Page 1 of Teach Me
Chapter One
The traffic light flashed an amber warning as I hurried down the frosty pavement. I wasn’t one to run late in the mornings, but there were no free parking spaces near the university. My faithful Ford Fiat was now abandoned on a yellow line up the hill. I would get a ticket, but being late to Dr Braithwaite’s lecture was infinitely worse.
He was head of the ethics committee and a senior lecturer in psychology. Two decades older than me, he had the wealth of knowledge I needed to get a distinction on my dissertation. He only supervised one master’s student per year. The odds had been against me, but somehow, I’d ended up with him as my supervisor.
Some days, it was hard to say whether that was a blessing or a curse. He was as strict and meticulous as I’d expected, scrutinising everything from methodology to literature review. We often butted heads, but I also enjoyed our conversations.
Maybe a little too much.
He had yet to approve my ethics application. Being late for his lecture was not an option, so I sprinted onto the road just asthe traffic light changed. A driver pressed his horn, startling me. I slipped on the ice in my rush to avoid getting run over.
A hand shot out from the crowd and grabbed me before I slammed face-first into the pavement. ‘Jesus,’ my coursemate, Joshua, exclaimed. ‘Where’s the fire, Ophelia?’
‘Sorry, I just… The car park was?—’
The driver lay on his horn again. Joshua flipped him off, then turned his hazel eyes on me. ‘What about the car park?’
‘I had to park’ – I put a hand on my chest to steady my breathing – ‘up the hill.’
‘Creston Hill? You’ll get a ticket.’
‘I know.’
Joshua’s brow lifted. He was my age, tall and bulky with heavy-styled blond hair, the kind of guy I should’ve focused on rather than seeking approval from a man out of my league.
‘It’s fine,’ I sighed. It wasn’t, but what else was I supposed to do? I glanced at my wristwatch. ‘The lecture starts in five minutes, so there’s no time to move my car. But maybe I still have time to check my emails.’
He followed me towards the revolving doors. ‘I wouldn’t worry about a ticket. You’ll work it off in an hour.’
‘Huh?’
‘When you said you were looking for part-time work, I thought you meant stacking shelves like a normal student,’ he added with a low chuckle. ‘I guess strip clubs pay better.’
‘Excuse me?’
His gaze dropped to my six-inch knee-high boots, footwear utterly unsuitable for a British winter, but worked so well with my black skirt and red blouse. The boots were the reason I’d left my flat later than usual. I’d needed a moment to talk myself into wearing something sure to draw Dr Braithwaite’s attention, but now Joshua’s smirk made me feel like the slut he insinuated I was.
‘They’re just shoes,’ I snapped.
‘Hey, I’m not complaining. You look hot as fuck.’ A lopsided smirk spread across his face as he studied me from head to toe as if he imagined me slowly gliding down a pole.
I pulled my coat tighter around my body to hide what little skin was visible. ‘Really, Josh? It’s not even nine o’clock and you’re already trying to get a leg over?’
My outburst drew the attention of other students and faculty members. I cringed when they made the same sweep of my body.
‘You’re such an arse,’ I bit out.
‘Ophelia, wait,’ he called when I tore away, pushing through the crowd to enter the building.
The warmth from the air curtains wafted onto my face, blowing a loose strand of my hair. I huffed as I pulled it behind my ear. A stripper? I should’ve pushed him into the river. It would’ve served him right for a stupid comment like that.
I was weaving through the crowd of students, heading towards the back of the building, when Carly’s wolf whistle stopped me. She was where I usually bumped into her in the mornings – waiting in line for the ladies’ room, a necessity since she lived an hour away.
‘Are you going to a party later?’ She pouted her red-tinted lips. ‘Where’s my invite?’
‘There’s no party. I just wanted to…’ I huffed again. ‘I don’t know anymore.’
Her blue eyes raked over me again before finding mine. She gave me a knowing smile. ‘Even if he doesn’t appreciate it, I think you look lovely.’ She looked down the line, then abandoned her place. ‘Screw this. We have five minutes. Coffee?’
