Chapter 2

              Around class time, Nikki made her way down to the basement level. It was still dark when she arrived, but other students had already started sitting in the classroom, so she didn't feel too worried about heading inside. The classroom resembled what one would expect from a college classroom, featuring multiple rows of tiered seating.  She found a seat towards the back of the room that gave her an unobstructed view of the board without being too close to the front. Nikki despised sitting in the front row, no matter where she was. Her anxiety caused her to feel as if people’s gazes were boring holes in the back of her head whenever she sat in front of them.

              “I got a good seat before anyone else.” She hummed with delight as she set up her textbook and notebooks. She had already read her textbook, filled with notes and tabs to help her locate interesting topics. Nikki reviewed her class schedule again as she waited for the rest of the students to find their seats. Then, she realized that the professor whose class she was about to start had another class with her in the same room the following day.

              “Huh. I wonder why I have the same professor twice.” She pondered.

              “Ugh.” A group of rowdy students groaned as they sat down in the second to first row. “I cannot believe we got stuck with Professor Thorn during our first term!” One of them exclaimed.

              “At least this is your only class with him.” Another piped in. “I will have to take another class with him again in two semesters. His physics class.” They complained.

              “Sucks to be you.” The first one laughed. Nikki stared at her textbook while she tried to continue to eavesdrop on their conversation about the professor stealthily.

              “I heard from the upperclassmen that he is the strictest professor on campus.”

              “I heard he had failed multiple people before because he did not like them.”

              “Did you know he is one of the professors assigned to oversee the dorm houses on campus? I have heard that he has gotten students suspended for having alcohol in their rooms. And the students were of legal drinking age.” Nikki gulped as the two boys listed the horrible things Professor Thorn had done to students. After running into the disrespectful professor that morning, she believed anything was possible. However, she was still skeptical of all their claims, knowing better than to accept things at face value.

              “Uh?” Everyone turned to the classroom door, which swung open in an aggressive manner as soon as the class was set to begin. Nikki’s heart dropped when the rude professor she had encountered earlier rushed into the classroom and threw his satchel into the chair behind his desk.

              “Apologies. I was stuck in a meeting this morning and almost did not return in time.” Thorn said as he rummaged through his bag and pulled out a clipboard. “Attendance is mandatory, so please say here when I list off your name,” he said, adjusting his glasses and looking over the students. Nikki ducked down in her chair, but it was too late. Thorn smirked as he looked at her. She could tell by his face that he was pleased to see her in his classroom. She cursed under her breath as she realized he was going to target her.

“Allen?” Thorn began calling out the last names of the students.

              “Here!” The professor worked his way down the list of names in his hand, marking each one off when a student responded. He kept looking at Nikki anytime he read the name of a female student. Nikki could tell he was treating this like a sick and twisted hunt. Her blood boiled with anger as she desperately tried to fight back her growing anxiety.

              “Crowman?” He called out her name. Nikki grimaced as she sat up straight. “Crowman?” He called again, preparing to mark her as absent.

              “Here,” Nikki called out in defeat. Thorn smirked as he addressed her.

              “Now I know your name, " he said proudly. Nikki shrunk in her seat as the other students looked at her in confusion. Thorn then continued taking attendance before turning to the whiteboard.

              “I have printed copies of the syllabus so we can review it this class. As stated before, attendance is mandatory for my class, and if you are more than 15 minutes late, I will mark you absent, even if you show up.” Thorn revealed. Nikki could hear the other students grumbling around her in complaint.

              “Miss Crowman,” Thorn called out her name suddenly.

              “Yes, sir?” She squeaked out in surprise.

              “Assist me.” He ordered as he showed off a stack of paper. “Pass these out to your classmates.”

              “Yes, sir,” Nikki said with a frown. When she got up, she could hear another student mumbling as she walked by.

              “Looks like he’s found his first victim for the semester.” Someone whispered.

              “Poor girl. And she is so cute, too, " Another student whispered. Nikki felt relieved that her classmates were taking pity on her rather than thinking she was weird somehow. It seemed to her that Professor Thorn’s reputation aided in not making this exchange between them seem bizarre to the other students.

              “After passing these out, you can return to your seat. I will collect any extra copies at the end of class,” Thorn told her as soon as she stood before his desk. He handed her the stack of paper.

              “Yes, sir.” Nikki sighed, reaching out for the stack of paper. Thorn smirked as he looked at her, keeping a firm hold on the stack of paper as he addressed her.

              “You are not much of a brat now, are you?” he teased her softly so the other students wouldn't hear. Nikki frowned in response. Thorn could tell she was biting her tongue.

He continued to smirk as he released his hold of the stack of paper. He watched as she swiftly turned on her heel and walked away. Nikki knew if she responded in the way she wanted, he would mark her for death in his class. Nikki was smart enough to know when to keep her mouth shut, and her ability to do so helped her survive high school. She had thought that the bullying would stop now that she was in college, but she now knew she was wrong. She sighed in frustration.

              “It’s like I’ve been cursed by the gods or something…” She grumbled as she began handing out the syllabi to the other students.

              “I’m here!” Nikki jumped when the classroom door slammed open once more, and a familiar face walked in. “Sorry, I am late to class, professor. My dad’s driver was, like, having a meltdown because his wife just died or something.” The tall, thin, bleach-blonde girl said as she shamelessly fixed her make-up using her phone as a mirror.

              “And you are?” Thorn asked her with an annoyed tone. He did not appreciate a student barging into his class in such a disrespectful way.

              “Kendall Madison,” Kendall said as she put her phone away. “I like your accent. Are you, like, British?” she asked as she batted her eyes. Thorn rolled his eyes at her as he pulled out his clipboard.

              “You are late, Miss Madison. You just barely arrived before I would have marked you as absent for the day.” He told her. “Go find a seat. My class aide is passing out the syllabus now. She will make sure you get one.” Thorn said as he looked at Nikki. He sulked slightly when he saw she was not looking at him but at the annoying girl who had just walked in. Kendall huffed when she saw that his attention was no longer on her and followed his gaze to Nikki. She glowered when her eyes landed on the other girl.

              “Ugh, how the hell did that piece of crap get into this school?” Kendall sneered. Thorn turned to her with a disapproving look. He could tell that the two girls knew each other and appeared to have a bad history.

              “Miss Madison.” Thorn glared as he called her name. Kendall looked at him. “You are being rude right now, and I do not tolerate such behavior in my class.” He spoke to her in a harsh and unforgiving tone. Nikki looked at him in surprise. His tone to reprimand Kendall was much more ruthless than any time he had addressed her.

              “Since this is the first day of class, I won’t expel you from my classroom.” Thorn continued. “But if you are late again, rude to another student again, or cause any more distractions in my class…” He glared at the bleach-blonde young woman who stared up at him in shock. “…I will not be as forgiving a second time.” He threatened.

              “Y-yes, sir.” Kendall stuttered out a reply.

              “Now that I’ve made my expectations clear, go find a seat,” Thorn ordered.

              “Yes, sir,” Kendall said as she approached the tiered rows of seats.

              “And, Miss Madison,” Thorn spoke up once more. Kendall looked back at him. “If I see you on your phone during class, I will count that as a distraction.” He told her. He then addressed the remaining students. “No cellphones in my class.” He snarled.

              “Yes, sir.” Everyone replied as they quickly turned their phones off and stuffed them inside their bags and pockets.

              “Please continue to hand out the syllabi, Miss Crowman.” Thorn gestured to Nikki to continue with the task he had assigned her.

              “Yes, sir.” She nodded and did as he told her. Nikki was feeling a bit strange after seeing Thorn handle Kendall. Even if their interactions had been tense, he had never addressed her as harshly as Kendall. Thorn’s tone with Nikki had always been austere, but the tone he had just used with Kendall sounded like outright disdain to her. She finished handing out the syllabi to the other students and then returned the rest of the stack to her seat.

              Nikki settled into her chair and listened as Thorn discussed his expectations for the class. She thought she was going to feel miserable after he targeted her; however, seeing how he dealt with Kendall, her high school bully, made her feel surprisingly calm. As Thorn reviewed the syllabus and started his first lesson, he periodically glanced up at Nikki. He could see her diligently taking notes on everything he said and could not help the smirk that tugged at his lips. They did not know it, but they were both starting to see that their initial impression of the other may have been incorrect.