I Kissed My Professor And He Liked It

Ella’s POV The walk from Colton’s faculty house to the student lounge felt like an eternity long. Headmaster Prescott and the police thought it was a good idea to have a gamma warrior escort me; | quickly suggested that it was to be Alex who escortedbecause he was the only gamma warrior who knew where | was.

Of course, | didn’t tell them the last part. | just told them | felt more comfortable with a gamma that | knew well, and that Alex was the closest one | had at this school. Headmaster Prescott thankfully didn’t argue.

Alex was at the door to Colton’s house within 15 minutes. He didn’t look pleased to have to sneak over to the faculty housing and escortto the student lounge, but | also wasn’t pleased to need an escort.

I wished Colton could cwith me, but | knew that he couldn't.

I hugged him and kissed him goodbye before heading outside with Alex. He walked behindwhile we went across the campus. | held my head down, feeling like a complete criminal even though I didn’t do anything wrong.

But | couldn't help the knot that kept tightening in my stomach. They were going to be questioning me; | just hoped Colton didn’t get brought up during this questioning. I'm not sure I'd be able to lie my way around my relationship with him.

It was weird walking across an empty campus. It was like a complete ghost town; it was depressing and unlike the school that | have cto know and love so dearly. Only a few gamma warriors patrolled the campus and when they looked at me, | saw a look of utter disapproval, like they had already convictedof this crime.

After what felt like a lifetime, we reached the student lounge. It didn’t even look like it was open; typically, there would be lights on the door and in the windows; they were light-up signs that brought color and life to the lounge. But they were all turned off; it was dreary.

Alex was the one who opened the door forand when | stepped inside, | saw that there were only a few lights on and it was completely quiet. A few cops were sitting at one of the tables and a man wasn’t wearing a cop's uniform, but he was seated next to Headmaster Prescott, and they were murmuring to one another, looking over snotes it appeared.

They both paused and looked atthough as | walked into the lounge and toward them. The couple of copies that sat at a table beside one another were also looking up from their tablets to almost glare at me.

A chill went down my spine and | had to stifle a shiver.

As | got further into the room, Headmaster Prescott stood to her feet and gavea kind smile while motioning to the seat in front of the table she sat at with that strange gentleman.

“Ella, this is Detective Sanchez,” she introduced.

| forced a smile, hoping that it didn’t seem too forced.

“Hello,” | managed to say as | walked toward the waiting seat.”l just wanted to be clear, you are not in trouble,” Prescott said, lowering herself into her seat as she eyedcarefully. “The Detective just wants to ask squestions.” “It's the procedure,” Detective Sanchez said, agreeing. He didn’t sound angry, just busy. He didn’t bother looking at me; he was glaring at his notes.

“I know this is a lot to take in and we would like to go as gentle as possible,” Prescott said softly, but she glanced at the detective while she said that last part.

He only grunted in response, making her press her lips firmly in a disapproving manner.

“Ella is your name?” The detective asked, finally looking at me.

| nodded my head once.

“Yes, sir,” | answered, glad that my voice cout strong.

“I have here that you are the president of the student committee.” “She was just voted the president recently,” Prescott answered before I could.

This resulted in an annoyed grunt as the detective glared at her.

“I can get through this a lot quicker if you allowto do my job without interruption,” he said through his teeth.

“I need to hear the answers from the person in question.” She looked like she wanted to protest, but then closed her mouth and leaned back in her seat. Annoyance was clear on her face, but | tried not to pay attention to her.

The detective turned back to me, narrowing his eyes, waiting for my response.

“Yes, sir,” | answered. “As of recently, | am the president of the student committee.” “And how's that going for you?” | was surprised by the question; | raised my brows at him. He just looked atcuriously, as if he genuinely wanted to know the answer.

“It's going fine,” | told him. “I had my first meeting yesterday and it went well. Until afterwards...” My voice trailed off as | remembered the events that unfolded after the committee meeting.

The detective looked intrigued as he leaned across the table and closer toward me.

“And what happened afterward?” | looked at him pointedly.

“I saw the cops and overheard them talking about a girl that died,” | said in a breath without missing a beat.

| watched as Detective Sanchez’s face fell in disappointment.

“You were close to the victim?” He asked, narrowing his eyes at me.

“Merida,” | corrected him, not liking that he wasn’t using her nand making her sound like an object. “She was in a couple of my classes, but | wouldn't say we were close.” “And how was Merida as a student?” He then asked, emphasizing her name.

“I'm not sure | understand the question,” | said after a short pause.

“Did she get good grades?” He asked. “Was she talkative? Did she answer a lot of questions? Was she active in class? Did teachers like her?” His questions were almost overwhelming. | glanced at Headmaster Prescott, and she gavean encouraging head nod and | took a deep breath before looking back at the detective.

“She didn’t stand out,” | admitted. “But yes, she answered questions when asked. She was polite to her classmates and teachers. As far as | knew, she got decent grades. But | didn’t talk to her that much, so I'm not sure.” “Why didn’t you talk to her that much?” For sreason, his question hurt. He made it sound like | purposely didn’t talk to or isolated her.

“We walked in different circles,” | shrugged, trying to remain as casual as possible. “We didn’t have the sfriends. But | never minded her.” “Did she have many friends?” “I'm not sure,” | answered as honestly as | could. “I know she had a couple of girls she hung out with.” “I have listed here that she was friends with an Alison and a Mary,” Detective Sanchez said, eyeing his paper carefully. “Do those names ring the bell?” “I suppose so,” | said, shrugging again. “I saw them around campus.” “Have you ever noticed the girls arguing?” “Not that | recall,” | stated, trying my best to remember, but | couldn't. | don’t think I've ever seen Merida get into any arguments.

“And you never had an issue with her yourself?” He asked, furrowing his brows together. “She never once made you mad or upset?” | stared back at him in disbelief.

“No, detective,” | answered simply. “I never got into any arguments with her.” “But you got into arguments before?” “Excuse me, how is that relevant?” Headmaster Prescott interrupted.

“All my questions are relevant,” he answered, his jaw clenching.

“Ella is an 18-year-old girl; of course, she had gotten into arguments before. It doesn’t mean she’s killed anyone,” Prescott hissed, angrily.

“I didn’t say it did,” he said in return, not even giving her a second glance. “But there’s a connection everywhere we look. My job right now is to find the start of the connection.” “Ella has never gotten into serious trouble before—" “A student was killed by another student at your school, Headmaster. Werewolf or not, murder is murder. Ella was described as a popular girl who just won the election for president of the student committee. She has connections and ties with most students on this campus; if I'm going to find a connection between the victim and her murderer, I’m going to start with this 18-year-old.” Prescott opened her mouth to say something in return; she was red in the face, and | couldn't tell if it was because of embarrassment or anger. But | spoke instead, stopping her from making the detective any angrier.

“I wouldn't consider myself popular. I'm liked amongst my peers because | always treat them with respect and I'm kind to them. | help them with their homework and tutor them when | can. | don’t disinclude anyone and I'm always willing to listen to their complaints. That's what makesa good president. I'm learning as | go, but | have a lot of ideas on how to make this school better and to make everyone's experience amazing. I'm well- trained in combat and yes, I'm a Volana. I'm learning to control my powers and I'm doing a better job at it than | did in the beginning. | use my powers and my combat abilities to help students. | break up fights when | see them and defend those in need. | never once hurt a student and | would certainly never kill anyone. So, if you are looking for a tie betweenand Merida’s murderer, you aren't going to find it with me. If I saw something, | would have done something. Not only because it's my duty as president, but because it’s the right thing to do and | was raised to always do the right thing.” Detective Sanchez and Headmaster Prescott both stared atwith open mouths, processing my words.

Prescott was the first to recover.

“Well said, Ella,” she said quickly, givinga proud smile. She then looked at the detective with a pointed look.

“Do you have more questions, Detective?” He cleared his throat.

“Just one... where were you the night before last night,” he asked, eyeingcarefully.

My heart fell into my stomach; | knew the answer right away, but it wasn’t an answer | was able to share with him. Because if | did, my relationship with Colton would be found out.