One Night

Chapter 20

Audrey & Thani Priyo

Audrey’s POV

The professor blinked first at Edwin, then at me, and then at Edwin again before realization seemed to dawn on her face. Slowly, she raised one shaking finger and pointed it at Edwin

“I knew it” she growled through her gritted teeth, her voice strained with anger. “I knew that little vixen had seduced you! She’s half your age!”

ugh I think he was too distracted by the accusation to notice. My Lace instantly reddened. I quickly wriggled away from Edwin, although

“What are you implying, woman?” he growled, folding his arms across his chest. “You think I’d let myself be seduced by a student?”

The female professor shrugged harshly. “TI bet she didn’t even deliver my letter to you, the little minx.” She snapped her eyes over to me. “Let me guess. You opened it, read everything, and threw it oug?”

1 blinked in confusion. A letter..? All I recalled was a sealed envelope that I had left in Edwin’s office–maybe I had dropped it in my haste to leave that day, but I certainly didn’t throw it out. And one glance up at Edwin revealed that he was just as lost as I was

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I finally said.

Edwin shrugged. “Me neither,”

The professor’s face turned beet red in a matter of moments, her fingers curling so tightly around the edge of her desk I thought she might snap a chunk right off. She opened her mouth, no doubt to bite out a furious retort, but quickly shut it again when the doors behind us abruptly opened.

“What on earth is going on here!

Edwin and I both turned to see the vice dean, Ms. Morrie, striding into the office. Ms. Morrie was a quirky, but competent, older woman with a gray pixie cut and a pair of cat–eye glasses. She always seemed to be wearing cardigans with leopard print on them in some capacity or another.

“Ms. Morric.” Edwin said, bowing his head respectfully. “h appears that Miss Richards over here…” He gestured to the female professor…Seems to think my student is trying to seduce me.”

“Seduce you?” The vice dean shot all three of us an incredulous look before her gaze settled on me, “I assume you have something to say for yourself Miss Thatcher?”

“I.. I was only trying to turn in my second application to have my scholarship funds dispersed,” I said, holding my folder up. “My studio was broken into, and Well it’s a long story

Ms. Morrie folded her arms across her chest and leaned against a nearby pillar. “I’ve got time.”

Sighing. I launched into a full explanation about everything. About my studio, the scholarship, the professor, her accusations. When I finished. Ms. Morrie’s face had gone pale.

Without a word, Ms. Morrie snatched my folder out of my hands and flipped it open. I watched, wide–eyed, as she scribbled her signature on a few papers and handed it to the person behind the desk–the aforementioned female professor had long since stormed out.

“There,” she said, turning on her heel. “Expect to see your funds in your account within the next day or so. As for your studio, well. Grayspring Academy does not take vandalism lightly. Trust that we’ll get to the bottom of whoever did this and will bring them to justice.”

I nodded shakily and thanked her, watching as she strode out. Once it was only Edwin and I who remained, I swallowed and turned to him.

“Thank you. Edwin… Professor.” I said, feeling my face redden. My tone was colder now–I couldn’t have anyone getting the wrong idea anymore.

Edwin seemed to bristle a bit at my tone, but nodded nonetheless. “I can’t have one of my students being treated poorly,” he said with a wave of his hand before pashing out through the doors. “I would have done the same for any of your classmates.

I smiled wryly in his wake. So he did treat all of his students like this–I had never been special.

Sighing, I headed out into the hallway and began making my way back toward the studio. I was quickly stopped, however, by the sight of Linda’s form pushing away from the wall and striding up to me, it seemed she had been waiting by the doors for me the entire time.

“So” she said, blocking my way with her hands on her hips. “Lost your scholarship too, huh? Right after losing your boyfriend?”

I pursed my lips and adjusted my bag on my shoulder. For a moment I opened my mouth to retort, but then shut it again. No, she would comeuppance. In fact, she would get it right about now–because I saw the security guards coming before she did.

“Mask D’Malley“” a male voice called out from down the hall. “Come with us, please.”

4:37 PM

Chapter 20

Linda furrowed her brow and whipped around to face the two security guards who were striding briskly toward her. I saw her shoulders visibly tense up at the sight of them. “Officers, what’s going on-

“We’ve received footage of you breaking into a studio and vandalizing other students‘ work,” one of the officers said, flashing her badge. “You’ll have to come to the security office with us for questioning”

Before Linda could so much as bite out a retort, the two officers were practically dragging her away–leaving g me standing in their wake with a satisfied smile stretching across my lips.

“I appreciate your concern over my personal life, Linda,” I called out. “But perhaps you’d better worry about yourself first.”

“And Donel

I stepped back from my mannequin to join my friends, and together the three of us took in our work. The studio was silent save for the crickets chirping underneath the window and our labored breaths–we had been at it yet again, burning the midnight oil to get this project done.

But we had done it, just a couple of days before the deadline for the preliminary competition, we had managed to complete our outfits. It had been two weeks of hell, but it was over.

And now we could relax. For the time being, at least.

Avis let out a satisfied sigh and looped her arm around mine and Tina’s shoulders. “That extra plece you added really brought everything to the next level,” she said, gesturing to the accessories in each outfit a leather purse with Avis’s pantsuit, a leather beret with my dress, and a leather belt with Tina’s sel

Tina nodded in approval, “A small detail, but it really ties everything together,” she said.

I couldn’t help but laugh. “Honestly, I think we all made some improvements the second time around. Maybe we should be thanking Linda.”

There was a brief silence before we all broke out into laughter at the absurd nation. Breaking apart, Avis and Tina grabbed their bags off of the hooks and strode over to the door. “Drinks tomorrow night, yeah!” Tina asked, pointing at me.

I nodded as I slipped my phone out of my pocket. “Tomorrow, definitely,” I said. “I’m gonna hang out here for a while longer, though,”

“Just don’t stay out too late.”

“I won’t”

Once they were gone, I smirked and sank down into the chair at my desk. Feeling emboldened by our recent success, I typed out the message I had been debating for days now–the message that had kept me up all last night and the night before.

“Edwin,” I typed out in the email, “I just finished my project and am starving Dinner?”

Simple, effective. Bold, maybe, but I couldn’t hold it in any longer.

As soon as I hit send, though, I wondered if I had made a mistake, maybe I was being too personal, too audacious by asking something like this.

But within moments, a reply was already in my inbox.

Third Person POV

Edwin was sitting at his desk when it happened. The video meeting had been droning on for what felt like forever, and although Edwin never missed a beat, he was beginning to grow distracted.

When the email slid into his inbox with Audrey’s name on it and no title, he became even more distracted.

“Just one moment,” he said, holding up one finger as he clicked the email.

His eyes darted across the screen as he read its contents. And without entirely meaning to, a small smile crept across his face.

The Belas in the video meeting fell silent when they saw him.

After all, when was the last time the icy Edwin Brooks had ever smiled?