S MELANIE SAT IN HER OFFICE ON CAMPUS, TALKING TO ABIGAIL, who had come to meet her before they went out to lunch, Melanie's phone continuously vibrated as she texted back and forth with Noah. Noah was texting her about a taco joint he had found over the weekend with some of his friends. Quickly, it turned from a conversation about whether the place was authentic or not into an argument about what the best taco was— beef tacos or chicken tacos. Melanie didn't even know why she was entertaining this kid. It was clear that chicken tacos were superior in every way and form.
Whenever Melanie finished sending a response back, when she would look at her friend, Abigail was always side-eying her. Finally, after the tenth text, Melanie gave up and gave in.
"What do you want to say, Abi?" Melanie asked her. Whenever something was on Abigail's mind, she would give Melanie looks and hints. Clearly, she was holding something on her tongue, and she would only say it if Melanie pried it out of her. To take mercy on Abigail's eyes, Melanie decided she would take the bait.
"Who are you texting with that big smile on your face?" Abi asked, grinning knowingly.
Melanie resisted the urge to roll her eyes at her friend's antics. Though they were both now pushing closer and closer to their thirties, it was clear to her that Abi was still the same eighteen-year-old at heart that she had met in her first year of college.
"First of all, I don't have a big smile on my face." Or did she? Melanie tried to fix her face subtly. She didn't remember smiling while texting Noah. There wasn't necessarily anything to smile about other than the fact that Noah clearly knew nothing about good food.
"Second of all, you already know I'm texting Noah."
"About what exactly? Because you couldn't be texting that long over schoolwork."
A part of her wanted to lie and say it was about schoolwork. How could she explain that she was texting her student about what the best tacos were like they were friends? Noah wasn't her friend, right? He was her student— nothing more and nothing less.
"We’re going over— Hey, don't take that."
Within seconds, Melanie’s phone was snatched from her desk, and Abigail began scrolling through her text messages. Melanie cringed as she looked at the reflection of her phone in Abigail's wide eyes as she read through Melanie's text messages.
"You guys are texting about tacos?" Abigail asked in disbelief. Melanie tried to compose herself in her seat despite the heat she felt in her cheeks. She was a professor working at a very good university, one of the best universities in the state, and she had a very nice job and career, and here she was getting embarrassed because she was texting her student about tacos. How did her life get to this point?
Melanie snatched her phone back and put it closer to her side of the desk, so it wasn't within Abigail's reach. Just as she did it, another text came through, and though she very much wanted to know how Noah responded, she didn't want Abigail to know how much she wanted to respond, so she ignored it instead. She would respond later to make her final case as to why chicken tacos were the best, and if all else failed, she would take Noah's offer on the taco joint to prove it to him.
"You and Noah are very close for professor and student."
Had anyone else suggested something like this, Melanie would be very offended and would have told them to leave her office for saying such a thing. But this wasn't just anybody. This was the friend that she had known close to ten years now. She didn't expect anything less from her. So instead of reacting with rage, she waved her off. Of course, Abigail would think something ridiculous like that. This wasn't a soap opera. She would never do anything like that with any of her students.
"Goodbye, Abi."
"What?" Abigail exclaimed, a smile in her eyes. Unfortunately, Melanie also knew her friend enough to know that she wouldn't let this go easily. "I'm just saying. Not many professors text their students about things outside of schoolwork, and then you told me about how he made you dinner—"
"You're making it sound weird when you say it like that—"
"You brought groceries together—"
"Correction. I brought groceries. He just helped me carry them up the stairs because he was there—"
"You go out to eat all the time."
"Sue me for eating lunch with my student. As if no one has ever done that."
"Melanie," Abigail said, giving her a look that told Melanie that Abi thought she was full of shit. But Melanie didn't understand why. She seriously wasn't doing anything with Noah, and she never would.
"It's not like that. I would never do anything with a student. End of discussion."
"How old is he?"
Melanie sighed, dropping her paperwork against the table. She wouldn't be able to get anything done like this. Now, she regretted agreeing to lunch. Abigail wanted to eat first before she went to the hockey game that was happening later on tonight. "I don't know, and it doesn't matter anyway."
"It's his second year, so this will be his last year to put his name in the draft. And then I remember my father saying something about his age back when he was in high school. I think he's at least 20 by now then."
"I don't know his age," Melanie said, though when she thought about it, that one time after she finished helping him study, they had dropped by a place for a quick bite to eat, and he was able to order a beer. But then again, the waitress hadn’t asked for either of their IDs because she had been so busy giving Noah googly eyes, being hypnotized by the signature charming smile Noah gave all the girls that highlighted his deep dimples. So, she had no idea how old he was. Melanie shook her head. It didn't matter anyway, and she definitely wouldn't confirm Abigail on what his age was.
"Look," Melanie started, wanting to end this discussion now. She felt uncomfortable talking about it, especially when she was at school. If anyone walking by heard them discussing this, they would think they were some dirty old cougars who were unable to get men their own ages, and they were anything but that. Yeah, she had a hard time with relationships, but that wasn't because of her inability to get a man, but more so, her inability to keep one. According to Abigail, Melanie had a way of turning men off with her life goals but screw them if they didn't understand stability. She didn't want to waste her life away with a relationship that wasn't going anywhere, and she wanted to make sure she kept her life plans on track. In her life plans, with her dream man that soon would be her husband and the father of her kids, he was not a kid himself. Noah checked off none of the requirements she wanted in a man, and the most important thing was that he was her student. She would never cross that line with him.
"I don't look at him that way. When I see Noah, I only see a student. He's a boy, not a man."
