Book 5, Chapter 7: In the Air (and Still Breathing)
Title: In the Air (and Still Breathing)
Authors: kiltsandlollies and escribo
Characters: Cate, Dominic
Word Count: 2937
Summary: Still struggling, but still willing to try.
Index
Note: Original text and characterization of Cate created by magickalmolly; in some chapters through this story, we’ve adapted both text and characterization, but Molly’s work happily remains the foundation for Professor Blanchett.
Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction; the recognizable people in the story belong to themselves and have never performed the actions portrayed here. I do not know the actors nor am I associated with them in any way. If you are underage, please do not read this story. I am not making any profit from these stories, nor do I mean any harm.
Cate stands at the front of her Tuesday lecture students, chalk in hand, and listens as they engage in a lively debate over cloning. The discussion has taken a rather sharp turn toward philosophy, and Cate can barely hold back the thought that Billy would likely enjoy this intersection of their interests as much as she. She doesn't often let her classes stray too far from her outline, not in an introductory lecture at least, but she's resisted the urge to interfere today. It's hard to stop the conversation when her students have finally found something that's sparked their interest after mitosis failed to inspire.
There is one particular student who holds Cate's interest at the moment. She can't help but feel a bit of triumph to see Dominic actually engaging in something he clearly feels passionate about, even if that passion is only passing. His whole face is lit up, eyes bright as he leans forward in his chair, and his hand is spread open wide as he presses whatever advantage he's found, quoting Nietzsche and Kant. She's pleasantly surprised to find Dominic so well-read, at least in philosophy it seems if not biology, as he is clearly skirting any attempt to bring the topic back to basic fact and sound research. She's already forgiven him on this point because she's so delighted to have witnessed this; it's been like spotting a Clubiona rosserae, which had been thought extinct in the UK until found again. Cate had to admit that she loved rare things best.
With five minutes left in the class, she's nearly decided to let them go until the end because she knows that when Dominic at least sees his grade on their last test--his first for her--that spark of enthusiasm will be gone as quick as it's come. She has a responsibility, however, to the rest of the class, and not just to her own amusement, as much as she might wish otherwise, and she feels it keenly today.
"Good discussion, all of you, but let's end it here." Her students are as reluctant as she is to turn from their talk and it takes another minute before everyone is settled and finally noticing the time. She holds the handful of tests up to forestall the shuffling of books into rucksacks and smiles when a collective groan goes up. "They're not bad, for the most part, I promise. Before I return these, remember the assignment for next time and please revise your notes on mitosis before class. Once you've received your test, you may go. Abelforth?"
By the time she's called out Monaghan, Dominic's nearly gnawed his thumbnail to the quick, and he almost knocks his chair over in his hurry--or nervousness--to get his test. Cate offers him the kindest smile she can muster, remembering his devastation when he'd failed his first quiz, which was meant to prepare him for this exam. When he takes his test, stepping away as she continues to call out names, she watches as he opens the folded papers, the smile disappearing from his face.
Cate honestly didn't understand how Dominic had achieved his poor mark. He'd performed well in class, and his lab work, while not excellent, had produced the proper results. He'd been able to explain it all correctly in his essay, too, but there was the quiz and now this grade. He waits now for Cate to finish, flipping through the pages and clearly searching for the mistakes he's made, but she doesn't rush her last students, stopping to answer first one question and then another before she and Dominic are left alone in the room.
"I really thought I understood this stuff before the test," Dominic says quietly. "I did revise."
Cate nods. "You did seem to have a grasp on it; you did well in the lab. The concepts were the same." She moves to Dominic's desk and takes the test from him, her eyes flitting first across the pages, then back to Dominic. "Your mistakes are simple things, but they're still just that, mistakes. And there's no room for error in science, I'm afraid. For example, each of these numbers is wrong," she says, pointing to a line of equations in his messy handwriting.
Cate can see Dominic's eyes shifting down, his brow furrowing and his ears reddening in shame. She rests the paper on his desk and takes the chair next to his, wanting to give Dominic time to see and think. Crossing her legs, Cate rests her hands in her lap and lowers her voice. "Tell me what happened when you sat down yesterday to take this test."
"I don't know. I was just nervous, I guess. There's so many of the equations and I couldn't go back, like. If I write an essay, I can just spellcheck, and everything comes out all right. I didn't have time."
"You had the same amount of time as everyone else," Cate says, though gently.
"It's just that sometimes if I can go back then I can see things straight, but there just wasn't time." Dominic gestures toward the test, toward the equations that he'd jumbled so thoroughly, before he swipes his hand over his face. "I'm going to fail."
"Not my class you're not, Mr. Monaghan. I won't allow it." Cate's voice is hard when she speaks, and although it wasn't her intention, she's not sorry she's come across as forceful. Dominic's head snaps toward her in response, and Cate sighs. She's seen too many overworked and wrung out students in her years as a teacher--and even as a student--to be overly affected by the sight, so she pushes it down, not because she doesn't care but because she simply can't afford the energy not to.
"You'll take the test again, and again if need be, until you've passed it." Her voice is softer now, but Cate doesn't let her gaze waver, and to his credit, Dominic doesn't look away. "If you fail, then I fail, and I never fail, Dominic. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, ma'am." Dominic straightens his shoulders and lifts his chin a bit, rising up to meet the challenge.
Cate lets herself believe him for a moment, though there is doubt clearly reflected in his eyes. It worries her to see students so unbelieving in their own abilities. Dominic is obviously a bright and dedicated student, and yet the red marks on his page have reduced him to what's obviously a practiced and familiar frustration. Cate allows herself only a moment to wonder at his home life, and how his parents treated Dominic's successes and failures when he was younger. Perhaps he had been pushed to succeed so hard that he now fears failure. That's a feeling she remembers well, and those are memories she shoves aside now. It's easier to seek other explanations, never willing to believe she shares that much in common with her students.
"Dominic, I'm curious about something, so please indulge me for a moment, all right?" Dominic nods, somewhat hesitantly, but Cate reassures him with a warm smile. "It won't hurt, I promise."
Quickly, Cate writes down a simple string of numbers; not an equation or anything complicated; then sets her pen down. Holding up the paper, the smile is still on her face.
"Now, read this out loud. Don't think about it; just read what you see."
Dominic looks at the string of numbers, then back at Cate, before beginning to reading them. "1-5-3-2-6-7-4. No, wait." Dominic's brow creases in frustration and a bit of embarrassment. "1-5-2-3-6-7-4-9-3 I mean 5-8-2."
He looks back up at Cate expectantly, waiting to see her reaction, and then looks down at his hands, his long lashes brushing his cheeks, as he tries to scrub ink off the back of his hands with his thumb.
"That'll do, Dominic." Cate's voice is soft once again, and she sets the paper aside, not needing to look at it to know Dominic made several mistakes. It's clear to her now, the various notes regarding Dominic's continued trouble in math and science she came across in the records to which should could find access, and Cate is surprised to think that none of his teachers has ever thought Dominic's difficulty with his schoolwork was anything other than laziness. The repeated theme of needs to study harder; needs to be better prepared in certain subjects when he does well in others should have been easy dots for someone to connect long before. Especially his parents.
Or his advisor. Cate's thoughts turn to Billy, but for once those thoughts are professional, not personal. She realizes this needs to be brought to his attention. Billy is Dominic's advisor as well as his teacher, someone whom he's counseled, Cate is sure, many times. Billy should have seen this problem before now, and should have directed Dominic accordingly.
"You've always had this difficulty, haven't you?" Dominic's brief and humiliated nod speaks volumes, and Cate covers his hand with hers unconsciously. "It's nothing to be embarrassed about. But you should speak to someone about it. I would suggest going to see your advisor--"
"No." Dominic's head snaps up and a look of horror crosses his face. He grasps Cate's hand, pleading with her. "Please don't tell Bil--Professor Boyd. Please, Professor. I'll study harder. I promise. And I'll pass this test and the others somehow. I just-- he's been very good to me, I don't want him to think that I can't handle this."
But you can't, is Cate's first thought. And you should get the help you need. She keeps her thoughts to herself, seeing how upset Dominic is. She doesn't know exactly why, but Billy's opinion is obviously very important to him, and he looks almost terrified at the idea of Billy knowing about this. Cate rubs her free hand over Dominic's soothingly, both trying to placate him and get him to loosen his tight grip. He looks to her expectantly, and she nods after a moment, deciding that keeping Dominic calm is more important than pressing the issue just now.
"All right. If you do not want me to discuss this with Professor Boyd, I won't. But I do feel you should at least look into this more, perhaps on your own. Use the internet services in the computer lab, or the library. Help yourself be a better student, Dominic." Smiling warmly, Cate slips her hand from Dominic's, then rises from the chair, crossing to her desk where her schedule is. "I have tomorrow afternoon free from 3:00 to 4:30. Why don't you come back then, and you can retake your test."
"I will. And I'll do better. I promise." Standing up, Dominic picks up his rucksack and sets his shoulders, turning to leave the room. Stopping at the door, he looks back and sees Cate standing at her desk, gathering her belongings. "Thank you, Professor," he says sincerely. "You've been very kind. I don't know how to thank you. I don't have any way to repay you for this."
"You can thank me by being on time tomorrow, and by doing your best." Cate stops in gathering up her things and raises her head. Dominic is standing in the doorway, all rumpled good looks and ruddy cheeks and Cate can't help but smile. What a heartbreaker he'll be, Cate thinks to herself, and then feels a bit surprised by the maternal tone of her thoughts. It's simply that he seems so young, even though she knows he can't be more than ten years her junior. Cate shakes herself out of her thoughts and shoulders her valise, pulling her keys out as she crosses to Dominic, closing and locking the classroom door behind them. "And don't let yourself get so stressed. You'll do so much better if you relax."
Cate gives Dominic an encouraging squeeze on his shoulder, then points up the hall, toward the exit. "I'm heading this way... which way are you going?"
"Same, actually. To the library." Dominic begins to walk next to Cate, his bag slung over his shoulder. Cate falls into step with Dominic's long-legged gate easily, and she fingers her keys as she walks alongside him, listening to him talk. He jams his hands into his jeans pockets, the weight making his waistband slide down, showing a line of tanned skin and toned muscle, and Cate does not fail to notice, appreciating the roll of his hips as he walks, and idly wondering whether he is as lithe in bed as he seems.
"Professor Boyd gives us writing assignments each week," Dominic says, his mind clearly still so amusingly focused on his advisor that Cate finds herself listening harder, and enjoying the sight of Dominic's fair cheeks darkening as he seems to recognize himself just how much a schoolboy crush he's making his admiration sound like. "They take me hours to get just right. He's really tough, but fair. Like you. He likes to make sure we read deeply. Likes to have us give our opinions, which is hard sometimes because he knows so much. I'm always afraid he's going to truly discover how little I know and wonder how I wandered into his life. But he never makes me feel like that, you know? He makes me feel like--I mean, he makes everyone in class feel like their contribution is worth something. That they are worth something."
"Professor Boyd is a marvelous teacher," Cate says gently, almost indulgently. "At least nearly everyone here seems to think so. And it's so rare, quite honestly, to find that; a teacher who is dedicated about his profession. Passionate about what he does. You're quite lucky to have him as your advisor, Dominic. I'm sure he gives you the same attention in his office as he does all of his students during class."
"He's very generous with his time." Dominic says, then looks away, his cheeks reddening brighter. Shouldering his pack higher, he shakes his head as if to shake away his thoughts as well. "You seem the same way, Professor. Dedicated and passionate."
Cate laughs, low and sweet, and seeing that he's pleased her again, Dominic's smile this time is bright in return before he pauses, resting a hand on Cate's arm gently to stop her as well. Lowering his eyes from hers, he draws his hand away slowly. "I'm going to run over to the computer lab to email my mum. She was worried about my marks, and I'll finally have some good news to tell her."
At this and the touch of Dominic's hand on her elbow, Cate smiles again. She imagines that Dom must get along with his mother far better than he does with his father. He seems the type: shy and sweet, someone who probably spent as many cozy Sunday afternoons sitting in the kitchen watching his mother prepare the evening's meal as he had running about outside and getting into trouble. Definitely his mother's son, and Dominic's almost gentlemanly display of distance makes Cate want to laugh, but she reminds herself that she is the teacher here, and he the student, and that that line needs to not be crossed.
"That sounds like a good idea. Be sure to be back in my classroom tomorrow at 3:00. And Dominic--" She captures his arm this time, stopping him before he can push open the door at the end of the hallway. "Study tonight, but don't overthink it. You already know and understand what's on that test. If you relax, it'll come to you when you take it again."
"I will. Well, I'll try." Dominic's smile and nod is as confident as Cate supposes he can force it, and charming, too. "I'll see you at three, then. And thank you again, Professor."
My pleasure, Cate thinks as she watches him tear off down the steps to the pavement and across the green. She frowns then, mildly irritated at her own reaction to this one student, when she's had little patience for others like him before in her career. Yes, she can understand why Dominic must have earned whatever particular attention he believes Professor Boyd gives him--he's clearly in need of as much guidance as can be thrown at him--but he hasn't quite yet earned the same from her. He could, though, she supposes, stepping now back inside the building and in the direction of her office. He could prove himself nicely, given the chance to not fear science or numbers, and to recognize that the world they form is just as fascinating as that muddled by philosophy. Even Dominic's beloved Professor Boyd's acknowledged that, she thinks, her smile now firmly back on her face as she unlocks the door to the office and leaves her things in an uncharacteristic jumble on her desk.
She'd assured Dominic that she wouldn't speak to Billy about Dominic's difficulties, and for the moment she won't. There are other, happier things she plans to discuss with Billy at lunch in a few days, and not one student's troubles among them. As if she needed more evidence for the many hypotheses she's currently forming about Billy, Cate's open laptop chirps with the announcement of an incoming email, and she doesn't bother to hold back her laughter as she reads Billy's terse, almost smirky reminder--or confirmation--of that lunch. The sound is another rarity in Cate's life, one that echoes around her in the office and settles as she exhales and closes her eyes and the book on another day.
Authors: kiltsandlollies and escribo
Characters: Cate, Dominic
Word Count: 2937
Summary: Still struggling, but still willing to try.
Index
Note: Original text and characterization of Cate created by magickalmolly; in some chapters through this story, we’ve adapted both text and characterization, but Molly’s work happily remains the foundation for Professor Blanchett.
Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction; the recognizable people in the story belong to themselves and have never performed the actions portrayed here. I do not know the actors nor am I associated with them in any way. If you are underage, please do not read this story. I am not making any profit from these stories, nor do I mean any harm.
Cate stands at the front of her Tuesday lecture students, chalk in hand, and listens as they engage in a lively debate over cloning. The discussion has taken a rather sharp turn toward philosophy, and Cate can barely hold back the thought that Billy would likely enjoy this intersection of their interests as much as she. She doesn't often let her classes stray too far from her outline, not in an introductory lecture at least, but she's resisted the urge to interfere today. It's hard to stop the conversation when her students have finally found something that's sparked their interest after mitosis failed to inspire.
There is one particular student who holds Cate's interest at the moment. She can't help but feel a bit of triumph to see Dominic actually engaging in something he clearly feels passionate about, even if that passion is only passing. His whole face is lit up, eyes bright as he leans forward in his chair, and his hand is spread open wide as he presses whatever advantage he's found, quoting Nietzsche and Kant. She's pleasantly surprised to find Dominic so well-read, at least in philosophy it seems if not biology, as he is clearly skirting any attempt to bring the topic back to basic fact and sound research. She's already forgiven him on this point because she's so delighted to have witnessed this; it's been like spotting a Clubiona rosserae, which had been thought extinct in the UK until found again. Cate had to admit that she loved rare things best.
With five minutes left in the class, she's nearly decided to let them go until the end because she knows that when Dominic at least sees his grade on their last test--his first for her--that spark of enthusiasm will be gone as quick as it's come. She has a responsibility, however, to the rest of the class, and not just to her own amusement, as much as she might wish otherwise, and she feels it keenly today.
"Good discussion, all of you, but let's end it here." Her students are as reluctant as she is to turn from their talk and it takes another minute before everyone is settled and finally noticing the time. She holds the handful of tests up to forestall the shuffling of books into rucksacks and smiles when a collective groan goes up. "They're not bad, for the most part, I promise. Before I return these, remember the assignment for next time and please revise your notes on mitosis before class. Once you've received your test, you may go. Abelforth?"
By the time she's called out Monaghan, Dominic's nearly gnawed his thumbnail to the quick, and he almost knocks his chair over in his hurry--or nervousness--to get his test. Cate offers him the kindest smile she can muster, remembering his devastation when he'd failed his first quiz, which was meant to prepare him for this exam. When he takes his test, stepping away as she continues to call out names, she watches as he opens the folded papers, the smile disappearing from his face.
Cate honestly didn't understand how Dominic had achieved his poor mark. He'd performed well in class, and his lab work, while not excellent, had produced the proper results. He'd been able to explain it all correctly in his essay, too, but there was the quiz and now this grade. He waits now for Cate to finish, flipping through the pages and clearly searching for the mistakes he's made, but she doesn't rush her last students, stopping to answer first one question and then another before she and Dominic are left alone in the room.
"I really thought I understood this stuff before the test," Dominic says quietly. "I did revise."
Cate nods. "You did seem to have a grasp on it; you did well in the lab. The concepts were the same." She moves to Dominic's desk and takes the test from him, her eyes flitting first across the pages, then back to Dominic. "Your mistakes are simple things, but they're still just that, mistakes. And there's no room for error in science, I'm afraid. For example, each of these numbers is wrong," she says, pointing to a line of equations in his messy handwriting.
Cate can see Dominic's eyes shifting down, his brow furrowing and his ears reddening in shame. She rests the paper on his desk and takes the chair next to his, wanting to give Dominic time to see and think. Crossing her legs, Cate rests her hands in her lap and lowers her voice. "Tell me what happened when you sat down yesterday to take this test."
"I don't know. I was just nervous, I guess. There's so many of the equations and I couldn't go back, like. If I write an essay, I can just spellcheck, and everything comes out all right. I didn't have time."
"You had the same amount of time as everyone else," Cate says, though gently.
"It's just that sometimes if I can go back then I can see things straight, but there just wasn't time." Dominic gestures toward the test, toward the equations that he'd jumbled so thoroughly, before he swipes his hand over his face. "I'm going to fail."
"Not my class you're not, Mr. Monaghan. I won't allow it." Cate's voice is hard when she speaks, and although it wasn't her intention, she's not sorry she's come across as forceful. Dominic's head snaps toward her in response, and Cate sighs. She's seen too many overworked and wrung out students in her years as a teacher--and even as a student--to be overly affected by the sight, so she pushes it down, not because she doesn't care but because she simply can't afford the energy not to.
"You'll take the test again, and again if need be, until you've passed it." Her voice is softer now, but Cate doesn't let her gaze waver, and to his credit, Dominic doesn't look away. "If you fail, then I fail, and I never fail, Dominic. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, ma'am." Dominic straightens his shoulders and lifts his chin a bit, rising up to meet the challenge.
Cate lets herself believe him for a moment, though there is doubt clearly reflected in his eyes. It worries her to see students so unbelieving in their own abilities. Dominic is obviously a bright and dedicated student, and yet the red marks on his page have reduced him to what's obviously a practiced and familiar frustration. Cate allows herself only a moment to wonder at his home life, and how his parents treated Dominic's successes and failures when he was younger. Perhaps he had been pushed to succeed so hard that he now fears failure. That's a feeling she remembers well, and those are memories she shoves aside now. It's easier to seek other explanations, never willing to believe she shares that much in common with her students.
"Dominic, I'm curious about something, so please indulge me for a moment, all right?" Dominic nods, somewhat hesitantly, but Cate reassures him with a warm smile. "It won't hurt, I promise."
Quickly, Cate writes down a simple string of numbers; not an equation or anything complicated; then sets her pen down. Holding up the paper, the smile is still on her face.
"Now, read this out loud. Don't think about it; just read what you see."
Dominic looks at the string of numbers, then back at Cate, before beginning to reading them. "1-5-3-2-6-7-4. No, wait." Dominic's brow creases in frustration and a bit of embarrassment. "1-5-2-3-6-7-4-9-3 I mean 5-8-2."
He looks back up at Cate expectantly, waiting to see her reaction, and then looks down at his hands, his long lashes brushing his cheeks, as he tries to scrub ink off the back of his hands with his thumb.
"That'll do, Dominic." Cate's voice is soft once again, and she sets the paper aside, not needing to look at it to know Dominic made several mistakes. It's clear to her now, the various notes regarding Dominic's continued trouble in math and science she came across in the records to which should could find access, and Cate is surprised to think that none of his teachers has ever thought Dominic's difficulty with his schoolwork was anything other than laziness. The repeated theme of needs to study harder; needs to be better prepared in certain subjects when he does well in others should have been easy dots for someone to connect long before. Especially his parents.
Or his advisor. Cate's thoughts turn to Billy, but for once those thoughts are professional, not personal. She realizes this needs to be brought to his attention. Billy is Dominic's advisor as well as his teacher, someone whom he's counseled, Cate is sure, many times. Billy should have seen this problem before now, and should have directed Dominic accordingly.
"You've always had this difficulty, haven't you?" Dominic's brief and humiliated nod speaks volumes, and Cate covers his hand with hers unconsciously. "It's nothing to be embarrassed about. But you should speak to someone about it. I would suggest going to see your advisor--"
"No." Dominic's head snaps up and a look of horror crosses his face. He grasps Cate's hand, pleading with her. "Please don't tell Bil--Professor Boyd. Please, Professor. I'll study harder. I promise. And I'll pass this test and the others somehow. I just-- he's been very good to me, I don't want him to think that I can't handle this."
But you can't, is Cate's first thought. And you should get the help you need. She keeps her thoughts to herself, seeing how upset Dominic is. She doesn't know exactly why, but Billy's opinion is obviously very important to him, and he looks almost terrified at the idea of Billy knowing about this. Cate rubs her free hand over Dominic's soothingly, both trying to placate him and get him to loosen his tight grip. He looks to her expectantly, and she nods after a moment, deciding that keeping Dominic calm is more important than pressing the issue just now.
"All right. If you do not want me to discuss this with Professor Boyd, I won't. But I do feel you should at least look into this more, perhaps on your own. Use the internet services in the computer lab, or the library. Help yourself be a better student, Dominic." Smiling warmly, Cate slips her hand from Dominic's, then rises from the chair, crossing to her desk where her schedule is. "I have tomorrow afternoon free from 3:00 to 4:30. Why don't you come back then, and you can retake your test."
"I will. And I'll do better. I promise." Standing up, Dominic picks up his rucksack and sets his shoulders, turning to leave the room. Stopping at the door, he looks back and sees Cate standing at her desk, gathering her belongings. "Thank you, Professor," he says sincerely. "You've been very kind. I don't know how to thank you. I don't have any way to repay you for this."
"You can thank me by being on time tomorrow, and by doing your best." Cate stops in gathering up her things and raises her head. Dominic is standing in the doorway, all rumpled good looks and ruddy cheeks and Cate can't help but smile. What a heartbreaker he'll be, Cate thinks to herself, and then feels a bit surprised by the maternal tone of her thoughts. It's simply that he seems so young, even though she knows he can't be more than ten years her junior. Cate shakes herself out of her thoughts and shoulders her valise, pulling her keys out as she crosses to Dominic, closing and locking the classroom door behind them. "And don't let yourself get so stressed. You'll do so much better if you relax."
Cate gives Dominic an encouraging squeeze on his shoulder, then points up the hall, toward the exit. "I'm heading this way... which way are you going?"
"Same, actually. To the library." Dominic begins to walk next to Cate, his bag slung over his shoulder. Cate falls into step with Dominic's long-legged gate easily, and she fingers her keys as she walks alongside him, listening to him talk. He jams his hands into his jeans pockets, the weight making his waistband slide down, showing a line of tanned skin and toned muscle, and Cate does not fail to notice, appreciating the roll of his hips as he walks, and idly wondering whether he is as lithe in bed as he seems.
"Professor Boyd gives us writing assignments each week," Dominic says, his mind clearly still so amusingly focused on his advisor that Cate finds herself listening harder, and enjoying the sight of Dominic's fair cheeks darkening as he seems to recognize himself just how much a schoolboy crush he's making his admiration sound like. "They take me hours to get just right. He's really tough, but fair. Like you. He likes to make sure we read deeply. Likes to have us give our opinions, which is hard sometimes because he knows so much. I'm always afraid he's going to truly discover how little I know and wonder how I wandered into his life. But he never makes me feel like that, you know? He makes me feel like--I mean, he makes everyone in class feel like their contribution is worth something. That they are worth something."
"Professor Boyd is a marvelous teacher," Cate says gently, almost indulgently. "At least nearly everyone here seems to think so. And it's so rare, quite honestly, to find that; a teacher who is dedicated about his profession. Passionate about what he does. You're quite lucky to have him as your advisor, Dominic. I'm sure he gives you the same attention in his office as he does all of his students during class."
"He's very generous with his time." Dominic says, then looks away, his cheeks reddening brighter. Shouldering his pack higher, he shakes his head as if to shake away his thoughts as well. "You seem the same way, Professor. Dedicated and passionate."
Cate laughs, low and sweet, and seeing that he's pleased her again, Dominic's smile this time is bright in return before he pauses, resting a hand on Cate's arm gently to stop her as well. Lowering his eyes from hers, he draws his hand away slowly. "I'm going to run over to the computer lab to email my mum. She was worried about my marks, and I'll finally have some good news to tell her."
At this and the touch of Dominic's hand on her elbow, Cate smiles again. She imagines that Dom must get along with his mother far better than he does with his father. He seems the type: shy and sweet, someone who probably spent as many cozy Sunday afternoons sitting in the kitchen watching his mother prepare the evening's meal as he had running about outside and getting into trouble. Definitely his mother's son, and Dominic's almost gentlemanly display of distance makes Cate want to laugh, but she reminds herself that she is the teacher here, and he the student, and that that line needs to not be crossed.
"That sounds like a good idea. Be sure to be back in my classroom tomorrow at 3:00. And Dominic--" She captures his arm this time, stopping him before he can push open the door at the end of the hallway. "Study tonight, but don't overthink it. You already know and understand what's on that test. If you relax, it'll come to you when you take it again."
"I will. Well, I'll try." Dominic's smile and nod is as confident as Cate supposes he can force it, and charming, too. "I'll see you at three, then. And thank you again, Professor."
My pleasure, Cate thinks as she watches him tear off down the steps to the pavement and across the green. She frowns then, mildly irritated at her own reaction to this one student, when she's had little patience for others like him before in her career. Yes, she can understand why Dominic must have earned whatever particular attention he believes Professor Boyd gives him--he's clearly in need of as much guidance as can be thrown at him--but he hasn't quite yet earned the same from her. He could, though, she supposes, stepping now back inside the building and in the direction of her office. He could prove himself nicely, given the chance to not fear science or numbers, and to recognize that the world they form is just as fascinating as that muddled by philosophy. Even Dominic's beloved Professor Boyd's acknowledged that, she thinks, her smile now firmly back on her face as she unlocks the door to the office and leaves her things in an uncharacteristic jumble on her desk.
She'd assured Dominic that she wouldn't speak to Billy about Dominic's difficulties, and for the moment she won't. There are other, happier things she plans to discuss with Billy at lunch in a few days, and not one student's troubles among them. As if she needed more evidence for the many hypotheses she's currently forming about Billy, Cate's open laptop chirps with the announcement of an incoming email, and she doesn't bother to hold back her laughter as she reads Billy's terse, almost smirky reminder--or confirmation--of that lunch. The sound is another rarity in Cate's life, one that echoes around her in the office and settles as she exhales and closes her eyes and the book on another day.