Just Jot It January: Day 22 – “Contempt”

Silas sank down a little farther in his seat, wishing this class would be over already. He didn’t need it for his degree, but he liked taking at least one different class a semester. And he’d had this professor before and enjoyed his take on literature.

And okay, he wasn’t hard to look at. Not that Silas would ever do more than that. He never would have, but especially not now.

Silas wondered if the professor could feel his glare of contempt even with his back turned to the class. “I have your latest papers graded,” he said as he turned back to the class. “You can pick them up on your way out.”

Silas was already shoving his books into his bag. He just wanted to get out of here. He at least wouldn’t have to look at him for another four days. That was something, since he’d been informed it was too late in the semester to drop the class, particularly without a good reason. And he couldn’t give one. He’d promised Corrin.

“Mr. Lunden,” the professor said just as he’d grabbed his own paper off the table. “I’d like to speak to you before you go.”

Great. He probably had felt the glares. And how was Silas supposed to explain that? But, he had to wait for the rest of the students to file out of the room before the professor finally turned to face him again. “Want to explain that essay?” he asked, gesturing to the printed pages Silas still held in his hand. he hadn’t even bothered looking at the grade yet.

“You didn’t like it?” he asked, barely holding back a sneer. “I thought you’d appreciate that story from another angle. We already know the teacher character’s point of view. I thought looking at it from the student he seduced would bring something more to it.”

“He didn’t seduce her. She came onto him.”

“That’s obviously how you read it, but not how I did. He was a man with power, she was barely an adult.” He kept his gaze direct on his professor as he said it. “As far as I’m concerned, someone who would take advantage like that is little more than a piece of garbage.”

He saw the color drain from the professor’s voice, but before he said anything else, Silas turned and left the room. He just hoped what he’d said didn’t come back on him, or even worse, Corrin.

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Today is Day 22 of Just Jot It January and the prompt was “contempt”.  And that’s definitely what Silas feels for this professor.