Mei made her way to the café, passing by the lamp posts that lit up her path. Despite running all day, she could still parkour her way over obstacles, even if it seemed excessive. It was a straight shot to the bus station and the café which was on the same street. Ophelia was the name of the place, built with dark wooden material having metal railings in front bearing the same color. Mei observed the customers inside with attires ranging from casual to flashy. This was a place where people would come to hang out and others would find quiet. Mei checked herself once more using the glass panes of the building and went inside. The panting girl spread out on the concrete floor could not be compared to this version of Mei that blended in perfectly, and she knew it as she adopted a sophisticated posture while surveying the room looking for the professor.
The room was filled with jazz music played by musicians on an elevated platform, the music was calm and quiet. At the very corner of the shop was a middle-aged man with brown and wavy hair wearing business attire. He seemed to be grading test papers. On his table, the papers were organized using folders that had names of specific class names. There were also emptied cups of coffee. He was looking at one paper and shaking his head while tapping his red pen on the table.
"I swear, their answers are sounding too similar now. Is this the old 'just change it up a little so the professor won't notice?' If it is, it's damn insulting." He said in a deep voice as he wrote what seemed like an essay on the paper and a huge circle on where the score was supposed to be. Mei did not hesitate to approach the professor because they already knew each other. She walked up to his table and was about to speak.
"Just put it on the table. Oh, and please put more sugar on the next one." Professor Kira interrupted who he thought was the waiter. Mei stood there speechless, her right eye twitching. She took one deep breath.
"Hello, Professor Kira!" She said in a lovely voice. Professor Kira twitched.
"I know that voice." He looked up to see Mei who had the widest smile on her face, some would even say borderline creepy. "Hello, Ms. Ohara. If I remember correctly, your inquiry was supposed to be addressed earlier during school hours but you never came." He said, going back to grading another paper.
"Yeah, there were complications, Professor Kira. That's why I'm here now!" Mei took the seat opposite him.
"Well please, ask away." He said without looking up from the paper as he drew another essay with an accompanying circle on the score section.
"Ok, Professor Kira. I said inquiry but really, I wanted material for my final story this year. Out of everybody on the campus, I've seen the most success in my articles from your information." Mei was in journalist mode as she reached into her bag to get her notepad, recorder, and set her camera on the table.
"And I'm sorry to say this but I have no stories for you." He reached for a coffee cup and drank from it but only drops came out. "Dammit, I told them to get me a refill every 20 minutes. How about you Ms. Ohara? Would you like something from the menu?" Professor Kira asked as he waved over the counter to get the staff's attention. They then gave him the thumbs up.
"Oh come on Professor. Someone as well-informed as you has got to have a few things worth mentioning. I mean just some months ago you told me about one of the recreational rooms being haunted." She completely ignored his offer to eat.
"Turns out, it was the night guards taking some of the stored painting equipment and selling them off. They'd been doing it for months and have gained a huge amount of money. It was one of my best stories I made and now I need your help for my last one!" Mei pleaded to the professor. He noticed her hands that were shaking a little and mildly covered in dirt. He also recalled how she seemed to collapse on the seat when she sat down; it was clear to him that she made an effort just to get to him.
"Ms. Ohara… I have nothing to offer you as grand as the ones from before. But I do have something that just happened recently." Mei leaned in closer, notepad in hand.
"Fine." Professor Kira gave a defeated look and set the papers and pen aside.
"We recently had a conference discussing one student in particular. This student showed incredible promise, especially with his initial work. You noticed the painting hung inside the Fine Arts trophy case? The one with a little girl and the sunset? Well the entire Fine Arts Department faculty and I were all blown away by it. We entered it in competitions and it easily garnered top prizes everywhere it could. But what set it apart from others is the artist himself, his enthusiasm and passion was the selling point for the department." Professor Kira managed a smile as he continued talking.
"Though, earlier this day we had another conference where we discussed his results from district and even international meets. After months of waiting he had put an entry forth, one he deemed 'satisfactory' or so he said. Unfortunately, his piece was the least impressive out of all the entries; I , along with the other members of the department, were not pleased with the results." His smile faded.
"With any other student, it would have been okay. But this student is studying at the university under a scholarship so there were high expectations of him. When he was first admitted his grades weren't bad but not as high as someone with a scholarship is expected to have." He put both hands together on the table and started twiddling his thumbs.
"So when people realized he wasn't all that special, rumors began to spread. Ones about under the table dealings that led to him being accepted. Some say he cheated, while others say the dean was close friends with the family. Either way, everyone has their eye on him and they're waiting for him to slip up." Professor Kira comes back from his trance and looks at his watch. He raised his hand to signal one of the staff that his coffee had not been served yet.
Mei did not utter a single word. This was her usual self when faced with an informant. She was afraid to miss any information down to the minute details that would help her get the story she needed. The recorder which had been placed on the table beforehand had a backup in case it malfunctioned, it was the camera that had a recorder housed in the bag it came with. Mei never used her phone when taking notes or recording because she would often find it missing for days and worry that any crucial information on it had leaked. But when it comes down to it, she could understand the person's behavior and story then deduce the whole situation that made her special, not her equipment.
"So the entire Fine Arts Department is in an uproar all because of one student? Just how much of a big deal is he?" Mei inquisitively asked while taking note of any unusual behavior.
"We're a prestigious university, we expect our students to be a cut above the rest." Professor Kira's brows had furrowed just enough for Mei to notice.
"So the department wants to pull this guy out of the scholarship program because of this?" Mei raised an eyebrow and gave the professor a serious look. He was taken aback by the question, speechless for a second then composed himself just as fast.
"We only want what's best for the students. We push them to do their best." The tone in his voice changed.
"And if they don't live up to those expectations the department just cuts them off, right?" The professor grew impatient, it was clear Mei was in the right line of questioning. She carefully thought about how far she could go with it.
"Professor, I don't mean to accuse the department of anything without any evidence but I'd hate to pursue this story and find out you were leaving some crucial info up in the air." Mei set her notepad and pencil down and laid her elbows on the table while pressing both hands together.
"If only it were that simple Miss Ohara, the department's reputation is one thing but I can't see an outcome where the student isn't dragged through the mud." The professor gave Mei a concerned look, indicating that he cared more about the student than anything else around the subject.
"So why tell me this story? The situation seems too delicate and any kind of involvement from me might make it spiral out of control because you know that all I want is the truth. No matter who gets hurt, the truth must come first." Mei's voice becomes driven, her face determined.
"Oh I know how you operate Ms. Ohara, that's why I decided to tell you. Remember that one story I shared about the psychology professor's rumor around sexual harassment?" Mei glossed over her notes to pages she wrote months ago, with pictures of the mentioned story and cutouts from the newspaper it was issued on.
"Everyone had already condemned for what he was doing but after you investigated, you found out he was having one on one sessions with the students, mostly girls. Turns out, the professor was helping them with their problems, some even had life or death situations. They went to the professor specifically because they wanted it to remain confidential. If the rumor were to spread out of campus he would have been in big trouble." Professor Kira smiled as he told the story. He seemed to be passionate about retelling it.
"So please, Mei. If you could… Please help this student." The professor relaxes his posture back into the seat looking exhausted after the whole conversation. Mei knew the professor was a good person, so she decided to leave the questioning and doubts there. She finalized her notes, checked the recording then put them back in her bag.
"Okay, I'll see what I can do, professor. But first, I need a name." Mei relaxed in her seat as well. Before any words could come out of the professor's mouth, the waiter came to serve his coffee.