The Professor

Each girl met her independently. Gigi met her at the coffee shop. Angela met her in class. Joely met with her for academic advising because she was thinking of taking contemporary literature courses. The professor assured her that she could find a job and that she would have a future if she declared a major in the humanities. Angela didn't care about career paths. She just wanted to read poetry. Gigi heard her speak and thought she recognized something in her voice. It sounded like the twang from her hometown. She'd been homesick for months. She poured the professor a fresh cup of coffee and asked her, "Where are you from?"

It turned out that the professor was from a place about an hour's drive from Gigi's parents' house. Gigi ended up sitting with the professor that day, which almost got her fired. She sat down at the table and they talked about books.

A lot of those titles were scattered at her feet in the storage unit where she stood across from a dead baby. Gigi looked at the other girls and wondered if they'd known the professor better than she did. Before the baby, Gigi would have said, "No way." She thought she understood something about the professor that no one else would or could. Gigi knew where she was from. Gigi knew the place way beyond its name or location. She knew it. And she thought that made her know the professor more intimately, too.

The professor was simply an older version of who she wanted to be. Or at least, that's what Gigi believed from the moment she met her. She signed up for her classes and she sought her advice on everything from boyfriends to savings accounts. Gigi read the books the professor gave her and listened to the music the professor mentioned loving. She was an eager student, and the professor liked an enthusiastic learner.

Angela was an enthusiastic learner.