I hover at my professor’s door anxiously. He always does this damn him, making students wait like this. It’s like he can sense anxiety and feeds off of it through his door. I consider knocking on the door again, but decide it’d look too desperate.

“Enter”, comes the sharp voice from the office. I purse my lips slightly, but smooth my expression before opening the door. I stride in with as much confidence as I can muster.

“Professor Osoran,” I dip my head in greeting and plaster on my best polite smile. His expression matches mine, but it doesn’t mask his eyes traveling the length of my body. I ignore it, as per usual.

“Miss Deumont, to what do I owe the pleasure of your presence? Your performance in class is as exemplary as ever, so I must assume this is a less formal visit?”

I keep myself from snarling at the implication. He knows for a damn fact he was staring at my breasts when he delivered that line, not that you could tell from that stupid fucking placid smile on his face. How was I ever convinced to take his class?

Oh right. Jin.

“Not as such. This has to do with that project Jin started-“

This manages to crack his expression. Ha, bastard. He waves me off before I can finish my sentence though.

“Yes yes, that little thing. She likely won’t succeed, you know. I don’t know why you keep encouraging her so. Now, unless you have any business with me, I am grading midterms right now..?” He takes a sip from a short glass filled with a dark brown liquid beside him. Day drinking again, it looks like.

I have to take a deep breath before answering. It wouldn’t do for me to piss him off now. “Actually yes, I want you to teach me how to safely dispell the enchantments on the hourglass. It does not follow any of the standard deactivation methods.”

Osoran gives a long suffering sigh at this, as if I asked a major inconvenience of him.

He waves a hand beside him dismissively while speaking, “Of course it doesn’t, that enchantment is far too complicated to accommodate any of the standard methods.”

I wait for him to continue talking, until I realize that’s all he has to say when he starts writing on papers in front of him again. I clench my jaw twice then forcibly relax to speak, “Of course. Are you saying it is too complicated for me to learn?”

My professor gives me an annoyed scowl. His long face is well suited for that expression. “For you? I doubt it. I have no desire to teach you, however.”

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Is he actually going to refuse teaching me..? I don’t bother to keep the glare from my face and I open my mouth to argue when he cuts me off again.

“You are coddling that girl too much. Let her succeed or fail by her own means.”

“You wouldn’t even let her try when she first asked, and that was after you recommended the theory books to her! I had to come ask in her place y-“ I bite my tongue. Not good, don’t call him a filthy old pervert no matter how much you want to.

He shoots me an unimpressed look, “And for good reason. If she’s bullheaded enough to try anyways, let her eat the cake she demands in hand. Her skills pale in comparison to yours, Miss Deumont.”

“So you wont even let me learn how to do your own fucking job for you, is that it?” Shit shit shit stop mouthing off you’ve spent too long around Jin shut up shut up shut-

“That is correct.”

I’m seething.

“I did not wish for her to have that hourglass in the first place. I incorrectly assumed you would respect my wishes when I gave it to you, and you betrayed me. For that, consequences must be suffered.”

I betrayed him?? What in the actual-

“If she fails, so be it. If she succeeds, however, I will change my opinion of her appropriately. That is all. You are dismissed.”

Fucking asshole. But… There’s no way I’m changing his opinion now. I wonder if there ever was. I purse my lips and don’t bother to hide my annoyance, but dip my head in acknowledgment and stalk out of the room, closing the door behind me just a bit too hard.

I really hate that fucking prick. “Consequences must be suffered” my ass, for what?? My sour mood hangs around me like a cloud and I can see people clearly moving out of my way in the halls.

I’m not sure where I’m going, but someone stops me before I figure it out.

“Miss Deumont! Your father requests to see you in his office, urgently!” I see one of his errand girls bowing to me out of breath. I purse my lips, “And he couldn’t send a message?”

The girl is still bowing. I wish people wouldn’t do that. “I’m not sure Miss Deumont. He wishes to see you at once.”

I sigh. “Fine.”

His office is in the same wing I’m currently in, fortunately. I spend the walk coming up with yet another argument against the entire notion of tenure and our use of it in the academy. Or if nothing else, reasons why Osoran shouldn’t have it. Surely there’s other qualified chronomancers who could take over his position.

I don’t bother to knock on the grand double doors and instead open them with a wave of the hand. Hand gestures were quite literally beaten out of me as a child, but I still do them on the odd occasion out of spite more than anything else. If the reason he summoned me is for another lecture about how I’m not acting lady-like enough again…

My father is standing in front of the large floor to ceiling windows dramatically. I keep myself from rolling my eyes as he turns around. My sour mood is instantly forgotten and replaced with concern when I see an uncharacteristically grave expression on his face. The last time I saw him look like that was when Mum died.

“Alize. We need to talk.”

Ah… shit.