no understanding of how things work in the social sciences. If he shows up, I will do my best to head him off, but I may not be successful. What are you thinking?”
“I’m thinking that I probably won’t do any actual lecturing tomorrow.” She saw the expression on his face and hastened to add, “I’ll have some stuff prepared, but I want to talk with each class, see what their perceptions are, why they have chosen to take that particular course, what they hope to get out of it, whether their expectations are being met. I’ll explain my teaching style; talk a bit about what I expect them to learn and how to select term paper topics and what kinds of things they should be taking notes on for exams. These are all intro courses, which means that the students are mostly freshman and sophomores, right?” He nodded. “They need a little extra hand holding then, a road map to success. By the time I have finished explaining how I run my classes and answer all their questions, there isn’t likely to be any lecturing time left.” She grinned at him, “I’ll get them to where they need to be by the end of the semester, don’t worry. I may be horrible at giving grades, but my students have all earned praise from subsequent professors about how well they are prepared to learn.”
He waved his hand, “Have at it then.”
Chapter Three
“She’s good,” Rich told Boxford over the phone, as he sat at the front desk and watched Audrey through the open door to her classroom. He was sitting too far away to hear what she was saying, but her animation and clear enjoyment of her topic were exactly what kept students, if not on the edge of their seats, at least awake and taking notes.
The first week of Audrey’s time at Wheatleigh had passed uneventfully. She had been quiet and submissive, deferring to every single thing he had to say. Her performance had been acceptable, but unremarkable in the classroom. But now, as she finished her second week, clearly she had hit her stride. She paced the front of her classroom, her arms waving and gesturing with different mannerisms, voice raising and falling, even assuming an occasional accent.
He wished the desk were closer to the classroom door so he could hear. He had been amusing himself trying to guess what the topic of her lecture was when Boxford had called. He sighed and turned away from watching Audrey so he could focus on his superior. “I was worried that her spirit had been damaged by this whole set-up because she was so subdued, but her personality has emerged and she is doing great. I would appreciate it if you would continue to keep your distance. I think the reminder that she was bulldozed into this teaching position and is here, regardless of her personal wishes, for five years is what was keeping her down. But now she’s back to enjoying the day to day routine of teaching.”
“Have you been too heavy handed with your mentoring?” Boxford demanded.
“No, sir,” he answered promptly. “I simply ensured that she understood the reality of her situation and have been very accommodating in getting her settled in ever since. There have been no occasions to test the waters; she has been cooperative.”
“Make sure she continues to be that way. I don’t want to have to deal with any complaints until we are forced into addressing the grading issue.”
“Yes, sir.”
“She’s coming to the Gathering tonight, isn’t she? Everyone wants to meet the new member of our little family.”
Rich grimaced; he hated that metaphor. “Yes sir, I’ll make sure that she is there.”
“You too, Thornton. Don’t think I haven’t noticed how often you seem to miss these events. The intention of the monthly Gatherings is for the faculty to become familiar with all the successes our esteemed colleagues are enjoying.”
“Yes, sir. Which esteemed colleague in which science are we congratulating tonight?”
“Martha Agnus has just had a paper accepted for publication. Her topic is groundbreaking work in the study of the homing instinct in fruit flies.”
“I see. When are we going to celebrate Marcus Webster’s publication in the Journal of International Philosophy?”
“Oh, that’s right, I seem to remember that he did get an amusing little essay included several months back, didn’t he?” The sound of papers rustling in the background indicated that Boxford had clearly lost interest in their conversation. “Pity it came out during the graduation season, such a busy time of year. We’ll celebrate next time he publishes.” Rich ground his teeth but offered no response. “Make sure she’s there, Thornton, and make sure that you are as well.”
“Yes sir.”
“Good. See you tonight.” The phone went dead.
Rich looked around surreptitiously; no one was in sight, he stuck out his tongue at the phone as he replaced the receiver.
“I saw that,” Audrey whispered in his ear. She brandished the book she had pulled from a shelf behind him and returned to her classroom.
“So what was that all about?” she asked later as she speared a wedge of hard-boiled egg in her chef’s salad. She bought several at a time and kept them stocked in the refrigerator, so that when she finally finished her heavy load of teaching, lunch was ready and waiting.
Rich rummaged through the refrigerator and grumbled at his choices, finally he held up one of her salads. “May I? I’ll replace it tomorrow, I promise.”
“Sure, enjoy with my best wishes. No need to replace it. I’m getting kind of tired of chef salads, I’m thinking of switching to Greek salads next.”
“Thanks.” He pulled a fork from a drawer and sat down at the table. “Why do you buy all the same kind? It would be just as easy to stock a variety and then you wouldn’t get bored so quickly.”
“I tried that once, it involved too much thinking. How many salads should I get? How many different kinds? What kind out of all the ones in stock did I feel like eating each day?” She shuddered. “I just want to grab something that I know I like and not do any more thinking than that. The boring factor is actually part of the attraction.” She pointed her fork at him, “So are you avoiding my question?”
He glanced down and blushed. “I’m not proud of my behavior.”
She giggled, “There’s a young guy locked somewhere inside that old geezer. There’s hope for you yet! So who broke down your rigid control?” Her eyes got wide, “Oh! I just realized! It had to be President Boxford. He really has a talent for getting under your skin, doesn’t he?”
He growled and then looked up at her and smiled sadistically. “Of course, you are in this too, although you haven’t been shanghaied into attending these for years. Yet. After a few years let’s see how you feel about it.”
“What are you talking about?”
“There’s a faculty Gathering tonight, the monthly faculty Gathering. Our fearless leader called to make sure that you were going to be there and he mentioned my less than stellar attendance history.”
She cocked her head. “Obviously it’s something that you don’t enjoy. Why? And do they really keep attendance?”
“Each month we celebrate the success of a colleague. It’s their moment to have the spotlight and be the darling of the administration. Somehow, the physical sciences are disproportionately honored. Surprise. I asked
