Iris sighed, looking up at the multi-floor building with unease. She didn’t really want to do this, but her job was everything, and she wanted to have the ability to always be on top of her game in terms of filing taxes accurately and proficiently. This meant she had to go back to school for the first time since she’d started, and she wasn’t feeling quite up to the task.
Some of the pros included: being able to organize and buy more stationary, being able to use said stationary, and learning more to help her current and future clients.
Some of the cons included: being too busy for the next few months, forcing her to reject new customers, and having to meet new people and teachers at school, who might be mean to her, and Iris definitely didn’t like mean people.
She had a brand new cute leather backpack with a few enamel pins on top from her favorite pop stars and her trusted notebook inside with a brand new pencil case. She walked up the stairs hesitantly, grasping onto her pink hair as she tried to convince herself everything would be okay.
The receptionist looked up at her for a second before going back to her work. She had a bun on the top of her head, thick pink glasses, and a white blouse on. “Umm…” Iris said, clearing her throat, “this is the right building for the new accounting class, right?”
“Yes,” the woman responded, still not bothering to look at Iris.
“Do I just… go up stairs then?” She asked, the unease now building more and more in her stomach.
“Room 403,” the woman said, waving her hand towards the staircase and elevators.
“Oh, thank you,” Iris replied, and walked away, hoping some of her classmates and teachers would be friendlier. The building itself was quite a beautiful piece of architecture, and she had discovered from some background research that it was built almost four hundred years prior, and had been a structure designed to educate students from the very start. Large paintings of the school itself decorated the hallways, and red curtains and details gave it a very extravagant feel. It felt almost like she was in some sort of wizard school with the stone walls and hundreds of framed art of important figures on the walls. She couldn’t help but look around, a little mesmerized by the beauty of it, were they really going to teach her accounting here?
She didn’t spot anyone else as she went up the elevator, and thankfully, the room itself was easy to locate. She found herself in the middle of a large auditorium, with plush and soft seating for the students and electrical plugins at every desk. She hadn’t been expecting this, not at all.
There were a few other students already seated, and she found her place at the very front as she tried to fulfill her goal of learning as much as possible. She had to make the money she paid for the course worth it, after all.
She crossed her legs and looked around, shifting her skirt down so she didn’t accidentally flash someone. A few girls were giggling behind her, and she couldn’t help but wonder if they were talking about her. She was fifteen minutes early, and shifted from side to side, wondering if she should’ve waited a few minutes before coming in.
The professor walked in, not bothering to look at anyone as he settled his laptop on the podium. He attached it to the screen, and cleared his throat. Iris couldn’t help but blush. He was so serious… and smart… he had big round glasses, freckles, blue eyes and wavy black hair. He was exactly her type! She shook herself from her thoughts. No, Iris was here to learn and that’s all she was going to be doing. She hadn’t been with a boy in quite some time, that was why she was crushing on so many guys around her. She’d just never been able to pass up someone clearly smarter than her, and his matching suit was definitely not helping the situation.
The rest of the class went by quickly, with the professor introducing himself as Dr. Ito, with a PhD in accounting. The focus of the course itself would be a new accounting software that most accountants were required to learn, that had just been developed in the last couple of years. Iris was very impressed that Dr. Ito himself had been a part of the project, and had been part of the programming process. He was definitely the most suitable person to teach her what she needed to know. She felt even more comfortable sitting here now, like it was definitely what she needed to do to succeed.
She was already feeling nervous, though, since a lot of what he was saying felt like gibberish to her. She looked around a few times, trying to figure out whether the other students felt the same. No, they were all frantically writing or typing out his words, and no one raised their hand a single time to ask questions.
After class, she walked up to the professor to introduce herself. He stopped collecting his belongings, and looked up at her. “I’m Iris, I just wanted to introduce myself!”
“Ah, nice to meet you. I saw you sitting up front, I take the lesson wasn’t too difficult today?” She blushed, a little flattered that he’d noticed her while he was busy teaching.
“Yes, it wasn’t too hard,” she lied, not knowing what else to do.
“Let me know if you have any questions. Iris, was it?” She nodded. “This is quite an advanced course, and though it’s my first time offering it, I fear there may be a few people dropping out without actually attempting to handle the course load.”
“Well, I definitely won’t be dropping out, I’ll try my best!” She smiled, though internally cursed herself. Did she just embarrass herself with their first interaction? Why was she acting like a crazy person? She walked out, heaving out a loud sigh as she realized she’d definitely made a fool out of herself. The real problem was, social interaction had never been a part of her upbringing, having been raised by a tax corporation. They taught her how to file taxes, and that was all. And now, she seeked more to her life. She wanted friends, a family, people to spend time with and share all of her deepest and darkest secrets.
“Already trying to schmooze your way into the professor’s heart?” A voice said from behind her. She turned around, spotting a girl she’d seen right behind her during the lesson. She had black hair tied up in pigtails, shiny pink lips, long lashes, and was wearing a school girl uniform, which didn’t really make sense, since it wasn’t required by the school itself.
“Um… what do you mean?” Iris asked. The woman in front of her looked so smug and angry, and none of it made sense. She realized at once this might’ve been another case of her social awkwardness. Maybe she did something wrong she hadn’t realized she was doing…
“I can tell you’re already trying to get to the top of the class! Everyone knows Dr.Ito is a heart throb! That doesn’t mean you get to try and flirt with him after class every day!” The woman glared at her, tapping her feet against the aged wooden flooring as she did.
Iris was completely and utterly confused. What was this woman even going on about? She was merely trying to introduce herself to her new professor! “I think you’ve misunderstood my intentions…” she started.
“Nu-uh!” The woman interrupted her. “My name is Katie, and I definitely have my eyes on you now. Watch out, or you’re going to pay for this.” Before Iris could explain further, Katie turned around, walked down the hallway to meet her friends, and disappeared around the corner.
Iris’s heart was pounding wildly. This was not how she’d wanted her first day of school to go. This is why she was so nervous in the first place! She was already an adult, and she still had to be subject to petty bullying and competition from other students! She felt a little defeated. She had secretly wanted to make friends with some of the girls, and now it felt like she had alienated herself without meaning to. Besides, Katie had no idea how behind Iris was in her studies. She had written everything down, just like the professor instructed, but had no idea what he was even trying to explain!
The next week went by just as she’d expected. Katie stared at her all throughout their lessons, and Iris could practically feel the heat in the back of her mind. The more Professor Ito talked, the more confused Iris was. By Friday, when they had their first quiz, she was feeling absolutely embarrassed. There was no way she was going to be able to pass the course at this rate.
She took the time to cancel every single meeting she had for the rest of the weekend, and walked directly to the library, one of her favorite places in Bracketsville. She threw her backpack on top of a table in the corner of the room, and shoved her face in between her arms. She had no idea where to even begin.
No, this was not how Iris had composed herself in the past. She would succeed in the course if it was the last thing she did. In fact, she planned on getting the best grades in the class! She left her bag and began browsing the accounting section of the library itself, which was small compared to the romance and fiction categories. It didn’t take her long to find a familiar figure around the corner, making her gasp and jump, “Professor Ito?”
“Ah… you were…” Iris was about to introduce herself again, but he shook his head, stopping her, “wait, let me think. Ah, you’re Iris, right? From my new course?”
She nodded, very pleased that he remembered her. “Yes, I’m just trying to get some studying done.”
“You won’t find anything about the new program here. It’s still too advanced for it to be found in a public library,” he said, and put the book he was holding back on the shelf.
Iris frowned, “I don’t know what else I could possibly do…”
“Ah, yes. I wanted to talk to you about that,” he said, “you didn’t do very well on the quiz today, I’m quite concerned you won’t be able to catch up to the other students by the time the program ends.”
She frowned, “that’s precisely why I’m here today!” Am I going to be forced to give up something for the first time in my life? She thought, feeling nervous. No, I have to all I can to not give up on myself. “Do you think… do you think you can teach me outside of class? So I can catch up?”
He looked stunned, and stared down at her. “No one’s ever asked me that before.”
She felt absolutely defeated, “I see. Sorry for bothering you, then.” She began walking away, but was stopped by a low clearing of his throat. She turned around, feeling a spark of hope.
“What if… what if I offer an exchange?” He asked, looking a little shy himself.
She raised her eyebrows, “what do you mean, professor?”
“Well, I was going to spend the weekend painting the rest of my apartment, but honestly, I’m terrible at it. I keep accidentally dropping it on my carpet, and have to spend hours cleaning that up. If you’re willing to help me paint the rest of the rooms, I can spend the weekend giving you extra lessons.” She stared at him, stunned. Did the professor, a man with a PhD, just ask her if she could paint his house for him?
“What?” She asked, he looked like he was about to repeat himself, and she shook her head, “well… that’s really quite unusual, but I guess I can do it for you!” She was worried that if she told him she’d never painted a wall before, let alone held a paint brush, he would immediately cancel their arrangement. No, she needed to figure this out for her own sake.
That evening, instead of catching up on accounting, she spent the rest of the night watching videos online on how to properly paint a house. She was pleased with herself. Not only had she managed a social interaction without acting like a bumbling buffoon, she also managed to convince the professor to do what she needed him to do! The next morning, she headed to his apartment, pleased that it was a walking distance, just like the rest of her usual hang-out spots.
He was still in his pajamas when she walked in, and she tried to hide her blush. She couldn’t remember the last time she was in a boy’s apartment on her own, and it felt extremely intimate and unusual that it was her own professor.
He began showing her around the apartment, which had one bedroom and a beautiful balcony outside. He had just purchased the place, and was trying to paint all the rooms a light gray before his parents came to visit. She got started immediately, taping all of the spots she didn’t want to get paint on. Dr. Ito sat on the couch, and started to teach her everything from scratch, his voice gentle as he went on. She was able to stop him every time she had a question, and didn’t have to concern herself with any ridicule from her classmates, especially Katie. By evening, she felt as if she’d absorbed more than she did all week, and had painted most of the living room.
Professor Ito was pleased as well, and ordered take out for the both of them. She was still extremely shy, but felt better the more he spoke. He finally seemed like a real person to her, one she could trust and definitely form a friendship with. She was covered in paint, and didn’t mind at all. She felt as if she’d accomplished two amazing things in one day, and was feeling very proud of herself.
She came back the next day and did the same, this time working even faster than the day before. By the time Monday came, Iris knew she would be able to ace the course. She was an ambitious woman and if she were being honest with herself, somewhat of a perfectionist, and even if it took her longer to learn than the others, she wouldn’t be stopped. She would study and study until she understood.
What she hadn’t expected was Katie standing at the front of the classroom entrance, her arms crossed with her two friends standing behind her, “did I hear right? Did Melody really see you walking out of Professor’s apartment yesterday evening?”
“I have no comment,” Iris replied. She hadn’t thought about being careful! If she were being honest with herself, she’d completely forgotten about Katie’s threat the week before.
“No comment?! I didn’t know you would go this far to get your way!” Katie reached out and grabbed onto Iris’s shoulders, shaking her as she screamed, “is it because you got a terrible mark on last Friday’s quiz? I went to Ito’s office and flipped through the papers… is that why you’re attempting to sleep your way to the top of the class?!”
“You did what?” A stern voice said from behind the two girls. Iris and Katie looked up to face Professor Ito, and Katie slowly let Iris go, looking completely shocked.
“Oh… Professor Ito… you’re here early today!” Katie tried to let out a sheepish grin, but came out incredibly guilty.
“You’re a grown woman, Katie. This is not how one should behave. I will speak to the administrator, you’re officially banned from any accounting classes in the school, and you should expect the tuition you’ve paid so far to be a complete waste.” Iris had never seen the professor look so angry.
“But…” Katie started, “I’ll tell them about the two of you! You’ll see! I don’t know what I even saw in you in the first place. I’ll get you fired!”
Professor Ito sighed, grabbed onto Iris’s hand, and raised it. Iris was confused for a second until she saw the paint marks still dotted on her fingers. “I’ll have you know, Iris’s work for me has already been approved by the HR department, and they’re fully aware of why Iris was in my house in the first place. I called them Friday evening myself.”
Katie gasped, her eyes looking between the two of them. “I…”
“Enough. Class is starting soon,” Professor Ito dropped Iris’s hand next to her. “Leave, or I’ll call security to escort you out.”
Katie’s lower lip began wobbling, and Iris herself was too shocked to say anything as she followed the professor and Katie’s two friends back into the classroom. Katie stood there, frozen, as they closed the door in her face.
Iris felt slightly terrible the rest of the lesson, but felt better as she found herself understanding everything the professor was teaching for once. She spent the rest of the evening catching up on the school work, and realized she was extremely behind on her normal accounting and clients. Iris spent the next few months incredibly busy, but found she was having a great time every day, learning and taking part in something she adored.
Before she knew it, she was taking her exams on the very last day of class, and was the first to finish as she handed it to Professor Ito, “let’s talk outside, Iris,” he said, nodding towards the door. She followed him, feeling relieved from having finished her exam. “I just wanted to thank you again for helping me with the painting, I honestly couldn’t have done it myself.”
“I’m sorry for all the trouble with Katie,” she said, and wondered if now would be a good time to tell him of her crush, which she’d never been able to shake out of these past few months.
“It’s really none of her business, but I’m actually engaged.” He sighed, shaking his head, “I don’t even understand she’s even infatuated with me in the first place.”
Iris burst out laughing, so much so that she had to lean her hand against the wall to keep herself up. Of course she would find herself crushing on a man that’s already engaged to be wed! “Why are you laughing?” The professor asked, looking confused.
“Nothing,” Iris shook her head, “thank you again for everything.”
“I’m sure your marks will be at the top of the class!” Professor Ito replied, “well, I should go back now. Make sure the others aren’t trying to cheat.”
She nodded, and waved him goodbye. It seemed she hadn’t managed to make friends with any of the girls, but she did find a friend in the professor, and knew they would be speaking to each other again. In fact, she planned on asking him many questions in the future!
Well, she didn’t end up with the man of her dreams, but at least Iris got a proper education out of it, and had plenty of cute stationary to show off her success! She hummed as she skipped down the hallway, feeling incredibly proud of herself.
A week later, she was informed that she did indeed pass the course, and at the top of the class. She celebrated by ordering a large pizza all to herself, and spent the evening watching home design shows.