《Not Giving Up》


 Chapter One: Bugs, Mud Pies, and Professors

    Chapter One: Bugs, Mud Pies, and Professors


    "Did you hear about Dr. Marchand?"


    Looking over her shoulder, Katerina Thorpe, found one of the other students watching her intently.


    "No. What?" She asked, wondering what could possibly be so interesting about their professor. The brunette didn''t understand what all the fuss was for.


    "Apparently, Dr. Marchand is on sabbatical leave. He''s not going to be teaching this course."


    From beside her she heard another student speak up.


    "So who''s going to teach us then?"


    Good question, the golden-brown eyed girl thought, thinking about why their professor would have left on sabbatical so suddenly. Contemplating who could possibly replace their teacher for their third year ''Introduction to Polymer Chemistry'' course, she found her thoughts drifting off.


    Sitting in her seat, Katerina paid no further attention to the sounds of students talking around her. The babble of chit-chat did nothing to snap the brown haired girl out of her thoughts. For some reason memories of her childhood kept flitting through her mind, an occurrence which had been happening more and more often. It had been years since she had last thought about that time. In her mind''s eye she could see her small childhood self and the boy who lived across the street. The same boy who she used to pelt with mud. The boy who used to -


    "Kat? Katerina?"


    At first the words didn''t register.


    "Katerina!"


    Shaking away her thoughts, Katerina looked over at the girl who sat beside her, Nadine DeMarchelier. The honey blond girl looked over at her closely. They were sitting in the lecture hall at eight thirty in the morning, waiting for the new professor to show up.


    "Yeah?"


    "Where were you spacing off to?" She asked, an eye brow raised.


    "Nowhere. I was just thinking about who''s going to teach us now, and what we''ll cover in the course." She quickly covered up for her inattentiveness.


    "Yea, I was wondering about that as well. I wonder why Marchand left like that? Probably something health related, right? He is quite old." Nadine said, tapping her pen against their table.


    "Yeah. Maybe."


    Flipping through their course textbook, Katerina heard the door to the lecture hall open. Looking up she saw a man''s back, she guessed he was going to be their new professor. The hall became quiet. Dimming the lights as he headed to the computer station by the lectern to start his Powerpoint, soon enough, the sound of chalk against blackboard echoed through the room. He had written his name and was passing around the outlines, still not having said anything.


    "I hope his front looks as good as his back." Nadine muttered.


    "Urgh! Are you kidding me?" Katerina whispered, a little disgusted; only making the other girl giggle at her reaction.


    As the first slide appeared on the screen before them, Katerina started to read through the course outline, when their professor finally broke the silence.


    "Okay, so first of all happy Monday, and happy start of winter term. I hope you''re all awake this morning. I apologize for being late, but I didn''t get a chance o drop my things off at my office, and it''s been a while since I was here last." He told them, sounding relatively young and enthusiastic. "I kind of got lost."


    Not paying any attention to the new man in front of them, Katerina intently read the course outline.


    "Since we have such a small class, I''m guessing about thirty or so, why don''t you all give me a short introduction about yourselves. It''ll help me remember your names and faces, and in the future when you complain about a low mark I''ll be able to tell if you were in class and paying attention."


    Soft laughter sounded around the room, forcing Katerina to look up. He was still hidden partially by the shadows.


    "Sir, why don''t you introduce yourself first?" One of the students at the back interjected.


    "Fair enough." The new professor chuckled. "I''m Dr. LeBlanc. You can call me Prof Le Blanc, or Ashton, if you like. I recently graduated with my Ph.D from Northwestern, and I used to be an undergrad here, in fact I got my Bachelors from Lassonde University, and I was a part of Dr. Mackay''s group."


    The name didn''t register, as students around them started asking the professor questions. Katerina paid little attention, catching only fragments of the conversation.


    If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    "Why should we call you Ashton? The course outline has your first name as Michael." One girl asked.


    At this he laughed. Katerina found herself wondering when he would start teaching them, since the class was only an hour long, and they had already wasted twenty minutes.


    "Well, that''s because there are too many Mike''s in the Chemistry Department, so it''ll be less confusing. And I''ve been called by my middle name since childhood."


    As the class started to introduce themselves, she looked over at the course outline''s grade breakdown only to be surprised. He had changed part of their course. The easy part at that. Rumor had it Dr. Marchand didn''t care if answers were right on the assignment, as long as you answered all the questions and showed all the work full marks would be given. Why had he taken that out? She wanted to know.


    "Well miss, is the course outline that interesting?"


    "I was just wondering why we don''t have any weekly assignments? Instead there is a weekly quiz, and essay with interview?" Katerina asked, not looking up, her cheeks flamed with embarrassment at being caught out.


    "I decided to change that since unless the assignments were graded properly, there was no point to them. Weekly quizzes will give a better idea of what needs to be studied properly, as well as prepare you for what kinds of questions I might ask on tests and exams."


    "But those were easy marks!" Cried a student.


    "If you want easy marks then work hard on the essay and interview component."


    Oh, she thought, seeing that the essay and interview was worth fifteen percent of their mark, while the quizzes were ten percent. They had three term tests which were worth roughly seventeen percent each, while the final exam was twenty five percent.


    As silence settled around them, Katerina wondered why it was so quiet. Wasn''t the class introducing themselves?


    "Well, will you be introducing yourself, or are you busy reminiscing about some childhood memory involving the boy next door and mud pies?"


    At this Katerina''s head shot up, while around her, her fellow classmates giggled. Meeting his gaze, shock coursed through her, Katerina''s eyes narrowing.


    "You..." She realized that she was in class, and changed her accusatory tone, as Ashton LeBlanc grinned knowingly. "Are mistaken, sir."


    "Then why don''t you introduce yourself, please."


    "My name is Katerina Thorpe. I''m a chemistry major who is deciding between Atmospheric and Organic chemistry." She said, trying to sound unfazed, but her anger got the better of her. "And for the record,sir, I would never touch mud pies unless the boy put bugs in my hair. So next time please remember that when you assume, you make anassout of you and me,sir."


    Inwardly, Katerina smirked, having seen the look of shock in Ashton''s eyes, while the class snickered.


    "I''ll keep that in mind, Miss Thorpe." He said coolly, moving on.


    Going through what they would be learning for the semester, time flew by, and as the class started to pack their things, Katerina heard Ashton''s voice, as she zipped her bag and stood up ready to leave.


    "So, which one of you will be kind enough to show me around and help me to my office?"


    Many students ¨C mostly girls ¨C Katerina noticed, raised their hands, but Ashton looked over at her, and she knew she was about to be reprimanded for her earlier remarks.


    "Miss Thorpe, you''ll be my guide. Consider it punishment." He said, a smirk threatening to show. "Hopefully you all will refrain from making smart-Aleck comments during my lectures in the future."


    Glaring at him, she didn''t move from her spot.


    "Well, Miss Thorpe, lead the way."


    Gritting her teeth, Katerina walked up to Ashton and stormed out the lecture hall, not caring if he was behind her.


    "I''ll see you all on Wednesday." She heard him say, before footsteps sounded behind her.


    Not bothering to speak, she lead them through the halls and out of the building, heading for the Chemistry Building, which she thought would be where his office was. As soon as they walked into a deserted hallway, she turned to confront him.


    "What the hell are you doing here, Ash?"


    There he was standing a whole foot taller than her, athletic build from playing varsity soccer, Michael Ashton LeBlanc, better known as Ashton, or just Ash to those who knew him; looking the same as always. He hadn''t changed very much from when she''d last seen him six or seven years ago. His mixed green-blue eyes laughed at her, as he gave her a once over.


    He had lived across the street from her own home, and together with a few others, they were the only children in the neighborhood. They had known each other since Katerina was in kindergarten, during which the mud pie incidents occurred. Five years older than her, he had graduated high school and entered university when she had started grade nine. Shortly after, she had moved, not keeping contact with any of her childhood acquaintances.


    "What do you mean? I''m teaching." He grinned.


    "Why are you of all people teaching at my university?"


    "Your university? If anything, I was here first, so it would be my university."


    He always knew how to infuriate her, she thought, feeling herself grow more and more annoyed.


    "Quit joking! Why are you here?"


    "They advertised a job, I applied, and here I am. I decided to take it since it was close to home."


    "Yea, right." She scoffed as they started to walk once more. "You''re probably here to make my life miserable."


    "I had no idea you would be in my class, Kat." He said, giving her an incredulous look. "When I saw the class list it never occurred to me that you could possibly be K. Thorpe. I thought there were other possibilities."


    "Why mention the mud pies?" Katerina was still fumed that he had had the nerve to bring something personal like that up in front of her classmates.


    "I was checking to see if it was really you." The words making her scowl, as Ash laughed. "Honestly, you should be happy to see me, Kat. We''re friends, and it''ll probably be helpful to have a familiar face around if your ever stuck or in trouble."


    "The last thing I need is help from you. You''ll probably be the one to get me in trouble in the first place." Katerina snapped. "We were never friends. You used to put bugs in my hair."


    "And you used to put mud pies where I would either step or fall in them, not to mention fling mud at me for doing so." He pointed out. "I thought we were past that."


    "Whatever. I have other reliable sources that I''d rather go to instead of asking for your help." She said, pulling out her course outline to see what room was his office, as he had forgotten to tell her. "I don''t want it, and I won''t need it."


    "Just you wait." He snickered, angering her more as she saw his office come up.


    "Here''s your office,sir." She said, pointedly. "And from now on, just stay away from me. All I am is a student in your class. You don''t know me."


    With that Katerina left in a huff,hewas not going to come in the way of the school life she had carefully crafted over the years.

 Chapter Two: Only For The Lame

    Walking around the lecture hall, Ashton watched his students frantically scribble down what he was saying. The scritch-scracth of pen and pencil to paper could be heard throughout the lecture hall, as well as some students typing away on their laptops. Personally, he had always found laptops to be more distracting. For him, as a student, it had been easier to remember things while writing them down by hand.


    "So, now that we have discussed what polymers are and their molecular structure as well as molecular weight and degree of polymerization, and how they relate to one another; we are going to move on and learn about the different ways to synthesize polymers."


    Moving towards the front of the class, he saw the girl next to Katerina whisper something to her, before she whispered something back; Ashton smirked inwardly. There were times when she made it too easy to pick on her. For him it was a constant source of entertainment, when he saw her scowl at being asked to answer a question. He had yet to properly get her back for the ''assume'' comment on his first day.


    "Miss Thorpe, do you have a question?" He asked, knowing it would get a rise out of her.


    "No." Glaring at him, Katerina shook her head.


    Sitting on the table at the front, he watched her squirm. Since starting last week, he had not seen her unless she was in class, and even then she had stuck to the invisible code of not talking to him unless being forced to.


    "If it''s not a question, then it must have been something very important for you to be talking during my class? Would you like to share it with the rest of us?"


    "What? No! It was nothing!" She spluttered, seeming flustered.


    "Then I suggest you to save your personal conversations for when you leave my class. That also goes for you Miss Demarchelier, and you too Mr. Trent. No more disruptions."


    The red tinge in her cheeks would have made him laugh, if it weren''t for the fact he was the one lecturing. Returning his attention to his notes, he clicked the little remote to change the slide at the front, and then started to walk again.


    "So the first types of polymer synthesis we''re going to touch upon are condensation and addition reactions. Who can tell me the difference between the two, based on your readings?" He asked looking around.


    Looking over at Katerina, he found her staring at her notes looking unapproachable, as though the papers in front of her were the most fascinating thing in the world. Deeming that he had tortured her enough for one class, he turned to see who had raised their hands.


    "Alright, you there." He said motioning to a guy whose name he thought to be Marvin Carothers. So far, it had been easier to remember the names of those who either were troublesome or showed up during his office hours.


    "Condensation is where there are two different monomers which form the structural unit through an elimination reaction, and addition is where there is one monomer which has the same structural unit as the polymer, only the bond arrangement is different."


    "Good. So what are common examples of these?" Ashton asked, as he continued with his class. "What are some common monomers?"


    Heading to his office after the lecture, Ashton had half expected Katerina to accost him over his treatment of her. He wasn''t surprised that she had not said anything, choosing to ignore him and leave quietly. Knowing her stubborn streak, the move fit very well with Katerina''s personality. She''s still going by the whole ''you don''t know me, I''m just like any other student''; he thought with amusement as he held up his key fob to open the office door. The beep sounded, allowing the door to unlock, and let him inside.


    Having grown up together, he had not been expecting her to be jumping for joy that he was around, but he had thought that she would be at least somewhat happy to see him. After all they had been friends, he thought. Maybe not right away due to the bugs and mud, and perhaps begrudgingly, but they had spent a large amount of their childhood together.


    Closing the door behind him, Ashton sat down at his desk, taking in the large and seemingly empty room. He still had to put his books into the shelves, and the department had yet to give him a computer; but at least he had a small corner of campus to himself.


    Taking out his cellphone, he scrolled down the list and clicked on the number he had been meaning to call. It had been sometime since they had spoken, he thought swiveling his chair to face the window. Outside he could see students walking by, some rushing to get to their next class, while others strolled leisurely.


    "Yo, what''s going on Ash? How''s the teaching? Are you used to being called Professor yet?" He heard his best friend snicker on the other end.


    "No, not yet. It''s going well, Owen. You busy?"


    "Got a few minutes, shoot."


    "Guess who''s in my first class."


    "Pretty hot girls?" The boy snorted with laughter, making Ashton shake his head, grinning at the answer. Somehow, no matter how old they got, they were still far too immature, he thought.


    "No, you perv."


    "Okay...super hot girls then?"


    If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    "Seriously, man. Take a guess, it rhymes with brat." Ashton hinted, knowing Owen would catch on immediately.


    "Who? Kat? Are you kidding me? Kat the brat is in your class?"


    "None other."


    Laughter sounded on the other end.


    "Oh wow! How long has it been, man? What, six-seven years? I thought she had moved out of the country."


    "Yeah, I did too. But I guess she came back." Ashton nodded, remembering how during his first year in university, he had come home for the weekend only to find out Katerina had moved away.


    "Remember the whole cloak and daggers secrecy when her folks moved out? No one even knew they had moved until Holly asked the teacher in class." Owen said, referring to his younger sister who used to be Katerina''s friend and classmate.


    "I know."


    "So how is she?"


    "No idea, other than pissed off at me."


    "You didn''t put bugs in her hair again, did you?" Owen asked, laughing once more. "How many times have we told you, that''s not how you make friends, Ash."


    "Shut up, Owen. I didn''t. But I might have mentioned it in class, and picked on her a little." He protested, only to make Owen laugh harder.


    "Ash, you can be such an ass." His friend howled. In the background, Ashton heard his friend being called. ''Daniels, we have a meeting in three.''


    "As much as I want to hear this story right now, I''m going to have to call you back, Ash. We have a round up for the post-docs in a few minutes."


    "Alright."


    "You know, I might just come and visit. See how kitty Kat is, and what''s going on over there. Check up on your teaching skills." Owen teased.


    "Yea, you''ve been telling me you''d visit all through my years at Northwestern. You never came."


    "Back then you were in the states, now you''re like twenty minutes away. Lassonde isn''t that far from York."


    "We''ll see." Ashton replied, skeptically. "Drinks sometime?"


    "Definitely. Alright, later Ash."


    "Yeah, bye."


    Putting his cell phone on the desk, Ashton leaned back in his chair. It was funny how after all these years, they were all coming back together, he thought, the group of kids he had once hung out and played with. It had always puzzled him why Katerina had left so suddenly in the first place. Aren''t we friends? He thought, not sure why she had been so quick to sever ties on his first day. It can''t have all been bad, he thought thinking back to their childhood, we had some good times, didn''t we?


    Hearing a knock on his door, Ashton shoved the thoughts into the back of his mind, as he got up to answer it.


    ...


    Standing by Nadine, she listened to the girls chat up a storm. Several students from her year and program had decided to go to an on campus restaurant and grab some drinks together. For once, relenting, she had decided to join in the merriment.


    Taking a sip of her coke, she took in who else had come. Many students from her Polymer Chemistry class were present, as well as some from her first semester Atmospheric Chemistry and Organic Chemistry class.


    "He''s kind of hot, don''t you think?"


    Catching the question, Katerina looked over to the girl Nadine had been talking to, Jessica.


    "Who?" She asked confused.


    "You know, the new polymer professor. Ashton?"


    "Urgh, no." She scoffed, a disgusted look passing over her features. They had no idea what he was really like. Superficially, maybe Ashton looked alright, but Katerina knew better. He was the devil in disguise. He would lure girls in with his looks and charm, and then leave them broken hearted and in tears. She had seen it first hand when they were in school. He turned down girls as it were a sport back then.


    "Really? I thought he was kind of cute." Nadine added. "Like a reformed bad boy, you know?"


    "No, not you too!" Katerina moaned. "He''s not good looking at all, and he''s a jerk at that."


    "Maybe it''s cause you keep getting in to trouble with him that you don''t see it." The other girl commented.


    If only that were it, Katerina thought shaking her head. Reformed bad boy my ass, she silently scoffed.


    "Anyways, while you guys drool over our prof, which I find disturbing by the way, I''m going to grab some dinner and head out. I have some studying to finish." She said, not wanting to hear any more about Ashton.


    "See you tomorrow for Biochem?" Nadine asked, as she started towards the bar.


    "Yea."


    Sitting down at the bar, she ordered a chicken burger and fries to take out. She was going home to get some studying done, and had forgotten to buy the grocery.


    Waiting for her food to come, she looked over at the door only to be irritated even further. It was as though mentioning his name had brought him to where they were. Her unfortunate evening out was turning even more dire, as none other than Ashton stepped in with a few guys.


    "Of course this happens to me." She muttered under her breath.


    Taking another sip of her drink, she watched as some of the students from their class asked Ashton to join them. The girls seemed particularly keen to have drinks with him, but he politely declined, only to come sit by the bar.


    ...


    "No, it''s alright. Maybe some other time?" He said, trying to let his students down as gently as possible. He wasn''t sure how it would be if he had drinks with any of them. The girls seemed a little too enthusiastic to see him, he thought offhandedly.


    Taking a seat by the bar, he ordered a beer, only to hear a familiar voice mutter the word ''Gross''. Looking over he saw her, bright golden brown eyes glaring at him, looking annoyed as hell at being anywhere near him. The situation made him chuckle.


    "I thought hermits never came out of their shells." He said snidely, as the bar tender brought his beer.


    "Only lame professors desperate for popularity drink with their students." She countered.


    "I''m not drinking with them, Kat." Ashton pointed out.


    "Still lame."


    Watching as she got up from her seat, he noticed her glass to be empty.


    "Am I not lame enough for you to drink with me?" He asked, jokingly.


    "You''re far too lame. And I don''t drink." Katerina snickered. "I only came to grab some dinner and catch up with a few friends before going home."


    "You have friends?" He asked, pretending to be surprised.


    "Hilarious, Ash." She said, giving him a look of disdain. "At least I have friends."


    "Is that so? Well then, what''s the rush? Scared of violating dorm curfew?"


    "Nope. Don''t live in the dorms. And I''d be more scared of being violated by you." She quipped, shocking him into almost choking on a large mouthful of his beer.


    "Ouch. That hurt, Kat."


    "Serves you right, bug boy."


    "All joking aside, if you''re not at the dorms, then where are you living?" Ashton asked, curiously.


    "I''m not going to tell you where or there''ll probably be creepy crawlies under my door." She said, taking a brown paper bag from the bar tender.


    "See you in class on Friday, Kat." He said as she walked away.


    "Whatever, Ash." Came her reply.


    Shaking his head and more than a little impressed at her quick remarks, Ashton took a swig of his beer. What was with that girl, he thought, as another girl he recognized from his class approached him.


    "Sir, Why won''t you drink with us, when you had a drink with Thorpe?" She asked. Jessica, he thought her name was.


    "I didn''t have a drink with her." He replied truthfully. "She was just asking questions about class."


    "Well, we have questions too." She pouted.


    Inwardly sighing at the predicament he was in, Ashton decided to relent.


    "Alright, one drink. After that you guys are on your own. Understood?"


    "Of course, professor!"