Nocticadia

by Keri Lake

Something in the way he spoke, the passion I could literally feel infused into every word, sent a shudder of excitement through me. The man lived and breathed science–that much I could tell. When the class ended, I found myself looking at the clock in disbelief. An entire hour had slipped by in what felt like minutes, as I’d sat completely enthralled by the man and the ease with which he relayed information, as if he were talking of something so benign as the weather. As the class packed up and exited, my stomach knotted in tight bows of anxiety at the thought of having to talk to him one on one. I’d wanted the opportunity to pick his brain sometime, but something told me he wasn’t happy about my presence in his class.