I knew. In the back of my mind I knew that he was different, he was the youngest of all of our professors and he was here at a low ranking college.. He wasn’t terrible looking either, I mean a little homely but could be worse. I definitely wasn’t day dreaming about sinking my teeth into him but I wont deny that I has ran through my mind once or twice. What was he hiding and why was he here? I came too get my own backstory because no one I talked to seemed to have any certainty in their answers.

The University of Wauna is a colorless school, not a party school whatsoever just a place where people come to actually get some work done, which was hard for me to believe when I started here around 4 years ago. I think what drew me in was the fact that this wasn’t some flashy school with multiple bars and coffee shops and different stores on campus. That it was exactly what you paid for, you education and some guidance along the way. I’m not going to lie the buildings are actually quite beautiful made up of 5 buildings connecting in the middle as the main business hub. Also having over 25 acres of wooded lands where you saw deer and elk every great once in a while and miles of backroads that hadn’t been used since the eighties. Wauna was mostly known for their technical programs and getting young laborers ready for the union and such but they also had to have all the other accrediting classes to be able to push these students through in one go and not have too worry about transfers and such. So in the case of my aspirations to become a medical writer U.Wauna could really care less. And I liked that in this odd and sobering way, no one to tell me what I’m doing wrong or right as long as I am doing things. I don’t think everyone can appreciate the gratification that I gain from solitude.

Now almost 7pm creeping up at the last hour of the office hours and I can see that he is alone. I stop by the bathroom to make sure that I’m in order, spritzing myself to leave an impression that I wasn’t sure I wanted or not. I walk into a dimly lit classroom with his desk front and center. And he is nowhere to be seen, it is only me. The ambiance sends shivers up my spine. Something jus felt off, my curious self says go find him. But my street smarts are telling me that is a terrible idea. I peek around looking at all the books on the walls when I find one that just doesn’t seem like it belongs. It is rugged and warn and from the layer of dust on every other book this one seemed to have the most traffic. Grabbing it from the shelf and shoving it in my bag quickly before I walked into the next room. I had no time to be caught reading I had to get in and get what I came for (even if I didn’t know what I was looking for.

After several days and no answers I finally decided to open up the book. No title but very old and worn binding, I flip through the first ten or so pages and nothing. It is literally just a blank book to my surprise. As I keep flipping through pages I see several of them that seem to be almost glued together. As I try to pry then open I have no luck, but to my surprise I see that there is a slide on the side that reveals a key. Very used and didn’t look at all new nor shiny with some brown staining. I did my best to keep my fingers off the key but I knew that I wasn’t letting this one go.

Back to class the next day and there is a huge announcement at the beginning of class. There was a book missing from the decorative shelf and that it needed to be returned immediately. In the back of my mind I knew that this was big. What could he be hiding?

I try to dismiss the thoughts from my worrisome mind. At this point it has taken up the majority of my time and I’m now in the position where I have to go to his office hours for work not just play. I gather myself and work on my facial expressions to play the perfect round of poker face if need be. I walk in and the same tension is in the air from the first night I went in. the room isn’t so dark and he is actually front and center at his desk. Hellos are exchanged and the usual run around, what are you inn for? Is there any way I could help? There was a new question in the queue of what are you in for bingo. And that was that was what are you going to school for? You don’t look like you belong here in all honesty. I told him that I was studying to become a medical writer. He smirked, “Really? Our of all the schools? You seem like a bright young woman but Wauna just doesn’t a suit you or your needs.” I reflected back and honestly he wasn’t wrong. This really want the place for me but the convenience was all that mattered to me. I hissed back with the typical “you don’t know anything about me!”, followed with a devilish grin his eyes lit up. “Not yet.”