(Author’s POV)
"Prof. Mitchell, you were asking for ," Myra spoke, her voice a bit subdued.
Oswald glanced at her, without uttering a single word. His ruthless and pressurising gaze made Myra imnsely nervous. She stayed rooted awkwardly, not knowing why he had called or why he was staring at her like this.
After a whole minute had passed, Oswald finally decided to open his mouth. "Ms. Miracle, did you receive the e-mail regarding the derit marking?"
"Yes, Prof. Mitchell. I did receive it," Myra said softly, her eyelashes lowered. She was ready to get an earful.
Oswald kept his pen aside, leaned in a little, his intertwined hands supporting his chin. "Are you aware of the reason why you were given that in the first place?" he asked, his tone remaining monotone.
Myra’s eyes fluttered as she spoke, "I am aware of the reason, Prof. Mitchell. I apologise for my irregular attendance. I am truly sorry and give my word that this won’t happen again."
For a few seconds, the room fell into a cold silence. Myra’s head remained lowered while Oswald opened his mouth, but then closed it.
Exhaling sharply, he removed his fraless glasses and placed them aside. He mumbled, almost inaudibly, "So, you don’t know the real reason." He, once again, shifted his attention towards her and said, "Ms. Miracle, you must be aware of the talk going around all over the university."
Myra was taken aback by the sudden change of conversation. She gulped at the ntion of that post and, with a very unnatural voice, uttered, "Yes, sir. I know about it." Her hands clenched tightly in a fist.
"What do you have to say on that?" he asked her.
"Prof. Mitchell, sir, whatever is shown in those photos is fabricated. They are clearly photoshopped. Mr. Everests and I, there is nothing between us. None of that is true," Myra spoke, taking a firm stand for herself.
"Ms. Miracle~ ..." Oswald gave her a hard look as he continued, "I ... believe what you are saying. But~ ...."
Listening to the first part, Myra felt relieved, but the uncertain ’but’ made her restlessly uneasy.
"Most of the people, including many professors and most of the trustees, think it’s the truth," he told her bluntly.
"But Prof. Mitchell~ .... I would never do such a thing. And the photos~ ... they are clearly edited. Anyone with a discerning eye can tell that those were retouched. If they want, I can~ ...." Myra was on the defensive.
"Ms. Miracle, no matter whether the photos are genuine or fake or retouched or whatever. To them, nothing of this sort matters. Their core concern is with Red Stone’s reputation. Due to Chairman Larson’s plane crash news, this hasn’t caught the wind of the dia houses, as all the focus is on that. But as you know, with Mr. Everests’ fa and position, this could lead to sothing majorly drastic for you," Oswald explained to her. "During yesterday’s ergency eting, the board even raised this matter."
"Sir, I am ready to explain this to them in person. I didn’t do anything wrong," Myra’s voice ca out desperate, her eyes turned slightly red. She couldn’t understand how a bunch of photos could cause so much trouble for her.
"Ms. Miracle, I understand you feel wronged in this situation, and I totally sympathise. That is why you were given just the penalty point. Although so of the mbers wanted to revoke your scholarship," Oswald revealed.
"Rescinding my scholarship?" Myra repeated. A look of disbelief was etched on her face.
Prof. Mitchell continued, "But, because of your exceptional academic performance and Prof. Johnson’s insistence, they let you off for now."
Myra was on the verge of tearing up. She thanked Oswald profusely, "Thank you, professor. Thank you for believing in . I promise you, none of this would happen ever again."
"Ms. Miracle, there is nothing to thank for. But I am afraid~ ... this matter~ .... it won’t end like that." He remarked. "I think soone is trying to fan the flas behind the scenes. Do you have any idea who it can be? Did you offend soone recently, who has the motive to target you?" Oswald probed. He wasn’t stupid. He could tell just by how the things were escalating that it was intentional.
Myra’s brows knitted together. She had an inkling about this, but now, after Oswald had pointed it out, she could tell soone was trying to single her out. Soone with an ulterior motive. ’Who could it be? Who would want to harm ?’ her thoughts raced. Several people ca to her mind, but there was one particular person whom she was contemplating about. ’Would he do that?’
"Ms. Miracle~ .... Ms. Miracle?" Oswald called out to her.
She snapped out of her dazed state and said, "Yes, Prof. Mitchell," her voice strained.
"You may return for your next class. But I would advise you to be extra careful from now on," Oswald concluded.
"I will, Prof. Mitchell. And once again, thank you for your help." Saying this, Myra bowed in gratitude and exited his office. On her way back to her departnt, her mind was all jumbled up by Oswald’s words.
’Soone is conspiring against . But why? What could be their motive?’ She kept on thinking. Her radar was stuck on Alaric. ’Would he do that? He might, given how much he dislikes . But~ .... he surely won’t target at the cost of his own reputation, right?’
Her mind was deeply preoccupied that she ended up bumping into soone. Her body collided with a solid figure. She yelped, "Ouch!" as he held her nose.
"Are you okay, Myra? Did I hurt you?" a gentle, attentive voice cooed near Myra’s ears.
Myra raised her head to find Aamon, the guy she t on the abandoned trail the other day, looking straight at her, with a concerned look. She backed away a little and spoke, "Umm~ ... sorry. I didn’t see where I was going. I didn’t hurt you, right?"
"Not at all. But I think you are," Aamon muttered as he took her hand, all of a sudden.
To Be Continued . . . . . . .
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