Anna met up with Annabelle to walk to class Monday morning. She hadn’t talked to her, or anyone really, since the party Friday night. She spent a good part of Saturday sleeping off her hangover and then studied all evening. Sunday she went home to do laundry and have dinner with her dad. She told him about Luke being her TA and that she went to a gathering at his place, but omitted any and all details about Ernest Sinclaire. After her performance Friday night, she was certain he’d want nothing to do with her outside anything pertaining to Business Law.
“Hey, what happened to Friday night?” Annabelle asked with brows furrowed. “You just disappeared.”
“I disappeared? I was told you had already left.”
“I was still there. I was just, uh, busy with Eva.” Annabelle averted her eyes shyly. “Sorry about that.”
Anna smirked. “No, I get it. I’m glad one of us had a good time.”
“You didn’t walk home alone did you?” Anabelle inquired, concern evident in her voice.
“No, but I wish I had. I made a complete fool of myself.” Anna buried her head in her hands.
“I’m sure whatever it is couldn’t be that bad.” Annabelle patted her on the back and Anna proceeded to tell her everything. Annabelle cringed. “Okay, yeah, that’s pretty bad.”
“Ugh, what’s wrong with me? I’m so not looking forward to seeing him today.” Anna had noted the TAs were taking turns attending class after the first day. It was just her luck that Hamid was Wednesday and Luke was Friday, so it had to be Ernest today. Why was life so cruel?
They arrived in class and took their usual seats in the middle of the room. Anna spotted Sinclaire at the front and kept her head down to avoid any chance at eye contact.
Annabelle leaned in. “He’s totally looking at you.”
Anna scoffed. “Is he giving me the death stare?”
“Is that any different than his normal stare?” Annabelle chuckled.
“You have a point. He’s got the RBF down.” They both giggled and were hushed by a guy in the row behind them. “Oops, we should keep it down before they have to split us up.”
Class went along as usual with Professor Richard’s self-important prattle sandwiched between short bits of important information. Anna alternated between taking notes and staring at the back of Ernest’s head thinking of all the ways she messed things up. Was there really anything to mess up anyway? He had shown zero outward interest in her. But there were those little things, like the way his eyes always seemed to be on her, or the spark she felt from the brief touch of hands at the party. It gave her hope the attraction was not one sided. At least it had until she made a literal mess of things.
Time was almost up and Anna was ready to bolt out the door immediately, when Professor Richards announced Ernest would be handing back the papers they turned in on Friday. There would be no avoiding him completely. They gathered near the front of the room and he listed off their names one by one.
“Edgewater,” he called out. and she quickly shuffled over, trying not to look him in the eyes. She grabbed the a paper from his hand and turned towards the door, not even waiting for Annabelle who later caught up with her outside.
“Wait up Anna!” Annabelle was short of breath by the time she caught her. “You know you can’t avoid him all semester. That was….awkward back there.”
“I just grabbed the paper and left. I don’t see anything weird about that.”
“I don’t know, he just stood there kind of stunned for a few seconds too long and fumbled to get the next persons name out.”
Anna rolled her eyes. “Whatever, I’m sure only you noticed it because you were looking for it. She flipped through her paper which was thoroughly marked in red with comments and corrections and the intials ‘E.S.’ Of course he would be a super critical grader. “I got a B? Look at all these marks. This is brutal…Ernest is brutal.“
“If it makes you feel any better, I got a C.” Annabelle held out her paper which was not nearly as marked up but still showed the lower grade.
“But I don’t get Bs.” Anna shook her head in disbelief. “I always get As.”
Annabelle laughed dryly. “Welcome to Harvard. You’ll get used to it.”
“Ugh. I don’t want to get used to it.” Anna flipped to the last page to see the final comments signed by Sinclaire. “What the- How is yours signed?” Annabelle held out the page to her which said ‘Ernest Sinclaire’. “Oh my god.” Anna buried her head in her hand.
“What’s wrong?” Annabelle questioned
“He signed mine ‘Ernie’, in quotes. The embarrassment is unending.”
“Am I missing something?”
“I actually almost forgot about it until now, but I might have drunkenly called him Ernie at the party.”
“You did not!” Annabelle exclaimed before doubling over with laughter. “It seems like he thought it was kind of funny though if he wrote it on your paper.”
“I don’t know. There are a million comments marked on mine,” Anna huffed. “He hardly made any comments on yours.”
“But you still got a better grade.” Annabelle snatched the paper from her hand and pointed to the B on the front. “Maybe he just cares more about you.”
“Or…” Anna swiped it back. “He’s trying to get back at me for acting like a fool and ruining his shoes.”
“Whatever you say, Anna. I’ve go to get to class. Text me later?” Anna nodded and Annabelle took off in the opposite direction.
~~~~~
Anna stewed over her grade from Sinclaire and was still thinking about it the next day. It wasn’t just that she wasn’t used to getting anything less than an A, but she was confused by the comments as well. They were actually positive for the most part with only a few minor corrections. She couldn’t understand where she went wrong enough to drop an entire letter grade. It was ridiculous to obsess so much, and the only way to stop was to talk to him about it during his office hours. Of course this meant facing him and owning up to her embarrassment, but she’d have to do it sooner or later.
As Anna approached the office she could see he was with another student. He nodded his head to acknowledge her presence and she took a seat in the chairs outside to wait. No sooner had she sat down when Professor Richards peeked his head out the door.
“Can I help you with something?” His eyes ran over her body as if he was trying to survey what was underneath her clothing, causing an uneasy shiver to run down her spine. Maybe there was some truth to the rumors.
“Oh no. I’m just waiting for Ernest.” Anna looked towards Ernest’s office as she spoke and saw him look up at the mention of his name and narrow his eyes at the professor.
“I’m sure I can help you out with whatever you need Miss-”
“Edgewater. But no, that’s quite alright. I can just wait.”
“Edgewater! I can see the resemblance to Harry now. He wasn’t as pretty as you though.” Professor Richards winked at Anna, making her skin crawl.
At that moment, Ernest stood up and hurriedly rushed the student out of his office, telling him he could email any further questions. “Anna, please come in.”
Professor Richards smile turned to a scowl but he didn’t protest. Ernest ushered Anna inside and shut the door. He didn’t explain nor did she comment on why he closed the door for her and not the other student. He was shielding her from the creep next door.
“I’m sorry to keep you waiting.” Ernest said softly before his features hardened. “He shouldn’t have said that to you.”
“It’s fine, It wasn’t a big deal.” Anna lied. Professor Richards hadn’t said all that much but he didn’t have to. His tone and mannerisms were enough to make her uncomfortable.
“No Anna, its not. He crossed a line. I’ve heard rumors before, and some were pretty terrible, but I had never seen anything in person. If you want me to help you file a report-”
“Ernest, it’s okay…really.” Anna’s pleading eyes begged him to drop it. “It was gross, and yes he crossed a line, but he didn’t really do anything. I hardly think him calling me pretty is going to get him into any actual trouble.”
Ernest finally relaxed his tightly clenched fists. “Just be careful around him.”
“Luckily he’s too busy to care about us measly undergrads, and we’re stuck with you.” Anna grinned and Ernest smiled back, a genuine, honest smile she hadn’t seen before.
“What brings you in today? Here to apologize for ruining my shoes?” He still had a hint of a smile on his face.
With the unwanted attention from Professor Richards, Anna had finally forgotten, if only for a few minutes, how mortified she was. But was Ernest actually teasing her? He seemed to find it much more amusing than anything. “I’m so sorry. That was so embarrassing, and so not like me.”
“You mean to say vomiting all over someone is not a typical sign of affection from you?”
“Were you hoping for some affection from me?” She knew she shouldn’t flirt with him but she couldn’t help herself.
Ernest cleared his throat and sat up straight but his cheeks were flushing red. “I assume the actual reason you’re here has something to do with the class.” Ernest speculated, trying to get back on track.
Anna sighed. He was so hot and cold. One second he was starting to let down his walls and them next he was more difficult to infiltrate than Fort Knox. “Yes, that. I wanted to talk to you about my paper. I have questions about the grading.“
“You got a B. You did well.” He stated matter of factly.
“But I looked at your comments and the criteria, and I don’t see what I’m missing.” Anna turned to the rubric on the last page.
Ernest looked over it thoughtfully and pointed to the issue. “The specifications were for 12 point font. Yours was 11.”
“Seriously?” Anna questioned with an edge of irritation. “One little detail, and I drop a whole grade?”
Ernest shrugged and threw his hands up. “I don’t make the rules. Besides, missing one small detail could cost you a case in court. I’m doing you a favor to be strict with you now. I expect you will now read all instructions thoroughly.”
“Fine,” Anna muttered. “Lesson learned. I guess I’ll see you in class.
Anna stood to leave when Ernest grabbed her hand. “Wait!” He exclaimed before looking down at his hand on hers and suddenly pulling away. “I should give you my number in case you need to text me…for class related purposes.”
“I do already have your email…like all the other students.” Anna suppressed another smirk.
“Right…” Ernest ran a hand through his hair. “Texts are a much better way to get ahold of me if you have any urgent questions.” Ernest scrawled his number on a post-it and handed it to her.
“Sure…if i have any burning questions about business law I’ll make sure to text you.” Anna saved the number in her phone and texted him. Ernest’s phone lit up on the desk and he checked the text. “You know, in case you have any questions about my assignments that must be answered immediately.” This time she failed to hold back her sly smile as she stood to leave. “See you in class Mr. Sinclaire.”