Getting caught up in past mistake

Isla's POV

"What are you doing?" Macy whispered pulling me by the arm and snapping me out of my trance. Whispers echoed across the classroom and the students gave me disapproving stares. 

"You are late and still causing a commotion?" The man from last night asked in a stern tone with a raised brow. 

"We are so sorry sir," Macy apologized dragging me along. Sir? Why was she referring to him as sir and what was he doing here? We made our way to two empty seats at the back. 

“Hey,” Liam whispered moving over for us to sit next to him. 

“Get lost asshole,” Macy retorted before I could say a word in response. She held my hand and made me sit. 

“What is going on? Why do you look so pale?” she whispered. My gaze never left his. 

I gulped. “Why is he here? Where is the arts professor?” 

“Oh, that? Didn’t you get the mail? Professor Brown retired to his hometown. Professor Sebastian got transferred as his replacement. He’s hot isn’t he? That’s the reason why you were so distracted…”

I zoned out of what she was saying. My mind raced to the night before. The bar, the intense gazes, the reckless comfort of a stranger who wasn’t supposed to matter beyond dawn. A one-night mistake I had decided to get rid of my mind completely except he was here right now and he was my professor. Was the universe playing a cruel joke on me? Why wasn’t anything going my way?

“Good morning everyone. Shall we get back to the business of the day after the recent disturbance,” his gaze deliberately swept over me as if I were just another face in the crowd. Heat crept up my neck. I couldn’t concentrate throughout the rest of the class till he picked up his laptop and walked out the door. 

Liam immediately started to approach us. I hurriedly grabbed my books, placed them in my bag, and got up on my feet. 

“Can we talk?”

“The only talking we will be doing is my fist against your dumb ass face. Still want to talk?” Macy threatened. 

He sighed. “Macy, I just want to talk to Isla. I don’t want a fight.”

“I have nothing to say to you Liam. I made it clear we are over. You are free to go back to your cousin, girlfriend or whatever you call her,” I retorted. My anger from yesterday is just simmering below the surface. 

“You are still mad, I get it. We will discuss this later when you are much calmer, privately,” he replied glancing at Macy. He smiled at me and walked away. I scoffed in disbelief. The least he could do was act like he was sorry but he was smiling?

“Is he being for real right now? How dare that asshole?” she seethed. 

I held her hand as we both walked out together. “Ignore him.” I had a lot more on my mind. Like how I would survive college with him as my professor. Could the day get any worse? 

“Right. I need to get my files. You are getting yours back too right?” she asked scrolling through her phone. My feet halted to a stop. I could feel the blood drain from my face immediately. Macy stopped walking and narrowed her eyes at me. 

“You did turn in your application, right?” she probed. I was so fucked. I had it all written down on my laptop but I didn’t turn it in. I ran my hands through my hair out of frustration. 

Her eyes widened. “You didn’t? How could you forget? Last night was the deadline!” 

“After what transpired with Liam last night, I completely forgot to turn it in. This is so stupid. What am I going to do Macy? I could lose my scholarship.” I was beginning to panic. How could I have been so stupid as to put my scholarship in jeopardy? 

“Oh Isla,” Macy groaned. As if my boyfriend cheating on me wasn’t tragic enough. 

Her eyes suddenly lit up, the way they did whenever she had an idea. “Why don’t you meet up with Mr Sebastian? He’s currently in charge of that.”

I whipped my head towards her so fast that I almost got whiplash. “What?”

“Think about it. If you meet up with him and explain the entire situation to him. He would understand. You are a star student after all. I’m certain he would make an exception and listen to you,” she explained. I shook my head. There was no way in hell I would be meeting with him alone. 

“Well? Do you have any better ideas?”

I thought about my parents back home in our little apartment. My sister was still in high school. Our restaurant hadn’t been doing well lately. How on earth were they going to afford my outrageously expensive fees without the scholarship fund? 

“Or I could speak to my parents. I’m sure I can bring the issue up without us getting into a fight…”

“No Macy. I can’t possibly ask you to do that. Thanks for the offer but no,” I refused sternly. I knew she wasn’t in a good place with her parents at the moment. 

“Then we have to try the first option. Come on, I will walk you to his office,” she offered pulling me along. Macy was a social butterfly. I wasn’t surprised to know she was already aware of the direction to his office. My heart pounded hard in my chest when we stopped in front of the office. What was I going to say? How was I going to bring the issue up? Do I remind him about last night or act ignorant? Macy knocked on the door lightly. 

“Come in,” a deep voice responded. 

“You’ve got this,” she whispered with an assuring smile pulling the door open and slightly tugging me forward. I staggered almost falling on my face. He looked up at me through his glasses and damn, he looked so hot. Heat spread from my neck to my cheeks. He raised a brow making me realize I had been gawking without saying a word. 

“Good morning sir. I’m Isla Caldwell, one of your students and I’m here to submit my scholarship application,” I muttered in one breath. I wondered how I said all that without stuttering. I looked composed on the outside but on the inside, I was a quivering mess. 

“Scholarship application? That ended yesterday,” he replied leaning back into his chair and not taking his eyes away from me. 

I gulped. “It was but due to some family problems, I wasn’t able to submit it. If you would just take a look at my file…”

He took off his glasses cutting me off. “Yes, I know you are a star student, a role model who has been on scholarship since last year. But how could such an efficient person make such a mistake?” 

“Sir, I…”

“Such formality. You definitely weren’t so formal when you were writhing beneath me and moaning for more last night,” he smirked. My eyes widened in disbelief and my jaw dropped. Did he recognize me after all but h…how could he spew such words with a straight face? 

“I could take up your complaints to the board and have your scholarship renewed but why should I? What would I be getting in return?” he asked placing his hands beneath his chin and gazing at me intently with a smug smile.