The Stolen Twin by Michele Pariza Wacek

Author:Michele Pariza Wacek [Wacek, Michele Pariza]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Love-Based Publishing
Published: 2015-11-16T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 23

Thursday didn’t start out particularly well. I discovered I had a paper due that day in my eighteenth century lit class that was worth one-third of my grade. A paper I hadn’t even started to write yet, because I hadn’t even finished reading the books for it.

Things went from bad to worse when I realized the professor was one who defined an “on-time” paper as one turned in at the beginning of class. Professors anal enough to do that tended not to be the most lenient on granting extensions, especially without an exceedingly good reason. I had yet to decide if I had one.

Well, nothing ventured, nothing gained. Flashing my most charming smile, I approached Professor Markham after class.

“Let me guess,” he said, before I could even open my mouth. “You weren’t able to finish your paper by today. Should I try to guess the reason now?”

Great. A sarcastic, anal professor. My luck just kept getting better and better. “It’s a pretty original excuse.”

Professor Markham’s expression stated he had heard them all before. “I’m waiting.”

For a moment I considered using Cystic Fibrosis as my excuse, something that had never occurred to me before. The thought horrified me. What had David turned me into? “I’m being stalked,” I said. “By another student. I’ve registered a complaint with the university if you need verification.”

That did surprise him. His eyes behind his thin wire glasses widened. “Really?”

“Yes. It’s been going on for several weeks now. I haven’t been able to focus on much else.”

He pondered this. “Why didn’t you bring this to my attention before?”

I studied him, chewing on my bottom lip. How open should I be? I decided to lay everything on the table. “To be perfectly honest, the deadline caught up with me. I haven’t been paying as close attention as I should have. It just sort of dropped in my lap.” I let my hands flutter helplessly to my side.

“I’ve announced it a couple of times these past few weeks.”

“I’m sure you have, but it just didn’t sink in. This guy, he waylays me after class. I end up focusing on ways to get from class to class without running into him. I know I should have brought it up before, but I really wasn’t thinking. If it makes any difference, I know I didn’t handle it right and I’m sorry.”

Professor Markham picked up his pointer and tapped the table with it. “Monday,” he said at last. “By noon. My office. Do you know where it is?”

Relief blossomed inside me. “Yes, yes I do. Thank you so much.”

“Get it in by then and I won’t penalize you. Fair?”

I nodded, thanking him again and turning away before he could change his mind. As I hurried to my next class, it hit me that now I had three and a half days to finish a book and a half and write a ten-page paper. Lucky me.

By the time I had walked into the door of the apartment, I’d about had it with being an English major.

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