Chapter 1

Liz had woken up today feeling the same as the day before; bored, unmotivated, and wanting nothing more than to get back to her sweet, sweet bed as soon as possible. She got up, put on her pants and white conservative blouse, her knee-high boots, and headed out the door. It was probably 9 fifteen, but she didn’t bother to take out her phone and look at the clock; She was probably already late, and like every day, she didn’t give a crap. The twerps could wait.

After a short drive along the highroad, she arrived at FLK University. She drove inside the gates and onto the faculty parking and got out. She could see some lecturers, not running, but hurdling to the courses building. The urge to look down on them in disdain was quickly dismissed, once she remembered how she’d used to hurdle, back when she was a mere lecturer. Not anymore. If her whole classroom lined up at the University principal’s office and asked to kick her out, their cries would go unheard. She was the Dean, and the students now needed to take whatever shit the Dean gave them.

She walked, as slowly as she could, to her class, and if the giant clock on the building’s door was accurate, had started almost twenty minutes ago.

She walked into the class room, and the students, like in a military school, all shut up at once. This kind of respect didn’t take only a high position, but a firm hand. After gaining a reputation for being “The queen of F’s” no student ever dared to as much look at her sideways. Who’d have known that the most rewarding aspect about being a dean was making the little twerps lives hell. Not her. She thought it would be the most joyous and rewarding job of all, to be a university lecturer. But after years of fighting with students, and yelling and sucking up to Deans and to parents and to—her worst nightmare—students, her love for teaching died, her love for students died, all what was left was a sulky attitude and an appetite for revenge.

She sat in her chair and gave the room a slow, and scornful scan, for no reason, except to make her class a bit nervous. That was when she saw it, an empty chair. One of her students was late; a smile crept on her mouth, realizing this wasn’t going to be another boring day. Most of her students knew her better by now. They knew that any disobedience or any lacking would result in either a failing, or, if the convicted had showed they had enough ass kissing power, she’d spare them. None of her students ever broke rules anymore, so today she’d make the most of this rare, welcomed occasion.

“Good morning clas—” She was interrupted by the door opening, even slamming open.

A girl of hers strode down the classroom, heading for her chair without giving Liz a glance.

“Excuse me,” she said, not loudly but sternly.

The girl looked her way, but didn’t stop for a second, and continued to her chair and sat. “Yeah.”

Liz scanned the girl with the brunette long hair from head to shoe, and failed to remember her name. She wore a black blouse, jeans, and black sneakers.

“What time is it,” Liz said coldly.

“Class time,” The girl said, seeming to resist adding a duh.

Some giggles erupted, for a split second before Liz’s gaze suppressed them down. “You’re late.”

“So, you’re late all the time prof.” The girl rolled her eyes with a smile. “I just saw you walk in.”

Was she new or something? Either that or she was dropping out someday soon and wanted to leave with a bang. Liz didn’t know what to say to that, and she felt her muscles tense. “What’s your name.”

“Ally.” The girl tilted her head, her smile obviously sarcastic now.

The student’s faces seemed as excited as Liz’s was tensed and as Ally’s was cold. Liz knew she wasn’t the only one that would appreciate the action that would happen here today. But for some reason, Liz didn’t feel comfortable pulling her come to my office card this soon. Something about the girl’s eyes, was having a strange affect her. She was, beautiful, to say the least, with her silky brunet hair and her ... green, maybe hazel, she was too far to detriment her eye color. Liz hated beauty when it was paired with this kind of attitude. Maybe hated was the wrong word, more like feared.

“I don’t know if you’re new or something. But tardiness isn’t acceptable here. I expect you to be here 8 am sharp next lecture.” She said, having no trouble exercising her stern tone. “Understood.”

“Not new, and I will be here at 8, if you are here ... at 8 ... sharp.” Ally raised her eyes, seeming bored with the whole exchange and taking out her text book.

She couldn’t let that slide. Liz had been around long enough to know, that if one little brat stepped out of line, soon, they all run out of line. “Ally.”

She didn’t respond, but merely raised her eyes.

“Come to my office after your last lecture today.” She said, looking straight into her eyes, and felt necessary to deliver her warning. “Or you’ll fail this class.”

She saw the girl’s eyebrows rise as Ohhhhs and aahhhs erupted across the classroom, before Liz shouted, “Silence.” They shut up. “All open your books on chapter 9.”

The students did just that, including Ally, who put one leg over the other and silently opened her textbook. Liz gave her lecture as same as every day, stopping every now and then to ask if there were any questions, and knowing that no one would take her up on the offer. She had stopped caring about her lecturing skills long ago. She’d just narrate whatever was written in today’s chapter, as coldly as she could, then give the students their assignments, then leave.

Along her lecturing, she’d look at the crowed every now and then, and her eyes would meet Ally’s. She had no idea why, but the stare that the girl gave her every time their eyes met put her at unease. None of her students looked at her like that. There was a sense of ... contempt, in her cold look. Just another student, just another brat. Don’t let her get into your head, Liz thought. at the end of the day, you’ll put her in her place. She gave the girl a last quick scan from her brunet hair to her black sneaker as the girl dangled her foot in boredom.

The bell rang while Liz was in the middle of a point, and the students, remembering that the bell doesn’t dismiss you I dismiss you rule that Liz had imposed, didn’t dare move a muscle, except for one.

With scornful eyes, Liz watched Ally grab her textbook and walk out the door. She looked at the students who were expectedly watching her, waiting for a reaction. “You’re dismissed,” she said, feeling some of the power that her words usually caried slip away.

She snatched her purse and headed for her next lecture.

Along the day, she failed miserably in her attempt to get the brat out of her head. While giving her third and final lecture of the day, she stumbled over her speech more than once. And found herself searching the classroom carefully to see if Ally was in that lecture as well. Luckily, she wasn’t.

She was soon back in her office, where at first, she first relived, for her relief to be quickly replaced by anxiety. She sat there and graded some assignments to keep herself busy.

This wasn’t a new situation. On the contrary. A student had misbehaved, heavily, and needed to be corrected. She’d done this a hundred times, and each time she’d enjoyed it more than the one before. Then why the hell was she nervous now. There was a difference. The girl had showed no signs of accepting a scolding, let alone a debasing one like the Dean usually enjoyed giving.

The ones she enjoyed debasing the most were the girls, the pretty good dressers. The girls’ crimes ranged from getting a bad grade on an exam or an assignment, to missing lectures or wondering off in her class.

She would make them sit there, and make her intention to fail them bluntly clear so they knew what was at stake. Then she’d start. She’d belittle them, framing it all in a coat of concern for their future. She’d call them stupid and spoiled, and that they should pay better attention to their studies rather than prioritizing parties and social events, and their disgusting interest in their looks.

Some girls took it silently then promised to be better and thanked Liz for her effort. They knew how to suck-up, a skill that the Dean had taken advantage off by taking the girls’ numbers and making them fetch things for her every other day, like papers from professors, or to park her car closer to the building once a lot was free, and if she didn’t have anything important, she could always use a coffee without bothering with the trip. Some girls teared up under the insults, which made Liz feel bad enough to spare them the rest of her humiliating lecture and treatment but not bad enough to apologize. And some girls, of course, eventually, when her words were harshest, would tell her to go to hell and stomp their way out of her office. These were the girls that were more well-off and collage to them was just one of the ways they could go, with the other being their father’s company.

Finally, cutting her reassuring memories, the door knocked. That was a good sign, that she bothered to knock the door.

she straightened her back, making herself find a comfortable, confident position. “Come in,” she said.

The door opened and Ally walked in. She made her way to Liz’s disk and sunk herself into one of the two chairs, before rising her eyebrows, as if to say, “Mind telling me why I’m here.”

Not wanting to go straight into the subject, Liz said, “It’s four o’clock, is your schedule that packed. You’re first lecture was on eight and your last on three.”

“No,” Ally said bluntly. “I finished two hours ago, but wanted to catch up with my friends.”

“I see,” she said. Ally had already managed to get under her skin.

“Why am I here prof.” Ally sighed and rolled her eyes.

“Right there,” Liz said, seeing an opening. “Your attitude in class, your attitude in general, is unacceptable Ally.”

As if hearing something that amused and surprised her, Ally’s mouth curled into a smile as she slowly put one long leg over the other and leaned forward. “My attitude, is unacceptable? That’s rich of you to say.”

“What’s that supposed to mean.”

“You tell me,” she said with less amusement.

This wasn’t going well. Liz decided against making her threats so soon, as she fidgeted in her seat. “Ally, I would start speaking more respectfully if I were you.”

“I gotta be honest,” Ally shrugged. “I’m speaking to you with the maximum respect I can give to someone like you.”

“Ally,” Liz shouted despite herself. Not once in the long five years she’d sat in this chair had a girl managed to irritate her this much, this fast. Liz would shout when she felt she was losing control, and she needed to regain that control. “One more rude gesture, one more smart remark and I swear to god, I’ll fail you right here right now.”

Ally recoiled in her seat, her face tensed with shock. That threat did it.

“Understood?” Liz said.

“You’re gonna fail me for—” She was interrupted by an uncontrollable irritated shake of her head. “For what?”

“For bei—”

“You know when I registered for your class, I was so excited to meet you.” She said with narrowed eyes. The surprising sentence made Liz forgive the interruption. “When I heard that the course is being thought by a dean. Not many deans keep teaching after that promotion, but you did. And when they told me that you didn’t take shit from anybody and that you ran your class like a military base, I was more excited.”

The words dug deep into Liz’s heart. Many praised her ever since she’d become dean, but she knew those praises to be ingenuine, unlike the ones the girl who obviously didn’t like her gave now.

“So try to imagine my disappointment,” Ally said. “To come that first lecture and see this.” And she stretched her arms gesturing at Liz.

Liz took a deep breath.

“You always arrive late, and still somehow have the audacity to blister your students and demand that they arrive on time.” Ally said with uncontrollable anger as she counted on her fingers. “You give the most pathetic lectures I’ve ever attended since I stepped foot in this university. And you talk to us like you’ve got the biggest prom shoved u—” She managed to seal her mouth before finishing. She put a fake smile and reclined in her chair, trying to calm herself.

Liz wanted to say, anything, but the barrage of insults that the young girl had launched at her forbid her from opening her mouth. The logical thing to be done now was to fail her. She’d basically screamed at her like she was a misbehaving little brat, and Liz knew that if she would have the girl give her any respect, what she’d just done couldn’t go unpunished. But the terrifying fact was, that Liz was afraid to say a single word. She dreaded at the fact of telling Ally that she’d fail her, she dreaded what she would do in her irritated, fuming state.

“So,” Ally said, seeming more relaxed. “When you’re ready to become a decent, honorable dean and professor, worthy of her title, ask me here again and tell me to pay you more respect.” She uncrossed her legs and stood up, giving Liz a final reassuring nod. “Okay Liz?” She turned without waiting for an answer.

The steps that Ally started taking to the door felt like they were taking a decade. Liz couldn’t ignore this. The best-case scenario was her students seeing Ally arrive at class the next day, late, and realize that the Dean couldn’t tame her. And even if Liz forced the girl to respect the lecture time by doing so herself, that would be even worse. It would be obvious who schooled whom and corrected whose behavior. The worst-case scenario was Ally telling her friends what happened here, how she told the Dean off and how the Dean sat there and took it like an idiot. Rumors spread quickly, and everyone would believe them, given that Ally was still there, arriving at whatever time she pleased. Good luck gaining the respect of the students after that.

“Ally.” Liz said but it came as a weak pathetic whisper, that somehow got heard by the girl just before she reached for the doorknob.

She turned toward Liz with a sigh, carrying an empty expression.

Liz mustered up her courage, and spoke the words as confidently and firmly as she could, “Consider yourself failed.”

The empty expression on the girl’s face quickly changed to a hurt, shocked one. Her eyes widened, like she would never have anticipated to hear what she’d just heard. But the expression didn’t last for long, as a scorn got into Ally’s face as she took a step forward, and aimed her disgusted eyes at Liz. “You’re pathetic.”

Liz had heard worse. If this was the peak of Ally’s outrage before she was gone for good, then so be it. But Liz’s hope was cut short when Ally took another step, her body seemed too rigid. She looked like she would love nothing more than to lunge at Liz and beat the shit out of her. She wasn’t that stupid was she?

“Stay where you are young lady. There’re worse things than getting an F.” Liz warned. “Don’t do any...” she was interrupted by what she saw.

Almost effortlessly, Ally bent down, rising her foot up before slipping her shoe out of her foot, then throwing it at Liz, aiming and landing the shot right at her forehead. After hitting her, the black sneaker landed in her lap. Liz sat there motionless, as Ally gave her a last stare of pure disgust. She was more afraid than ever, but to her luck, Ally just turned on her socked heel then walked out the room.

Even after Ally left, Liz staid put, trying to breath steadily and regain her composer. She looked down and her eyes met the black shoe in her lap. She could have her expelled for that. She should get her expelled for that. Throwing her shoe at the Dean; who the heel did she think she was. Yet again, Liz did fail her—

But she was out of order. But I did act kind of hypocritically. Telling her she’s in trouble when I myself don—

Why the hell was she thinking about those things? Was it news to her that she was being a bitch to her students? She was always a hypocritical bitch, and she enjoyed it. GUILT! Really Liz. For the girl that just threw her shoe at you. Liz stared into the shoe with disgust, before grabbing the laces with the tips of her fingers and tossing it to the ground; there was an unpleasant smell erupting from it.

Having no more business, she stood and walked out of her office. The whole ride home, she had an uncomfortable feeling at the top of her stomach. It wasn’t just guilt. She’d felt guilt before, and it would leave her as soon as soon as she reached home. That didn’t happen this time. She took a bath then threw herself at her sofa, to lounge in front of the TV as she did every night, all the while the feeling stuck. For some reason she remembered her high school days, reluctantly. She was an A+ student from her first tell her last day. She hadn’t become Dean easily, she was smart, and a hard worker. Specifically, she remembered Norma and Tally, the two bitches who made her last year a living hell. They weren’t the most popular, nor the most beautiful, but they had a witty brain and a smart mouth, that somehow never failed to give insults. A teacher’s pet, they called her, and had the rest of her class calling her that too. Because of them, she was never able to speak confidently or answer a teacher’s question in class again, cause every time she did, they’d have some mean, clever insult to blast her with and shut her up. She shook her head, shaking the memories out before she’d think about her humiliating fight with them. She reminded herself that they were probably working in some strip club or some fast-food chain now. They were stupid, and didn’t have enough beauty to compensate for that.

But she’d done alright herself; she had been and still was, relatively attractive. Sure she’d gained some weight here and there, but looking at her body now it was still hot, better than most women in their late thirties.

She tried to focus on the show again. She managed to do so for a while, before Ally jumped into her view again, with the disgusted gaze she’d given her last, before storming out of her office with one shoe.

Was that why she couldn’t kick her out of her head. Did she remind her of them? They were brunets, but Ally was ten times more attractive than them. Her blue eyes fitted perfectly in her Caucasian skinned face. She was a beauty, she had to give the rude bitch that, she was a beauty, face and body. Now why the fuck are you thinking about her face and body Liz? She grabbed one of her bellows and shoved her face in it.

She sat up and stormed to her bedroom. Seeing no hope to enjoy whatever she was watching; she threw herself in bed and tried to sleep. Whatever it was, guilt or shame, nothing a nap wouldn’t fix.

She woke up two hours later, and the nap didn’t fix a thing, cause the first thought that entered her mind when she woke up, was Ally’s sneaker. It suddenly became an anxious thought that it was there lying in her office. Why? She had no idea, but it was an anxious thought. Tomorrow she’d throw it out. If the brat wanted it, she shouldn’t have hit her with it in the first place.

The next day at work, during her lecture, Liz found herself constantly eyeing the classroom door. She must’ve waited for ten minutes for the door to open and for Ally to walk through it, before remembering that she wasn’t coming. Looking at her students now, a renewed gust of cold guilt ran through her. She looked at the girls. They were a second-year student. They, like Ally, were the same age that her daughter would’ve been, if she had one; maybe younger in a few years. Ally was someone’s daughter, making it through life through hard work. And she’d just failed her for, basically, her personal enjoyment.

You don’t know that. she could be a lousy student for all you know. Liz decided to go and look up Ally’s grade in the last exam as soon as the lecture ended.

The bill rang, she dismissed her students and walked to her office. To her shock, she ran into Ally in the way there. The girl was walking alone, when her and Liz’s eyes met. The girl looked concisely making the decision to keep a bland face, but a hint of her contempt showed, making Liz shake slightly and fasten her pace. Upon entering her office, and when she made it to her disk, she was greeted with the black sneaker laying there beside her chair. She kicked it aside with her foot and sat in her chair. She took out the papers for the last exam she’d given, and started rummaging through them. When she finally made it to Ally’s paper, a disappointed look crept to her face. Ally had an A-; which would be an A+ if any other professor in this university was the one grading that test, as Liz had always taken it too hard in grading papers. She threw the papers back in the disk and reclined in her chair.

Instinctively her eyes made their way down, to eventually find themselves meeting the sneakers. It was as if it was taunting her. She raised her hand and lightly touched the bruise on her forehead.

Suddenly she was back in high school again. She’d just walked after Tally and Nora to the bathrooms. She stood in front of them, stomped her foot on the ground and told them to leave her alone. When they laughed it off and gave her one of their smart insulting remarks, she pushed Nora against the wall and called her a bitch. Big mistake that was. She remembered how Nora pined her in a head-lock and how Tally started punching her until she cried. It was the day she’d found out she couldn’t beat a pigeon in a fight, and that she had the physical tolerance of a baby. They made her beg them to stop, and they left her on the bathroom floor curling in a ball of tears.

That was two months before graduation, and those two months have been the worst in Liz’s life. When Tally and Nora cornered her in Gym class the next day and gave her two notebooks, instructing her to solve their assignment, she didn’t bother resist. She knew that she’d either do what she was told or be beaten, and the reward was that they wouldn’t take it hard on her in class anymore. They kept their word, and they milked her word for all what it was worth. She did their assignments, and at dinners they sat there like princesses while she grabbed their food. She convinced her mother to swing by their house, which wasn’t far away from hers, and give them a ride to school with Liz every day; at least they made sure to be nice to her while they were in the car.

Those two months had proved to her that she was a wimp. And that clarified something, that since she was too weak to stand up to those bitches in that way, she had better reach a position in her life, where she wouldn’t have too, where power would be hers, no matter how much smart witted insults someone threw at her.

She felt her knees weaken, as she sunk to the ground, crawling the short couple of steps that were between her and Ally’s shoe; the girl she was punishing. She couldn’t explain it. She couldn’t think of a single reason why her shivering hands grabbed that shoe. She just sat on her knees and held it, resting it on her lap. A sickening urge inside her made her raise it to her face, and hold its opening an inches away from her nose. A light foot smell erupted from it; that didn’t compel her to move it away, but to move it closer. She’d been barely breathing up until that point, but now she took a deep sniff, allowing the girl’s foot smell to smoother her nostrils and enter her lungs. She took another sniff, imagining Ally standing over her, giving her that disgusted look, like she was a piece of scum.

Waking up, and realizing what she was doing, she threw the shoe aside, as forcefully and as far as she could. You can’t apologize to a shoe Liz. Unable to imagine what Ally would think if she’d seen what she had been doing, Liz took a deep, fresh breath, and stood up. She’d made three choices: apologize to Ally, and tell her that she wasn’t going to fail her. Return the damn sneaker. And make it up to her.

She put the shoe in her bag then rushed into her bathroom to give her face a quick splash of water. She walked to her next lecture.

The next day Liz didn’t have any lectures, and so spent half of it trying to locate Ally’s house. She called dorm’s management, only to find that Ally didn’t live in the dorms. She looked at her Facebook page, and after superficial investigation, found nothing. She ended up calling the University’s student affairs, and asking for the girl’s number. She decided to take her last resort and call her, ask her where she lived.

Sat on her sofa, Liz grabbed her phone in one hand, the paper she’d jotted the number on in the other, and froze. She took a couple of deep breaths, trying to muster up the courage to start. She dialed. The phone rang for a minute, which Liz spent fretting and biting a nail.

Ally’s voice came through. “Hello.”

Liz took a breath then said. “Hey.”

“ ... Who is this?”

“Huh.” Liz snickered nervously. “It’s ... it’s Liz.”

“Liz who—oh” The coldest oh that Liz had ever heard.

Liz waited, but the other end had went silent. “ ... How are you.”

“I’m ... huhu.” Ally snickered. “I’m good.” She said, obviously waiting for her to get to the point.

“You forgot your, ahh,” Liz said, privately cringing at herself. “Your shoe, in my office.”

She could almost see the shocked face that the girl on the other line had. She didn’t forget her shoe, she threw it, straight at her face, and then walked out without it. She would give anything to know what the Ally was thinking now.

“I did?” Ally said. “I can swing by your office tomorrow; I can take it from you then.”

“That could work,” Liz said. “Or, I can ... are you home now.” She said, already thinking about a possible excuse to personally deliver her shoe to her.

“Yeah,” Ally said, confused. “I’m home.”

“Maybe, I can come over, and give it to you,” she said. “I have a visit, near your area anyway, so I thought ... you know. I can come by.” She had no idea where her area was, but she hoped Ally wouldn’t focus on that.

After a long silence, Ally said, “Sure, why not. I’ll send you my location.”

“Great.” Liz said, making sure not to show any of her excitement.

“Alright, see you then. And thank you, for...” Ally seemed to resist a giggle. “Holding on it for me, or whatever.”

“My pleasure,” she said, then looked up the celling almost cursing at her stupid answers. “I’ll swing by soon.”

Ally ended the call. Liz threw her phone aside, leaned her head back against the sofa’s back and took a long-needed breath. Afraid that she would start overthinking the whole thing and end up giving up, she lunged to her feet and went to get dressed. She wore a casual pair of jeans, and a purple, turtleneck sweater, and her black flats. She didn’t want to look too formal.

She checked the location; it was an hour-and-a-half drive. The long drive made her think one last time why was she about to travel one and a half hours to return a girl her smelly sneaker. Cause it was the right thing to do that’s why? She hissed at herself, denying to have any other ... agendas.

She grabbed her purse, in which was the shoe, then got out of the house, into her car, and started driving.

On the high road, while she had nothing to do other than focus on the horizon, she found herself thinking of Ally, the way she talked, the way she spoke to her in the office, calling her out, the disgusted look she’d given her. She’d looked at her like she was ... disappointed. She looked cute disappointed, Liz thought. How she had slipped her shoe out so effortlessly and managed to land her shot at her forehead.

It was hard to live under two bullies’ thumps for so long and still be the same when they set you free. Liz had wrestled with the idea for too long, then accepted it; they’d done something to her. During those months that she’d spent basically being their bitch, every night, she had trouble sleeping. She’d lay there in bed for hours, and couldn’t help but think about the things they’d said to her, the insults and the remarks and their dumb jokes. She’d think about how she stood there like an idiot and took it. One thing she’d found to work in making her go to sleep, was thinking about it, differently. She found herself romanticizing it, sexualizing it. She’d masturbate while she fantasized about them standing above her, calling her a dumb bitch, and an ugly cow.

Thankfully, those fantasies had only started at the end of the year, a couple of weeks before they’d departed, to not see each other ever again. They had left, but the fantasies stayed, ever so slightly.

Driving up to that girl’s house now, Liz knew that a part of what she hoped to gain was a sliver of that fantasy coming to life. But she liked to believe that this was a tiny part, compared to the real reason, which was doing the right thing: Apologize, and give the girl her shoe back.

She was soon in the girl’s neighborhood, and it was ... not the worst neighborhood she’d seen. It was alright. She found the house and parked in front of it. It was a one-story house, nothing special. It has a small yard on its left, and looked quite neglected, nothing compared to her three-story villa and her big garden. Bet Tally and Nora lived in houses like that.