With Ciara looking ravishing beautiful, words fell out his mouth before he could control himself, "Cici..." He sighed, his breath tickling the skin of Ciara's neck. He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, admiring her beauty, how beautiful she was. He then took his hand off her, suddenly aware of the line he had crossed. "This isn't right," he sighed, avoiding eye contact with Ciara. She sensed the struggle in his chest between what he knew was wrong and what he desired. She felt the same conflict. They both tried to resist, make sense of it, not give in to temptation. He was her teacher, much older, and it felt wrong in many ways. Despite that, they couldn't pull away. "It feels right." Ciara said boldly. She moved her lips to his, on her tiptoes. Dr. Woodley abruptly grasped her forearms, his face adopting a grave and stern expression. "After weeks of causing annoyance, playing the class clown, disrupting my lessons, embarrassing me in front of colleagues, and showing disrespect, do you believe you can casually stroll into my office in this manner, provoking me like this with this dress you have on? Ciara Lotus, you're a troublesome girl and a very bad one." Ciara experiences firsthand the transformative influence of an exceptional teacher. Rufus Woodley not only challenges her but takes her through intense experiences, leaving her yearning for more. Despite the awareness of its inherent wrongness, Ciara cannot resist the allure of her youthful, enigmatic, and magnetic Art History professor.
Chapter 1 1
Ciara's POV
I've been to the Grand Canyon's North Rim many times, and I can't even count them. I asked my parents to take me there for my 18th birthday, and although I've already been twice, I'm excited to go again. My dream is coming true in a week. I finished my Bachelor's degree in Art History in June, and after a stressful summer of interviews and applications, I got accepted to Princeton. My friends don't get why I don't want a break or why I want a Master's in Archaeology and Painting. While they're ready to start working, I'm more into the academic side. I guess it's the European in me, wanting to be part of academia and earn a proper Master's degree.
As I was packing my whole life into suitcases, I scanned the old books I kept in folders. I had saved every book about different mythologies since I was twelve, ever since I made up my mind I'd want to become an archeologist and pursue that professionally. I kept them not only for their sentimental value but also for research purposes, as I wanted to visit every site of mythological significance and also do more research about things yet discovered.
I also wanted to become rich and famous. Oh well, a girl can dream.
I put some of them in one of the suitcases. I wasn't sure when I'd be back home, so I wanted to take them to remind me of how far I had come.
As I packed them neatly, my phone started buzzing.
It was my ex, Jack. Well, he was my first ex.
"Hey, I heard you're leaving in a week," he said through the phone, "I want to see you before you go. God knows when I'll be seeing you again, you're moving so far away."
I really liked Jack. We were each other's first loves. We started dating when we were 13, but it didn't work out between us. It's not like we had a big disagreement and broke things off. We just fell out of love, but still remained good friends.
"Yeah, I'm so excited to be going to Princeton. It's the perfect college to pursue painting, it's so well-ranked. And yeah, sure, let's meet up sometime." I said, cheerily inviting him over. Although there was no definite time mentioned; I still looked forward to meeting with him again.
"Awesome." I could hear the shuffling of chairs and a clink of porcelain on glass. He probably took a seat for a cup of coffee. "I heard Princeton was an old convent that had been abandoned and the State just remodeled it and turned it into a university-is that true?"
"Well, i don't know how true that is but I'm sure the Battle of Princeton took place near the university's Nassau Hall.
"I bet it'll give you loads of inspiration. But anyway, what lectures will you be taking?" He asked. He was not a myth enthusiast himself, he was more into economics, but he still wanted to know what I was up to.
"We'd be doing quite a lot that I can't spell out on the phone, it's a long list of activities. We'll be studying Egyptian mythology and we'll be analyzing sites where mummies have been excavated and why those places were chosen,, painting complex ideas, and lots of other boring stuff."
"Doesn't sound boring to me sincerely" He said.
"Well, it covers such a broad time span, It's gonna be a pain in the ass," I said, folding some shirts and placing them in my suitcase. "But anyway, these are the lectures of the first semester. Then the real work starts. We have a final Master's project, the equivalent to a thesis in the second semester."
"Oh, je suis désolé, c'est dur! Seems like you've got the work cut out for you, CiCi." Jack said in his perfect French. Jack is a French immigrant like I am. Maybe that's why we clicked when we first met so many years ago.
"Yes, but I'm excited anyway," I said, smiling through the phone. "Anyway, I'll talk to you later. I have to finish packing. Thanks for calling! I'll text you when I'm free."
He chuckled a little, "Alright, goodbye Ciara."
I hung up the phone and finished my laborious task. I zipped up the bag, as it was thoroughly packed with my belongings; and that was when I received an email, the notification appearing on my phone's notification screen. I unlocked my device and opened the app; it was from one of the professors of the school, Prof. Rufus Woodley. The subject was "Reading Materials - Art History Course 2022/2023". I opened the email, a little surprised that we were already receiving emails from professors.
"Dear students,
For your Art History Course, I expect you to come prepared to every lecture by reading the papers assigned for each one. You can find them on the e-learning platform. As you have surely noticed, the syllabus is extensive and demanding, and even though I expect many of you to know some topics from your previous studies, this course won't be easy. For your first lecture, I'll be asking students at random to answer questions from the first paper. I will be doing this every lecture for every single paper. If you think you won't be able to keep up with the demand, I suggest you drop the class now. There are plenty of other courses to choose from to get an easy A.
See you all next Monday.
Prof. Rufus Woodley."
My eyes widened at the email. Who the hell was this Prof. Woodley? This was such an awful way to "introduce" himself to the class. He didn't have to be so intense, especially before meeting us in person.
I searched for his profile on the University's website. His page had no image, but his resumé was extensive. He was most probably one of those old, grumpy, lifeless professors who found joy in tormenting students. He probably gave awful grades too.
I'd find out soon enough what this Prof. Woodley was all about.
Chapter 1 1
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Chapter 2 2
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Chapter 3 3
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Chapter 4 4
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Chapter 5 5
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Chapter 6 6
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Chapter 7 7
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Chapter 8 8
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Chapter 9 9
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Chapter 10 10
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Chapter 11 11
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Chapter 12 12
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Chapter 13 13
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Chapter 14 14
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Chapter 15 15
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Chapter 16 16
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Chapter 17 17
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Chapter 18 18
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Chapter 19 19
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Chapter 20 20
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Chapter 21 21
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Chapter 22 22
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Chapter 23 23
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Chapter 24 24
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Chapter 25 25
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Chapter 26 26
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Chapter 27 27
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Chapter 28 28
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Chapter 29 29
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Chapter 30 30
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Chapter 31 31
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Chapter 32 32
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Chapter 33 33
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Chapter 34 34
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Chapter 35 35
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Chapter 36 36
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Chapter 37 37
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Chapter 38 38
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Chapter 39 39
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Chapter 40 40
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