I knocked at the door.
“Come in!”
The professor was sitting on the window sill without his shoes. It looked a bit strange, but I had gotten used to his little quirks. Generally speaking, our entire magistral staff is a strange sort of panopticon—a freak show if you will—and so sitting barefoot on a window sill looks like kid’s stuff in comparison with the other teachers’ habits.
“What are you staring at? Give me your scribbles!”
I had gotten used to his bad manners too. With impassiveness I offered my worn down notebook to him. The professor opened it, read some lines and screwed up his face.
“What the crap?”
“It’s my homework.”
“Are you sure?”
“It seems so…”
“Quite so. It only seems like homework.”
He tossed the notebook against the wall. It bumped into a shelf of softbound texts, opened and came apart. Lines that I had written with diligence and care crumbled. Words and punctuation marks were scattered higgledy-piggledy in every corner like pieces of a shattered cup. I sniffled and bit my bottom lip.
“Gather up this trash. And don’t spoil such precious words with your glamorous bullshit.”
I stood and looked at his bare feet, at those claws clutching over the floor. They were long and crooked with an unpleasant yellow hue…
“Look sharp! I’m not going to hang around for another aeon!”
I started to gather my unhappy poem from the dirty floor. Resentment was slowly turning into fury. Plucked peacock! I will sort you! I will show you anti-glamour!
by TETIANA ALEKSINA
© All rights reserved 2017
unbolt me 
This is a very fine piece of writing, Tetiana 🙂 Also I’m amazed by the quality and richness of your English, especially since you are not a native speaker (I’m not, either, so I can truly appreciate the merit this has).
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She just gets better and better, that’s for sure. 🙂
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Great writing! I was there, and I could feel myself getting mad as the professor trashed his/her work 🙂
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Yeah, what a rude guy! 😮
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Wisdom does not necessarily come with age, / To critique and to speak that way is an outrage,/Your mentor should stick a sock in it, and clearly / He shouldn’t toss your words about so cavalierly ./ His words- and his toes- strike a rancorous note, / He seems to be quite the cantankerous old goat / He’s a boor, a bore, surely you saw the proof? /It was less a gnarly foot, more a cloven hoof.,
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Ah hah! A cloven hoof… You may just be right about that! 😉
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Awesome
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Thanks for visiting with us! 🙂
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A peacock cannot be the judge of your words,
What with preening and prancing, and dropping its turds,
A peacock’s far too busy being full of its self
To actually consider anything else.
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I would change actually to properly, on second thought. It sounds better and makes more sense in the context.
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That’s a good point, Carol. 😉
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Brilliant. And I so love your trails. Just awesome.
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Thanks muchly for reading, Vanessa! 🙂
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My pleasure. You guys are amazing.
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The situation is hurtful and you expressed it so well
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Yes, we really got to see the main character’s vulnerability in this installment, that’s for sure. Thanks for reading! 🙂
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My pleasure dear
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Yup: I knew a couple like that … we’ll show ’em!
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Let’s shake our fists! Grrr! 😛
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Indeed we must … double grrr! I join you in that!
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It “seems” like homework. … love!!!!
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Good point, C.! 😉
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Talented fiend♡♡
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That she is! 🙂
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A pox upon his toes! May they all grow ingrown!
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That’s tellin’ ’em! 😛
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