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Dr. Jones is not an exceptionally joyous man. He’s not a cruel one—more than once, a student has come crying to him about a situation at home or a late assignment or some other event that is completely and utterly ruining their life, and without fail, he is compassionate. He’s a cynic, for certain, and when out on an expedition, his dedication to keeping his students safe can easily be mistaken for overprotective mothering. His students have long since become accustomed to his dour expression and his secret levels of immense kindness.
Which is why, when his students walk into his classroom one day to find a woman sitting at his desk and Dr. Jones absolutely beaming… word begins to spread.
“I didn’t know he was married?” Linda whispers to John. John shrugs.
“Maybe she’s just his girlfriend.”
“Maybe she’s his assistant,” another girl chimes in. Linda scoffs.
“Don’t you see the way he looks at her? No way!”
“I can’t believe she’s sitting in his chair,” someone whispers. They all look to the front of the class again. Dr. Jones has taken a seat on his desk, chatting animatedly with the woman. She’s wearing crisp white gloves, a hat with a feather tucked under its ribbon sitting on the desk next to her. Her posture is impeccable, and when Dr. Jones slouches too far down to talk to her, she seems to clear her throat. His back snaps straight.
“Sorry, Mary.” His voice is so soft that his students nearly miss it. His smile is sheepish. Mary tilts her head in a way that might be amusement or exasperation.
“I’m somewhat comforted to see you’ve not changed one bit, Henry.”
“His first name!” Linda gasps. Dr. Jones’ smile drops and he turns to look at his class as if he’d forgotten they were there to begin with. Mary raises a brow.
“Good afternoon to you all.” She speaks in what might be the most perfect Queen’s English that any of them have ever heard. Linda is shrinking back into her seat and her classmates are parting like the Red Sea around her. “Forgive me for interrupting your lesson. Dr. Jones and I were simply catching up.” Dr. Jones looks somehow more annoyed, but nods along. He’s glancing between papers on his desk, his class, the blackboard, and Mary. The room is deadly silent.
“…maybe I should cancel class,” he mumbles. The more eagle-eyed students note how he sends a glance to Mary as he says it. Her lips press into a thin line.
“You shan’t.” Dr. Jones looks pained. “You know how I feel about that sort of thing, Henry. I’d feel terrible if I disrupted your class so drastically.”
“You’d never–“
“Yet I have, haven’t I?” Her hand is reaching towards her hat. Dr. Jones looks like he’s considering jumping over the table to grab it before she can. “Oh, come now. You’ve got work to do.”
“But you’ve just gotten here,” he pouts. All his students collectively decide to keep their mouths shut for the sanctity of their grades. Dr. Jones’ valiant efforts at keeping his voice low are failing, and Mary’s solemn face is slowly cracking into a smile that she’s politely hiding behind her hand. “It’s been– what, years? Since we last saw each other, and…”
“I’ve never known you to skip work for fun.”
“Work is fun, most of the time.”
“But spending time with me is more so?” Mary’s look is downright accusative, and Dr. Jones stutters. She laughs softly. “Oh, Henry. You truly haven’t changed one bit.” And then, with little more than a glance down at the documents on his desk–
Mary grabs an umbrella from beside the desk and, with little more than a flick of her wrist, flies up and over to stand before it, shielded from the bright lights of the room by her parasol. The students gasp, erupting into awed chattering, and she clears her throat.
“Right!” She claps her hands. “Good afternoon once again, everyone. I suppose I shall be your co-lecturer for the day. I expect everyone to be on their best behaviour so Dr. Jones doesn’t need to keep you late, alright?”
Numbly, some of the students nod. She looks subtly pleased.
“Mary—“ Dr. Jones coughs. She sends a look at him over her shoulder. His shoulders roll back once more. “…right. Alright, guys, today we’re going to be doing research paper preparation.”
“How exciting!” Mary smiles. “I’m sure it will be a very engaging class.”
Judging by the way Dr. Jones looks at her, it just might be.