responded.
I knew of her crush on me as well, but today I wasn’t in the mood to hang around and stoke the embers of her admiration any further. I walked straight to the dean’s door and knocked.
I had to readjust my gait and appear unassuming so I could get the information I wanted without giving myself away. It was after all still illegal by university rules for a professor to be involved in a relationship with a student.
I walked in at the dean’s invitation and sat in one of the chairs facing her; the same chair I always sat in when I came into this office.
“Anything I can help you with Howard?”
The dean and I had remained on first name basis since after the movie date. In fact in the week after the date, she had made even more advances and invitations. I wasn’t in the right frame of mind to accept any of her offers so I had declined, but not without valid excuses though.
“Oh nothing. I just remembered the distressed student you took home the other day. You said she was in my class. I looked out for her today and didn’t see her. You sure she’s ok?”
“Who? Susan?”
“Yes, Susan. I can’t remember her full name though even though I distinctly remembered you saying it that day.”
Betty laughed before continuing with a response.
“Well she’s ok, I guess. Saw her 3 days ago.”
“Ok. Because I didn’t see her in class, and knowing the state she was in that day, I was just a bit worried that’s all.”
“That’s actually sweet of you, Howard. Well after I dropped her off the other day, I asked her whether she was still interested in taking the extra course load. I felt whatever she was going through, the extra course load she’d requested would distract her. She’d declined then but came in 3 days later to tell me that she was still interested if the offer was available. I approved her request.”
“Oh. That makes sense.”
I was right after all. Susan had deliberately missed my class. Taking the extra course load meant I wouldn’t be her lecturer anymore. She was really intent on avoiding me.
“Oh well, just came by to make sure she was alright,” I finally responded. “Let me get back to my office now. I’ve got another class I need to prepare for,” I finished.
I was already eager to get back to my office. After my goodbyes, I stood up and walked away.
Whatever was going on, I was determined to get to the bottom of it.
‘I’ll find you, Susan. You just wait. I’ll find you.’
Chapter 20
Susan
It had been an uphill task trying to avoid Howard for over a week. The first 3 days had been a mess. His constant messages and calls had broken me. I had spent the days in bed bawling my eyes out.
‘How was it that when I’d finally gotten what I’d wanted, I was being forced to make the tough decision to let it go?’
Hell I wasn’t even making the decision; the decision had already been made for me. There was no way I could sit and let anything happen to Howard’s reputation. I’d cried and cried, but I already knew what I had to do. The course of action had never been clearer.
On the third day, I’d finally had to send him a message to call things off before worry drove him into dropping the ball and letting our secret out of the bag by himself, all in a bid to find me. That was probably the most difficult thing I’d ever done in my life - telling the one I loved that I didn’t want anything more to do with him. It felt like half of my soul had been torn away. I literally felt like I was having a stroke.
I’d begun hyperventilating when he’d responded. It was all too much and yet I knew I had to go through with it. My resolve had to be stronger than ever.
After severing contact with him, I knew I had to find a way to get out of his class. I had to go and see Professor Betty. If she was still happy to approve my request for the extra course load, it would have made everything easier. If she wasn’t, I was just going to have to stop going to his class. Hopefully getting to study with Carol would be enough for me to pass the exams at the end of the semester, that’s if I was even allowed to write the exams based on my lack of attendance.
Whatever the case was, I just knew I had to get myself out of that class. My sweet dream had been turned into a horrifying nightmare. I’d gotten out of bed and gotten ready to go and see the dean. Three days of crying and I knew I had to see her with my shades on. I didn’t need her questioning me or else I was going to break down. Keeping the truth away from Carol had been tasking enough with me simply lying to her that I’d lost a dear friend from high school in an accident. Of course I’d invented the friend’s name and stories surrounding this friend, but it had been enough to keep Carol from getting too close to the truth. She’d pampered me those 3 days but hadn’t asked too many questions. Eventually I was probably going to tell her the truth, but that was when I’d finally gotten a handle on things.
I’d prepared and gone to see the dean. My makeup and shades had done enough to hide the signs of my hysteria in the preceding three days. As luck would have it, she had conceded to approving my request after asking just one question.
“So why did you change your mind?”
I’d mumbled an incoherent response of how I felt it would be a good opportunity for me to broaden my horizon and what not. After my useless speech, she’d still approved. It seemed like her mind had already been made up in my favor. Thankfully her approval was going to help me to keep away from Howard.
In the days that followed, I’d almost run into him on numerous occasions as I’d waltzed absentmindedly through the department, performing my routines on autopilot mode. A ducking into an alleyway here or a stepping behind someone else there was enough to keep him from seeing me. I’d finally decided to stop going to the department all together except when absolutely necessary; still his calls and mes
sages hadn’t stopped.
The morning of the day I would have been in his class, I woke up earlier than normal. I was both nervous and sad. I had been robbed of the opportunity of seeing my lover teach from the podium while the girls around ogled him. I’d been looking forward to that feeling of hearing them crush on him and knowing that he belonged to me. That was a feeling I was never going to experience.
I’d dragged myself to the psychology department instead and sat beside Carol in one of the most boring lectures I’d ever had since I’d come on campus.
It had been two days since then and I’d been subjected to looking at my phone almost every minute. Howard’s calls and messages had suddenly stopped, adding to my hysteria. In two days, I’d been back and forth on the matter.
‘Why has he suddenly stopped calling?’
‘Is he angry at me for not responding to his calls and messages?’
‘Did he finally snap when he didn’t see me in class?’
‘Is he over me so soon?’
‘Did he truly ever love me?’
My mind was as muddled as it had been two days ago, when his constant calls and messaging had ended. I was no close to figuring out what had happened now than I was then. By this morning, I had it and decided to find out if he was ok. Worry was draining me to death.
I’d gotten ready early and headed for campus. At the moment, I was sitting in the park with my shades on, shielded by one of the trees and watching the path trodden by many on their way to the economics department.
I was looking out for Howard.
At 8:30, he finally emerged, looking dapper than ever in his tailor-made navy blue suit, with a pink shirt and red tie. He strolled leisurely down the path obviously on his way to his office. He was on the phone and he was laughing.
Anger began welling up within me. I was over here suffering and he was out there having the time of his life.
‘How dares he?’ I fumed.
He’d obviously gotten over me so easily, after just a week. He’d probably moved on to another love interest and had archived me in his past.
“How dares he?” I grunted.
I was abruptly heading straight for him. I was going to smack that laugh from his lips. He couldn’t be having a ball while I wallowed in sorrow.
I hadn’t taken more than 5 steps when somebody suddenly blocked me.
It was David. He’d come out from nowhere and stepped into my way. He’d probably been watching me.
“Don’t you dare!” the asshole said to me.
“Fuck you!” I snapped at him, causing a few people around to look in our direction. Howard was out of earshot though so he continued his stroll, oblivious to what was going on.
David simply smirked, that wicked smirk he’d gotten on his face since he’d discovered my secret and knew he had me cornered.
“Do I need to jog your memory again with the video?” he said with a wicked glint in his eye.
My eyes left his and went back to Howard. He’d ended the call he was on and had pocketed his phone. From where we stood, I could see his features clearly. He wasn’t laughing. If anything, he looked sad. I couldn’t bring myself to hurt the man, whether he was over me or not.
I turned back and looked at David, my decision already made. “I don’t need a reminder. You win,” I said.
“I always do,” he boasted.
I turned from him and walked away. I knew the video he was talking about. I’d watched it a million times in the past week alone, trying to figure out a way to be free from his blackmail. The video getting released would lead to damning consequences, not for me, but to Howard. It was a video of us leaving the restroom back at the cinema.
According to David, he’d seen my shoes from under the door of the bathroom stall when he had walked in and started conversing with Howard. He had noticed them because my shoes were the first thing he had seen when he’d picked me up. And when Howard had lied that another man was in the stall after noticing the direction of his gaze, he’d known then that something was up. He’d walked out with the mall guard, discharged him and then hid in a corner to wait.
While waiting, the thought had occurred to him to make a video just in case his suspicions turned out to be true.
Moments later, I’d walked out of the men’s room and even made a show of adjusting my dress in front of the door. Not up to a minute later, Howard had followed, coming out of the same men’s room and punching his fist into the air.
Anyone who saw that video could deduce what had happened. We had just finished having sex. If the video got out, there was going to be no doubt about what had happened in the men’s room. It was damning enough and would definitely bring an end to Howard’s promising career in academia.
And so the blackmail had begun.
David had known he’d wanted to be with me. Then he had discovered I was with Howard. It had taken him sometime, but he’d eventually decided that if he couldn’t have me, then neither could Howard. The best way to ensure that was to use the video to hold me to ransom. If I ever went near Howard again, or continued my relationship with the professor, he was going to release the video and bring an end to Howard’s career. On the other hand, he’d also warned that I couldn’t tell Howard about the true reason I was breaking up with him because he didn’t want Howard to antagonize him in class or know that he was the reason for our separation. That way he remained a model student in class without Howard having to focus on him.
‘The coward!’
My mind was already churning with ideas. He had threatened me for too long. I was going to make him pay dearly for this. I couldn’t very well continue to be his prisoner and watch the love of my life walk away from me. I was definitely going to have to force his hand to let me go free. First off, I needed a smart ally as well, one that I could trust.
‘Carol!’
The ideas were slowly forming into a plan.
‘Oh David. You have no idea how I’m going to make you regret this.’
I glanced back and saw him watching me leave, his smirk still in place. I chuckled.
‘You’re going to pay dearly for this. You just wait.’
Chapter 21
Susan
I headed for my room, uninterested in continuing with the rest of my educational activities for the day. I had a plan to hash out and that was of utmost priority at the moment.
Even if I had lost Howard, I was not going to sit back and allow David get away with blackmailing me. I was going to teach the swine a lesson.
I sat at my table and continued my brainstorming session. One thing was certain though: I needed an ally who I could trust. Only Carol fit the bill.
Getting Carol to go along with my plan meant I needed to come clean to her about the lie of losing my friend and about Howard. I didn’t know how she would react so I had to plan it carefully. If I got it wrong and she reacted in any manner other than what I was hoping for, I’d have brought one more person into my secret who could end up being a wild card. Telling her was a serious gamble that could either pay off or not.
I continued going through the plan over and over again till Carol walked into the room and startled me.
“What are you doing home so early?” I said, stunned.
“What do you mean? It’s Thursday. I’m always home at noon,” she responded.
I looked at the clock and realized I’d been hashing out a plan for over 3 hours. I knew what I wanted to do to David. I was going to also have to blackmail him. But I had no idea on how I was going to tell Carol what was going on. My eyes darted back to her as she walked about the room getting undressed. I decided to just tell her as there was no other way. If it turned out in my favor, all well and good; if it didn’t, however, I was going to cross that bridge when I got to it.
“Carol I need to talk to you,” I said simply.
Immediately, she sat on her bed and stared at me. “What’s up? You okay?”
“Yes. I mean no. I don’t know to be honest,” I respond
ed with sincerity.
“Ok? So what do you want to talk to me about then?” she asked.
“I don’t know how else to say this but…I kinda lied to you about losing a high school friend.”
I paused, closed my eyes and waited for the rebuke that never came. When I opened my eyes, she was looking at me with a smirk on her face.
“I know that already silly,” she chuckled.
“What!” I sounded dazed. “How did you know?”
“Cause your stories were so disjointed. I figured you’d probably broken up with David after the movies and it didn’t go so well. Don’t worry I’ve done something similar before.” She finished with a laugh.
‘Broken up with David? Carol thought I was dating the enemy?’
“Oh no. I wasn’t dating David,” I protested.
“You weren’t?” Now it was her turn to sound dazed.
“Hell no,” I affirmed.
“So why did you lie then?”
I paused and inhaled deeply.
“It’s complicated,” I said as I couldn’t find the words to say.
“Well un-complicate it already and get it off your chest, honey. You’ve been carrying it around with you for over a week. When you gonna let it out?”
‘So she had noticed after all. Well…here goes nothing.’
“Erm…I was dating someone else and David found out. Now he’s blackmailing me to stay away from the person cos he’s decided since he can’t have me, neither can the other person,” I reeled out in one breath.
“And who is this mystery person?” Carol leaned in.
I paused again trying to gather enough confidence to blurt out Howard’s name.
“Professor Jones. Professor Howard Jones.”
“Whoooooaaaaaahhhhhh! You slut,” Carol exclaimed while erupting into laughter.
“Erm… this conversation isn’t going as I envisioned. Now am I confused,” I said.