And The Beat Goes On Read Online Free PDF Page B

he moved to the seat beside her. Athena glanced at him then looked away. He took t he seat and engaged her in conversation. All her responses were short.
    Interesting…
    I leaned against my desk and observed their interaction. Students started to watch me, noticing my obvious interest in Athena. I finally turned away and pretended to be disinterested in everything around me.
    I decided to have a pop quiz. It was easy and wasn’t worth a grade but the students wouldn’t know that. Actually, the quiz was just for my benefit.
    Because I was a sick control freak.
    “Pop quiz,” I announced. “Put your stuff away.”
    Their eyes widened in alarm. It was only the second session, and I was drilling them hard. Panic coursed through the crowd.
    I smiled, enjoying the reaction. “Just concentrate and you’ll do fine.” I went to each row and handed out the papers. Then I watched Athena while everyone grabbed their quiz and read through the questions.
    She was the only one who didn’t seem nervous. She crossed her legs then gripped her pencil. She was a lefty. Her back was straight in her chair and her hair fell over one shoulder. The guy next to her looked like he might have a heart attack.
    I walked back to my seat and stared at Athena. None of the students paid any attention to me. All they cared about was their grade, which didn’t mean shit. When jobs hired interns, good marks mattered. But in the end, they didn’t make a difference. Most of the intelligent people I worked with didn’t have a formal education. And they were smart as hell.
    After they finished their quizzes, I collected them. I was interested in Athena’s exam more than all the others. I put them in pairs and asked them to complete an assignment based on our previous lecture. They put their heads together and started to work, leaving me forgotten.
    I leafed through the quizzes until I found hers. Just holding the paper excited me.
    Her name and answers were written in cursive. While it was beautiful and feminine, it was legible. I went through the essay questions and read her responses. They weren’t regurgitated responses from her notes or me. They were genuine and unique.
    This girl was smart.
    If she was at Cambridge, obviously, she was intelligent. But I was surprised at how well versed she was. My interest piqued, I decided to abuse my power as a professor. I went onto the school website, logged in, and then typed her name.
    According to her information, she was a senior. That was good news for me. At least she didn’t just turn eighteen, not that I would care, really. She grew up in London and came here directly out of secondary education.
    Then I looked at her grades. Her marks were ridiculously perfect. She had an A in every course, including a physics class. But then I noticed something else. Her major was business but she had a heavy load of artistic courses. Sculpture, oil painting, art history, dance, advanced acting, guitar, and piano were just some of the classes she took.
    Hmm…what was that about?
    She exceeded the number of units for graduation, but she hadn’t claimed her fine arts degree. Now I was even more interested in her. What was she doing? I closed the screen then finished grading the quizzes. When the class was over, the students filed out.
    I stood up and cleared my throat. “Athena, could I see you for a moment?”
    She stilled as she grabbed her bag. Our eyes met and my spine shivered.
    How did she do that?
    The blond guy leaned toward her and whispered something.
    I was starting to hate this guy.
    Finally, everyone left and she descended the stairs toward me. With every footstep, I became more nervous. My heart accelerated and slammed into my chest. I stared at her face and counted the number of eyelashes. Her eyes were starling green, hypnotizing. I was nervous as hell, which never happened. I leaned against the desk and gripped the edge, balancing myself. I controlled my breathing so she wouldn’t notice the effect