before the bell rings /claudia

[cain]

i don't ever want to let you down.

He was getting strange looks as he walked down the hallways. Of course having half of a bagel hanging out of your mouth and huddling piles of books and binders and papers to your chest would do that to you. Glancing at a few of the students and giving then the best of a smile he could manage without loosing the bagel, Cain was sure that a few looks from some female students were more...ogling then they really should be. He was aware that about half of the campus had the hots for him, something that he tried not to encourage but seemed to do it even when he was bustling down the tiled halls. It was funny, the things one could accomplish when they didn't mean too. Sighing mentally, the young man kept his pace down the stretch of the building his next assigned class was. Psychology with Professor Sanchez, a woman he had come to admire in the thralls of teaching. Admittedly, it was his favorite class to assist in. Plus psychology was always an interesting topic for the young man.

Reaching the correct door, and still having not free hands to open it, he attempted to force the handle down with his elbow. He wasn't that lucky. Muttering a grumble through the bagel that he was still trying to keep balanced in his mouth, Cain tried again. This time, however, some other faculty was crossing the hall and saw him struggling and reached to open the door for him. If he could ave managed it without the bagel falling to the ground, he would have said 'thank you'. Smiling instead, the young TA pushed his back against the door and moved through the doorway. He was early, he always liked to be, it was better then being late. Carefully taking the steps of the class room one-by-one, he ended up at the door of her office finding that it was oddly open and empty.

Setting his pile of stuff down on the little side table by a vacant chair, he made up hos mind to wait. Could probably finish his bagel too. Relaxing in the chair as he ate his long awaited food, green eyes drifted to his papers and binders from other classes; god it made him feel like he was still a student (and in some ways he was) but he wished that he didn't have to grade the professors' twenty page long essays sometimes. Damn, Literature class, why did he have to help with that one? Right, because he happened to like novels and the ins and outs of good writing. Chuckling to himself he polished off his bagel and though of the real reason he was complaining. He hadn't had time last night to truly go over all the essays, Izzy had kept him up with two movies and he was dead tires after they were over and she left.

His memories of the movie night were cut from his head as he heard heels click on the hard floors. Pushing himself to his feet, he hurriedly brushed any crumples on his grey suit jacket off and smoothed down his slate blue buttoned shirt to look more presentable, like a real profession teacher's assistant. A genuine smile puled his expression up as he saw her walk in, hoping that his appearance in her office suddenly wouldn't surprise her, "Good moring, Professor Sanchez." pausing his smile falter some before clearing his throat explaining himself, "Just thought I would get here early before class started. You know how I am." He'd been sitting in during her classes for about a few weeks, and he had always shown up early. She never really said if she was bothered by it, so Cain took it as she didn't care, but part of him wasn't sure so he was always such a gentleman when he bothered her early.

[claudia]

Claudia had spent the better part of the morning talking on the phone to her boyfriend. He may have been at work, but it never seemed that he did much of anything since he always called her and talked for at least half an hour before she finally said she needed to get ready for class. Today had been no different. He called around eighty-thirty and the pair had talked for at least twenty minutes before he said he had to actually do some work. She hung up the phone and, as she always did, looked at the ring she wore on her left hand. Her husband had died five years ago and she still wore the ring as if she were married. She had thought about taking it off for good or at least switching it to her right hand, but she hadn't been able to bring herself to do that just yet. She knew that it probably bothered her boyfriend--after all, they had been dating for two years--but he was such a kind and gracious person that he never said anything. The woman sat back against the swiveling chair and sighed. Sometimes she wondered how she had gotten to this point. She never once thought that she would get married, let alone dating a younger man. She felt guilty, like she was cheating on her deceased husband. But that was just Claudia for you. She thought too much into things, and often second-guessed herself on some of her decisions, especially recently.

The woman glanced at the clock hanging on the wall and then checked the time on her computer screen. It was just after nine, which meant that she had a little under an hour before her classes started for the day. She had eaten a small breakfast that morning--yogurt and a piece of fruit--and her stomach was starting to rumble quietly. So she slipped her feet into the five-inch stilettos hiding under her desk, stood to her feet, fixed her clothes, grabbed the glass coffee mug off her desk, and then walked out of her office and down the hall. She did not bother closing the office door. The students were all in class and she trusted all of her colleagues. Besides, her teaching assistant sometimes came to her office before class started, and she didn't want him to think that she was absent or not somewhere nearby.

She had gone downstairs to the lounge where teachers were allowed to store their lunch in the refrigerator or grab a cup of coffee to go if they wanted. She walked over to the counter and poured herself a cup of coffee, leaving just enough room for cream. And then she went into the refrigerator, where she rummaged through her neatly packed lunchbox in search of the granola bar and the apple she had brought to work with her. She pulled them out and re-zipped the bag. She then made her way from the lounge and back to her office, where she found that her teaching assistant, Cain, was indeed waiting for her. He was standing and had offered her a greeting as she stepped inside, the clicking of her heeled shoes quieting as she stepped onto the ugly blue carpet.

"Claudia," she stated simply as she maneuvered her way behind the desk. She placed the coffee mug, granola bar, and red apple on her desk and lowered herself into the seat. She shifted herself for several moments before finding a comfortable spot. Comfortable, for her, meant that her feet were not dangling in the air. It also meant that her back was being supported by the chair. She looked at him. "How many times do I have to tell you to call me Claudia?" She reached into the bottom drawer of her desk and pulled out a low-fat, powdered creamer for her coffee. There was milk and sugar and other creamers in the lounge downstairs, but she didn't like those. They were cheap and high in unhealthy fats. Claudia was no health nut, but she did like to be healthy. She did yoga for at least forty-five minutes every morning and tried to exercise on the elliptical for at least an hour. She also walked her dogs at least twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening. These things combined helped her to maintain a slender figure, which looked unusual with her oversized chest and broadly curved hips. She had her three children, now thirty-two, twenty-eight, and twenty, to thank for that. Childbirth and breastfeeding did things to the body that other things did not.

"And yes, I do know how you are," she told him as she stirred the creamer into her coffee with a plastic stirrer she had pulled from somewhere. She tossed it in the wastebasket when she was done and replaced the creamer inside the desk drawer. She took a sip of the coffee and opened the granola bar. The room immediately smelled of coffee and strawberries, an unusual mix but not necessarily a bad one. "It's better to be early than late." She shrugged her shoulders gently as she bit into the granola bar. She chewed with her mouth shut and turned around to glance out the window. The sunlight beamed across her face, lightening her eyes and removing the wrinkles. She remained in that way for several moments, finishing her granola bar, turning only to throw the wrapper in the trash. Her eyes darkened and the wrinkles returned. She looked across the desk at the younger man.

"It's gonna be an easy class today," she told him. She lifted the coffee mug into her hand and brought it to her mouth, sipping slowly on the hot liquid. Steam was still rising from the cup. After a few moments of silence, the unmistakable sound of the professor kicking off her heeled shoes could be hear from under the desk. Why bother wearing them when she wasn't standing up? She wiggled her toes and shifted herself in the seat once again, making sure her feet weren't dangling uncomfortably. "Let's just hope that people want to participate."