"I want you to come with me" she said, softly and almost shyly. "What, now?" I asked, bewildered as I gathered my thoughts. "Now..." she replied, untying the straps of her backpack and throwing them across the room, onto her massive oak desk by the window. Her room was large, almost half the size of my apartment. It was sparse - she was not very good with clutter and she had a queen sized bed towards the back of the room, a chair beside her desk and the window I sat by the whole day to watch her from my apartment. She did not leave much - she always left clean. She was not messy, just unassuming. She was not a social being, and although she interacted with other students, she did not mingle much outside of class. Everyone knew about her but few understood. I did not know that I would go with her - but I soon found myself hastily throwing things into my backpack. I guess she had been planning this for a while, but kept it to herself. Her words suddenly hit me and I realized that she was serious. She really wanted me to go with her. Why me? I wondered. I had always been curious about her - and I think that she knew that and had taken the initiative to finally pin me down. She knew I was a good person, someone she could trust. I found myself agreeing and couldn't stop myself - bending down by the desk, where I placed my bag.
"Alright, I'll come with you" I uttered, knowing that I had little choice in the matter. I turned to look at her and she smiled. "I knew you would" she said softly, unsurely, almost kindly. She looked at her watch, and stood up from her seat. "Leave your stuff here" and she walked over to her bag and took out a folded piece of paper. "Now, hurry up. I can't wait all day." "Okay" I said, hurriedly. I was nervous and hurried. The minutes had ticked by so quickly that lunch had started. Now it was just me and my professor. I was anxious now. What was going to happen to me?
"This is the address" she said and I looked at her blankly. "I want you to come to my house - it is not a far drive, I promise" she said, and though it was a curiosity to drive to her house, I knew I had little other choice. "Okay" I acquiesced. I didn't want to make her mad - I guess I had hoped that this was my follow up to her inviting me to come to her house, but I realized now that I was wrong. But, I was glad she trusted me. "Now, I want you to turn the car around" she added. "But I am leaving straight from here" I told her, confused. "I don't care" she replied, "do it. I need to get back to my car." I looked at the parking lot, but saw no cars at all. "There is a lot of detours here" I told her, "maybe there are one or two cars in the parking lot - I can see one or two cars." She smiled and put down the piece of paper she had brought along. "Here" she said, placing a small wad of bills into my hand. "It is all yours. Now, go back and turn the car around. I have to go to my office to collect some more things."
I looked at the money in my hand, for a moment wondering if it was enough or too much - an act of generosity or bribery. Then I saw that the money was not mine, it was hers and she was giving it to me not to bribe me but rather to encourage me. "How much is this?" I asked, realizing that there was more than enough money in my hand. I knew that it was for the car, for a taxi would have cost a lot more. "Enough" she said, and I was confused.