One Night With My Alpha Professor

Chapter 64 Audrey

After a fitful night of sleep, I woke up to the incessant buzzing of my phone before the sun had even fully risen over the mountains on the h**on. Groggily, I reached for it, squinting at the bright screen. It was barely 7 AM, but I already had a flood of notifications on my screen-mostly frantic texts from my friends.

"What the hell?" I muttered, propping myself up on one elbow and rubbing my eyes. My friends weren't exactly the 'early bird' type. But as I scrolled through the messages, I began to see why they were so frantic. And it was then that started racing.

my heart

Tina: "Audrey, have you seen the video?"

Avis: "Holy s**, Professor Brooks went off!"

Betty: "Audrey, call us as soon as you're up!"

Gavin: "You okay? This is crazy."

With a furrowed brow, I quickly opened my browser and searched for news about Grayspring Academy. The top result was a video from none other than Edwin, posted just a few hours ago. With shaking hands, I pressed play.

A few moments later, Edwin's face filled the screen. His expression was serious as he sat in front of his webcam, with his academy office as the backdrop.

"I am creating this video today to address the recent controversy surrounding the fashion show at Grayspring Academy and/ the associated internship with Brooks Designs," he began." For starters, I want to make it clear that I had absolutely no say in the scoring of the competition."

I listened, my mouth hanging open, as Edwin continued to speak. He talked about seeing a student in need and offering to help, how I had faced unfair challenges from the beginning.

"Audrey Thatcher has had the cards stacked against her from day one," Edwin said firmly. "She is the only human at an academy full of werewolves, and many of her peers-as well as professors-have looked down on her because of this. But despite adversity, she has shown incredible talent and perseverance.

"However," he continued, "this video is not just about Miss Thatcher, I feel compelled to address the actions of another student: Linda O'Malley. It has come to my attention that Miss O'Malley has repeatedly attempted to sabotage Miss Thatcher's work, going so far as to steal her designs and... physically attack her."

I gasped out loud, clapping my hand over my mouth. Was he seriously calling her out so soon? But we had no real proof!

Edwin's voice grew even more stern as he continued to speak. "This kind of behavior is unacceptable, and Linda O'Malley has gotten away with it on far too many occasions, simply because she comes from a well-to-do family. I cannot, in good conscience, continue to support Grayspring Academy if students like this will not be punished accordingly.

H

"Therefore," he continued, "I intend to recommend-no, demand-that Miss O'Malley lose her position as a student at Grayspring Academy. If something is not done about this disgusting behavior, then I will step down as a Professor at Grayspring

There was a long pause, during which Edwin leaned forward in his chair. His all-black suit made him look all the more

imposing, and his stern-face, brooked no argument.

"We cannot allow talented, hardworking students like Audrey Thatcher to be punished while someone who resorts to bullying and theft continues to enjoy the privileges of our institution," he finished. The video ended, and I sat there, stunned. I wasn't sure how long I stayed like that, but I was eventually ripped out of my reverie when my phone buzzed again-this time with a call from Tina. "Hello?" I answered, my voice shaky.

"Audrey!" Tina practically shouted. "Did you see it? Did you see what Professor Brooks said?"

"I... yeah, I just watched it." I replied, still processing. "I can't believe he did that."

"It's not just him," Tina said excitedly. "Claudia Klein put out a statement too, in response to what he said in the video. Have you read it?"

"No, I haven't-"

"Hold on. I'll read it to you," Tina interrupted. I heard the sound of typing, then she began to read:

"In light of recent events, I feel compelled to share my experience with Audrey Thatcher. Earlier this year, I witnessed firsthand an incident in which Linda O'Malley attempted to pass off Audrey's cheerleading uniform design as her own. Audrey, despite facing obvious intimidation from Miss O'Malley, stood up for herself and rightfully claimed credit for her

work."

Audrey is a lovely, genuine young woman with a passion and skill for fashion design that I have rarely seen in someone so young, Tina continued reading. "The suggestion that she would rig the results of the fashion show is not only false but goes against everything I know about her character. As for Professor Brooks, he is a good man who was simply helping a student in need. His actions were those of a dedicated educator, nothing more."

"Oh my. I muttered, pressing my fingers into my lips in shock.

"But wait till you hear this, Audrey, Tina said. "Furthermore, what I am seeing here speaks to a larger issue within our society; a human has been, once again, demonized and passed over simply for not being a werewolf. I will no longer stand for this kind of treatment of those who hold a valuable place in our world. From here on out, 1, Claudia Klein, will advocate for humans.This content © Nôv/elDr(a)m/a.Org.

Tina finished reading and let out a low whistle. "Can you believe it, Audrey? They're both standing up for you!"

"Not just for me. For all humans." I felt hot tears p**g at the backs of my eyes as I thought back to the previous night when Edwin had comforted me on that park bench. "I... I don't know what to say. This is all so overwhelming."

"Are you okay?" Tina asked, her voice softening. "Do you want us to come over?"

I shook my head, then remembered she couldn't see me. "No, I'm alright," I replied, wiping my tears. "I just need some-time to process all of this."

intense."

"Okay, but if you need anything, we're here for you, Tina said. "Oh, and Audrey? Don't look at social media right now. It's...

"What do you mean?" I asked, my curiosity getting the better of me.

Tina sighed. "There's a big divide. A lot of people are supporting you, but there are still those who think... well, you know." That a human should never have even been allowed to participate to begin with," I finished for her.

"Yeah," Tina said softly. "But don't let them get to you. You won fair and square, and now everyone knows it."

11

After hanging up, I couldn't resist the urge to scroll through social media despite Tina's warning. She was right; the statements from Edwin and Claudia had indeed made waves "Professor Brooks is a hero for standing up against bullying!" one comment read.

"It's about time someone called out the prejudice against humans in our world," said another.

But for every positive comment, there seemed to be a negative cine:

"Humans shouldn't even be allowed at Grayspring. This whole thing is a joke."

"Brooks is obviously covering for her. There's no way a human could win fairly."

I sighed and put my phone down before I could read more, deciding that it was best to just stay offline for the time being. Just as I was about to get up and get dressed, a new email notification popped up. It was from Ms. Morrie.

"Miss Thatcher, please come to the dean's office at nine AM sharp today. We have some matters to discuss."

My stomach churned. What was it now? Had I not been through enough already? Still, I quickly got dressed and made my way across campus, trying to ignore the stares and whispers that followed me. As I walked, of course, I overheard snippets of conversations that made my heart pound even more: "Did you see Alpha Brooks' video?"

"I can't believe they're actually considering kicking Linda out. Her parents are gonna sue the school..."

"Do you think Audrey really won fair and square?"

I quickened my pace, keeping my head down and tugging my hat a little further over my ears. When I reached the dean's office, I took a deep breath before knocking "Come in," Mr. Lewis's voice called out.

I entered the room to find Mr. Lewis, Ms. Morrie, and Edwin all there, just like before. But this time, there was something else that made my heart ski** a beat.

In the center of the room stood a lie detector machine with a video camera set up next to it.

"Audrey," Mr. Lewis said, turning. "Take a seat."