It has been a bitter December for Teresa. First of all, the weather has been frigid. Driving has been constantly icy and the northern winter winds have been deplorable. But the real bitterness is her semester long relationship with Calc II. Not only has the material been hard but her instructor, Professor Marcus Leduc, has not been letting up at all! It is safe to say Teresa is struggling.
Professor Leduc, or Mr. M, as he likes to be called, announced another hourly exam for next week. "AAUUUGHGGH! This is the sixth one of the semester! What are you trying to do? KILL US?" Teresa screamed. With a loud sigh, a thump on the tabletop, and a wipe of the forehead, Teresa tried to calm herself down.
This is the second class Teresa has taken from him. She had took Calc I from him three semesters ago also. And that is part of her problem. The material isn't as fresh to her as it would be if she had taken Calc I last semester, but if she would get through it, it would be with Mr. M.
From the first time she took his class, they clicked. He is an easy going guy and easy to get along with. You know the type of Professor who is easy to approach and talk to; the type that don't condescend. Plus he was young enough to still be able to relate to the students. She guessed in his thirties.
It also helps that Teresa is attracted to Mr. M. Although he's older, he stays in pretty reasonable shape. Although you can tell he lives a comfortable life, you can see he still gets to the gym to tone up. Mr. M is stocky. He has a hard jaw and a chest to match. Although his demeanor is mellow, you can tell he had a tussle or two in the day and is a man you wouldn't want to get angry. But it is his personality coupled with his big blue eyes that mesmerizes Teresa on lonely days.
Teresa is a traditional student, that is, she came to College fresh out of high school and hasn't missed a semester. At twenty years old, she is in her third year. Although she's is attractive, she never had the desire to "doll up" and play the popular girl / cheerleader role. She keeps her hair naturally blonde, which means it is closer to brown and it falls nicely on her narrow shoulders. At 5' 4" and size six, she is quite shapely. She's always been blessed with a figure that she has never had to work for. Any young man would be blessed to date her, but for now it is only one boy, back home that she stays exclusive to. With the school workload in a tough curriculum, she has little time for anything else.
Today, as always, during the last part of class, Mr. M works his way around the room and help the students while they are trying to solve assigned problems. As he passes Teresa, he playfully bumps her chair with his hip, which she allows to spin on its swivel slightly. As he steps past her, he catches her chair with his hand and uses it to bend a knee next to her desk. Trying to address here recent outburst, he asks "Are you starting to struggle again Teresa?"
"Oh, Mr. M, I'm not sure if I can keep it up much longer. This class is killing me. I'm sorry I blew up; I'm just really frustrated."
"Teresa, you might not feel it, but your one of my best students." he says as he pulls a loose hair off of her shoulder and sends it to the floor. "We are almost done with the semester, and I'd hate for you to drop the ball now. Is there anything I can do to help?"
With his deep blue eyes staring into hers unflinching, Teresa blushes slightly and looks down and away. "Do you think you could just spend a little extra time with me like you did earlier in the semester?" She slowly raises her eyes back to meet his. "I would have never gotten through chapters four and five without your help."
"Sure thing Teresa. How about Wednesday at 5:00 like before?"
"That would be great! I really appreciate it." Teresa says with a couple bats of her eyes and a fetching smile.
Wednesday, at about 4:50, Teresa is standing in the hallway, a couple of turns from Mr. M's office. Even though she has nothing to do, she doesn't want to show up early and seem anxious. When they used to meet, she can recall how hot his office would become. She never figured whether it was the school's heating system or because of the close quarters together with him.
Marcus rounds the corner of the hallway and sees Teresa holding up the wall with her back. "I don't think the wall is going to fall any time soon Teresa. Please, come on down to my office with me." With that, she pushes off and follows him down to his office.
"Please, grab a seat dear. And please take that thousand pound back pack off your shoulder. It's hurting me just seeing the weight of that thing."
Sometimes Teresa's mind can turn a little dirty. Does everything he says have a sexual connotation? Then again, she hasn't had sex in about two months, so he could say "What is the Product Rule and its application to Higher-Order derivatives" and she would probably get a little damp. If he tried to discuss the "Integration of Parts" she'd probably start down right gushing. His comments completely be her imagination.
Teresa decided that she is not going to learn much from this session. Her mind is too preoccupied, but she'll try to bear through it. She should have gone back to her dorm before coming here to um .... at least take the edge off. Oh, well.
Teresa dropped her bag and pulled up the spare chair facing him from around the side of his desk. "Teresa, why don't you pull around next to me here so we can face the problems from the same direction? It will be easier to work that way." Teresa, swiveled around and was at Marcus's right side. "So, why don't we start off by you jotting down a problem that covers some of what you're struggling with?"
