Her head turns, following his line of sight and our gazes collide in a tsunami of emotions. She glances around, taking in our surroundings, back to Ethan then me.
Hannah sits up straighter, pressing her lips tightly together as she reaches out and grabs Ethan’s hand as if they need each other to be in the same room with me.
The fury radiating from both of them shocks me to my core.Theyleftme. Alone in my Paris hotel with nothing but silence,regretful memories, and the itch of their marks freshly tattooed on my skin.
I peer down at my student list, goddamn there are so many names. Glancing back up, it hits me how many people are seeing this exchange. For a moment it felt like no one else was in the room and now I’m suffering from claustrophobia.
I skim the rows of names. “Hannah Parker?” I say aloud. When I glance back she nods once. “If you expect full credit for my class, don’t be late again.” Her brows pinch and a pained look crosses her face that hits me square in the chest.
I hate treating her like that but, fuck, I’m so goddamn pissed off right now.
Moving past this, I call out a few more names just to get some more conversations going and break the ice.
Then I take some time to talk about the standard curriculum created for the students, in which I show them the workbook that I was given. I read a few boring lines from one of the lessons, then open the window and toss it out.
I mean, Dean Reynolds did say I could throw it out the window. Sometimes I can be very literal.
“This course won’t be your typical college class. I will challenge you personally and professionally. Universities all over the world will be issuing degrees with the same cookie cutter ideals. I want you to find the passion to do something different. Offer the world something they’ve never seen before and be crazy enough to go for it.”
As I glance around the room, some students are smiling and excited, others jaws are slack, probably questioning my tactics.
My eyes can’t help but shift in their direction. They’ve been attempting to have a private conversation, signing to each other, except for the fact that I’ve been reading everything they’re saying.
They both had no idea who I was until now, which is a reliefeven though it doesn’t fucking matter anymore. Neither one of them knew I was going to be here and this is all just as shocking to them as it was to me.
Making my way back to the front of the class, I ask, “Questions?”
Hands shoot up all over the room, excitedly. I huff out a chuckle because I know it has nothing to do with business analytics.
“Alright, I’ll give you guys a few minutes to ask me some personal questions. Then after today, we’ll be focusing on the actual subject of the class. Go ahead.” I point at a young kid in the middle of the room as I take a seat on the tall stool next to my desk.
“Is it true you created Nova in your college dorm?” he asks.
“Yes, I was addicted to perfecting it so I spent more time in my dorm than not,” I reply, leaving out the reasons why.
I avoided the world, people…everything. Code was easy. Emotionless.
In my periphery Hannah signs to Ethan. It’s distracting but I can’t not look and eavesdrop.
“Ethan, he’s a genius. How did we not know?”
I smirk, pointing at another student. “You?”
“Is it true your IQ is higher than Albert Einstein?”
The things people write in papers these days.
“He tricked us. He lied to us.”
I squint, taken aback by Ethan’s statement. What the hell does that mean?
“I don’t think his IQ was ever officially recorded but I love the comparison. Yes.” I tip my chin at the girl practically bouncing out of her chair in the front row.
“We should stay and talk to him after class.”
“No, we’re not.”
“I hear your nickname is one-date Dane. So, does that mean you are single?” She giggles.
