Chapter 2: Classroom Confrontation

I dropped my mouth open, unsure if I had read that correctly. Pinning my eyes to the class name, I scanned once more, then twice, finally a third time. It wasn't a mistake. Justin was the instructor.

I didn't expect to run into him at Waterfall College. I mean, I knew he was a visiting professor of the law school but I never imagined he'd be instructing students. To invade my sacred space, where I chose to right the wrongs he had committed; it just seemed vile for him to be present.

Elodie came closer to me, her brow furrowed in concern. Sitting beside me on the bed, she placed her hand on my back briefly then dropped her hand.

"Are you alright?" she asked. I couldn't speak. It was all I could do to hide my trembling hands. Glancing down at the roster, she gasped in excitement. "Ooh, Justin Lowell! Oh my God! How exciting. He's the youngest partner of Waterfall LLP & Affiliates. Which of course means he's one of the most successful lawyers in the city. What in the world is he doing here?"

My heart pounded as I flicked my eyes from the roster to Elodie's grinning face. I was asking myself the same thing but not in the same celebratory way she was. I pursed my lips, concerned I might give away my disdain for him.

"I can't wait for class to hear him lecture." She clasped her hands together, seemingly starstruck but I couldn't feel anything other than a knot of worry in my stomach. "I bet he'll teach us so well."

Him, teaching? I felt sick imagining him molding young minds into law abiding justice seekers. When he had power in his hands it was to others' detriment and I had first hand experience.

My mind flashed back to the awful day my parents died. If that wasn't bad enough to lose my beloved mom and dad, Justin inserted himself into my life.

To think, the police had handed over the will of my father Derrick to Justin to make him my guardian. The people who were supposed to protect and serve had handed me on a platter to a vicious viper. And of course, with my parents both dead, I had no say in the matter.

All I knew was Justin should have nothing to do with upbringing, teaching, or anything remotely moral. His compass was askew. My chest tingled with anxiety knowing he had a clutch on my inheritance.

I had another few years before I'd be able to touch it - they'd specified that I had to be twenty-one to access the money. But I never would. Screw that. I wasn't going to ask him for anything, ever.

I clenched my teeth as I pictured his smug grin. He was so awful that I'd rather take my clothes off for patrons than to ask him to give me something I was rightfully owed.

As if his control over my life weren't enough, he didn't support me like a guardian should. Justin actually tried to talk me out of applying to law school. To think, my supposed guardian didn't want me to fulfill my dream and succeed in life.

Some guardian he was.

Though my chest ached with anger, I knew seeing him in class would be even worse. I felt woozy as the realization hit me that as soon as our eyes met in the lecture hall, he'd make my life a living hell. Who knows what kind of reactions he'd have?

But worse yet, how angry would he make me?

***

The next day, classes began. Unfortunately for me, my first one was Jurisprudence, so I arrived early and took a seat in the back corner. I wanted to be away from the podium and Justin. As far as I could. He was like a disease I wanted to avoid.

Elodie sat directly in front of me, her elbows on the desk, knees bouncing in anticipation. Her eyes darted around the room but then landed on a single thing. The hallway. She was excited to see this monster.

As soon as Justin stepped through the door, I could hear Elodie gasp. I watched her trace her finger over her notebook and twist her toe into the floor. Even from behind it was obvious what she thought. Her body language said it all. She thought Justin was hot.

I supposed for the average person, he would seem charming with his tall stature, slim, athletic build, ink-black wavy hair, and amber eyes. But the devil could be handsome as well and he wasn't too far off from that.

His reputation was notorious not only with his practice of ruthless aggression toward his opponents in court, but in his personal life. He had no tact other than to intimidate and I felt bad that Elodie thought he had a shred of human decency. She was about to be let down by her idol.

But others knew better. Most people averted their gaze whenever he was present. God knows I certainly did. It was all I could do to avoid his gloomy, harsh demeanor. It was like his eyes were always staring, boring holes into people, like those of an eagle looking for prey.

But Elodie didn't know that part of Justin's personality, which was why she was so enthralled, I supposed. My heart went out to her because even without us knowing one another well, I didn't want to see her hurt. And Justin would most certainly disappoint her.

He’d speak and she’d see how cold he was. His amber irises were pleasantly attractive but one need only look truly into his eyes to see he had no soul.

Gritting my teeth, I flipped open my laptop and purposely hid his figure with the cover. My feelings of anger toward him weren't simply fear of his lashing tongue but what he elicited in me. Dropping my head, I tried to cover my face with my long, chestnut hair.

His presence was almost tangible even if I didn't have him directly in view. Ugh, what a way to start off my law school career. As he stood, smoothing his dress pants and primping his hair, I shook my head in disgust.

He was a jerk, and no matter how hard I tried to control my emotions, he made my heart race, body tense up, and dampened my mood. The second I even saw his name, I felt an uncontrollable scowl overtake my features. My fury rose up and sometimes, I found myself in endless circles of fiery thoughts that could take hours to come out of.

After all, he was responsible for my parent’s deaths. And I planned to prove it. But for now, my goal was surviving this class. I hoped I could avoid him seeing me as long as possible. Hopefully, it wouldn't be a complete waste of time having him teach.

My heart was racing as I tried to ignore him. Steaming now, I quickly typed and logged into our student portal for the class. Then he stepped to the podium, leaned into the microphone and began to speak.

"Most of you think you're going to be lawyers by the time you leave. I'm here to tell you, more than half of you will fail."

The cheerful, excited banter hushed instantly. The room grew quiet enough to hear a pin drop. My eyes bounced from student to student, watching their grim reactions. Some bowed their heads, others dropped their mouths open in shock. I felt deep empathy for them. He was crushing their dreams and he couldn't care less.

He allowed his eyes to rove over the crowd, probably hoping to make the students he stared at think they were the ones destined to fail. He linked his fingers holding his head high, chin up in a dominating manner.

"Students, one thing you'll learn about with me is I'm not here to sugar coat things. Only the most intelligent persistent students will pass the class and even then, they'll have a tough road ahead. Some of you might want to consider leaving and withdrawing immediately."

I was fuming as I watched a couple of students walk out the door. Inside my voice was screaming, "don't let him fool you!" But it was too late. He chuckled once in a condescending way, holding his hands as though he was giving condolences at a funeral.

"I don't mean to laugh at you, but please. I can see just by looking around, you'll have your work cut out for you. Again, if any of you want to leave, you have two weeks to drop the course."

He paused, scanning the room once more as if challenging us. Those eyes of his snapped from person to person, so penetrating that one student shivered. At this point, even if people did want to leave, nobody would dare to now with his menacing gaze scouring them inch by inch.

I watched my roommate's thick head of highlighted blonde hair begin to tremble. Then Elodie impulsively whipped her head around to me, whispering, "I never expected him to be such a dick!"

Though her words were hushed, my already stirred angst turned into panic knowing she was drawing attention to me. That was the last thing I wanted. But I couldn't blame her for feeling that way.

Because the room was so silent, Elodie's whisper sounded like a shout. Students glanced at us tentatively, some appearing relieved as their features relaxed. They were glad he wasn't looking at them anymore and instead was glowering at us.

Damn it, Elodie, I thought once more as Justin snapped his eyes onto us. Those amber irises intensely pinned first to Elodie and then to me.

My heart fell into my feet in panic and a cold sheen of sweat collected on my lower back. I tried sliding down in my seat and masking myself with my laptop cover but it was no use. My bubble burst when he refused to turn away.

Not only did he not stop staring, he made his way toward me, the slow, deliberate clack of his dress shoes hitting the floor like a drummer in a company of soldiers about to go to war. Looming over me, he remained silent.

Feeling the weight of his stare, I figuratively squirmed. He had forbidden me to attend this school and now I was at his mercy.

"So, tell me, what is Augustinianism? How do you explain natural law? What is the focus of Jurisprudence?"

I clammed up, unable to answer any of those questions. My face began to flush with embarrassment and my heart raced. Of course, he chose to humiliate me. Was it simply because I disobeyed him or would he have done this anyway?

He pressed the tips of his fingers together, tapping them a few times, then shrugged.

"Can't answer those? Then how about this: What is the spirit of law?"

My heart jumped in my throat. As if I didn't know what the spirit of law was. The whole reason I was here was to ensure it happened to him! Keeping my cool, I cleared my throat and sat up to face him.

"The spirit of law is to seek justice," I said, my voice firm with tempered passion. "Whoever violated a law and committed a crime should face punishment. Unavoidable, deserving punishment."

I stared directly in his eyes as I relaxed in my chair. I didn't care about hiding myself from him anymore. The words rang true to me through every fiber of my being. He'd done the unthinkable and he needed to pay for that crime. I was coming for him, and he'd better watch out.