Page 22 of Yours, Unexpectedly

“I can call you Ed…” I let the sentence hang in the air to demonstrate the weirdness of it.

“I concede—that does sound wrong. Professor Callahan it is,” he says with a laugh that can only be described as jolly. “Take a seat. How can I help you Mr. Olsson?”

“Right… Well, I—uh, you know my Intro to Acting class?” I rub my sweaty palms up and down my thighs.

Callahan eyes me suspiciously. “Yes, Mr. Olsson, I know the Intro to Acting class in which I am the professor. Has there been an issue? I meant to stop by again this week, but you know how the first week of the semester can go.”

“No! No issue, sir. Just one of the students. It’s—she’s not an issue per se—she’s… well she’s—”

“Ah, I see.” Callahan folds his hands under his chin and looks at me over the top of his glasses. What is it with all of these people acting like they can see into my soul lately?

I clear my throat. “What do you see, exactly?”

“I noticed the girl you couldn’t tear your eyes off of. Do you have a relationship with this student?” he asks.

“Of sorts. She’s my best friend’s sister—you’ve met Gabe before. Bex, his sister, is having to take this course to fulfill her fine arts credit before she can graduate in May. I didn’t realize she’d be in the class until she walked in on Monday and really didn’t think twice about it. Gabe was actually the one who encouraged me to speak with you. Keep everything on the straight and narrow.” I’m rambling. “She’s taking the course as a pass/fail, as well. I felt like that might be important to know.” Good God. I’m being so transparent, I’m a ghost at this point.

“Thank you for letting me know, Mr. Olsson. There’s really nothing wrong with your best friend’s little sister being in the course. I trust you to be impartial.” There’s that piercing gaze again. “As long as that’s all she is to you, of course.”

“Yes. Of course. She’s just a… friend.” Oof, I do not like the sound of that.

Callahan hums skeptically. “You’ll let me know if that changes?”

“Changes?” Wow, that came out three octaves higher than normal. I clear my throat, again. “Changes, Professor?”

He gives me one last look before he leans back in his chair, takes off his glasses, and rubs his eyes. After an eternity of sitting on the edge of my seat waiting for his response, he finally says, “Listen, Anders.” It’s never good when he calls me by my first name. Surprisingly, he’s a pretty strict “Mr. Olsson” guy, given the fact that he’s always trying to get me to call him Ed.

“I’ve been doing this a long time. It is my job to be able to read and understand people. And right now, you are very much not putting off… What do the kids call it? ‘Friends vibes.’” He grimaces at that. “If anything changes between you and this young woman—as in you get your sorry ass out of the friendzone—I will need to know immediately. You won’t face disciplinary action since it seems like you two have had some sort of relationship for a while now, even if that’s only as friends, but you will have to remove yourself as TA for that course. I will happily step in or find someone else to take over if that becomes the case, just please make me aware as soon as possible.”

“I understand, sir.”

He nods. “Good. You don’t technically need to be TA-ing this course anyway. At least not to graduate. Let me know if anything changes so we can take the proper steps.”

I stand to shake his hand. “Thank you, Professor Callahan. I think I need a little time to process this, but I will be sure to keep you updated.”

I know I don’t want to be just “friends” with Bex. I’m just not sure if she feels the same way.

As I walk over to the black box theater, I decide I need to come clean to Bex. See where she’s at before making any major decisions.

Fingers crossed I’m not completely alone in this.

“Why have you been home so much lately?” Gabe’s presence is really cutting into my reading time.

“Anders has a girlfriend and I need someone to hang out with.”

Oh.

Bardot Besties

Bex’s Favorite

Tell Anders good morning for me, Bexy!

You guys renamed yourselves and the group chat again…

I can’t tell who that is.

Also why would I tell him good morning?? You all literally just saw him last night and I’m guessing you have his number.

---