Yes, she goes to class.

Monday Morning

For what seemed like the twentieth time in the last ten minutes, Traci checked her copy of the campus map again. She was sure she would be able to find her way to Porter Hall, especially after having examined the information kiosk the previous morning. But now, she couldn’t even find the darned kiosk!

Maybe someone had rearranged the campus while Traci had been sleeping…

“Highly unlikely,” Traci mumbled to herself. At least Kelly had finally texted her back. It seemed that her roommate had gotten up early and went for a quick jog before class.

After heading down the wrong footpath (twice), Traci finally spied a sign that read “Porter Hall” and let out a relieved sigh. At last! Now, to find the ancillary auditorium.

Luckily the inside of the building was very well laid out and not lacking for proper signage. Traci soon found her way to the auditorium. It was a large wedge shaped chamber with stadium seating. At the tip of the “wedge” was a podium and a long counter. Behind that on the wall was a large flat screen. Unfortunately, Traci had taken so long to find this place, that nearly all the seats had been taken up already.

Reluctantly, Traci made her way down the steps and took one of the few empty seats. Right in the front row. Ugh.

“Hey again,” said a voice to her right.

Traci quickly pulled out her study materials and notebook then looked over at to her side. It was the shaggy-haired boy she had met yesterday morning. What was his name again?

“Ken,” he said with a smile and extended his hand. “Traci, right?”

“Oh, hi.” Traci awkwardly took his hand and gave it a shake. “Yes, Traci.”

“Looks like we both made it.”

A loud exhale left Traci’s body. “Yes, barely!”

A door off to the side of the presentation area opened, ending any further conversation between the two. A tall man with thick rimmed glasses strode past the counters and over to the podium. He wore a blazer over a light blue dress shirt, no tie. Jeans and comfortable looking sneakers completed the ‘casual academic’ look. His blond hair was showing signs of gray at the temples but was still thick and full. A slender young Asian woman trailed closely behind. She also wore glasses, though her frames were much thinner and delicate. Her dark hair was pulled up in a bun.

“Good morning,” the man said without wasting any time. He produced a notepad from his inside pocket and thumbed through it with thick fingers before continuing. The the woman stood silently off to his side.

He spoke again. “This is the first lecture for world art history. If that is not the class you have signed up for, then you are in the wrong lecture hall. I suggest you leave now and report to…wherever it is you are supposed to be.”

He waited a moment, scanning the room with an attentive gaze. “Very good. No doubt, many of you already know who I am. For those few who do not, I am Professor William Blakely. You may call me Professor Blakely.”

No one spoke during the brief pause that followed. The Professor gave a slight tilt of his head in the direction of the young woman beside him. “This is my teaching assistant, Claudia. You will refer to her as Miss Kim. In my absence, you will follow her instructions as if they were my own. For all intents and purposes, she will be your instructor during such times.

“And before anyone asks, no, I will not be autographing any copies of my books. This is a college course, not a book signing.”

Traci stared at her new professor, her mind momentarily unable to reconcile the man’s academic-casual appearance with his stern formality.

Professor Blakely made a quick gesture with his hand. Claudia began passing out a single sheet of paper to each student in the lecture hall. Traci looked down at the sheet and was dismayed to see a series of questions.

A surprise quiz.

On the first day?

“Now then,” Blakely said, “This preliminary exam will not count towards your final grade, so you needn’t worry about that. I simply want to see what I’m working with this year.”

“You gotta be kidding me,” Ken grumbled softly. From the row behind her, Traci could hear other students voicing similar thoughts.

“You may use your phones or laptops to look up answers if you wish,” Blakely said flatly. “However you should be aware that this preliminary exam is for your benefit more so than it is mine. Misrepresenting your level of knowledge this early in the course will only be doing yourself a disservice. When you have completed the test, you may turn it in to Miss Kim.”

Without waiting to see if there were any questions, Professor Blakely turned and walked back out the way he came. Claudia moved silently around to the other side of the counter and took a seat.

Ken let out a sigh. “Well, this is gonna be an interesting class, huh?”

Traci nodded and murmured a barely intelligible agreement as she began putting her things back into her bag. She paused when she felt that strange, uncomfortable sensation that comes over you when someone is staring. Looking up from what she was doing, Traci saw Claudia looking right at her with a steady gaze.

“Do you know her?” Ken asked. “Um, not that I think all Asians know each other or anything!”

Traci shook her head. She blinked in confusion then tried to finish packing her things away while aware the entire time that she was being watched. What the hell was Claudia’s problem?

Ken stood and lingered a moment. “Hey, you wanna go grab breakfast or something? I mean, it’s still pretty early, right?”