Chapter Two

Isis stood amidst the students, her pace seemingly slow. She stilled and looked on as everyone bustled busily around her. She felt so out of place. Her classes were done for the day, none of them half as eventful as her first class this morning. Her eyes roamed the grounds in search of a quiet place to sit and be alone.

“Hey you!” She spun around and for the first time for that day she smiled genuinely.

“Alex.” She breathed as her best and only friend walked towards her. They embraced.

“I thought you had left already.” Isis commented and Alex looked at her disbelievingly.

“I know your classes ended later than mine so I decided to wait.” She responded to Isis her eyes scanning her.

“Well I am glad I saw you.” Isis replied. “You wouldn't believe the day I had.” She tickled Alex’s curiosity.

“Well, spill it.” Alex begged and Isis laughed.

“I literally have a teacher from hell.” Isis clarified and Alex laughed and rolled her eyes in disbelief.

“I am serious! I swear he is Lucifer himself. He looks like an angel but boy is he evil!” Isis explained dramatically and Alex studied her expressions with a smile.

“Like an angel huh?” Alex raised her eyebrows suggestively and Isis pushed her playfully.

“Are you not listening? I also said he was evil!” She groaned and appeared mockingly lost and Alex laughed.

“Okay what happened?” Alex questioned.

“Well you how we got here late due to that accident?” Isis began and Alex nodded.

“Well I got to class a bit late and he freaked out on me. He gave me two essays to write for tomorrow.” She clarified and Alex’s jaw dropped.

“Did you tell him there was an accident and as a result traffic?” She questioned.

“I did! But he said something about not caring about petty excuses.” Isis continued.

“Whoa he really is the devil!” Alex agreed, her eyebrows furrowed. “Two essays for tomorrow? Don’t you have to do the text before you can write essays?” She questioned.

“Uh huh. Thank God I read them. But that’s not the worst.” Isis babbled on, her annoyance creeping up as she remembered the incident.

“There is more?” Alex questioned.

“Yep. I also have to stay after school to help him, I don’t know with what.” She replied.

“Is he insane? He wants you to write the essays and stay back? What the hell!” Alex reacted.

“Right! So I was planning to get started on the essays now because I have no idea what time I will get home.”

“Damn! Do you want me to wait until your meeting with the Diablo is over?” Alex questioned. “I can drop you off at home.” She offered.

Isis smiled. “No, it’s fine. I will find some way to get home but you need to get prepared for classes tomorrow and I can’t allow you to have a long night.” Isis explained.

“Hey, you might have a long night, I don’t mind keeping you company.” Alex offered.

“It’s fine! You go get some rest.” Isis insisted.

“Okay but if you need a ride home call me and I will come pick you up.” Alex offered.

“Okay I will. But now you need to tell me how your day was.” Isis questioned.

“It was uneventful. The kids here are so...” Alex purposely let the sentence trial off and Isis knew exactly what she meant.

“You’re preaching to the choir. One girl called me a goth for naming my favourite genre of music.” Isis recalled with more amusement now that she had time to cool down.

“She didn’t!” Alex sounded outraged, but she wasn’t the aggressive one, Isis was, so Alex’s annoyance amused Isis.

“Yes, she did.” Isis smiled.

“I might regret asking this but, what did you tell her?” Alex asked cautiously.

“I may have made a comment criticising her horrible spelling.” Isis replied slowly, truly feeling embarrassed for snapping at the girl. She wasn’t a great speller herself but hell it was the only insult that dripped from her tongue.

“Dear God!” Alex laughed. “Hell of a way to make friends.” She commented.

“I have enough friends,” Isis countered.

“Enough friends? It’s just me! You need to try trusting people.” Alex scolded.

Isis rolled her eyes playfully, an illustration that she was disregarding that advice. “Trust is overrated,” Isis growled. “What about you? You made any friends?” Isis questioned.

“I did make a friend, his name is Jared.” Alex replied, her eyes misting over just a bit.

“Jared huh?” Isis studied Alex expectantly.

“Hey, I just told you a name; it’s not as if I called him an angel.” Alex taunted and Isis rolled her eyes again.

“I used it so you would get a clear picture of how diabolical he is!” Isis groaned. “Besides, I question his morals; he seemed to enjoy the girls’ ogling him.” She revealed.

“So he is that good looking?” Alex questioned, her mind attempting to sculpt a picture of this man for reference.

“You make your own analysis, that’s him walking across campus.” Isis saw him from a distance. The gait he adapted was predator-like, and held an air of authority and self-confidence that was disconcerting. As he walked every eye glued to him, he couldn’t see Isis or Alex he was a good distance away.

Alex’s jaw dropped. “That’s the devil?” She questioned.

“Uh huh.”

“He looks like a dark angel.” Alex replied. “No wonder girls are drooling.” She turned her attention back to Isis who forcefully pulled her gaze away from the man.

“You don’t find him attractive?” She questioned and searched Isis’ eyes for some emotion. It was hard to decipher what Isis felt, she tried to keep her feelings under lock and key.

“He’s not my type.” Isis replied.

“Hot is everyone’s type.” Alex pushed.

“True, but asshole isn’t” Isis countered and Alex laughed.

“You are being guarded which makes me think you feel more than you are letting on.” Alex observed.

“Guarded? I am not guarding anything, I just meet the devil all I feel is annoyance and if I show that then people might scurry off in the other direction.” Isis replied. “Maybe it’s that you’re sensing. I am just trying to keep calm.”

“Okay. But he looks arrogant. Just by the way he crossed the campus you could see it.” Alex observed.

“It’s worse when he opens his damned mouth.” Isis replied grimly and Alex laughed.

“Okay you go write your paper, I am going to head home.” Alex revealed as she hugged Isis. “Write such a kick ass paper that he will feel so sick reading it. I am sure he doesn’t know how great a writer you are.”

“I am not a great writer, these essays are gonna suck.” Isis groaned.

“You always say that and you always get awesome feedback from whoever reads it.” Alex replied and Isis shook her head in defiance. Writing was her passion, yet she often found it difficult to feel confidence in the work she put out.

“See you later. Text me when you get home.” Isis called after Alex as she left.

“I will, you be sure to do the same!” she called over her shoulder.

Okay. So back to finding somewhere to write, Isis thought glumly. She finally found a bench shaded by a mammoth tree. She settled and took out the question paper and set to work. She scribbled her points for each question and then started to form them into an essay.

At half an hour to four Isis had completed her essays and her brain felt burnt out. All she wanted to do was curl up on her bed and fall asleep. She organised her papers and bound them together with paper clips. She leaned back into the bench and tried to relax. She looked out at the lush green grass blanketing the ground, listening to the quietness of the atmosphere and closed her eyes as the wind circled around her tauntingly. The atmosphere was awe inspiring and she immediately had the craving to try and capture the serenity.

Glancing at the time she knew she couldn’t, it was quarter to four and she grimly rose and made her way to the devil’s lair.

Isis walked up to Mr. Greyson’s door and inhaled deeply. She knocked and waited.

No Answer.

She knocked again, this time more forcefully. “Mr. Greyson?” She called out and suddenly the door unlatched and he stood in the doorway.

“I see you’re on time.” He commented, a smile spreading across his features. Isis stared on in shock. Where was the idiotic professor from this morning? She shook the thought away, no time to be trying to analyse his obviously bipolar reactions.

“That I am.” Isis replied neutrally. He moved aside and allowed her entrance. He closed the door behind them and clicked the lock. Isis stared at him, her heart beating unbelievable fast.

He must have sensed her reaction because he sighed and parted his lips. “Students tend to come knocking at all hours, and I sometimes need to get work done.” He clarified. “That’s why I didn’t answer the door when you knocked the first time.”

“By students you mean girls?” Isis questioned and bit her lip as the words escaped. She didn’t want to spark conversation, she wanted to do what she had to and go. Not to mention she had no business asking her lecturer about his personal tribulations.

He nodded. “They come for help or other unimportant stuff. I don’t hide from them, I have my control and good sense but sometimes I need time to get my work done.” He clarified and Isis inwardly scoffed.

Him and good sense? Hard to believe.

“So don’t feel frightened that I locked the door. You are safe.” He ensured and strangely Isis believed him, she felt safe.

She dug into her bag and pulled out her essays. She held them out to Mr. Greyson and he stared at it. His eyes found hers and he raised a brow.

“The essays you asked me to do.” Isis clarified and had the pleasure of seeing his look stunned, it was of course short lived.

“You finished them both?” He questioned slowly as if the words make no sense.

“I did.” Isis replied.

“I am impressed.” He replied and Isis took a double take. He laughed, the sound deep and unmistakeably­--Male.

“You seemed surprised that I would praise you.” He initiated.

“What does it matter? Anyhow, what is it that you want me to do?” Isis questioned.

Mr. Greyson stared at her and tried to hide a smile. “I need you to sort out my papers. Separate them into the different year groups.” He turned serious as he walked to a door leading to a back room, he emerged with a box and rested it on his table.

Isis stared at the box. It was filled with papers in a hap-hazard manner. Her jaw dropped and she felt sullen. She groaned inwardly.

“Okay.” She replied subdued. She dropped her bag on the floor beside her and walked closer to the box. She would need to carry it over to a desk at the corner of the room. Mr. Greyson’s desk was too small for them both to use it and either way she didn’t want to be that close to him.

Isis circled her arms around the box and tried to lift. The box didn’t bulge. She groaned frustratedly.

“Need help?” She looked up at Mr. Greyson’s piercing eyes, she swore she saw amusement in those grey spheres. As much as she didn’t want his help, this would end a lot faster if she just accepted it.

“Yes please.” She replied and he carried the box for her.

At the corner of his eyes, Lex observed Isis. He dropped the box on a desk and saw Isis pick her bag up from off the floor.

“Since when do girls leave their bags on the floor?” he questioned. He knew women to have a complex that was against placing their stuff on a filthy floor.

“It’s just a bag.” She shrugged as she made her way over and sat down. Lex made his way back to his desk and decided to grade the essay’s she had done.

Isis ran the back of her hand against her forehead, two hours had passed and she felt exhausted, just a couple more and she would be done. And by a couple she meant about another hour or so of organising.

Lex leaned back in his chair. He had done what he had set out to accomplish for the day. His eyes gazed at the essays Isis had written. To say he was impressed was an understatement. Her writing gripped him and her style was effortless. He hadn’t expected that. Her writing was at the level he would expect his students to be, just a couple of fine tuning and he was sure she would more than pass her classes.

He looked over at her, her skin was flushed and her face told of concentration. “You can leave the rest and finish up tomorrow.” He called out. She didn’t lose her concentration; she continued looking at the papers as she replied.

“If it’s alright, I would like to finish this now.” She replied and Lex agreed.

At five to eight, Isis was finished, she stood and stretched her legs, breathing a sigh of relieve.

“Finished?” Mr. Greyson questioned and Isis looked up and smiled. She was happy today was over.

“I am.” She replied as she stacked the papers inside the box. Each year group separate from the other by the use of paper clips, coloured folders and sticky notes.

He walked over and picked the box off the table and Isis couldn’t help but admire the effortlessness in the way he moved. Almost as if it weighed nothing at all.

He returned, but Isis was already half way out the door. “Wait.” He called and she halted.

“I corrected your essays.” He commented as he handed the papers back at her. The A sticking out on the first paper solicited a gasp but the B on the other one made her furrow her eye brows.

She looked at him. “The essays were impressive. I also want to commend you on your knowledge of the text seeing that we haven’t had discussions yet. You just need a little guidance and I have no qualms about you being one of my top students.” He replied and Isis raised her brows.

“Thanks but you haven’t seen the skills of the other students yet, so don’t be too sure.” She replied.

“You’re right, but I can see their attitudes toward this class and you have the most determination.” He replied.

“Thanks you.” She responded shyly. She had never known how to react when she was praised for something.  “May I leave?” he nodded, watching her walk out of his office.

Lex cleared up his table and arranged his things for tomorrow’s class. He locked up his office room and made his way out of the school. He saw a lonely figure standing close to the road, he walked over and saw it was Isis.

“Aren’t you going home?” he questioned and she jumped.

“You scared me.” She complained.

“I should, it’s late and you’re wandering campus?” Mr Greyson growled.

“I am not wandering. I am waiting for a taxi.” She clarified.

“Well, let me drop you home.” He offered.

“No, it’s fine. I will wait for a little bit and if I don’t get one, I’ll call my friend.” She responded.

“It’s dangerous to wait here alone at night. I can just drop you.” He insisted but Isis didn’t want him to do her any favours. Besides, wasn’t that inappropriate?

“Fine, I will call my friend.” She breathed exasperatedly as she pulled her cell out of her bag.

“Fine. But I will wait until your friend gets here.” He clenched his jaw.

“No. I will be perfectly fine.” Isis insisted.

“It’s either I wait or I drop you home.” Mr. Greyson snapped.

“You have to do neither.” Isis breathed with relief as a taxi pulled up. She walked over and placed her hand on the handle, pulled open the door and slid in.

Lex looked on as Isis disappeared in the taxi. His ego was bruised, not every day his good intentions were rejected. Women usually would jump at the idea of him dropping them off but Isis treated him as if he was being unreasonable. He shook it off and made his way to his car. She was a student and he should be happy she didn’t treat him like all the other female students at the university. She was reasonable and she knew her place, characteristics he admired.