“Yes, sir, that was my plan,” Taylor said. “I’m sorry it’s taken so long, I’ve been busy studying for midterms.”
“Of course, midterms, it is that time again, isn’t it?” Professor Whitmore said, then looked around the room. “As I’m sure you all know, in my class we usually have mock trials instead of a test, but with our smaller class size, I don’t think we’ll be able to cover all the material, so I’ve come up with a new plan.”
The room filled with excited whispers. “Now calm down,everyone, I assure you this will be just as much fun and an easy A if you put in the time,” he continued, silencing the room. “I’m going to split you up into teams, and instead of doing a mock-court, we’ll debate both sides of the case. I’ve already picked the teams and the cases you’ll be exploring. I have a panel of judges from the community picked out, so the rest is up to you.”
Several hands shot up in the air, but Professor Whitmore waved them away. “Let’s save any questions you have for after you’ve read the packet I put together and split up into your teams,” he said. “When I call your name, come to the front of the room to meet your partner and get the envelope with your names on it. You’ll find everything you need to know inside.”
“I hope we get paired up; that would be great,” Valerie leaned over and whispered, but Professor Whitmore was already calling her name. “Darn, I guess that’s not going to happen. Good luck.”
Two by two, she watched her classmates go to the front of the room, but she wasn’t really paying attention. She was thinking about what she was going to say to Taylor after class. When her name was called, it took her a second to realize that Taylor was getting to his feet, too, and another few seconds to notice that he was scowling at her, but she didn’t care. Something was finally going her way.
Trying not to smile as she walked to the front of the room, she silently celebrated her good luck until she was standing next to him, waiting for the envelope Professor Whitmore had in his hands. “I put you two together because I thought this would be a good way for you to put your differences behind you,” he said, holding out the envelope. “I want you to play nice together. Don’t forget this counts for a big part of your grade.”
“We will,” she said, taking the envelope from him and handing it to Taylor. “You can open it.”
“Wow, thanks, how generous of you,” he said, then turned and marched back to his seat.
“Okay then, that went well,” she said to Professor Whitmore. “I was going to apologize, but now…”
“Are you coming or am I supposed to do this all by myself?” Taylor called, the scowl still in place. “Let’s get this over with already.”
With a sigh, she went over and sat down next to him. “Look, I’m sorry about the other day, I shouldn’t have accused you of cheating, I was just upset about my grade,” she said, careful not to look into his eyes. “Maybe we can start over since we have to work together.”
“Fine, since we have to work together, I’ll try to put it in the past,” he said, shrugging his shoulders and shoving the envelope over to her. “You read it first, I’m sure it will take you longer to understand,” he said, then pulled out his phone. “Let me know when you’re done.”
The urge to punch him welled up inside her, but she took a deep breath inside, telling herself that she could put up with as much as she needed to if it gave her an opening into the fraternity house. The good news was that Taylor was being such a colossal jerk, she didn’t feel even the slightest touch of attraction, only a slight feeling of disgust and a lot of frustration. It was a huge relief, and she opened the envelope and began reading, feeling a lot better about the case all of a sudden.
CHAPTER 4
***TAYLOR***
After class Taylor was in no mood for a meeting with Professor Witmore, especially after the man saddled him with Emily as his partner for the mid-term. Not only was being that close to her doing crazy things to his senses, but they’d spent the entire class arguing about how to approach the cases, how to divide up the work, and where and when to meet. It was exhausting being around her, and he was already burning the candle at both ends. He wasn’t sure how much more he could take on, but it was clear he was going to find out.
Walking down the almost deserted hallway toward the professor’s office, he did his best to push Emily out of his mind. The woman was a distraction he didn’t want or need. His teacher was going to expect an explanation for the perfect score on the test, and he knew he wasn’t going to wiggle out of this without giving him an answer; he just hoped he didn’t have to reveal everything to get off the hook. He couldn’t explain even to himself why it was so important not to disclose all of his secrets, maybe it gave him a feeling of power, maybe he was just protecting himself, but after alifetime of hiding his intelligence, it was hard to imagine letting anyone see that side of his personality.
Professor Whitmore put aside the papers he’d been reading when Taylor knocked on his open door and waved him into the room with a smile. “Well, here we finally are,” he said, the smile never leaving his face, but there was an intensity in his eyes that Taylor had never seen. “We can sit here exchanging pleasantries, or we can get right down to business and talk about the test.”
That was fine with him, the sooner this was over, the better. “I didn’t cheat,” he said. “I just have a really good memory.”
“A good memory, is it?” Professor Whitmore asked. “I could believe that except we haven’t studied more than half of the material that was on that test. Did you read all of the class materials already?”
He nodded, “I’ve been doing that instead of coming to class, no offence, but I get just as much from the printed materials as I do from a lecture,” he said. “I have a photographic memory, so once I see something, I never forget it; that’s why I got such a good grade on the test.”
Professor Whitmore sat back and studied him for a second. “I see, a photographic memory, that explains a lot,” he finally said. “The problem is, you’re missing half of what you’re supposed to be learning in my class by only doing the reading. I gave you that grade because technically you answered the questions correctly, but it won’t happen again.”
“I don’t understand,” he said, confused. “If I get the answers right, why wouldn’t I pass?”
“Because while your answers are technically correct, you haven’t proven that you understand the underlying issues,” Professor Whitmore said. “This class is supposed to make you look at the law from a different angle. You’re supposed to be exploring how the law affects society. What you gaveme on that test wasn’t free thinking, it was just you repeating what you read. I want to see more than that from you, Taylor. I want to know that you’re putting some thought into the cases that we’re studying.”
“I understand,” he said, but he didn’t really. He couldn’t see what the big deal was. “I’ll try to do better next time.”
“I hope so, I would hate to have to fail you,” Professor Whitmore said, shaking his head. “I think the mid-term project will be a good opportunity for you to show me that you understand the deeper implications of these cases. I hope you’ll be able to see and understand the effects they’ve all had on society and the way we live our lives. I expect to see your full participation. I want to see you arguing your side from not just an academic perspective but from a human angle. Anything less, and your grade will suffer.”
Since there wasn’t much he could say that wouldn’t get him in trouble, he got to his feet, using his poker face to keep the professor from seeing how annoyed he was with him. “You won’t be disappointed,” he managed to say. “I won’t forget your advice.”
Free of the professor and his cramped office a few minutes later, he muttered to himself as he walked to his next class, annoyed that he wasn’t going to be able to fake his way through the mid-term. The last thing he wanted to do was think about the law too deeply. It wasn’t his passion, and he wouldn’t even be here if the clan hadn’t made it a condition of his scholarship.
The stinging desire for his freedom from the clan rose to the surface, making his breath come in short gasps. He didn’t know how much longer he could stand their suffocating hold on him. Forcing himself to calm down, he took several deep breaths before pushing the feeling away. He couldn’t afford to go down that path right now; it would only frustrate him.
