by Bee Daniels
“That’s true, but usually you don’t let them get to you. You just fail them and call it a day, but it’s clear that this Noah boy gets under your skin.”
“He’s arrogant,” Melanie explained. “And not only does he not take my class seriously, but he doesn’t take me seriously. Do you know he calls me Melanie? I’m his professor, not his friend.”
“Some professors let their students call them by their first name. Maybe he thought you were one of them.”
“I told him not to,” Melanie said. “I didn’t spend six years in university to have some athlete brat call me by my first name. And don’t get me started on the time we first met. He purposely missed my class for two weeks, and then he starts to flirt with me.”
“He thought you were a student,” Abigail argued on Noah's behalf. “You should take it as a compliment. Besides, you’ve always had a babyface.”
“Either way, I’m not teaching him. He doesn’t get under my skin like you said. I just don’t like expending my time to students who don’t care when I have students who really want to learn about psychology. When I was in school, I took all of my courses seriously.”
“Everyone isn’t like you, Melanie. Gosh, that used to get on my nerves about you.”
Melanie gasped, stunned by her friend’s words, and slightly hurt. But Abigail just shrugged, raising her hands in a don’t-blame-me gesture.
“I’m just being honest. You call him arrogant, but you were always the one who made it seem like other people were stupid because they weren’t working as hard as you.”
“I don’t do that,” Melanie said and cursed to herself when she heard how whiny she sounded.
“You did that all the time and you still do. Face it, Mel. You're an overachiever, and sometimes, a know-it-all. You have a way of making people feel inferior because they don’t work as hard as you.”
“I never heard anyone tell me that before,” Melanie said, no longer eating her food as she thought back on her past actions. She never thought she was better than anyone else before. She just thought that when people wanted something, they should work hard for it. That's the only way someone will be able to achieve anything in life. It's why she worked hard at everything in life, even her love life.
“You run them off before they get a chance to. I stick around because I know you’re not an arrogant bitch. Maybe a tad bit of a know-it-all, but not a bitch.”
“Well, thanks for telling me how you really feel,” Melanie said grumpily. This was news to her. But then again, when she was younger, her brother never liked to learn anything from her because he said that she always spoke to him like he was stupid. It just annoyed her when he wouldn’t pick up on basic concepts, especially because he was too busy looking at the TV or daydreaming. Her patience had always been very, very thin.
“I’m just saying that everyone isn’t an A++ student like you.” Abigail placed her fork flat on the table, clearly done with her food. A few minutes later, their waiter appeared with their tab, waving them off with goodbyes and a smile.
“I’m going to say this, Melanie,” Abigail said as she scribbled her signature on the check. “If you give those tickets back, we won’t be friends anymore.”
“You’re so dramatic, Abi.”
“How am I supposed to tell my father that I had season tickets to the game, but now I don’t anymore. Do you know how disappointed he’s going to be? You think I’m dramatic, but he’s going to disown me and then I’ll have to live with you again. Do you want that?”
Melanie groaned as she stood. She didn’t want that at all. The thought of living with Abi again, best friend or not, gave her hives. Abigail was way too sloppy for her taste.
They left the waiter a nice tip and stepped outside the restaurant, walking over to Abigail’s car, which Melanie had come with her in. Abigail didn’t like the idea of being seen in Melanie’s car. But Melanie loved her car, and it was a gift from her grandfather before he passed. It held sentimental value to her, and as long as the wheels didn’t fall off, she would keep riding it as long as she needed to.
Abigail got in the driver’s seat while Melanie got in on the passenger’s side. As Melanie placed on her seat belt, Abigail said, “Oh. And you should also think about how Noah feels. I know it might not seem like he cares—”
“He doesn’t. He even told me he doesn’t care,” Melanie said, annoyed. Even if she wanted to keep tutoring for Abigail’s sake, the fact that Noah told her, his professor, that he didn’t care about her course, pissed her off. It was highly disrespectful. She wouldn’t be able to tutor Noah after this. She barely wanted to teach him anymore.
"Maybe he doesn't, but if I remember correctly from what my father told me, Noah is under a lot of pressure. You know he's the son of that great hockey player, Allen Walker, right?"
Melanie snorted. "So, he's a rich white boy who already has the golden ticket to be a hockey player. What's the point of him even going to college and wasting everyone's time? I'm pretty sure he'll be drafted. And if push comes to shove, maybe his father will buy his way in."
Abigail shook her head as she started her car up. "Funny that you say that. His father already tried to buy his way in.”
“What?” Melanie exclaimed, shocked. She had said it because she felt a bit snippy right now with the way Abigail was attacking her character, but she didn’t think it was true.
“Yup,” Abigail said, shaking her head. “It was a huge scandal, and it was all over the news. I’m surprised you didn’t hear about it.”
Of course, Melanie didn’t hear about it. Though she liked basketball, and occasionally, if she spent time with her brother, she was forced to watch football, that didn’t mean she cared about it enough to really pay attention to the sports world. Whenever she got the chance to watch TV, all she did was watch her soaps or the food channel.
“They ripped Allen and Noah to shreds, and this was around the time Noah was graduating from High School. Noah had been apart of the Roaring Lions, one of the best teams in Massachusetts. Everyone had been certain he was going straight to the Aces because of how good he was, but then the reports came out, and that was all she wrote. Many people doubt him now, and think the only reason he’s gotten this far is because of his father.”
Melanie frowned. "But I thought you said he was a good player."
"Doesn't matter. I've seen him play before, and he's more than good. But he'll have way more to prove to the world because of what his father did. He could have easily gone pro right after high school, but he chose to come here. I think he wants to prove his own skills to everyone. But when you think about it, it doesn't matter how hard he works. They’ll never acknowledge him. You even have some of the pro players saying bad things about him, and how they don't want him on their team."
After hearing that, it made her words before of him being a rich white boy with a golden ticket seem callous. She cringed. She hated when she was wrong; though she was still positive that, in this situation, she was right. Just because Noah was going through this hockey situation didn't mean he had an excuse not to take his classes seriously. But now, she could at least understand where some of his frustration and anxiety was coming from. With the pressure of trying to live up to his father's name, along with her words on top of it, it probably pushed him over the edge. Still, this wasn’t going to be enough to nudge her in the direction of tutoring him again.
“You can be stubborn all you want,” Abigail said, pinching her cheek, and Melanie rolled her eyes. Abigail knew her too well. “But, you will lose a friend if I’m not at that first game.”
Well, maybe that was a good enough reason to tutor him again. Besides, Melanie did not want to live with her again.
CHAPTER
10
NOAH
“S
O, HOW ARE THE STUDY SESSIONS GOING?”
When Coach Benson cornered Noah after practice, telling him to come speak to him in his office, Noah had
a feeling it had something to do with tutoring. But if Noah had known for certain, he would have definitely found an excuse to avoid this discussion. After Coach Benson stuck out his neck for him to get him the tutoring sessions, now standing in front of him, Noah felt like an ass for ruining it. It was the only way to pass the course, and now it was all over just as quickly as it started.
That night, once he had cooled down, going back home to sleep off his anger, when he woke up, his rage now gone, Noah realized exactly what he had done. Professor Bryant had asked for one thing, and he had fucked that up. And the crazy thing about it, from the few study sessions they had, he was actually learning something and retaining the information.
“They’re going okay,” Noah said slowly, observing Benson’s expression to see what he was thinking. If Coach Benson was asking how the sessions were going, either he knew they were over, and he was planning to tear him a new one for fucking this up, or he didn’t know, and he just wanted to make sure everything was going well. Noah hoped it was the latter because then that meant there was a possibility he could still salvage this situation before it was completely over.
“Is Melanie teaching you a lot?” Coach Benson asked with a grin, and Noah found himself frowning. Melanie? Since when did Coach Benson start referring to her on a first-name basis. Even with them having the same profession, Professor Bryant came off as one of those people who would even want her co-workers to refer to her by her title.
“Yeah, it’s cool. She’s starting from the beginning, so the studying might take longer than expected.”
“Don’t give her a hard time, Noah. I had to do a lot of begging on your behalf. Melanie is a nice woman.”
“Wait,” Noah said, chuckling in disbelief. Noah had known his coach long enough to see when he was interested in a woman, and clearly, from the way his eyes sparkled whenever he mentioned his professor’s name, he was smitten. “Do you like her?”
“That’s grown-folk business, son.” Which meant he liked her. Noah sighed as he plopped down in the chair in front of Coach Benson’s desk.
“This is coming from someone who knows women. You shouldn’t bother with a hard-ass like her.”
Melanie Bryant had a stick shoved so far up her ass that she probably wouldn’t give the coach or any other man for that matter the time of day. Women like her were the ones who spent their lives alone. Besides, the thought of having to see his professor more than necessary even unnerved him, especially when he might have to lie about tutoring like he was doing right now.
"You're young, Noah. You know nothing about women. You might have all these little girls wrapped around your finger, but women are different. Melanie is different. Someone like her is hard to find."
Noah rolled his eyes as he slumped in his seat, getting himself prepared for another one of Coach Benson's speeches. Sometimes, he thought the man became a coach to teach life lessons than actual plays on the ice. The man liked to hear himself talk.
"Do you know that she graduated high school when she was sixteen? Do you know that she has a book out that's on Oprah's best-seller list? Do you know that she's the best in her field?"
"Really?" Noah asked slightly gob smacked. Professor Bryant seemed like a woman who had accomplished a lot. The type of arrogance she had didn't come from anywhere, but he didn't realize she was successful to this extent.
"Watch one of her Ted Talks. It's online. She's a brilliant, accomplished woman. I'm sure you'll be able to learn a lot from her."
"Wow, coach. You really like her," Noah said, surprised. Noah had seen the way Coach Benson would check out some of the player's moms, or when they went on trips to other states to play against different teams, the type of women he would pick up, and Professor Bryant wasn't one of those type of women. She was strong and independent in a way that someone with an ego like Coach Benson wouldn't be able to handle.
“That’s why you need to prove my word to her. Show her what I’ve taught you. You've got to be a representation of me.” Coach Benson pointed his large finger at Noah threateningly. “Don’t make me look stupid. She really didn’t want to do this because she’s a busy woman, but she granted this favor for me.”
“Okay, okay,” Noah said, waving him off, an uncomfortable feeling forming in his chest. He really had to fix this before Professor Bryant spoke to him. Coach Benson was serious.
When Coach Benson was satisfied with Noah’s word, he relaxed in his seat, watching Noah with a pointed stare. And now Noah knew Coach Benson had more to say to him than just his warnings about the tutoring.
“I’ve noticed you haven’t been doing so good at practice.” Noah looked down, ignoring the pang in his chest. “You got to do better, Noah. This season will be starting soon, and you got to pick it up. Now isn’t the time to mess up because of nerves or schoolwork. If you want to go pro and be a professional hockey player and get paid the big bucks, you have to give it your all.”
“Okay, coach,” Noah said, hoping that no more would be said. Every time Coach Benson spoke about his skating, his words had a tendency to weigh heavily on Noah to the point that he couldn’t shake them.
Coach Benson must have noticed that and took mercy on him. He waved him off dismissively, and Noah stood from his seat and left. Tomorrow he would speak to Professor Bryant and fix this before she spoke to Coach Benson.
CHAPTER
11
NOAH
N
OAH WOULDN’T SAY HE HATED BEING IGNORED, but he would say that whenever it happened, he found it odd. Since he was young, Noah had always been surrounded by attention. Whether it was attention from his family, or the attention of the people in the crowd watching him on the ice, or the girls around him who wanted him, he usually had it, and most people's eyes lingered on him. But here inside of Intro to Psychology at 8:55 am, he could not get one woman's attention at all.
Professor Bryant purposely ignored him the whole class. And Noah was positive she was ignoring him from the simple fact that even when he raised his hand to answer a question, which was a first for him, she would call on anyone else, sometimes just willfully not looking in his direction at all.
He knew that after their last conversation, she wouldn't be happy with him, especially with the way she had stormed off that night, but he didn't think she would treat him like this. Like he didn't matter at all to her, not even as a student in her class. Noah didn't like it. He would change that.
The moment class was over, and the students began to file out of the room, Noah stood from his seat and headed in the opposite direction of the students towards Professor Bryant, who was packing her things. When Noah got close to her, he opened his mouth to speak, but another student made it to her first. Noah internally sighed. He didn't have time for this, especially when she had another class she had to go to directly after this. He had limited time to speak to her before she spoke to Coach Benson and told him that their tutoring sessions were off.
Noah waited, rocking on the back of his heels as Professor Bryant spoke to the student with a smile on her face. She never smiled at him like that, ever. It was bright and wide, showing off her pearly white teeth, and she had a dimple in one cheek. She looked happy to give this student advice, while when tutoring him, she never looked happy to teach him at all.
Noah didn't like it and wanted to understand why.
When he felt a tug on his arm, he looked away from Professor Bryant and glanced down to his right to see Julie. Noah had been so focused on getting Professor Bryant's attention during class, that he had barely noticed that Julie was sitting next to him at all. He barely talked to her like he usually did during class.
"What are you doing later tonight?" Julie asked with a shy smile.
Noah glanced back at Professor Bryant to make sure she wouldn't scurry off with the given chance, and surprisingly, he was assaulted with the sight of her brown eyes on him. They weren't angry or annoyed, just merely curious. He gave a slow, unsure smile, and sh
e arched a brow before frowning. Why couldn't he get her to smile?
She looked away from him and continued to say something to the student in front of her as she slipped her bag on her shoulder. She was going to leave soon.
"I'm getting tutored later on," Noah said pointedly, loud enough for Professor Bryant to hear. She paused for a second, her eyes flickering on him accusingly, probably wondering if it was meant for her to hear, and once their eyes connected, Noah grinned, confirming that those words were for her.
Professor Bryant glared at him before waving her goodbyes to the student in front of her and taking off to the door.
"Sorry, Jules. I'll see you later," he told her, offhandedly without looking at her as he followed Professor Bryant, hot on her heels. He needed to speak to her now.
The squeak of his sneakers followed after the click of her heels as they turned the corner together. She let out an insufferable sigh that showed she was aware of his presence next to her.
"I don't know if you didn't get the memo, but I'm not tutoring you anymore," she said.
"I'm sorry," Noah apologized. "I didn't mean to say those things. I was in a bad mood that night."
Noah waited for her to respond to his apology as they walked all the way to the next class she was teaching. For a second, Noah was worried that he wouldn't get a response at all until they stopped in front of the next class she was teaching, and she immediately whirled around on him.
"One of my biggest pet peeves is working with people that don't care," she said, breathing heavily from their walk to this class. "That's why I don't require attendance. If you want to fail my class, then fail it, but don't waste my time and others."
"I do care—" her gaze narrowed on him, and his voice stopped. No, he didn't. This was an elective course he wouldn't have bothered taking at all if he didn't have to. But he did have to. And he had to pass it to keep playing on the ice.