Erik had been grading his last few essays when she interrupted. He kept the door open for a reason, so when he lifted his head, he was completely ready to help her. Until he saw her. Not look-wise – he didn’t recognize her. He wouldn’t. It was… a humming coming off her body. Her blood flowing through her veins. Most wouldn’t know that the extent of Erik’s powers went past bending a bridge or turning a satellite. He could perform x-rays, he could run blood tests with nothing more than his eyes and ears.
Everyone had their own sound. Families… were distinct. He could tell who was brother and who was sister on campus – who was father and who was daughter.
Who would he be if he didn’t know his own families thrum? He knew of his children, of course. Wanda and Pietro – he hadn’t met, but Lorna? When she was a young one, he had and – he should have known this school would have provided him with problems.
His expression completely changed. He shut down. Standing up, he closed the large file he had open with a loud snap. “You can attend my classes, then. I teach one or two power control ones – now get out. Office hours are over.”
The guy looked nice from Lorna’s perspective. He appeared as any professor would. But she still got a weird feeling. It reminded her of when she was in a convenience store, stolen items already in hand, and the door rang open and she’d know it was a cop. She didn’t even have to see to be sure, and once her instinct was confirmed, she’d run. But that didn’t make much sense to her right then. She hadn’t done anything wrong. The professors were there to help. Hell, his door had been opened.
There was no reason to escape and hide. It was irrational. Up until Professor Cohen’s entire expression changed towards her. It was as if she had insulted his mother, and admitted to spitting in his coffee for the last week.
She flinched as he closed the file, taking a quick step back. Had she even said fifty words to him? She tried to wrack her mind to figure out what she could have said to anger him so easily.
Holding up her hands in surrender, she tried to stay calm. “Look, I didn’t mean to offend you at all, sir. I’m sorry.” She could feel her heart pounding at this point. “I have the same powers as you. And I feel I’d benefit from your help, one on one, or if you don’t do that, a few tips?”