#Chapter 4: The New TA Position

[Elara’s POV]

I stood tall in front of my floor-length mirror in my dorm, looking over my outfit for any possible imperfections. Today was my first official day as Professor Abram’s new teaching assistant for his freshmen-level class.

I’d chosen a white Oxford shirt with a sensible pair of beige pants, not wanting to draw any real attention to myself. I was determined to come off as the mature and insightful upperclassman that I was.

After all, I was merely doing a job—not trying to impress anyone in particular. Especially not my supervisor.

I’d be lying if I said that my mind hadn’t been reeling ever since Professor Abram had told me his first name. Killian.

My mind was left buzzing with building anticipation. However, for the last handful of days, I really tried to keep my wits about me.

In short, there was no legitimate proof that this was my Killian. Not the same man who lived next door to me. Not the same man who used to speak kindly to me and speak about books.

I had considered sending the Professor a follow-up email, wanting to press further about his full identity. Yet, I refrained. After he hadn’t answered my last email, inquiring about my work schedule, I decided not to bother him.

Having pinned back part of my hair, I deemed myself ready and grabbed my bag. The moment I entered the classroom, my eyes instantly fell to Jasmine. She was sitting with a group of her friends, close to the front of the class.

I inwardly groaned. Oh, great.

No matter, I set my stuff down on the front table and began running through the attendance sheet. As I ran through the other typical TA procedures, I noticed Jasmine had gotten up from her seat and began making her way over to me.

My stomach churned.

“What is it, Miss Travers?” I asked flatly.

Jasmine’s gaze flickered with taunting amusement. “For an outsider, you must think you really are something special, huh?” she asked sardonically.

An outsider? So, that was how she saw me now...One moment we were close friends and the next I somehow fell to the lowest level on the social hierarchy.

“Excuse me?”

“First, you try to latch on to Brad, and now you’ve gone ahead and stolen the TA position. What, are you trying to show off or something?” The corner of her mouth curved upward in a jeering smirk. “You know, Brad told me that he never really found you interesting. He and I are perfectly happy together.”

Oh, wow. I seriously can’t believe that I once thought she and I were best friends...

I let out a long sigh and took a moment to respond. While her words regarding Brad and I’s previous relationship slightly stung, I couldn’t help but pick up on Jasmine’s sense of insecurity. Perhaps it was because of my clothes that my newly acquired position was an act of rivalry.

“Miss Travers, I assure you that I applied for this position last semester like everyone else,” I told her softly. “It has literally nothing to do with your relationship with Brad.”

Her mouth twitched into a doubtful sneer. Right as she was about to comment, the door opened and in walked the professor. My heart jumped with the expectation of wanting to see the Killian that I knew.

But my hopes fell as soon as I saw an elderly, silver-haired man stroll up to the podium.

“Good morning, everyone. My name is Mr. Shultz. I’ll be filling in for Professor Abrams today,” he explained.

A genuine feeling of concern filled my voice. “Is everything alright with Professor Abram?” I asked.

Mr. Shultz merely waved off my question and nodded. “Oh, yes. The professor simply had too much to deal with at the moment. He sends his apologies and promises to better align his schedule.”

Jasmine briskly returned to her seat while my nerves began to relax. A big part of me was relieved to know that this wasn’t the same professor who had been haunting my thoughts for the last week.

There again, it made me realize that I seriously needed to let go of the impossible fantasy that Killian was the man that I was expecting to work for. The professor I was meant to be working for was known to be highly accomplished, whereas the Killian I knew never truly showed any interest in academia.

I just had to get over it and move on.

Class went on as normal until we reached the last fifteen minutes. During that time, I stepped up and assisted the students with whatever questions they had regarding the covered lesson.

But every so often, my attention was broken and drawn to Jasmine’s group of friends. She and they made ongoing disruptions. They were chatting animatedly amongst themselves and went as far as to toss rumbled-up paper at one another in jest.

I knew Jasmine was doing all of this to deliberately cause trouble. But even my patience had its limit.

By the third time I stopped to turn to their group, I walked up to Jasmine and leaned over her desk.

“Whatever you’re doing, stop it,” I said firmly. “I told you before, there’s nothing going on between me and Brad anymore.”

 Jasmine raised her brow in a mocking manner. Again, her lips curled into a pompous smirk.

“Oh, is that because you’ve managed to find someone else? A new and better boyfriend, perhaps?” she questioned challengingly.  

Good God. I should have backed down. Or at the very least, I should have ignored her. But no. I let my pride get in the way.

“Actually, yes,” I said. “He’s tall, has dark, wavy hair, and the nicest pair of brown eyes I’ve ever seen.”

Why the hell was I describing Killian?!

This only seemed to enthrall Jasmine’s little game of taunting me. She braced her hands on the desk and stood up.

With a provocative smile, she spoke. “Oh, is that so? Well, why don’t you bring this ‘new’ boyfriend of yours to the party Alex’s frat house is hosting this Friday?”

Say no. Say no. Say no.

“Sure, why not?” I replied stiffly.

When the final bell rang out and the class was dismissed, I immediately headed back to my dorm. I picked up the nearest pillow I saw and screamed into it.

“Oh, what the actual hell is wrong with me?” I shouted. An awful feeling of regret seeped into me. “Why on earth did I say those things? And why the hell did I actually agree to go to that stupid party?”

Ava cleared her throat, wanting to know what sparked such a random outburst. Having told her what transpired during class, a bright smile curved across her face. She gently clapped her hands together in excitement.

I shook my head in irritation. “None of this is good, Ava. I have no one to bring with me. I’m not going.”

Ava planted her hands on her hips in refusal. “Absolutely not. Not going would mean accepting defeat to Brad and his bitchy little ma—girlfriend,” she argued. “In any case, I heard a strong rumor that there’s a hot, mysterious newcomer on campus. Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome. Just like the guy you met at the pub.”

“I highly doubt that,” I mumbled.

Ava shrugged. “Who knows, maybe this will be your chance to meet him again.”

The memory of that university pamphlet in Killian's pocket resurfaced.

What if...?

I quickly stopped myself from jumping to any possible conclusions. But, there again, I wasn't going to risk missing any chance to see him again.