Corrupted Academics (TheSilentProtagonist x Goddess)

Trinity University is a fine institution that gathers the brightest minds to help further their education without sacrificing strong moral values. Well, that’s what’s on the brochure at least. The private college is owned and operated by a church, something that becomes obvious to anyone spending even a few minutes there. Church based activities, reminders to worship Jesus, students seeming to follow a non-existent dress code… It’s all very on the nose. Of course, all the classes needed for accreditation are available. The writing classes use the same old boring system of assigning pointless essays in the outdated MLA format, all the math classes require some calculator produced by Texas Instruments, and there was a heavy focus on the medical fields, particularly nursing. This of course meant that the biology courses were a must, and they were required to teach the “theory” of evolution. The former professor in charge of that department had somewhat forcefully retired after numerous complaints that many of his classes devolved into rants about all the lies the media was feeding children.

That incident is what ended up bringing Donovan Kane to this… “prestigious” campus. Someone from outside the church had to be hired to help redeem themselves, or they risked losing the precious accreditation that they needed to remain an actual college. Having taught in universities before, and seeing the offer they were making, the young professor would have been stupid to turn away from it, even if he had a very different view point when it came to religion. That could admittedly be an issue. Of course, Donovan was careful to make sure that it didn’t come up during the interview. He used technical truths for the most part, and blatant lies where they were needed to get through the questions the interviewers had for him. His looks certainly helped. The slightly Mediterranean features, clean shaven face, short black hair, and alluring dark brown eyes made him very easy to look at, and helped give off a friendly aura. Donovan’s main secret didn’t exactly hurt his chances either.

The young professor had a special ability, one some might call the gift, though more were likely to refer to it as a hoax than anything else. Here though, in the middle of this Christian university, the term that would come to mind was the devil. All the students and teachers would be convinced that this man is a spawn of Satan, or communing with the dark forces in some way. Well, they wouldn’t quite be far off the mark, though it certainly wasn’t on that level. Donovan is smart enough to know that he doesn’t want to mess with something like that. Still though, his propensity for potion making, and the ability to conjure the arcane was not something he needed these bible thumpers to know. Fortunately (or un, depending on the person) his magic would be limited on campus. He was mostly powerless in the church itself (stupid hallowed ground), but the rosaries worn by many of the students, and the crosses that seemed to be on every door are the real limiters to his power.

This wouldn’t be something he could concern himself with right now though. Standing tall at his full six feet, Donovan adjusts the tie on his suit. He had to get to his class now. It wouldn’t do for the professor to be late on his first day, after all. The lecture hall was already filling up. Since this was a core class with no prerequisites, it tended to fill its seats very quickly, so this doesn’t surprise the young professor. “Hello!” He says to the class, his voice booming so every can hear him as though he were sitting right next to them. “My name is Professor Kane. I will be your guide in this fun adventure through Bio 1110! I hope you’re all in the right class.” As he speaks, his eyes roam across the room, learning the face of every student.

On the left-hand corner of the lecture hall Emily sat in a group of friends, with notebook in hand and eager to learn. Emily had an honest face which told all, and her emotions were as obvious on her expressions as if looking through glass. She irradiated excitement, her eyes shining as the professor came into view. Unlike most of the girls here, she was not aiming for the role of a nurse, but a doctor, but that wasn't the only way she differed from most of the girls here.

Despite being strongly adherent to the religious beliefs of the school, as the red rosary around her neck described, Emily Jones was a big contrast to most of the girls in the university. Not only was she loud and more rowdy than your average girl, a consequence of being raised with only brothers, but she dressed far more like a guy than like a girl. Her blonde hair was merely nape-length, with a beanie keeping it in place, and her curvy body was not hidden by the usual dresses or knee length skirts, but rather by a loose khaki sweater and baggy jeans. Unlike the sandals most students here wore, her feet featured combat boots, and her face, although pretty, with thick lips, a button nose and almond-shaped brown eyes, wore not a hint of makeup. If it wasn't for her large breasts, her big ass, and how delicate her glasses were, some might have thought that it was a very pretty boy sitting in this classroom full of women.

As the professor gave her a glance, she almost felt a small shudder in her spine, her lips parting and her chest constraining, though she couldn't tell the reason, and she couldn't tell if she liked it. Was it maybe what a handsome man looking at you felt like? She couldn't deny that much. She forced herself to smile again, to push the feeling into the back of her mind, and to listen intently to the professor's class.

As the class room fills up, the statistics start to prove themselves. The majority of Donovans students were female. It made sense though. The class was a requirement for the pre-nursing program, which was popular with the girls for the most part. More than that though, Trinity itself had a high female:male ratio. The young professor had his own idea for this. Most of these students would be the product of their upbringing. He wondered how many of them had actually chosen this education path for themselves and how many had it picked for them by their parents. He's sure many of them were only there to stay occupied until they got married.

In truth, Donovan doesn't mind this too much. One thing the wizard actually had in common with many of old religious coots he seemed to hate so much was his old style world view when it came to women. Well, his reasons were probably not one they would be fond of. He loved the control that it left him over them. The pure quiet girl who couldn't say no or make trouble was likely something he shouldn't appreciate as much as he does. It had caused him problems in the past, and cleaning up the mess was never as much fun as making it. Still, Donovan was the stubborn type, and the problems caused by it were never enough to dissuade him.

As he takes in each of his students, one in particular catches the young professor's eyes. There is something off about the girl. He isn't quite sure what yet. Well, what thing bothering her was the way she dressed. There was a proper and beautiful young woman hidden among the tomboy visage of her. Through the roll call, Donovan learns her name. Even that was well suited for someone more demure than her! He wasn't quite sure who this Emily was yet, or why she already managed to annoy her so much, but the wizard would make it his mission to find out.

"Please speak to me after class. I need to verify something concerning your schedule." He tells her in the politest tone possible after calling her name, using the excuse to have the opportunity to talk to her more. For now though, he would need to carry on with the class. "If you printed out the syllabus, then feel free to follow along. It's available through moodle. The text book will be required by the end of the week for homework, along with a clicker for taking tests." Donovan continues, most of the first class just being the basic introduction.

Used to being an overachiever, Emily found it strange that there was a reason for her to stay after class, much more in the first day, for something as mundane as her schedule. Still, she was not one to question authority, and with a hesistant nod and a forced smile, she agreed. She was unable to concentrate for the rest of the class and you could tell very well from her face. That teacher brought strange sensations from her, and that was something beyond her: she could still feel the tingle of her spine, the rumbling in her stomache, the tightening of her chest from when his eyes landed on her.

It wasn't as if she missed much, nothing that the syllabus couldn't describe. Chances were, really, that if he'd focused on anything beyond high school, she might have been able to brush off that strange vibe she got from him. Sure, this wasn't her top school choice, but her parents got her to go because it was a safe, properly Christian environment. They wouldn't just hire someone against God. It was probably just first day nerves combined with such a good looking man!

As class ended, Emily stuffed her binder and notes in her knapsack, slinging it over her shoulder and making her way to the professor's desk. She'd been sure she double-checked her schedule beforehand. Had something new come up? With a very masculine gait, she got to the professor's desk, bouncing lightly on the balls of her feet with impatience as her fellow students left the room.

"Excuse me, profesor, you wanted to see me?" She asked, trying to keep a mask of confidence, though not too successfully. "Was there a change I wasn't notified?"

Donovan spends the rest of the class reviewing the syllabus and getting into the most rudimentary lesson, the sort of stuff that all basic level science courses tended to cover. There was hardly enough time in the semester to get through everything as it was. He does look over the entire class as he talks, though his eyes do linger on Emily a bit longer than the other people in the class. At the final minute of the class, the professor lets the students start to pack. "The first quiz will be available online. It's due by Friday at midnight. You get two attempts with thirty minutes for each on them. I'll see you all on Wednesday."

He waves the class off as they leave, turning to focus on Emily as she walks down the lecture hall to him. He has the girl wait to one side, talking to the other students who came up to discuss things with him first, wanting to get them out of the way. "Yes, it seems I may have actually been mistaken about the issue, but it would be good to verify while I have you here." With her closer to him, Donovan gets a good look at the girl and feels his mouth twitch into a frown.

That damn rosary was currently the bane of him. Symbols of faith tended to bestow protection to those who wore them depending on their level of belief. If Emily was particularly strong willed, then there was little to nothing Donovan could do to her with his powers as long as she wore it. His initial plan, reading more about her through touch, would have to remain on hold, it seems. "If you don't mind me saying. You don't seem like most of the other students here. Somehow, I can't imagine you're trying to be a nurse. What major are you going into?" He asks, feigning interest and turning on his charm as best he can. Donovan wasn't blind to how attractive he was, even his literal magical charm was blocked by the rosary.

Emily didn't mind the wait from other students, but her being so close to the professor was a bit unsettling. She couldn't tell where she stood with him, why had he called her out when there was no issue, and why she could have sworn he frowned at her sight.

With a bit of a skeptical look, Emily shrugged, agreeing to verify with him. It was better to be safe than sorry, she guessed, so why not bother to check if there was doubt. Still, the way his eyes lingered on her during class came to mind and gave her a sense of unease. Did he just want to see her alone? There's no way that could be, since guys never sought her out like that, her direct nature tending to push most away. Not like she was looking anyway, she didn't want any distractions! Besides, he was her teacher, wasn't that unethical?

His question relaxed her though and her lips gave a hesitant smile. "I'm interested in the field of medicine, in becoming a pediatrician," she answered, feeling her face burn as he suddenly seemed more charming. Getting all this direct attention from such a handsome man, her teacher on top of it all, had to be nothing but a coincidence. "Are we visiting your office, professor? I'm still getting used to the place, so I'll have to ask you to lead the way."

A doctor? Well that was an interesting decision. Donovan wouldn't have been able to tell just by looking at her that this was the path she chose. It's obviously not one her parents are picking out for her. Then again, if Emily were listening to her parents, the wizard doubts she'd be dressed the way she was. He hadn't planned to go to his office yet, but he goes with the idea, not having another class for an hour anyways. "Yes I am." He tells his student. "Right this way." They begin walking down the halls towards the faculty area.

The conversation continues as they move. "So a pediatrician, huh? That's a noble decision. Quite an ambitious one too. You know how competitive the medical field can be. I expect you'll be giving your all in my class, considering how important it is to do well." He tells her. He easily recalls the requirements that the girl would need to go down her chosen path. A GPA above 3.5, more likely a 3.8 would be required. She couldn't risk even a C in any of her science classes.

The professor's office remains undecorated at the moment, Donovan not really having much need to add a personal touch. He takes his seat behind his desk, pulling up Emily's file on the computer while talking to her. "Hmm... it seems I was definitely mistaken. The issue would have been with mid terms and finals, but it seems the university has already resolved that scheduling error." He leans back in his seat, looking Emily in the eyes. "Sorry about that. Hopefully I didn't keep you from anything. Have you had any other classes yet?" He asks, wanting to keep the conversation going just a bit longer.

Emily follows her professor down the hall and into the faculty area, staying at least three steps behind him at all times. "I've worked hard since high school and I'm confident of my intelligence and determination," she told her teacher, trying to keep herself from looking at him. She wasn't trying to be rude or anything, but she wanted to avoid those eyes on her as most as she could. "I've always liked kids and helping people, so if I can inform parents and use my abilities to the fullest, I think I can make God proud."

With eyes wondering around the office, Emily took a seat opposite to Professor Kane, her legs apart as if she was a boy and her hands clinging to the desk and her back slumped. She tried to keep her eyes away, but the lack of decoration gave her nothing to set her eyes on, and the professor's charm certainly called her attention more than she would like. As he told her that everything had been resolved she sighed in relief. "I'm glad it was nothing and that the university took care of it," she admitted, finally giving him a hint of a true smile. "Don't worry, professor, most first years have pre-calculus right now but I already approved it in High School. I ended up having a free period now."

Now, with no further need to interact, she got up from her seat. "Would that be all, professor?"

Donovan nods along with the conversation, not particularly caring about it too much at this point. His face twitches when Emily mentions her goal though. "Of... course you will..." He tells her when she mentions making God proud, doing his best not to sound condescending and sarcastic. Of course that would be the answer of most of the people here. Even the professor had used a similar line when doing his interview to help guarantee he earned the spot. "Well, keep up the hard work and I'm sure you'll do great." He tells her, quickly moving the conversation along before it could linger on that point.

As Emily stands up, her professor nods and remains seated. "I think that covers every thing. I have office hours tomorrow at noon if you have anything you want to talk about then. Otherwise I'll see you in class Wednesday. We'll be starting on actual material then that will be pertinent to completing your first assignment. I'm sure you won't miss it." After excusing her, he quickly adds in one last comment.

"Oh, could you close the door on your way out. I need to get some things in order before my next class. With that, he turns back to his computer and waits for Emily to leave. Once alone, the professor unlocks one of his drawers, opening it up and fishing out an odd looking leather bound journal. Emily has found herself in Donovan's crosshairs, and now he was eager to get to know her even more than she likely wanted him to.

With a nod and a wave, Emily headed for the door, flashing him a smile. "Don't you worry, professor," she told him, glad that she was almost out of the office. "Chances are I'll send you an email if I have any doubts, but I don't think I'll be coming by too often~!" Her voice was louder and more chipper, more confident, as she put her hand to the door, getting ready to close it. "I'll see you in class!"

And with that she left the office with a smile, taking the chance to pop by the library to get her books before the lines got exceedingly long. After all, why not be practical and take advantage of your free period, right? If she never had to set foot in her professor's office again, she would be one happy lady. Still, he did have a charm about him, so maybe getting to look at him during class wouldn't be a bad thing, right? College was the first time she was living on her own, so she had to get her responsabilities done and over with before they began piling up.

The rest of Monday was easy and basic, with teachers going over the syllabuses. The labs wouldn't start until later in the week as the coordinators got to talk with the grad students teaching them, so most of Tuesday was free too. She took the chance to take the online quiz before class, knowing she had a chance to retake it if need be. That way she would know what to focus in when class began. Despite her only doing it with the book and previous knowledge, she did pretty well for her first attempt. Soon, she was in class again, a few minutes early, sitting again in the left corner of the back with a group of friends from high school. Now, she just had to wait for class.

Donovan begins working on his plan, but knows he has to be careful with it going forward. First thing he needs is better access to Emily's access. This is handled easy enough for the wizard. His specialty was in more subtle manipulations and gathering information, something that made handling technology a breeze. Sure enough, despite having two more classes to teach that day, and a meeting to get to, Donovan finds the time to finish setting things up and has full access to everything involving his student's account by the night. Now he just had to monitor her account and look for the chances to mess with her

The first opportunity presents itself soon enough when Emily completes her quiz. That's when an idea clicks in Donovan's head. He sees that she's logged off for the night. The strategy here is a common one, and the main reason he provides two attempts, so the students know what to expect and pay attention to. He knows she likely used her book to help her as well and likely wouldn't take the second attempt until after the class. With that in mind, the professor disables the second attempt, putting the same score as her original one for it.

The next day in class, Donovan welcomes his students brightly and with a large smile on his face. "Good morning, everyone! I hope your first week is going well! Looks like there's some new faces here, and a couple of disappeared ones already." He jokes before going over roll, flashing a bright grin at Emily when he gets to hers. "Now then, as I said, that first quiz is due Friday night, but I saw some of you already took a crack at it. I'm glad you did!" His eyes move around the room, careful not to linger on the girl this time. "Now, just a reminder to everyone here that these are quizzes. As such, you aren't supposed to use books, notes, or any other resources." He says this while making quotes with his fingers and winking to the class, letting them know it wasn't a strict rule.

Emily's university account revealed her contact information, like phone number and address, which revealed she lived in a well known, privately owned apartments close to campus, and had her father as her main contact. You could see her scholarship information, and were she further in her career, it would show past semester grades. It also showed her schedule, where she managed a free Thursday by scheduling back to back labs on Tuesday, with most of her classes on MWF. English and math showed advanced placement.

Back in class, she felt pretty calm, specially since she could no longer feel the focus on her. Even if in role call he smiled at her, she thought nothing about it and flashed a smile back. After all, it was just a smile, it wasn't as if he had called her over again. She had yet to notice that her second quiz had been truncated, so she was pretty eager to take notes and test her knowledge without the book this time.

She listened intently to his lecture, taking notes, listening with wonder as the class went on. Most of it was just review from high school, but the difference in pace and detail fascinated her. Also, she couldn't help but admire the professor when she wasn't put on the spot.

Donovan can feel the young student’s eyes on him. There was certainly nothing weird about that though. Most people tried to be at least somewhat attentive. He wondered though if Emily’s focus was just her eagerness to learn, or something else. It certainly wouldn’t surprise him if she had some attraction to him. She wouldn’t be the first woman, and not even the only one in the class. It was relatively easy to read the situation, especially from the girls who lacked any sort of holy symbol to mask themselves from the wizard’s abilities. It could be said that if he were a less scrupulous man, he would use this information to achieve some unsavory things, but it wasn’t his morals that prevented him from taking advantage. It was the fact that he had his sights set on a target already, and nothing would get in his way, least of all an easier conquest.

The lesson flies by rather quickly, with very few questions cropping up. Since most of the information was still rather basic, not many people wanted to ask for clarification it seemed, likely fearing they’d look bad for doing so. It certainly didn’t concern Donovan that they acted like this. It just served to make his life easier for him. “That should be all. If you have any questions, then please see me after class. One more time. Quiz due by Friday at midnight. Have it done as there is no way to complete it late. If you’re having trouble accessing the quiz, or need help with anything else, then I have office hours tomorrow, or you can speak to me before or after class on Friday. See you all then.” He says, dismissing the class.

The shine in Emily's eyes during lecture was because of the wonders of biology, how it had always been. The handsome looks of the professor were a bonus, though she still wondered about what chemistry they possessed. She didn't understand the shudders she got whenever he focused on her, whenever they were alone; it was a bundle of mixed feelings she didn't dare touch on. She pushed a strand of blonde hair back behind her ear, it being short and too stubborn to stay inside the bandanna. With no questions and looking forward to a free period, she left the classroom, flashing a casual smile and a nod in the head to the professor, her combat boots quick to disappear from the lecture hall.

Emily made her way to the student center, hoping that she could do far better on the quiz with the material fresh in her mind. She opened her computer, a small HP from two years ago, and went into moodle. However, her brow furred as she saw her account. There must have been a glitch...? She had yet to take the quiz the second time and her score was the same? She opened a tab with her university email, her fingers quick to type out a message

Professor,
Its Emily Johnson again. Sorry for the trouble, but it seems moodle counted my first quiz twice. Is there any chance I could come to your office tomorrow to retake it? You can notice the score is exactly the same, as well as the date.
Thank you for your time!

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Donovan returns the smile from his student with his own, wondering when she'd get to the little surprise in her account. There are some students lingering at the end of class to ask questions, mostly girls, he notices. Well, that wouldn't be weird, he knows. It was always the case that female students were more likely to ask for help and clarification than the male ones. The excuse to talk to the handsome male professor was also a reason why, at least for some of the girls. He doesn't waste much time though, explaining that he needs to get some work done in his office, but any other questions could be emailed.

Reaching his computer, Donovan takes his time getting set up, enjoying a cup of coffee while his email opens. He smiles when the message from Emily pops up. Of course that cute little over achiever would already be taking her second attempt at the quiz. That doesn't really surprise him in the least. Still, the professor takes his time getting to the reply, waiting until Emily would be in class before finally sending it out to her.

Hello, Ms. Jones,
That is odd. Looking over your quiz, yes that seems to be what happened. I'm wondering. Did you click submit twice very quickly? From what I understand, it can glitch and cause that to happen. Unfortunately, I can't allow you to retake the quiz, seeing as it's automated. Your first grade wasn't bad at all though, it should be noted, and I drop the lowest at the end of the semester. You'll also have at least one quiz a week, so this one won't hurt your grade at all. I can only discuss this so much in email, so if you would like to know more, please ome see me during office hours.

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With a couple of back to back classes after her free period ended, Emily couldn't check her email until 1, hoping for a prompt reply. What she found disappointed her, she was even willing to take it in front of him! To be fair, though, she hadn't exactly done badly either. With a sigh, she shook her head. If he wasn't giving her a retest, she was not going back into that man's office, no matter how handsome he was.

With her calloused fingers speeding through her keyboard, she wrote down a reply.

Professor,
I understand if you can't do anything about it. I'm guessing it was my bad anyway, but it won't happen again. I will see you on Friday!

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She clossed her laptop, admittedly with less delicacy than she should, groaning as she laid on top of it. Even if he dropped a grade from the quizzes, she did not enjoy losing points because of technology. After a few seconds of moping she slid the computer back in her satchel. Some food will do her good, and maybe playing some basketball after class would help her blow off some steam

Things were going well, it seems. Emily brought the reasoning hook, line, and sinker. Donovan internally debates pushing it a bit further and lowering the grade of the quizzes, but decides against it... for now. He didn't need the student running off to tech support or something just yet. A subtle slowness was needed for his plan to be fully effective. He sends off a reply to Emily.

Ms. Jones,
I am sorry I can't help more. Good luck on your future quizzes, and keep me informed if this happens again. I'll see you on Friday.

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Sure enough, the next class session finds the two in the same room again. Donovan gives her a personal smile, greeting the girl as he walks past her to the front of the lecture hall. "Good morning. I hope your day's off to a good start." After taking attendance, the professor brings up the quiz. "The majority of you hve already completed both attempts. I must say, I was rather impressed. Most of the scores were quite impressive with the class average being in the high nineties." He can't resist looking to Emily at one point while he's talking, curious what her reaction would be to a score below the class average." For the rest of you though, be sure not to slack off. If you run into any problems while trying to do it last minute, then I won't be able to help you."

As she was greeted by the professor upon entering the classroom, she gave him a nervous, hesitant smile and a light acknowledgement with her head. She would rather not initiate a conversation with him and was prompt to walk off to her spot in the lecture hall. She did keep her attention on him as the class started, but when he mentioned the class averages her face twisted into a very uncute scowl. Cursing technology, she decided she would start reading up for the next quiz as soon as possible. She couldn't get a 87 when the class average was in the high nineties! This time, she would get a perfect score on the quiz from the start!

Her face for the lecture was stern, focused on nothing but the material, and distracted about anything else. Emily refused to ask for help, she wasn't one to beg, it was her fault. It was a careless mistake that wouldn't happen again, she told herself, the scratching of pencil on paper fast in her hands, even if her writing style wasn't too sightly. Every now and again she pushed her glasses up, hating that they slid down just down enough on her nose to have blurry vision at the top. She would leave the lecture and go study, she'd get a perfect on her quiz on the first try this time. Most importantly, she would have nothing but causal interactions with her professor, since she wasn't the type of student that needed to go to his office to beg for her grades.

Well, he certainly got the reaction he wanted, Donovan thinks to himself. It’s clear Emily isn’t pleased, and by the looks of it, she fully intends to double down on her efforts in the class. What a shame she’ll be doing so poorly on her next quiz. At that thought, he can’t help smirking in her direction. Most people wouldn’t notice, and even fewer would actually read into such an action, so the professor isn’t too worried. This class, he’s discussing some of the history involved. It was still nothing too difficult, and in Donovan’s opinion, it wasn’t very important either. These students really didn’t need to know how the cell was discovered. Still, it was the curriculum. He does his best to spruce it up though, even going so far as to tell everyone that this information as rather pointless.

As class starts to wind down, most of the students begin to pack up early. Donovan can’t blame them, having done the same when he was in their position. It’s Friday, after all. No one wants to be stuck in class for too long before the weekend. “Right then, your second quiz goes live on Sunday.” He tells everyone. “It’ll be due by next Friday at midnight. Two attempts, and a whole week to take them! Don’t slack and do your best! I’ll see you all on Monday.” With that, he dismisses the class, watching as many of the students practically jump up in their rush to leave. He turns his attention to Emily though, holding back the urge to wish her luck on her next assignment, knowing that she would need it.

She could feel it again, the unsavory, confusing feeling of her professor's stare. Try as she might to concentrate and ignore the feeling, she could still feel it in the back of her neck, on her bones. It didn't make the class go any faster, but she still made sure to take care of writing everything down, to understand everything. Emily tried not to look, to just listen, still trying to decipher why his eyes on her brought her such unease. Her things were still out when the class was dismissed, so she had to wait a bit longer than her average companion to leave.

Don't even look at him, she told herself, stuffing things into her bag, making her way out. Maybe it was shame, thinking that she performed so poorly in her very start at college, or maybe it was something else, but she didn't want to feel those eyes on her, she didn't want to see that sneer. Never had one of her professors given her such a sensation, though. She got up, got out, and made her way home. It was only the first week, she thought to herself. She had plenty of time to raise her grades, and this wasn't her only class. She could relax and study on the weekend, and that would be glorious. She could even get back home for a few days, the two hour drive short enough to be worth it to have some of her mom's food and access to a washing machine that didn't require an absurd amount of money. The time back home would do her good and help her study. She could wait to do her test Wednesday this time, have all the material. Yes, the plan was in motion, and hopefully everything would go as planned.

Damn, he’d been hoping Emily would come up to talk to him after class. Ah well, it was still only the first week, after all. With it drawing to a close, Donovan walks out of the classroom smiling. The plan is in motion now. It seems that the young woman would be avoiding him a bit, and he gets the feeling he knows why. “Poor girl doesn’t know how to deal with a crush.” He mutters to himself, letting out a chuckle. Well then, it’s a good thing the plan is in place. She’d soon enough have no choice but to talk to her professor.

Saturday passes without incident for Donovan. He takes the time to relax at home, working in his private lab. It is interesting how much biology and chemistry helps him in his endeavors. Potion making and spell casting becomes much easier with an understanding of how things are supposed to function. For instance, knowing what each part of the brain does, and how neurons interact, knowing about what chemicals affect thought processes in which ways, and other such things, it’s quite easy for the professor to concoct something that would give him control over a person’s actions. Unfortunately, it wouldn’t have much effect on Emily, the rosary around her neck preventing the potion from taking effect. That’s not to mention how difficult it would be to slip the concoction to her in a way that isn’t suspicious.

Besides, Donovan thinks to himself. Mind controlling her would just make it too easy. No, he wants to enjoy this little game. The potion, in the end, is for someone else entirely. Just a little something to make sure that the help Emily tries to get proves ineffective. Come Sunday night, the professor enacts the next part of his plan. He unlocks the next quiz for all the students, well, all of them save Emily, of course. He’s curious to see what her reaction will be when she gets around to attempting it.

Emily's weekend was a distraction from school, it was one of arguing with her brothers and helping her mother to cook. It was also one that reminded her of how much her parents disproved of how she dressed, disguised as a nice new dress for Sunday sermon. It was, however, to no avail, and the girl still wore manly clothes: dress pants and a vest over a button up shirt. Her father had given up and accepted it, but her mother still complained that she would never find a respectable husband that way. When she made her way back on Sunday, she had a few bruises over her knees and shins, which her jeans made sure to hide, but the scratch on her cheek was harder to cover up, a bandaid helping with that.

Even as she got back to her university home, Emily didn't bother turning on her computer for anything but her email on Sunday night. She would bother with the quiz after Wednesday, after she had revised her book knowledge and got most points of Professor Kane's lecture jotted down. Class was the same as usual, though she could swear she caught the professor leering at her in at least one occasion.

It wouldn't be the same mistakes, not twice. She went to class as normal, avoiding the professor's eyes. Tonight, tonight she'd take the test. Tonight she would prove that she could handle college. She hadn't counted, however, in the fact that her quiz would be locked. She even messaged a few of her classmates and no such thing was happening to them, and they advised her to talk to the IT department. Anything was better than talking to her professor, so on Thursday, early on her free day of the week, she made her way to the IT department in campus.

"Excuse me...?" she said, going to where she was instructed by the receptionist. "I'm having some issues with my Moodle account. The weekly quiz isn't available in my account and I was wondering if there was something you could do about it...?"

The next two classes with Emily aren't particularly interesting, Donovan feels. The girl seems to avoid him at every opportunity, keeping her eyes on the power points instead of on him. Still, he wouldn't worry about this too much. It was all to be expected. One thing that does spark his curiosity though is when he's passing out the conversions sheet they'd be using. He notices some odd marks on the girl, and wonders for a moment if she got into some sort of fight. Damit, he thinks to himself. There would be an easy way to find this out without the hell ridden rosary! All he'd have to do is find some way to touch it to gain access to a history of it. Still, they would talk soon enough, and he'd find out about it then, he's sure.

The lectures go by without incident. Both times, the professor makes it a point to remind the students of the quiz as usual, looking over to Emily each time he does. He'd checked her account, so he knows she hadn't even tried to access the quiz yet. It was annoying, but he reasons that she's trying to prepare herself as much as possible for it as she can. That's fine, he tells himself. Each moment she stalls is just more time that he can shift the blame onto her instead for not doing it sooner. The one thing he regrets is that he won't get to be there personally when the student goes to talk to IT about the matter. He would love to see her reaction.

Monday morning, Donovan had some trouble with his laptop and it wouldn't work. Of course, it turned out to be a very simple matter that was quickly resolved. Still, the professor was so thankful that he brought in donuts for the entire IT department. Not a single one of the pastries was left, and the end effect would hardly be noticeable to most people. When Emily specifically shows up about her problem, she finds the man being indifferent and all around apathetic to her plight. "Are you sure the professor unlocked it?" He asks in an uncaring tone. "You'll have to talk to the professor since he should have unlocked it. If it was supposed to be up since Sunday, then you really should have looked into this sooner." The whole time, he doesn't look away from his screen, clicking away at some random website. When another student walks in, asking about her email password however, the IT guy immediately greets her with a smile, trying to be as helpful as possible.

Despite her complaints and her trying a couple of the guys from IT, Emily's end result was the same: they told her to go to her professor. She wasn't even that late, why were they all picking on her? One very adamant complaint in the suggestion box, she was making way for her professor's office hours, her face burning by the fact that she was forced to be there once more.

Once more she stood in front of his office, hesitating to go in, but with a sigh she knocked. Today she was in overalls and a long sleeved white shirt, her short hair toed in two messy pigtails and her work boots spread in an unfeminine gait. "Professor Kane, may I come in?" She asked, hoping that someone else would share the office with her. Would that make it more or less awkward, she wpndered?

Donovan had a few students stop by for office hours already, but it was all taken care of rather quickly. Most boys in the class tended to be too prideful to make use of the time, and the girls tended to avoid spending time alone in his office. The professor smiles upon hearing the knock and Emily’s voice. Well it took her long enough. He’d started to worry that the potion would wear off before his student actually talked to IT. Finally she was here though, meaning he could continue with his plan. “Yes, of course, the door’s open so just come on in.” He tells her, busying himself a bit so that it wouldn’t look like he was waiting for her.

He looks up with a smile on his face, but that quickly fades into a disapproving frown when he sees how Emily is dressed. Of course, he himself is wearing a button down shirt and slacks like usual, but it’s not even being dressed formally that he needs from her. A casual dress would be more than acceptable. This though, he actually feels embarrassed from her. He points to the empty seat in front of his desk without a word as he stands up and walks around to the door, closing it. He slips a ribbon on the knob as he does so, one that had a slight avoidance effect on it. That would prevent them from being disturbed for the time being. “Yes, how can I help you?” Donovan asks, likely sounding a bit too curt as he returns to his seat.