Two days later, Dr. Mueller's class met again to discuss more of Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita.
Sonya looked at him in fear.
"Some have complained that Lolita has no morals," a student said.
Dr. Mueller eyed the student. "But do you believe there should be?"
He caught sight of Sonya. Dr. Mueller's heart raced. Oh, he wanted her so bad tonight. He had her right where she wanted her. In fear and in compliance. She even turned in a paper. Maybe there was hope for her yet.
After classes were over, Dr. Mueller went into his office. He shot the following text to Sonya:
Meet me at the Rick's Pub close to campus. Tell no one and bring no one.
Dr. Mueller went over to Rick's, a local bar and grill close to campus. Nirvana's "Smells Like Teenage Spirit" played in the background. The bar owner was a fan of 1990s rock and grunge, but would play different songs on request. The professor spoke with the bar tender, a young man who was cleaning a glass when he arrived.
"I'll take a bottle of Blue Moon," Dr. Mueller ordered. "Oh, and someone I know will be arriving shortly. Do you know Sonya?'
The bar tender nodded slowly. "Yeah, I do. She comes here to get drunk sometimes."
"I have a song I want you to play when she arrives."
After paying for his drink, he sat down and waited for Sonya to arrive.
He saw Sonya come through the door in a heavy green sweatshirt this time. She slowly walked over to the table, like Dr. Mueller was some kind of animal that would pounce on her in any minute. His student slowly sat down and stared at him, asking "What do you want this time?"
Dr. Mueller smiled and asked "What do you want this time?"
Sonya raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
"I admit I was rough on your earlier. You were not really enjoying yourself."
"Was I supposed to?"
"If you want to stay in school and pass my class, then you will need to enjoy yourself. When was the last time you were fucked?"
Sonya looked down on the table. "It...it wasn't so much about being fucked but about being raped. My ex-boyfriend raped me two years ago. I called my brother, who was a cop, but...my ex walked away free."
"We get away with a lot," Dr. Mueller said. "Despite the #MeToo movement. We even keep power."
"As a white straight man?" Sonya said, almost angrily.
"Yes. Because we live in a patriarchal society. I used to feel guilty as a white straight man, given we control most of the power in this country. But I find it invigorating."
Sonya sighed. "Good for you."
The Ramones' "Blitzkrieg Bop" played in the background. Sonya tensed up in shock. "Did you ask someone to play this?"
After sipping his Blue Moon, Dr. Mueller put down the bottle and smiled. "I am a Ramones fan myself."
"Did you play it because you think I would enjoy it? Or are you just fucking with me?"
"I thought you would enjoy it," Dr. Mueller said. "Your t-shirt gave that much away."
"Yeah," Sonya said softly. "The Ramones...fuck, this arrangement is completely fucked. I should be angry with you, but I'm not."
"Tell me, Sonya," Dr. Mueller asked. "Was your rape a reason for thoughts about taking your own life?"
Sonya shook her head. He could feel the tension just by eyeing her body language. She was still but tense. "I started having these thoughts after an uncle molested me when I was younger. He made me feel special, used me." Sonya glared at Dr. Mueller. "That seems to happen with me a lot. And now the latest person to use me is a tenured professor."
Dr. Mueller shrugged. "I will admit, I have ulterior motives with you. But you also strike me as someone who needs help, someone who has not helped you until now."
"So what, are you my therapist now?"
"Call me a certain guidance counselor. I can understand the things that happened to you in life influenced many of your negative life choices, and that you struggle with them."
Sonya sighed. "So you want to fuck me to try to cure me?"
Dr. Mueller nodded. "You can say that."
Sonya looked around. "Well, it's fucked up. How the hell did you know that I sell drugs?"