Joe MacMillan / Reader - Part 2
- Morning, Miss (your lastname)!
you heard someone calling you when you arrived to the university the next day. You had overslept and therefore you were basically running out from the bus when it reached the stop of the university where you were teaching English literature. You turned around to see who the person that had wished you good morning was and saw a tall man jogging from the parking lot towards you. You didn’t have your glasses on yet so you couldn’t make out any details of the man, only that he was wearing dark clothes, most likely a dark suit with a long coat and he was carrying a bag, most likely a briefcase.
- How was the pizza? the tall man asked when he reached you. Finally you recognized him and his deep, yet soft voice.
- Oh, Mr. MacMillan! Good morning. you said and went in when Joe opened the door for you. You opened your bag and got your glasses out from the case, put them on and smiled at Joe politely.
- You really should call me, Joe… and tell me your first name. Joe said and followed you in. He was slightly late as well. Neither of you had classes beginning quite soon but especially you had wanted to come to work early so you could check out your work emails, prepare the class for the students and get mentally ready for the day. You sighed when you noticed the big clock in the entrance hall and realized how late it was.
- Not today? Joe asked curiously.
- We’ll see, the day has not even started yet. you commented as you climbed up the main stairway with him to get to the teachers’ lounge where you had a small, private closet for your jacket and things. You had not had time to makeup today and therefore you were not that enthusiastic to talk with Joe who looked very handsome and well-groomed… like he most likely always did.
- So, how was the pizza? Worth of eating that salad? Joe asked as you walked through the upper hallway, to the corridor that led into the teachers’ lounge.
- Hey, that salad was very good. you exclaimed with a laughter. Joe opened the door for you and commented with a playful and slightly amused tone “I’m sure”.
- Better than your sandwich at least. you stated with a smirk. You walked to the personnel’s dressing room and took off your coat, Joe did the same and took his long coat off. He was wearing a black suit with a shiny, silver-decorated tie today and even though you did not think that it was generally speaking polite to stare and therefore you always tried to avoid it, you couldn’t help yourself because the suit fitted Joe so well. It surely was a tailored suit and most likely had cost a small fortune.
- Oh… and they told me that you are docile. Joe commented with a flirtatious tone which made you blush a little.
- Who? you asked curiously and took your bag from the floor. You still changed your outdoor shoes into indoor shoes that went nicely with your skirt-blazer-slightly ruffled shirt –combination and gave a couple of extra centimeters.
- Well, the other teachers. Joe replied as he hung his coat into his private closet. For your surprise you had been given closets right next to each other and it meant that you most likely were going to bump into Joe regularly when your lectures started or ended at the same time.
- Have you been asking around about me? you asked with a surprised tone that had an undertone of slight amusement. Joe smirked as he stated “No” although his intonation made it sound more like a question than a statement. He was currently staring at his closet as he took some books out and placed them into his briefcase and therefore you were only able to see his profile… but you saw him smirking. “Right” you commented with a chuckled and took some books from the top shelf of your closet and put them into your bag.
- Would you be flattered if I had? Joe asked, closed his briefcase and focused his gaze to you again. You felt his attentive eyes staring at you quite intensively and being in such spotlight made you blush. You had never been a target of that kind of focus or attention because even your ex-fiancée had treated you in more dependable way. He had always pretty much assumed that you liked being a wallflower, but what he did not know was that when you had been studying you had been a member of a theatre group and loved your hobby from the bottom of your heart. Then you had graduated and gotten too busy or tired to give the theatre group the time that it required. Anyway, now Joe was looking at you and it felt like the rest of the world had stopped mattering, for him as well as for you.
- I do not know. It might depend on your motives. you commented, closed the door of your closet and locked it.
- Ah… well I could tell you about my motives on lunch. Same time and place? Joe asked with a rather mysterious, yet enthusiastic voice. You took the schedule out from your pocket and shook your head with a deep sigh.
- Actually, I don’t have time for lunch today. you replied and put the schedule back into your pocket. The schedule was the thing that guided you through your days, especially in the beginning of the semester. It told you where you needed to be and what time you had to be there but you knew, based on the last year’s experiences, that within a couple of weeks you would learn the schedule by heart and were able to steer yourself into the right classroom at the right time.
- Really? But you can’t just skip lunch. Joe stated with a disapproving tone.
- I’m not. I have pizza with me. I just don’t have time to leave the classroom. you stated with a thoughtful tone. Yes, you had only a half-hour break today between two classes and since the break was during the busiest lunchtime you knew, also based on the experiences of the previous academic year, that there was not enough time to go to the cafeteria, get the lunch, eat it and manage to get back into the classroom, which was located in the furthest wing, in time.
- Oh… well, I did not expect this. Joe commented and tilted his head as he stared at you. You smiled a little and then checked out the time from your wrist watch. It was fifteen past nine and you were supposed to begin the first class at ten. Sure there was time still but you had plenty of things to do before the lecture so you gasped
- Oh shit… sorry… but I must go.
- I guess I’ll see you around. Joe said as he watched you walking as swiftly as you could towards the door.
- Yes, have a great day, Mr. MacMillan. you shouted and waved at him as a goodbye without turning your head to look at him. You stormed out from the teachers’ lounge and greeted every teacher that you met on your way to the classroom. When you finally got there you took a deep breath and emptied the content of your bag on the table. You had spent the evening eating pizza and grading grammar exams but you still had a couple of papers unfinished. You had wanted to educate yourself about the grammar skill-level of the new students and fortunately you had because for your surprise you had noticed that there were some serious shortcomings that needed to be overcome before being able to move forward.
You corrected the remaining few grammar tests and when the clock was ten to ten you opened the classroom’s door for the students. You lectured about the importance of proper grammar and gave them some simple examples when one letter changed the entire meaning of the sentence. The thing that annoyed you the most was that the grammar-areas that the students struggled with were actually pretty basic, but because the students were too occupied by other stuff, they had neither stamina nor willpower to learn the basics well… or at least well enough. You blamed the Internet for such laziness… well, in your opinion the Internet was corrupting the language because no one cared online if they spelled things correctly or followed the grammar.
When it was time for the lunch break you ate the pizza, the last remaining slices that you had taken with you. You did not leave the classroom but closed the door for a moment instead which gave you a moment of silence. After the lunch break you had one more grammar class and then it was time for the Lord of the Rings again. You had read the first three chapters even by yourself and made notes so you would be able to discuss the book with your students. It had been such a long time since you had read the Fellowship of the Ring anyway and you liked the story very much. It was three PM when the lecture began and the last remaining students entered the classroom that resembled an auditorium.
- Good afternoon, I trust you all have read the first three chapters of the Fellowship of the Ring. you stated and watched the students taking out their notes as well as the book. You encouraged them to share their opinions with the entire class and when there were different point of views among your forty students, it provided a great foundation for a conversation as well as debate.
- Show hands, how many of you would have done the same as Frodo? you asked curiously and counted about twenty nine hands. You asked some of your students, a couple of them for and a couple of them against, to tell reasons for their opinion and tell everyone what they would have done differently. Then you shifted the conversation back to Frodo.
- What is the motivation behind his actions? you asked after the debate was over. You marked the students that had presented their opinions and reminded everyone that you would ask everyone questions sooner or later and there was no way to pass this course without expressing one’s point of view.
- Was there a character that you did not like? you asked after talking about Frodo’s motivation as well as the motivation of his friends to join him. Had they been just sucked into the story against their will or had they made a choice to help Frodo to reach Rivendell? It was half past four when it was time to end the lecture and to be honest you were so happy to get home because you were quite tired. You put the book into your bag and stated
- Alright, your home assignment is to read the story forward until the council of Elrond, it is about two hundred pages. Make notes… and we’ll meet on Friday-
- Miss (your surname), there is not time to read that much in less than two days. one of the students, a guy, stated and interrupted you.
- Yes there is! another, slightly nerdy girl, commented immediately.
- Some people have life outside school! Not everyone is a nerd like you. the guy stated, threw a ball made out of paper at the girl and as the result the girl cursed aloud, turned to face him and called the guy “brainless pile of shit”. You hated it when you had to babysit your students who were actually adults already and they should have been able to handle things a bit more maturely. You were just putting your papers away into your bag when this episode happened and after listening to the quarrel for a moment you had enough and stated firmly “Hey, that’s enough!” The classroom went silent immediately, fortunately so, and after taking a deep breath you continued with calm, yet clearly annoyed tone
- On Friday we will be talking about other things… from now on we’ll talk about Tolkien and his work only on Mondays to kick-start the week.
You would have loved to talk about Tolkien and his works every day but you knew that there were many other things that needed to be discussed and taught and therefore you had decided to spread the Lord of the Rings –trilogy for the entire autumn semester to cheer up the gloomy Mondays instead of going through the books very quickly and then moving on entirely. Monday afternoons were the worst anyway, well, Friday afternoons were just as difficult because usually in the beginning and in the end of the week the students were unable to concentrate; whether they were looking back into the past weekend, suffering from lack of sleep or looking forward to the upcoming weekend and getting distracted by planning the social gatherings and so on… mostly parties. Yes, even though you had never been a serious clubber, you did remember what it was like to be a student; living away from your family and for the first time being able to do basically whatever you wanted.
- With this rate we should be done with all three books by the end of autumn semester. you added although you had not exactly counted the weeks and chapters yet. You however decided that if there were still plenty of chapters to go before the Christmas, you would use Friday afternoons as well to tackle the Middle Earth, Tolkien’s life and the impact of his works to the English literature as well as the society because after Christmas you were supposed to move to Shakespeare and his plays. You liked Shakespeare’s plays but you knew that the language was old fashioned and it would most likely take more time to go through and therefore there was no place for Tolkien in the spring semester.
- So… read the next chapters until the Council of Elrond… by Monday afternoon. you clarified and dismissed the class. You sat down by the desk for a moment and took a deep breath. It was only Wednesday so basically the week was just reached as well as passed the mid-point but you felt like you were completely ready for a holiday… and the semester had just begun! Although actually you had taught many summer courses during June and July so you had managed to have only a very short holiday.
- Rough day? Joe asked from the doorway. You groaned in return and buried your face into your hands. After taking a deep breath and exhaling just as deep you stood up, took your bag and walked to Joe, turned off the lights from the classroom and closed the door.
- One of those days, huh? he asked curiously. It was obvious that you were exhausted, or very tired at least and even though he did not know you, he did not like seeing you this way.
- I just dislike it very deeply when I have to put out fires in the classroom. you stated and shook your head as you scoffed.
- Alright… Do I dare to ask? Joe asked as you walked slowly through the corridor towards the teachers’ lounge.
- Let’s just say that I hate it when I have to babysit adults. This is not a high school anymore! you stated, took your glasses off and rubbed the bridge between your eyes. You had a small headache and you were terribly hungry.
- How was your day, Mr. MacMillan? you asked in return.
- Well, it was… alright. We had a debate about the future of the Internet and came to a conclusion that within ten years Internet will be in everyone’s pockets. Joe answered and opened the door for you as you reached the teachers’ lounge. “Great” you groaned and rolled your eyes. That was exactly what you had wanted to hear… not!
- Why do you despise Internet so much? Joe asked with an amused tone and followed you in. You both walked into the dressing room and stopped at the teachers’ personal lockers. You took the key of your lock out from your pocket and opened the door, took your jacket out and put it on.
- Not now, Mr. MacMillan. Not a good time. you mumbled as you changed your shoes back into the outdoor shoes.
- I just… You know, my life and my career are based on computers and Internet… I have never met anyone so stubbornly old fashioned than you. Joe said and then regretted voicing his opinion so bluntly. You scoffed bitterly and glared at Joe who was trying to open the lock of his locker.
- Mr. MacMillan, I can assure you that there are many that share my opinion. you said and locked the door of your personal closet before storming out. Joe took out his coat, locked the door of his locker and ran after you with his briefcase. He ran down the main stairway and stopped in the entrance hall to put his coat on.
- I’m sorry. he shouted and watched you rushing out from the main doors. He felt extremely bad that he had managed to make your day even worse but he decided not to follow… just to avoid making you even angrier.
You couldn’t deal with Joe right now. Sure you should have been polite and so on but he was pushing your buttons in the all wrong ways and you did not need that because your nerves were about to explode as they were. The truth was that you and your ex had broken up just a couple of months ago when he had gotten offered the job abroad. You had been dating for six years, gotten engaged during the last Christmas and you had even settled the date for the wedding… for the following weekend in the mid August when the weather was still beautiful.
Then all your plans had been cancelled because your ex-fiancée had valued his career above you and accepted the professorship abroad. Now, the upcoming weekend should have been the wedding-weekend and it was bringing your mood down… which you usually hid from everyone, even during the breakup in the summer; you had hid it all from your summer-course students as well as fellow teachers and therefore no one had even known that you were in a relationship. Besides, you had been working at (your favorite) University for one year and you were still considered to be “the new one”. Anyway, Joe MacMillan had a way to push your buttons and irritate you by being so charming, handsome and… modern. Yes, modern in all the ways that you did not understand.
The weeks passed by and suddenly it was the beginning of October. You ate lunch with Joe a couple of times in a week and shared interesting conversations with him, although he loved to talk about the subjects that you did not quite understand and were not interested in but you listened to him politely and even asked some questions. He was of course almost equally interested in your work and interests but you kept him in safe distance because you were not ready to let any men into your life yet. You were still a bit heartbroken about the sudden breakup, even despite the fact that it had been a mutual agreement, and you never showed anyone at work if something was wrong. That one afternoon, the first Wednesday of the autumn semester, was the only time when you had been unable to keep your personal feelings hidden. Joe had not gotten bitterly offended and you had managed to settle it the next day by offering him a lunch during the lunch break.
- You look very nice today. Joe said when he saw you walking down the stairs on your way to furthest wing to begin your classes.
- Oh, is it alright for me to say so? he asked immediately because he did not want to get a warning for behaving in an inappropriate way towards his fellow teacher.
- As long as you do not say it to a student… this university does not encourage student-teacher –relationships. you stated and thanked him for the compliment. You were wearing a simple yet stylish dress and the color complimented your skin color as well as made your eyes shine, basically. You had also put a bit more effort on your makeup this morning and you were feeling pretty good about yourself as well as your appearance. Besides, you had finally gotten used to the working schedule and being single did not feel that bad anymore. Your ex had not paid too much attention to you anyway and nowadays you were actually thanking your luck that he had gotten the job elsewhere. Otherwise you would have been married to him almost two months and now that you looked back to your relationship with your ex, you did not quite understand why you had been with him in the first place. Sure there had been great times and the relationship had been mostly… okay… very ordinary and without any fireworks but it had… worked, kind of. However meeting Joe had showed you what it was like to talk with someone who actually paid attention to what you said and looked at you very engagingly. It was great and made you feel… special, even though you had kept him in safe distance.
- How about teacher-teacher –relationships? Joe asked curiously.
- I have no idea, Mr. MacMillan. you commented and chuckled a little as you and Joe walked along the corridor to get to your classroom that was located in the other end of the building. You found it amusing that he was asking you such thing. Surely he was not interested in you! You were so different after all… and he was so… successful, tall and handsome.
- It is Joe… just please, call me Joe. Joe said with a warm, friendly tone and smiled to you.
- What’s wrong with Mr. MacMillan? you asked and stopped. This time you had plenty of time and therefore you were not in a hurry.
- It’s so… formal. Makes me feel… old. Joe stated with a smirk to which you commented with a simple “Uh-uh?”
- And I was hoping that you would finally tell me your first name… so I do not have to get it by stalking you… or by asking one of my students to hack into your personal files. Joe continued with a playful tone.
- I think… you do not need a hacker for that. You just need to break into the HR-department and find the files on paper. you stated and burst into laughter.
- I see, the material made of organic matter. Joe commented and laughed with you a bit.
- Yes that’s right. Not everything has to be in ones and zeros! you stated as you continued laughing with him. Your laughter echoed in the corridor and some of the students turned to stare because they had never heard you laugh before. Not that loudly and freely at least. You wanted to appear professional but then again, you were just a human being and therefore you did not see anything wrong with laughing if there was a good reason to laugh. Joe liked your laughter very much and he was very proud that he had made you laugh. It was almost like a confirmation that you enjoyed his company and weren’t just tolerating it because you did not dare to refuse his lunch invitations and so on. Joe smirked at you and stated
- Well, I would prefer the option where I do not have to break in or hire a hacker. But I will, if that is what it takes-
- I’m… (Y/N). you said and shook your head with an amused look on your face. Yes, until this day, almost two months, Joe had called you “(Miss your surname)” because you had refused telling him your first name in the beginning. Then he had stopped asking altogether because he had come to a conclusion that it would not benefit him at all, quite opposite actually. You, in his opinion at least, were a person that couldn’t be forced to do anything and you needed time to take steps and let someone close… or at least into your life. “(Y/N)… Hm” Joe commented and repeated your name a couple of times silently in his mind. He liked the name very much and in his opinion it suited you perfectly.
- Well, (Y/N)… he said and paused to check the time from his fancy watch that was decorating his wrist.
- Yes Mr. Mac- you said and stopped, chuckled a little and then corrected yourself by saying “Joe?” instead of MacMillan. Joe nodded with a smile on his face and said
- I’ll see you at lunch.
- Same time, same place. you added and watched him walking away in his fancy suit, turning a corner and disappearing from your field of vision. You continued walking towards your classroom and after a couple of hours you met Joe in front of the cafeteria like you had agreed.
The autumn went on like this; sharing lunches with Joe, whom you from now on called “Joe” even though it was very difficult in the beginning, tackling the world and impact of Tolkien during the Monday afternoons and slowly opening up as the Christmas approached. You never saw Joe outside work but you sometimes spent the gaps in your teaching schedule with him talking and laughing in the teachers’ lounge or just walking around the campus when the weather was nice. He told you about his past and past ventures, his insatiable need to head towards the next big thing and get there before anyone else. He also talked about his frustrations because he always needed people to get him there; he was not a coder per se or a technician… he was the mastermind, the leader… the frontiersman… the man with the vision.
You admired Joe’s determination secretly however you never actually told him that you did. Despite the fact that he talked about things that you did not really understand, you could see the passion in his eyes it was something that you understood and respected; Joe was a very passionate and ambitious guy, the kind that didn’t give up reaching the impossible if he had set his mind to it. You were pretty similar, in a way, although your interests were quite different. You were still trying to hold onto the old fashioned ways and in fact you did not even own a cell phone… or a computer. The last thing you wanted into your apartment was an ugly box of plastic and you even hated the sound of modem when it connected your work-computer to the Internet.
It was mid-December and you were sitting by your work-computer, checking out the emails and printing course material for the next lecture. Joe had shown you some interesting things earlier this week and you had managed to figure out how to use them in your course of English literature. You were teaching many different classes at the same time and even though you had a clear plan for each course you sometimes struggled to follow the plan; it would have been so much more interesting to talk about creative writing, especially because Joe had shown you some fan-fiction forums where people wrote about their favorite characters and published the stories under aliases for anyone to read. Some of the stories were actually very well written and it kind of restored your faith in the mankind, momentarily at least; it meant that even though the Internet was filled with LOLs and other hideous creatures, there were still people who cared about grammar and in some cases… Internet was fueling creativity and providing a platform for anyone to express themselves… which was a good thing, even by your standards.
- Troubles with the computer? Joe asked, making you jump a little because he had managed to sneak behind your back without you noticing him and therefore he ended up surprising you. He had watched you silently for a couple of minutes from the doorway and heard you sighing as well as groaning many times.
- Yeah. I just don’t understand how this works! you groaned and leaned back in your chair. You massaged your shoulder because you had fallen asleep in your armchair last night and therefore your shoulder was now aching. Joe watched you massaging your right shoulder and kept wondering if he dared to offer his help with it… or not… “Maybe not” he thought and put his hand on the mouse, clicked the error message with the cursor and stated with calm, soft voice
- Take a deep breath and I will show you.
- Would you? you asked and sighed relieved. “Yeah, sure!” Joe commented and started click folders and icons with the cursor. You stood up and let Joe take your place so he did not have to basically bend over you… well, mostly because when he did, his face got very near to your ear and it made you feel tingly. It had been a bit over six months since you and your ex-fiancée had broken up and no one had gotten that close ever since. You had even kept your distance to everyone even in the crowded bus but now… you had been able to feel Joe’s breath on the skin of your neck and it had made your heart race. “Oh, you’re a lifesaver!” you exclaimed when he had managed to clear the army of different error messages, boot your computer again, run a virus scan, install the updates and restart the computer once more.
- Oh, by the way. I wanted to invite you to follow my lecture. he said and turned to look at you. He was still sitting in your chair, leaning back comfortably and staring at you with a thoughtful look on his face.
- When? you asked curiously.
- Well, I stalked your schedule… and today afternoon you do not have any classes. Joe stated. Yes, he was right; your classes had been cancelled because there was a Christmas charity event that was organized by your students. They were raising money for the local student union who for example hosted a couple of student dorms at the campus.
- True, however I was supposed to grade some exams. you stated. It was the end of autumn semester and your hands were filled with tests that had to be graded as well as plenty of essays that had to be read before the next week. You were one of the last teachers who had not ended her courses yet and it meant that you had to sacrifice your evenings to manage your pending and piling tasks.
- You can do that in the evening. Joe said and waited for you to think about it. You sighed and visualized the calendar mentally to find out whether there was or was not time to spare… even if Joe was talking about a couple of hours. You decided that you would stay up a little bit later than usual today and skip your evening-reading session… and that way you managed to clear some time in your busy, overcrowded schedule for Joe’s lecture.
- Fine. Yes, I’ll attend your class. you said and smiled at Joe in a very friendly way.
- Great! I’ll see you at three PM then. Classroom 101. he said, stood up and gestured you to sit down on your chair.
- Sure. Uhm, do I dare to ask… What is the lecture about? you asked with a slightly hesitant and nervous tone.
- It’s a surprise. Joe responded and smirked at you playfully. “Uh-uh” you commented and inhaled deeply. You were nervous because you had agreed to step into a world that you did not know and in a way, you put yourself into a risk of being ridiculed since the students knew about the subject more than you and you were the only “old fart” in the group… or you would be. “Don’t be late!” Joe said as he walked out from your office. “Believe me, I will not!” you shouted back but most likely Joe did not hear you anymore. He was a bit late from his next class and therefore he was running.
You tried to continue working but you couldn’t think about anything else but Joe. He was charming and very handsome, dressed always well and he indeed was very engaging person. You sometimes blushed when he smiled at you and stumbled in your words when he complimented your appearance… but no matter how friendly and attentive he was, and even despite all the rumors there were going around at the university about you and him, you did not really believe that he could be interested in you in a more personal way. Surely the only reason why he joined you for lunch and breaks was that he was new in the building, like you were, and therefore it was almost like “you and Joe against the old grumpy professors”.
It was almost three o’clock when you reached classroom 101. You entered the room and sat down in the last row. Joe was writing something on the blackboard and nodded at you with a smile on his face when he turned around. You waved at him in return and took a notebook as well as a pen out from your bag, just in case you had to make some notes. The students walked into the classroom very soon after you and some of them greeted you too, although it was apparent that they were surprised to see you at Joe’s class. After the last student had closed the door behind him, Joe welcomed everyone and said
- Let me start by asking a question…
The lecture was very interesting even though the subject was not something that you would have chosen yourself. There was plenty of discussion in the class and Joe wrote ideas on the blackboard. He had actually written a word “digitalization” and now the class was creating a mind map around the word; what opportunities there were, what threats, what kind of inventions there could be in the future and how it would change our world and the way people experienced it. Even you came up with some ideas such as global libraries where even the old classics were within your reach despite your physical locations. Joe was relieved that you had found some positives as well because up to this day you had been generally speaking very negative when anything had something to do with the Internet as well as the digitalization, instant communication and such matters. After the students had left home, Joe walked to the desk that you were sitting by and sat on the desk in front of it.
- That was pretty interesting. you commented with a sincere smile on your face.
- Are you impressed? he asked curiously. There was an undertone of hopefulness in his voice which surprised you. Surely Joe, the Internet superstar, was not looking for your approval or trying to impress you. You, from all the people!
- Well, you certainly have a talent. you commented and put your notebook back into your bag. You had made some notes because there had been some great ideas that you wanted to remember for the future.
- What talent is that? Joe asked and focused his eyes on you which made you blush rather strongly.
- You are very… engaging… You clearly capture your audience. you stated as soon as you had managed to gather your thoughts and form them into words and finally into a sentence. “Thank you” Joe said and hopped off from the table. You stood up and after turning off the lights from the classroom you both left the room and walked to the teachers’ lounge… just like you had many times before. You shared a lively conversation on the parking lot by Joe’s car that afternoon and you could even feel a spark between you and him… You however convinced you during the following evening that you most likely had just imagined it all.
It was the 21th of December, Friday and you were about to begin the last lecture of the year. You had been busy with other stuff so you had postponed the Tolkien-lessons a bit and therefore you were just now reaching the end of the trilogy. The students walked into the classroom, sat down in their places and took the books as well as their notes out from their bags. You knew that you would miss talking about Middle Earth and the influence of Lord of the Rings –books to the English literature but on the other hand it felt good to finish something. It after all had been a long project that had lasted the entire autumn. It however had been a great project because you believed that you and your students had learned a lot about life choices and other similar topics while discussing the plot twists; why the characters had acted the way they had and what could have happened if they had done something differently, even though strictly speaking the moral questions had had nothing to do with English literature.
- And today we are discussing about the last chapters of the Return of the King. you stated as you walked in front of your desk, sat on it and opened the Return of the King –book.
- I must say I found it very sad to read how the journey ends. Joe stated as he stepped into the auditorium. You lifted your gaze up from the book when you heard his deep voice, which was totally unexpected.
- Oh, Jo- you said and corrected yourself because you were in front of your students.
- Mr. MacMillan! Why did you find it sad? you asked curiously and closed the book as you focused your attention to your surprise-visitor. One of the students was sick so Joe sat down on his place and continued
- Well, almost every other novel ends with an open ending-
- An open ending? you asked because you did not quite know what he had meant exactly, besides he was in your realm now and you were the one who asked the questions. Yes, you ruled this auditorium and this, in a way, was your stage.
- Yes… Giving you the possibility to imagine the rest of the story. Joe answered and inhaled deeply. He enjoyed having your full attention all for himself and the way you were looking at him right now, with a fascinated expression decorating your beautiful features, was making Joe feel quite special.
- J.R.R. Tolkien however tied all the strings. Joe continued and leaned forward by the desk that he was sitting behind.
- Yeah-yeah! Like telling us how Pippin and Merry got buried side by side with Aragorn! one of the students stated immediately. “Exactly!” Joe exclaimed victoriously which made you chuckle a little. “Yeah… I suppose it is a bit sad” you commented, remembering how you had actually cried when you had read the ending, and then the conversation continued, flowing onwards naturally. You were flattered that Joe had not left the university immediately after his lectures but stayed to visit your last Tolkien class.
- Well… It is four o’clock and our time is up. you stated, collected the books into a box and wished everyone happy holidays, it after all was the last lecture of the entire autumn semester and you were now facing the Christmas holiday, almost two whole weeks of peace and quiet. You had no other plans but to sleep, read and eat well. Charge your batteries for the spring semester so to speak.
- So… You have read the Lord of the Rings? you asked curiously after the students had left the auditorium, leaving you alone with Joe.
- Yeah… many years ago, but then I heard that you were making your students read it so I decided to reread it too. Joe said and put his copy of the book into his briefcase. “Oh wow” you commented with a surprised expression on your face. You had not really thought that Joe was a reader –type so you were positively surprised and secretly flattered that he had spent his free time reading one of your favorite books… or three of them actually since the Lord of the Rings was a trilogy.
- Yes, I wanted to impress you. Joe admitted and stood up.
- Well, you certainly did. you commented and tried your very best not to grin like a teenager or at least blush like one. You both got your things and turned off the lights from the classroom-slash-auditorium and left the room, walked slowly through the empty corridors to the teachers’ lounge and got to the private lockers, talking about your plans for the upcoming holiday. It was strange to see the university so empty… silent… different and it made you feel almost like you had been the only people on Earth with Joe, which was an intriguing thought.
- I was thinking… would you like to go for a dinner tomorrow night. Joe asked after you both had managed to get your coats on. You locked your closets and left the dressing room, walking through the silent stairways and hallways to get out from the building.
- Tomorrow? Saturday… Oh, I have the day completely booked… Christmas shopping. you stated after you had visualized your free time schedule in your mind. You had not even started with any of the Christmas preparations and even though you had not planned to do anything very fancy, you still had plenty of cleaning and cooking to do. The only thing that you had managed to do was to buy a Christmas present for yourself, a cell phone, just in case you might need it in the future. They started to be very handy-sized nowadays anyway so there was no real reason not to get one now.
- Oh… well, how about today then? Joe asked after thinking about his own schedule for a moment. He was walking you to the bus stop and planned to wait for your bus with you. He had offered to drive you home many times before but you had always politely refused his offer so he had decided to just walk you to the stop instead. “Oh… I don’t know” you mumbled with a shy smile on your face. “Come on… you must eat, don’t you?” Joe said and nodded his head. “Yes, I do” you replied and dropped your head. The truth was that you liked the idea very much but you were a bit nervous about going out with him. Would it be a date? A friendly dinner? What did it mean?
- So I’ll pick you up at seven? Joe suggested with a hopeful and enthusiastic look on his face. It was an expression that you couldn’t say “no” to so you decided to just go with it. Joe after all was a very nice person, despite his undying urge to talk about tech-stuff and his best efforts to convince you to register in some IRC –group where he was hanging around quite often with a nickname “Joester_99”.
- How about I’ll meet you downtown at seven? you suggested because you did not want to cause any trouble by making him pick you up from the suburbs. “Sure” Joe responded and watched you hopping on the bus when it stopped by the stop.
You got home, threw your bag as well as your coat on the floor and ran into the shower. You wanted to look pretty tonight although you did not exactly know why that was. Sure Joe was a handsome guy… a tech-superstar… but there was something else as well; you had started developing deeper feelings for him during the couple of past weeks. Your heart had finally healed and you had stopped dreaming about getting back together with your ex, not that you had dreamed about it that much… just sometimes when you had felt particularly lonely, and now that your heart had healed… you had noticed Joe in a different way. You had noticed that he had a wonderful smile, soulful eyes and you seemed to keep running into him at the university constantly… but when in the beginning it had felt awkward, now you were actually looking forward to those moments… just a couple of minutes here and there and it was pretty incredible how those small moments were able to lift your mood instantly.
You put on a black cocktail dress, high heels and a bit more makeup than the usual. It was the Christmas season after all and you had a good excuse to look festive. You colored your lips deep red and decided to take your deep red purse to go with you. You changed your glasses into your not-everyday-glasses and after putting on your coat you left your home and took a bus to reach downtown. You had agreed to meet Joe at a statue that was located by a market square and you arrived there five minutes early. When you did, you saw Joe walking towards you from the opposite direction. He waved at you from afar and when you both were in talking-distance you greeted each other and he complimented your appearance, stating that you looked gorgeous, which made you blush a little.
He offered you his arm and walked you across the market square to a cozy restaurant where he had a table reserved for you and him. The dining room was romantically lit with candles and there was a live pianist playing music on the background, the atmosphere was relaxed and after the first glass of wine you felt quite relaxed yourself. Joe had ordered some sort of tasting-menu for both of you which had a wide variety of different kind of items from the menu… from pulled pork sliders to small fish tacos and so on. The restaurant was specialized in street-food but prepared with fine ingredients and by skillful chefs which was great because you had feared that Joe would take you to a stiff gourmet-place where you would have felt like a fish out of water. You shared a lively conversation with him until he started talking about the usual subject; the Internet.
- You must have heard about Y2K. Joe said or more like asked curiously. He had discussed about the subject with his colleague earlier today and he was quite fascinated about the problem. “No… I have not” you stated and sipped your drink because it felt like a good idea to hide yourself behind the wineglass.
- The year 2000 problem… Yes, well… that is- Joe said and started talking about the Y2K –problem with his eyes sparkling in the candlelight. You listened to his presentation about how some scientists as well as IT-people were worried that the computers would crash when the millennium changed because the computers’ calendars were not coded to handle the change from 1999 to 2000. For you the problem seemed very ridiculous but apparently there was a real danger that some important computers would stop working and cause accidents or something. You asked some questions and listened to Joe talking about the issue until the waitress came to tell you and him that the restaurant was about to close. It was almost 10 PM and the restaurant was closing earlier because of the Christmas time. You and Joe left and soon after you had stepped out from the restaurant, you asked Joe with a slightly hesitant tone
- Joe, can I ask you something?
You did not want to offend him or anything but you couldn’t understand why he insisted on talking about tech-stuff with you. Sure your opinions about the Internet had changed a little during the autumn… hell, you had even gotten a cell phone but still, you did not understand why Joe insisted on wow’ing you with his knowledge… or was he trying to make you feel insecure or stupid? You had wanted to ask him that question so many times but you had never dared. Now however you had drank some wine and felt a bit bolder than usual. “Of course” he replied.
- Why do we always talk about the Internet and computers? you asked with a hesitant tone after inhaling deeply.
- Excuse me? he asked with a puzzled tone. He had not realized it at all himself because for him it was quite normal to talk about digitalization, Internet and technology.
- I do not particularly feel comfortable with the subject… you stated with an apologetic tone and stammered “…or actually even like it that much… at all… almost at all… fine, nowadays more than before, but still… not much” with a barely audible tone. Joe stared at you silently for a moment. He had not wanted to make you feel uncomfortable or anything and he felt instantly a bit guilty for talking about such topics so much. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything” you mumbled and shifted your gaze away from him instantly. “No-no, it’s okay” Joe commented and then continued with a slightly shy tone
- I suppose… I am just trying to impress you.
- Me? you exclaimed. You had not even considered that he would have been trying to impress you… quite opposite actually; you had occasionally thought whether he was trying to embarrass you or make you feel stupid… but now you had learned that he actually had tried to do the opposite. You stared at him with a baffled expression on your face, completely unable to form your thoughts into words.
- Yes… to get a confirmation from you that what I do is… important. Joe stated with a slightly shy tone.
- Why do you care about my opinion so much? you asked with a puzzled tone. Joe smiled nervously as he sighed, stepped quite a bit closer and replied “Because… I-“ but your cell phone, that you had gotten just a couple of days ago, started to ring just as Joe was about to say something important… or he looked like he was going to say something important at least… to make a statement or confess something.
- Hold on a second. you said and took the Nokia –phone out from your bag.
- Yeah, go ahead. Joe said and stepped a bit further away. He had been actually standing very close, much closer than ever before but your phone had started to ring before you had even notice it. You stared at your ex’s number on the screen, wondering why he was calling you and why you had even saved it… but then you just decided to answer the phone anyway. Maybe it was an emergency. “I have to take this” you said with an apologetic tone and turned away to talk with your ex.
- Hi! It’s rather bad time, Samuel… you said and listened silently as your ex talked on the other end of the phone call. “Oh, you did what?” you asked suddenly and then you listened to him talking again. You spoke with him for a moment and then ended the call.
- Sorry about that. you said after you had ended the call. You stared at the phone with a puzzled expression for a moment, unable to say anything.
- Everything alright? Joe asked with a deeply concerned tone because you seemed very confused and you had been staring at your phone for a minute without saying anything. He was worried that something bad had happened… something had obviously shocked you deeply.
- Apparently my… uhm… ex… has bought me a plane ticket to (city in another country)… to spend Christmas with him. you spoke with a baffled tone. He had just called to make sure that you were home when the courier brought the plane ticket tomorrow in the afternoon. Joe was speechless for a moment and the only comment that he was able to make was a simple “Oh?”
- Yes… I suppose I don’t have to do Christmas shopping tomorrow. you commented with a deeply puzzled voice.
- Yeah… I guess so. When are you leaving? Joe asked with a rather forced smile on his face.
- On Sunday so I’ll be there on Christmas eve. you replied and put the phone back into your bag. You had not expected it at all and you felt deeply confused because you had not talked with your ex for many months and you had not even known that he had your cell phone number, especially considering that you had just gotten it. You reasoned that he had most likely called some of your friends and asked for it from them.
- Oh… Well, in that case I’ll wish you happy holidays. Joe said with an undertone of sadness in his voice.
- You too, Joe. you said and watched him walking to his car after saying goodbyes.
You did not know what to think about the whole thing! You had basically been out with Joe, even though you did not know if this had been a date or not… but still… you had not heard from your ex since July and now that he was inviting you over to visit him in another country, you couldn’t possibly understand what it meant… and why Joe had reacted that way? Almost like he had been jealous or disappointed… or almost like he had lost something. He had gotten awfully silent after you had ended the phone call and left quite abruptly. You had not actually even gotten an opportunity to thank him for a great evening.
You were just about to start walking into the different direction when Joe suddenly appeared behind the corner, jogging and shouting “Oh, (Y/N)!”
- What? you asked as you turned to look at him. Joe jogged to you and after he had calmed down his breathing a little he pleaded with a sincerely concerned tone
- Please do not fly back during the New Year ’s Eve.
- Are you seriously afraid that airplanes will crash just because the computer’s calendars haven’t been designed to handle the new millennium? you asked with a slightly amused tone. You were flattered that Joe cared but you couldn’t take the Y2K –problem seriously, although who were you to say anything when you did not really even understand how the computers worked? Maybe the new millennium was indeed too much for the computers to handle and they would start exploding one by one when the clock would strike midnight.
- I don’t know… but I think it is better to be safe than sorry. Joe said with a smile on his face. He however looked still quite sad and it made you feel a bit sad as well. Maybe you would make a terrible mistake if you flew to your ex to spend the Christmas with him… but then again, the alternative was to spend it alone, which of course was not a bad plan but then again… maybe a change of scenery for a nine days was good. You after all had been very stressed out the entire December.
- True… Well… thank you. you said and smiled sincerely, still feeling that maybe you were making a huge mistake by leaving.
- Yeah, of course. Merry Christmas (Y/N). Joe said and hugged you briefly before walking away and leaving you to stand in front of the restaurant by yourself.