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CHAPTER TWO.
or To Block or Not to Block?
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          WHEN TABI, ER, PROFESSOR CHOI DISMISSED THE CLASS, I high-tailed it out of there. I had spent most of my time in class with my nose stuck to my notebook; barely listening to the millions of questions my peers had asked. Some weird, some informative inquiries, but most of them were just downright invasive and inappropriate. I guess I couldn’t blame them. Tabi – Professor Ch.oi – was an Asian Adonis. Most of the other instructors at Brighton University looked like they had been there since the school was founded in the 1800s. It didn’t hurt that he was charming either. Irritatingly charming. I had never sensed such positive energy in that class before. Like, not a single person pretended to be asleep or had a look of dread on their face.

          Thankfully, my next class (Superhero Theory, a class that had quickly become my favorite) didn’t provide any more surprise instructors. Professor Sarley was still there in all her glory. I couldn’t focus though. My thoughts kept going back to Tabi. His eyes, his smile, his voice, the way he had made me squirt the night before Halloween, the fact that he was my ing professor. Even as I left campus, I heard a few students murmur about the ‘hot new professor in modernism.’

          I made an effort to push any thoughts of Tabi away as I met up with my best friend, Seulgi, at our favorite diner: Monet’s. Monet’s was a small restaurant that sat in the basement of an art gallery. It had bright teal walls lined with various pictures, photographs, and classic art pieces. The tables were classic white linoleum, but the color of the seats and booths all varied in color, most being of bright pastel colors. The owner was a local celebrity artist whose sister worked as the head chef. Seulgi, Lee (my other bestie), and I spent a large portion of our freshmen year at this place. Discussing art and music, eating copious amounts of chili cheese fries, and drinking our body weight in the milkshakes. 

          Seulgi was already sitting in a booth in the far corner under a photograph of Audrey Hepburn taken by Terry O’Neill. She had her head buried in one of the menus.

          When she saw me approaching, she smiled. “I already ordered our drinks. Strawberry for us and the brownie batter for Imogen.”

          “Where is Imogen?” I asked, taking a seat across from her.

          Seulgi shrugged. “She texted the group chat and said she had been kidnapped by her mother.”

          I hadn’t been checking my phone for fear of receiving a message from Tabi. I just didn’t want to deal with him right now. “Oh,” was all I mustered out. I should have known that would have been a red flag for Seulgi because she immediately dropped her menu and gave me an uneasy look.

          “What’s wrong?”

          “What do you mean?” I asked, eyes glued to the menu.

          “The Areum I know would have cracked a mother-daughter joke about Imogen. You didn’t. What’s up?”

          I debated telling Seulgi what was bothering me. Mostly because Seulgi had been the one to tell me not to get mixed up with clients on Onlyfans. She had an account too and had been doing it long enough to know the ins and outs but had slowed down in the last year or so since her photography business was taking off. But she was my best friend, and she could probably talk my anxiety down. Even if it was only a little.

          The waitress, a woman donning an easter yellow dress and a pink apron with baby blue Mary Jane shoes, appeared next to our table. She asked if we were ready to order. Seulgi opened to speak, but I beat her to the punch. I looked up from my menu with every intention of ordering a bacon cheeseburger but instead said, “I’m ing my professor.”

          Seulgi blinked, slightly taken aback, and looked between the waitress and me. She leaned forward. “I don’t think that’s on the menu.” She looked over at the waitress, who had a horrified expression on her face. “We’re going to need a little bit more time.”

The waitress wasted no time skipping over to another table. Seulgi gave me another look, one that was full of confusion, and finally said, “You know, most people just bring their teachers apples. I think the was overdoing it. Plus, Professor Rogers doesn’t seem like the type.”

“It wasn’t with Professor Rogers.”

“Oh, thank God, I was about to question your standards.”

A smile tried to find its way to my face but got lost in my sea of worry. “So, remember that guy Tabi I told you about?”

Seulgi’s eyebrows furrowed as if she were searching her brain for a memory of that name. Finally, her eyes widened with a sharp gasp as she put two and two together. “No ing way.”

I nodded, ashamed.

“What did I tell you about getting close with your clients? Why are you even meeting up with your clients?”

“You’re super close with Wendy Shon,” I said defensively.

“Wendy became my client after we broke up and I’m friendly with all my ex-girlfriends. For example, I still have lunch dates with one of them where they tell me about ing their professor,” Seulgi argued, eyeing me.

We both turned to the sound of someone clearing their throat. The waitress returned, an uncomfortable look on her face as she sat our milkshakes down. “I take it you two aren’t quite ready to order yet,” she said. Before we could confirm or deny it, she scurried off, probably to a table where they weren’t talking so openly about with a school faculty member.

I slid my milkshake in front of me, taking a quick sip. “Okay, well, Tabi and I have never met until today and, you and I were best friends before we started dating, so that doesn’t count.”

The summer before third grade, my family moved next door to Seulgi and her dad. We bonded quickly, especially since we were the only kids the same age on our street. Her dad always hated us – hated us, even more, when he found out that Seulgi and I had started dating in our sophomore year of high school. We played the on-and-off game for years, but our last break was just that: the last. Or, at least, I hoped so. I loved Seulgi but I knew she was tired of this carousel we were on. And we both had agreed that it was time for us to move on and see other people. It took a while for things to return to normal but I’m glad they did. I couldn’t imagine losing Seulgi as my best friend too.

“So, you and Tabi had today?”

“No. I may have been a bit hyperbolic about the thing.”

“Hyperbolic?” Seulgi scoffed. “You’re downright dramatic. So, he’s just a client?”

I nodded.

Seulgi shook her head and muttered, “At least the rest of your school year will be interesting.”

“How so?” A familiar voice asked.

Imogen. She was the queen of stealth. Who knows how long she had been standing there listening? With her orange and cream ensemble complimenting her deep brown skin and her long, thick hair set in a style of big curls, she looked like she walked off the nearest catwalk. We should have seen her coming from miles away but no. Her five-foot-two frame went by undetected. She took a seat next to Seulgi and immediately grabbed the brownie milkshake that had sat untouched in the middle of the table. She took a long gulp as if it was the first drink she had had in years.

“Nice of you to finally join us,” Seulgi said, sliding the diner menu over to her.

          “Sorry, sorry,” Imogen apologized, coming up for air. “I was held hostage by my mom. She found matching outfits for us.”

          “And you actually bought them?” Seulgi asked.