Chapter Ten: Strange Attraction Notice:

It might have been Wallace’s imagination but he could’ve sworn that the new professor couldn’t take her eyes off of him. He shook his head and tried to focus. Why would she be staring at him anyway?

The first class went by in a breeze. The students started to walk out of the small conference room. Wallace was one of the last people to leave.

“Wallace!” Liz called. The country boy paused and turned his head. Liz sat at the head of the table, smiling at him like a hungry cat. Wallace turned and walked over to her side. Liz looked up at her with stars in her eyes.

“I see so much potential in you,” she said.

“Thanks?” Wallace said. They stood in silence for a long moment. His eyes shifted back and forth.

“Uh… Is there anything else?” he asked.

“I want to turn you into an artist,” Liz said.

“Okay…” he said. “That’s nice. Anything else?”  The professor smiled in a dreamy way as she shook her head.

“No,” she said. “That is all. You can go now.” Wallace slowly backed out the room before turning to leave. To his surprise, Eric and Rocky were standing outside, waiting for him. The country boy gave them a confused look.

“Guys?” he asked. They had rather grim looks on their face.

“Is something wrong?” Wallace asked. Rocky put his arm around his shoulders. He looked back into the open classroom for a moment.

“I think she’s marked you this semester,” Rocky whispered.

“Huh?” Wallace asked.

“Shhh!” the other two boys said. They all started walking away from the door. Once in the hallway, Rocky and Eric started to relax.

“Oh buddy!” Eric said. “You are her latest mark.”

“What does that mean?” Wallace asked. His classmates nervously chuckled at first. The country boy looked between them.

“Guys?” he asked.

“Do you want to tell him or should I?” Rocky asked. Eric put up his hands and backed off.

“You do it!” he said. “You know the story better from Kevin.”

“Who’s Kevin?” Wallace asked. Rocky threw back his head and groaned.

“Fine,” he said. He turned to the new boy. Wallace still looked so confused. Rocky gritted his teeth as he forced himself to smile.

“Wallace, buddy,” he said. “You will want to steer clear of Professor Liz outside of class.” The country boy blinked at first.

“Why is that?” he asked.

“She tends to fall fast and hard for any pretty man that crosses her path,” Eric said.

“Me? A pretty man?” Wallace asked as he wrinkled his nose. Rocky shrugged.

“It’s best not to question how he mind works,” he said. “Once she’s attracted to someone, she will pay special attention to them and then eventually try to seduce them. It happened to my brother.”

“How is she able to keep working here?” their classmate asked.

“Oh don’t worry, they usually don’t go too far,” Rocky said. “For one thing, she isn’t too aggressive when it comes to students. Second, she will know when to back off. Kevin politely turned her down and Liz backed off.”

“Will that happen to me too?” Wallace asked. Rocky and Eric looked at each other for a moment.

“Guys?” Wallace asked. His classmates turned back to him.

“I think you’re fine,” Rocky said at last. “But I would try and stay away from her outside of class just in case.” He patted Wallace on the shoulder as the country boy nervously laughed.

“Gee thanks,” he said. That’s when he happened to look up and see a flash of strawberry blonde walk by the boys. The faint perfume was enough for him to away from Rocky’s grasp and start following the girl walking further down the hall.

“Wallace?” Eric asked after him. The country boy was too entranced by the hair in front of him. He started to reach out to the girl. His fingertips turned her left shoulder. The girl froze in her tracks. Wallace gulped hard.

“Julia?” he asked.