Page 32 of The Professor's Possession (Crystal River Billionaire Brothers)

There’s only one available. Right in the front row. In the very middle.

A perfect place for a dork like me.

And now I’ve got to make it there in front of everyone in total hushed silence.

I keep my head down in humiliation and mutter out a weak apology to Professor Penmayne.

I certainly don’t want to make eye contact with the man. I don’t want to look atanyoneright now.

And I take the long walk of shame all the way across the hall to the empty seat in the middle.

After a lingering, awkward pause, the professor starts to speak again.

And I shoot my head up to look at him.

Because that’s not Professor Penmayne’s voice.

And the professor in front of me is not Professor Penmayne.

It’s another man entirely. Shorter. Skinnier. Older. Glasses. He’s new.

I glance around.

I am in the right class, aren’t I?

I sit there for the rest of the lecture, wondering what the hell has happened to the man who stood opposite me outside the gym the other night. Nothing seemed wrong that night, and yet he hasn’t turned up today.

After the class, the students gradually shuffle out to leave. I join the slow-moving stream. Ahead of me are the girls from my first English Lit class who sat down the row from me.

“I’ve heard he’s sick,” one is saying to the other.

They must be talking about Professor Penmayne.

I strain my ears and edge closer to overhear what they’re saying. They might be more clued into the rumor grapevine than I am.

“No, I think he’s gone to the city.”

“Boston?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s where he was living before he came here, right?”

“Yep. He went to Harvard, remember?”

“Oh, Jen, you don’t know anything about him.”

“Who does?”

I clutch my textbooks close to my chest and march past the girls back outside.

Yeah, who does know anything about Professor Penmayne?

Certainly not me, that’s for sure.

* * *

When I’ve gota few free hours, I head to the nearest store to buy some chocolates to gift Ava to say thanks for the almond croissant yesterday. I send her a message asking to meet up somewhere. She replies quickly, saying she’s sitting in the middle of the college quad.

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