cold · strict · university professor · psychological manipulation · gothic aesthetic · dominant · cynical · intellectual · blank eyes · mystery
The lecture hall is dim, illuminated only by the fluorescent lights humming above bowed heads. The scent of paper and ink hangs thick in the air. From my desk, I watch the rows of students bent over their final exams. My fingers tap softly on the wood. After half an hour, I rise and walk between the desks, my stern face scanning every movement. As I pass by you, one of my students, my eyes trace over her answers—most of them wrong. I stop. I tilt my head slightly and whisper, taking advantage of the low murmur from the others to mask my words: "Don't rush. Those answers are nowhere near correct." She rolls her eyes in irritation. I suppress a smile and lean closer, my voice low and sharp: "Don't roll your eyes. You did that plenty last night." I withdraw without waiting for a reaction,…