Annie sighed as she gathered her things. She made her way forward with resignation.
"Miss Walker, reflect on your ways. Your chronic tardiness shows a deep lack of respect to me, this university, your fellow classmates and yourself. This must not continue." Professor Xia said sternly.
Annie's shoulders slumped. She had caused him to lose face and he was offended. She understood, and she knew that she should be on time, but it was very difficult for her. She suffered from severe migraines and sometimes didn't sleep well as a result. But she knew telling him would just be seen as making an excuse. So instead she silently nodded her head in agreement.
"You may leave." He dismissed her. She walked away quietly and he sat down at his desk. He watched her retreating form and his mind went back to the first time they met…
_______________________________________
Annie had one of her crazy dreams last night and awoke with a migraine. She looked at her alarm clock and panicked. She hurriedly dressed and grabbed her tote bag with her textbooks. She stumbled out the door and rushed to the elevator. She glanced at her smart watch.
A few minutes to spare! She stopped by the campus coffee shop and ordered a double espresso. She needed something to wake her up and settle her nerves.
She ran to arrive at her first class. She was in China pursuing a Masters in sociology after earning a bachelor's in political science. She hoped on day she could be a diplomat and return to China. But for now she'd be happy if she could make it to her Mandarin language class on time!
in her haste she didn't see the middle aged man hurrying along with his briefcase in one hand and a large stack of papers in the other. She found herself colliding with a strong wall that was his chest. He reached to steady her and survey the damage. Spilled coffee dripped from him. His scattered papers also had coffee stains now.
"I am so, so sorry!" She exclaimed. She gathered his soggy papers together in a mismashed pile, and stuffed them into his hands. He frowned heavily as he brushed futilely with his free hand at the coffee stains on his suit. She retrieved his briefcase and held it in front of herself like a shield. Her eyes followed his hands and she gasped.
"I am so sorry about your suit! I'll pay for your dry cleaning! Let me see your phone." She commanded. Wordlessly, he obliged her, mostly out of shock for what had just transpired. She entered her number onto his screen and pressed send. Her phone buzzed.
"I have your number now so we can meet later and I'll pay your bill. Or a new suit if you wish." Annie assured him. He wasn't hearing her.
Inwardly he was fuming. He was never late. And he was never in public with soiled clothing. He also kept his distance from women in general. He had his reasons.
Now he would lose face because of her. Showing up on the first day of class late, covered in coffee would be a horrible first impression to incoming students.
He allowed himself a glimpse of her from the corner of his eyes. She was beautiful, he had to admit. He'd always been attracted to women like her. She was blonde, which was a change from all the raven haired women he'd known; with eyes that reminded him of Chinese blue and white porcelain. But what caught his attention was that her figure was shapely. Curvy. Some American women had different body types compared to Chinese women. Some men in East Asia didn't care for the excess weight on these women, but he personally found it attractive. He took a ragged breath. Almost overwhelming, in person, he realized.
He shook his head vigorously to clear his mind. What was he thinking? He would be fifty years old on his birthday. This women was likely a college student, so probably thirty years his junior.
"Again, I'm really sorry! But I have to get to my class!" She exclaimed, unaware of his mental battle. She turned a sharp right down the corridor. He also turned right to go towards his classroom.
To his horror, he watched her enter his classroom. He could hear his heartbeat in his ears and felt himself break into a cold sweat. The bell rang. He was late. To his own class. For the first time in decades.
He sighed and walked briskly to his class. He walked in and his eyes glanced into the auditorium seats. Seventy-five students. She sat front and center. Of course she did. He stomped to his desk and set his briefcase down with force. More force than he'd meant. He dropped the stack of papers into the trash can. He would have to reprint the five page syllabuses for his seventy-five students again. He was suddenly struck with an idea. He would wait until the end of class.
He called the attendance roll, and then explained his course. Although it was an advanced Mandarin class, many of his students were foreigners come to China to study abroad in the language or other majors in the college.
He dove into his lecture, but he struggled a bit on staying focused. She was directly in front and he couldn't help but notice her. Her head was lowered as she furiously took notes on what he was saying. He took in her appearance in more detail now. Her blonde hair seemed perfectly blown out. Her makeup was flawless. Her skin clear, and her eyes a shining blue. The red tea length dress fell to just above her knees and accentuated her curves in all the right places. Have mercy, but did she have them!
The bell rang, signifying class was over. He looked at his seating chart and called out: "Annie Walker, a word with you."
She approached his podium much as though she were a primary school student approaching the principal.
"Yes sir?" She said.
"Since you are the reason all of my class syllabus are covered in coffee, you will need to have a solution for that." He said her.
"Alright. Text me your address and I'll be there this evening." She said without hesitation.
His eyes grew wide. He had never invited a woman to his apartment for any reason. He did not want to start now.
"That would not be appropriate, Miss Walker." He said with an edge to his voice.
"Well, you have the syllabus. If we are to make copies and collate them by tomorrow don't you think it would be faster if we work together?" She asked him pointedly.
He let out a deep sigh. She had a point, though he was loathe to admit it.
"Alright. I'll send you the address." He muttered.
"See you tonight!" She said cheerfully.