Page 70 of Incurably Cupid

I guess some fairytales really do come true.

Epilogue

INDIE

“Love Perseveres.”

Cupid Inc. New Recruit Training Manual

“Horror—I mean Celia, will be handing back your final exams.” Celia smiled shyly at me, and I continued. “Ninety-eight percent of you passed. Seventy-nine percent passed with nearly perfect scores.” I got a little emotional here. I blamed my mate—he’s the one who poisoned my brain with all this emotional intelligence. I cleared my throat. “Congratulations, everyone.”

Shallow, a.k.a. Cris, raised his hand. “Yes?”

“Since we did the coursework for Love 102 as well, does that mean we can take Love 103 next semester?”

I grinned at him, and he straightened his shoulders, sitting up a little taller in his seat. To my surprise, Cris was currently the top student in my class. At first, he’d been resistant, but after working with him, he’d developed a genuine interest in everything Love 101 and 102. “Yes, Cris. And I really hope you continue. You have a passion for this. I can see you teaching this class one day.”

His face glowed with happiness and pride—a far cry from the grumpy, belligerent cupid he’d been at the beginning. I heard he’d started dating a girl in Mordecai’s class. They were seen all over campus, looking as adorable and in love as two cupids could be. I was ecstatic for him.

One of the students who didn’t pass the final stood. “You mean we’ve been doing two classes this whole time!” he complained, his round cheeks turning red with anger. “NowonderI didn’t pass!”

I eyed him. “You didn’t pass because you thought this would be an easy A class, and you barely put in any effort.”

He shoved his things into his bag and stormed out.

Cris scoffed. “I can’t believe he didn’t know, Professor Valentine. You only told us about a million times that you were teaching the two classes together.”

I smiled and nodded but refrained from commenting. “Jasper, Austin, and Annika, please see me after class. To the rest of you, what are you still doing here?”

I laughed as everyone charged out of their seats, scrambling for their bags. Most of them stopped by to tell me how much they enjoyed my class or to give me a hug.

“Thank you, Professor,” Celia said, hugging me.

“Thank you for your help this semester, Celia.”

She smiled shyly. “It’s Horror, Professor.”

I grinned at her.

Cris was next. I squeaked when he pulled me into a tight hug. “Breath, Cris. Need. Breath.”

He laughed his booming laugh and released me. “Sorry, Professor. Thank you for not giving up on me.”

I swear, my students were going to make me sob before 10 a.m. It felt like a conspiracy.

“You’ll have one of you to deal with when you become a professor. You’ll be able to repay it then,” I assured him.

His shoulders slumped a little. “Do you really think I can teach, Professor?” He shook his head. “I’ve always thought of myself as a dumb jock.”

I raised an eyebrow. “This class has shown you how completely untrue that is. What you do with that knowledge is up to you.” He nodded but kept his eyes averted. “But, Cris?” He glanced up at me. “I believe in you.”

His eyes lit up. “Thanks, Professor!” He gave me one more rib-cracking hug and left.

The three students who didn’t pass the final, and who hadn’t already stormed out of my class, remained. I smiled gently at them. “Hey, guys. Tough class, huh?”

I was relieved the other student had stormed out. Now I didn’t feel bad about offering extra credit to these three. These were the ones who had really tried, but for various reasons—health issues, broken relationships, family troubles—had been unable to pass.

“Yeah, Professor,” one of them said, her lip trembling. She was the one who had taken a month off during the semester because she’d been in the hospital. She still walked with a cane and was too weak to fly.

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