I would like to discuss your grades and the test from yesterday with you. If it is convenient, please stop by my office during my regular hours.
Dr. Montgomery
He had no idea what this was about. Could he have absolutely bombed the test? It didn’t seem that hard. He had spent three days studying for it and felt confident when he handed it in.
The rest of the class was a blur. He kept going over some of the questions in his mind and how he had answered them. He was nervous and edgy when the class was over. He went to the lab and tried to focus on his project but it was useless.
He checked his syllabus and found the scheduled office hours for Montgomery. He decided that he needed to find out what this was all about as quickly as possible.
Promptly at three o’clock he entered the building where the vast majority of the Astronomy Professors Offices were located.
“May I help you?” a student worker asked.
“I’m looking for the office of Dr. Montgomery.”
“Is she expecting you?” the girl asked.
“I don’t know. I mean, sort of. She handed me a note and said she wanted me to drop by to discuss a test we just took,” James told her.
“Just a second,” the cute young girl said and dialed a phone number.
“Your name?” the girl asked while she had the phone up to her ear.
“James Erwin. I’m in her 10 o’clock class,” he offered.
“Doctor Montgomery. I have a James Erwin here who says you wanted to meet with him.”
“Alright. Fine. I’ll tell him,” she said and hung up.
“She is with another student; she asked if you wouldn’t mind waiting a few minutes.”
“Sure,” he said and shrugged.
He looked around and found two chairs placed against the wall. He sat down and looked at the note one more time. This is stupid, he thought. I’ve read the damn thing a dozen times. I’m not going to glean any new insight reading it again.
It was a full ten long minutes before he saw one of the other students from his 10 o’clock class coming out of one of the offices. The phone rang on the student worker's desk.
“Yes Doctor Montgomery? Yes he is. Alright I will,” she said and hung up.
“You can go on back. Her name is on the door. Third office on the right.”
“Thank you,” James muttered.
He felt like he couldn’t breathe. He took a deep breath and knocked on the door.
“Come in,” the familiar voice said.
James entered and saw that she was standing behind her desk. She came around to greet him.
“Mr. Erwin. Thank you for coming so promptly,” she said gesturing to a chair.
James sat down and instead of going back to her desk she took a seat opposite him.
“I came as soon as I could,” he stammered.
“Thank you, I appreciate promptness. Now, I suppose you are wondering what this is all about,” she said and smiled..
“Wondering isn’t the right word. Fretting is more like it,” he replied.
“Fretting? Why would you do that? Oh, the part about the test?”
“Something like that.”
“Mr. Erwin, fretting is the last thing you should be doing. I wanted to let you know that you are the first student in my twenty years of teaching that has ever had a perfect point accumulation. Actually, you have done enough extra credit to miss an assignment and still have a perfect score. I just wanted to congratulate you and ask you how you have managed to do what no other student has ever done,” she said, crossing her legs.
“Wow. I guess I never thought about it. I know I have done pretty well on my assignments and tests but I thought I had missed a couple of questions.”
“You did, but they were the advanced ones that were for extra credit. Even those you got partial credit. I’m curious about the test scores.”
“Meaning?”
“Well this last test for example. You got one hundred and ten points out of a possible one hundred. You got the ten point bonus question right. How?”
“I listen in class. Take good notes, read a lot and study hard.”
“What do you read?”
“Mostly your books. Molecular Collisions in the Interstellar Regions, The Process of Binary and Multiple Star Formation. I’ve read a few others but yours are better because I can relate them to the class notes.”
“Very impressive. You actually read those things?”
“You bet. I think it’s fascinating.”
“You are indeed a different student than most I get. I don’t think I’ve had but two or three who have actually read my books.”
“The truth is I’ve read them several times. Especially the Solar Corona and the Plasma Loop Influence. That is an amazing book,” James said.
“Jim. Is it alright if I call you Jim?” she asked.
“Absolutely.”
“Good. Jim, you are a rare find. I have never done this before but would you be interested in working as an assistant on a new project that I just got the funding for? Please, I want you to think this over and not just give me a quick answer. It would mean extra work but you would get a stipend. I promise, if you say no, it will not have any impact on your grade in my class. You could quit coming tomorrow and you would probably still end up with an A with Honors in the class,” Montgomery told him.
“Are you kidding? Of course I want to do it. I don’t even have to think twice. It is an incredible opportunity and honor to even be considered,” James said excitedly.
“Jim, you really should think about it.”
“Honestly Professor Montgomery, I don’t have to give it another thought. I am just thrilled to be able to work with you on this. And if it is okay with you, James is better than Jim really. I have never been very fond of the name Jim.”
“Really. I think it’s quite distinguished. Jim Erwin sounds like a man who is going places. However, if you would rather be James, that’s okay with me.”
“The name James doesn’t put you off?”
“Not in the least.”
“Well then if it’s okay with you James would be better.”
“Excellent. When we are out of the public eye, Abigail or Abby is what you can call me,” she said.
“I saw the A. Montgomery on the Syllabus but wasn’t sure what it stood for. I like it. You look like an Abigail,” he told her.
CHAPTER FOUR
The rest of the semester seemed to zip by. James graduated with a 3.92 grade average and graduated Magna Cum Laude and was tied for third in the class of 6,976 graduating students.
He applied for Grad School and had no problem being accepted. Between his grade point average and Dr. Montgomery it was a done deal.
He took one week off from school and then started up in the lab getting introduced to the other grad assistants and project managers. Dr. Montgomery introduced him around and assigned Kelly Fields to bring him up to speed.
Kelly was pretty sharp but it didn’t take him long to figure out that she was lacking in some areas. She was able to cover most of the time but James was a lot more knowledgeable about certain aspects than she was.
It seemed fairly obvious that she had gotten the position by virtue of money and looks. He father was a huge donor to the University and Kelly was a drop dead gorgeous young lady.
And while James was certainly no prude, he knew that getting romantically involved with someone like Kelly would eventually cause problems. It was difficult however. The more he resisted her flirtation the more she tried. It was becoming uncomfortable and he could see eventual trouble coming.
“Are you gay?” Kelly asked him suddenly.
“What? What brought that on?” James replied.