Alexei & Natasha

A girl with white hair with flower-adorned antlers stood outside the lecture hall door sighing. It was her first day attending her last semester at the university and she can’t help but feel a little nervous. She is currently standing in front of her psychology class. It was an elective she chose because she thought it would be helpful to her writing. Natasha Gurina, age 21, was a writing major in her 4th year. While she spaces out in front of the lecture hall she is suddenly approached by a figure whom she doesn’t seem to notice until they cleared their throat. 

“Ahem, Miss if you aren’t going to go in won’t you move aside so the rest of us can?” he says with a smile on his face. He had antlers similar to hers and his blue hair was styled nicely. The beauty marks under his eye and lip stood out to Natasha. She can’t help but stare at him, all red-faced. 

“Hello? Is everything alright?” He spoke up again. This time, leaning a little bit into her so their eyes can meet without her having to look up. 

“Eep! I’m so sorry! I don’t mean to be in the way!” She manages to stammer out as she moves to the side. 

“After you, miss.” He smiles at her and holds the door out for her. 

“Oh… thank you very much.” Natasha enters the lecture hall with the man following closely behind her. She hides her face behind her notebook as a few heads turn to look at the new presence in the room. Her eyes darted around the room and seeing that the seats close to the front are vacant she took a seat in the front row. Her eyes aren’t very good and she prefers to sit in the front for the full experience. Natasha is very serious about her studies and wants to do the best that she can even in her elective class. 

She sets her notebook and bag down on the vacant seat next to her with a sigh of relief. She finally made it to class. The first day of school always made her feel uneasy. New things in general make her uneasy. When she was finally done settling in she looks up to the front of the hall. She was surprised to see the young man opening the door for her to be there. 

“Good morning class. Welcome to Cognitive Psychology 300. My name is Dr. Alexei Volkov but you may call me Professor Volkov. I much prefer it actually. I will be your professor for the rest of the semester and I look forward to working with all of you.” he continues to speak and go through the basics of the class as Natasha sits a bit dumbfounded. This was her first time having a professor so young-looking. Most, if not all her previous professors have been very old and close to their retirement years. She does go to a very conservative university. 

“If there are any questions for me, I’d be more than happy to answer.”  he smiles as he finishes giving the class the long-winded introduction that every class goes through at the beginning of the semester. Natasha can hear a few girls behind her giggling as she rolls her eyes at their behavior. A very hypocritical eye roll because she is no different from those girls. To no one’s surprise, Natasha was also very charmed by her young professor. 

It continued like that for a few weeks. Her psychology class has become her favorite for reasons that weren’t very innocent. Natasha hates to admit it but she very much enjoys Professor Volkov’s lectures and the way he spoke. She looks and listens to him with great admiration. She’s very thankful she chose to sit at the very front where she gets the best view in class. Things continue to be normal for the most part. Natasha attended her classes, has her moment with her favorite handsome professor as she stares at him, and comes home to her small apartment to study. 

✎✎✎

Alexei Volkov, age 300 something (he’s lost count,  a middle-aged man?), psychology professor, and currently teaching a cognitive psychology course at [Redacted] University is having a dilemma. Being a part-time professor has become quite the hassle. He took on this job out of pure curiosity but it has become much more work than he thought it would be to the point where it’s practically a full-time job. Grading students’ work is no joke even for a Dragonborn like himself. It doesn’t help that the work he’s grading isn’t high-quality work either. The work does meet expectations but he would be lying if he didn’t want his students to do better. This is true for most of his students except one. Natasha Gurina. He leans back on his office chair. He reads over her name as he tries to remember what she looked like. Long white hair and bright blue eyes. Tiny and full of enthusiasm seated right near his desk. Of course, he remembers her. Now her assignments are truly impressive. The way she writes and understands his lessons brings a tear to his eyes. If only all his students are as enthusiastic as she. 

He decided to do a bit of research on her just to be surprised that she isn’t even a psychology major. Writing. Writing was her major. Her writing was impressive that’s for sure but why waste such talent on writing? It wasn’t his place to judge her passion and there’s nothing wrong with being a writer but oh he would’ve loved her to be a part of the psychology department. He slumped back in his office chair. 

“Well, that’s enough grading for tonight.”  He shuts his computer off to call it a night.