Page 114 of Lau Ahi
“I’m sure you know from personal experience just how much I like to bite and be bitten, but drawing blood will never be something I’m into.”
The heat rushed to my face and I abhorred the way he could affect me. It felt…insulting to my soul somehow but yet it was still happening.
This has to be some sort of witchcraft.
“Of course you could come in. I would rather speak with you up close than have one of my colleagues overhear whatever flirtatious banter you feel the need to engage in.”
He strode, because a man like him didn’t know the meaning of the word walk, into my office and left the door only slightly ajar. I wasn’t sure if he was doing it for propriety’s sake or because he felt the need to have an audience but he sat down in the chair in front of my desk and simply stared at me. I wasn’t in the mood to play games but this felt like a silent challenge and I would be damned if I lost. Even if this wasn’t a test of strength, I felt as though my mental fortitude was being challenged and it caused me even greater offense than I thought it would.
“You need a bigger office.”
I can’t lie and say I wasn’t relieved when he broke our temporary standoff. Having to just look at him was something that was getting harder to do. The bastard had the nerve to be unnaturally attractive and I was at least thankful I wasn’t being tethered to an old man for the rest of my life.
His dick is fairly phenomenal as well.
“I’m on the lowest rung on the tenure path here so this is as good as it gets.”
He looked around clearly unimpressed with the four walls. “You sure? I feel as though this is the type of place they cram TAs where you all have to rotate your shit in and out.”
“Well, I’m sure you understand that every education department is doing all they can with the barebones minimum for the government that’s lining its pockets like a bunch of fat rats.”
Ori wouldn’t back down from his position which felt oddly comforting. “Tuition here isn’t cheap. And I doubt it’s gone down in the last few years to where you can’t get a full, adult-sized office instead of something that looks like a damn janitor’s closet.”
“When you work for a school in a country that doesn’t value education this is what you have to endure. Besides, the size of my office isn’t a direct correlation to my ego. I couldn’t give a damn about any of this and frankly if I didn’t enjoy the work I did I wouldn’t be here.”
“What is it about teaching that ended up being your passion?”
That wasn’t a question I expected him to ask me but it was one I didn’t mind answering.
“Getting people to think outside of their norm. I might work and have knowledge in a very specific field but I’m sure you realize I do a lot of lower-level coursework as well. Between psychology, sociology and a few other classes, I hope that I’m not aiding in the churn and burn phenomenon that has been seen in society today.”
He quirked the side of his mouth in what I guess he thought was a smile. “Lots of ChatGPT essays being handed in?”
I had to roll my eyes at him bringing up the new bane of my existence. “Don’t get me started. I have no problem with technology being there to help people who need help or to help broaden learning or make it more accessing. My problem is with the unchecked nature of AI. How it literally creates something whether it’s factual and then funnels it into search results.People have been citing the most easily refuted nonsense and it’s taken a lot for me to not throw in the towel.”
“Because you hope.”
My eyes fluttered at that word wanting to hold on tight to it and banish it all at once. “Hope can get you through the darkest days. Isn’t that one of the major themes in this country? Hope. Liberty. Justice?”
“None of which I’ve ever fully experienced.”
“I know that your islander background has ensured that you have a disdain for the government. Which makes your employment with them all the more confusing.”
“A topic for another day.”
“If you insist.”
The awkward quirk was deeper now and we simply watched one another silently. “I do. But one thing you need —
“Dr. Avery—”
The door flung open causing Ori to turn around as his hand reached for his gun.
The head of our department strode into the room seemingly unbothered that he’d interrupted a meeting. He came and stood right next to Ori as though he isn’t important enough to acknowledge.
I stood up, trying to hide my irritation and the intrusion, since he had already been reminded of his manners and still ignored my boundaries.
“Dr. Callahan, I thought I requested that you knock before you entered my office. Some students can be intimidated by the presence of the dean of their college being able to barge in when they have grievances.” I kept my tone modulated, knowing that if I displayed the extent of my irritation Ori was going to give Callahan the Anderson treatment.
