Teacher-Student Bonding

“Guys, please! I need your ideas!” I pleaded towards my two friends.

Max looked up in the air. Then he raised a finger, as if a lightbulb had been switched on his head.

“Maybe she’s on her period?”

I facepalmed.

“Give me a serious answer!” I gestured to hit him.

“I don’t know, okay! I’m not a Feminologist! I have no idea what to say!” Max shrugged.

“Perhaps you did something to piss her off?” Frey said.

“Maybe.” I scratched my head. “But I’m not sure what could possibly piss her off-”

Wait. I pondered silently for a moment.

Last time I saw her, she was nursing me on my bed. I’m sure I haven’t done anything wrong at the time. She only started acting strange this morning. That means something happened yesterday…..don’t tell me……

She knows about last night!

But how? Did she overhear my conversation with Suvi outside? Or did Suvi lie to her in some way? What if, she thought I actually got laid with her?! Oh no. This isn’t good.

“You seem to be having trouble, Casanova.”

Professor Juni butted in during the conversation.

“Sorry, Sensei. Now’s not the time to play around.”

“Man really called her Sensei,” Max whispered to Frey. “What a weeb.”

“I’m not playing around, Big Boy.”

Then stop with the nicknames…..

“This is about Annika isn’t it?”

“How did you-”

The professor stuck her finger to my lips and smiled.

“I wouldn’t be a Psychology professor if I couldn’t sense something off with one of my students.”

Not all Psychology professors have that sort of power though….

“She was definitely acting strange today.” Professor Juni pinched her bottom lip. “Didn’t even answer a single one of my questions. But I have an idea.”

“Please tell me!” I put my hands together and bowed my head.

“There’s no need for the formalities. I’m always down to help my students. But first, let’s go someplace else. I’d rather not talk about this on-campus. Perhaps a cafe would be more appropriate?”

“Sure.”

“The sexy professor asked Kwan for a date?!” Max slammed on the table.

My cheeks fell into a full red as soon as I heard him scream those words.

“I appreciate the compliment, loud blondie.” Professor Juni winked at him. “For that, you get a free date with me some time.”

“Let’s gooooooo! SIUUUUUUUUU!” Max performed a football celebration.

“Can I have a date with you too?” Frey raised his hand.

“Fiiine. But don’t tell anyone.”

Frey lifted his fist up in a silent celebration.

I decided that the White Cat Cafe was the best place to talk, so I decided to bring Professor Juni there to discuss the problem.

It’s quite funny actually. I never expected to go on a date with a professor, especially not Professor Juni. If someone told the past me that something like this would happen, I would have laughed in his face. Believe me, I would have really considered asking her for a date if it weren’t for Annika, but I didn’t think I actually had a chance. This would have been the dream of a lifetime. But technically, this wasn’t a date. This was a formal discussion. Or so I thought.

“Mmmhm, their Spanish Latte here is pretty good!” Professor Juni said as she happily sipped on the straw. “Have you tried it?”

“Can we please cut straight to the point, Prof?” I pleaded.

“All right, all right!” She crossed her legs. “I know you’re worried about Annika, but you don’t have to be in such a rush! We’ve got plenty of time to spare. Problems like these need to be analyzed slowly. After all, the human mind is very complex!”

I nodded.

“So. First off, tell me everything you know.”

I gave her every detail I had on my mind, which included when Annika started acting strange, my assumptions on why she started acting strange, and how she treated me while she was acting strange. But I omitted Suvi’s name when I explained the story.

Professor Juni took some time to think, twirling her straw around and biting it constantly for no reason. She continued to crunch the straw with her teeth, which started to annoy me so I finally spoke out.

“Can you please stop chewing on the straw?”

“S-Sorry. Just a bad habit. I just end up spacing out when I’m trying to concentrate sometimes. Anyways, back to the topic at hand.”

Professor Juni moved the plastic cup away and rested her hands on the table.

“So, first off, we can’t assume that she’s mad because of you.”

“What makes you think that?

The professor pushed against her glasses. “So this secret friend of yours tried to get laid with you the night before, and you assume that Annika must have misinterpreted it in some way. In order for this to happen, she should have been awake in the middle of the night, at the exact same time you had a conversation with this secret friend. The chances seem unlikely. Even if it were the case, she has no proof that you actually did get laid with this secret friend. Therefore, she shouldn’t be jumping to conclusions.”

“Yeah, the timing is way too unfortunate, but this is the only reasonable explanation I can think of.”

“There could be another. What if there was something that came up in her own private life? Something that has nothing to do with you. It makes sense, since she didn’t exactly push you away. She even went as far as to buy you coffee! Why would she do that if she was angry at you?!”

“But she gave me the cold stare. I could tell. It does have something to do with me!”

“Aaaand that leads to my third guess. She isn’t directly mad at you, more like she’s mad about something related to you!”

“What are you talking about?”

“I don’t think she’s the type of person who would hate someone entirely just because you slept with someone. She doesn’t even have the right to get that mad at you. Unless you’re both in a relationship?”

“Nope.”

“If you ask me, she would have given you a scolding at least for sleeping around like the playboy you are, but she didn’t. Don’t you think?”

I nodded my head. “That does sound plausible. It’s not like she was expecting me to stay celibate for so long without any relapses.”

The professor massaged her forehead. “All these conjectures kind of lead to nowhere and we don’t have any information to make any conclusions. But I do have a solution.”

“What is it? I’ll do whatever it takes to bring her back.”

The professor rubbed her hands together with a smug grin, as if she had formulated the perfect plan in her head. She perked her glasses up and began to speak.

“Apologize to her.”

Ah.

“That’s it?”

“Yep.”

“It can’t be that simple!” I slammed my hand on the table.

“But it is. It is better to assume that you did something wrong, so that you can address the worst-case scenario. Tell her that you don’t know what you did wrong, and apologize with humility. Kow-tow if you have to! And if there’s nothing wrong, then she’ll probably feel guilty and explain it to you!” The professor gave me a cheeky smile.

“What if it doesn’t work?”

“Then try again after a few days when she’s feeling better. Play the long game. If you still fail, then try, try, try again. And do it when the time is right. But, if she asks you to stop, of course, you can’t force things. That’s how life works. You gotta accept defeat at some point.”

Apologize, huh…..

I stood up from my chair and threw our plastic cups in the trash.

“I think that’s all I need to hear. Thank you, Professor.”

“No problem, Prince Charming. Go get that girl.”

I gave her a thumbs-up and was about to go on my way towards the exit, but Professor Juni grabbed my shirt.

“One word of advice.”

“What is it?”

“If you’ve put all your heart into it, there’s nothing to regret.”

I nodded and walked out of the cafe doors.

I’ll put my heart into it, all right. I’m giving it everything I’ve got! All I have to do now is walk back to the apartment, knock on her door, jump high up in the air and kneel down on the floor and apologize!

No. That won’t be enough. I need to make sure I’ve done everything in my power to make this work! I’ll buy Annika flowers and even play a serenade for her!

I picked up my phone and searched up the nearest flower shop in my location.

Got it! Just a few streets away…..

As I looked towards the direction of the flower shop, I noticed two familiar figures over the distance. I placed my hand on top of my eyes and leaned closer to ascertain who they were. A blonde lady…..with a white-haired figure. An unsettling combination of a duo.

When I realized who they were, I immediately dashed forwards with a quick first step. There was a crowd up ahead that blocked my way, but that didn’t stop me from completing my run. I weaved through groups of people as if they were obstacles to keep my momentum and locked my eyes towards the two girls.