“So you see that under Directive 96/9/EC of the European Parliament and the Council of 11 March 1996 on the legal protection of databases, sui generis rights are to be protected vis-a-vis electronic databases. A 2,500 word article, please, by tomorrow, outlining the importance of this development with reference to the changing nature of the internet.”
Roger Gough, or ‘cough’, as his students called him, was a commanding presence in the faculty of Law in the university. His movie matinee idol looks and tall, athletic body, immediately marked him out from the run-of-the-mill flabby, dishevelled male lecturers. His female students had no problem appreciating his special qualities and the male students thought he was a creep. Such was life in a provincial ‘new’ university.
As the students spewed out of the lecture room, looking for all the world like sewage seeping from an open drainpipe, Roger, Rog to his friends, snapped the buckle shut on his venerable briefcase and followed them, making sure to leave plenty of room for fear of having to talk to one on anything approaching a social level. One pretty blonde girl seemed to be walking very slowly and Roger had the misfortune of catching up with her before being able to take evasive action. She turned and smiled at him, perfect white teeth evenly set in between two cherry red lips. His mind wandered a little, but then he remembered he was the tutor and this girl was only eighteen. He smiled back.
“Professor Cough, I mean, er, Gough. Do you think you could help me with sui generis a little? I’m having trouble getting my head round the concept of unique.”
Her voice sounded like a drag queen doing a poor imitation of an impressionist lampooning Marilyn Monroe. T&A she might have had in abundance, but this girl didn’t sound like she looked. It was still a surprise to hear, even after 6 weeks of classes.
“Well, I don’t normally find students have trouble with it Marilyn, er, Natalie. Which bit would you like help with?”
As soon as he’d said it he realised he was making a mistake: the other students by now had moved on and he was now standing opposite the only girl in the class he’d consider doing. And they were alone.
“Well, to be honest, I rather thought it would be nice if you could come round to my place tonight. We could eat something – first.”
The subtlety of the implication was not lost on him. After many years of probity at the university Roger was tempted beyond reason to answer the call of nature. But he’d have to be sure there would be no elephant traps.
“Sounds like it could be…fun.”
“Oh good! What about 7pm then?
I see you’ve decided to give your voice to the word of the day as well. I tried it a couple of times, and it’s a great way to get started. This story made me uncomfortable from the time you started describing “Cough”. I’ve been a graduate teaching assistant, and it was always uncomfortable for me to remember that even though the girls were only 2 or 3 years younger than me I couldn’t put myself in a compromising position. Of course, I didn’t have an abandoned wife and bastard child…at least not that was 19 years old. That was a great twist. Keep up the good work.
I had a good laugh at this one. The end caught me by surprise – completely. Well done.
Brandon, thanks for dropping by again and thanks for the comments.
I’ll be starting the ball rolling on the latest challenge tonight, once my fingers have had a rest. It’s hard to type with damaged fingerpads!
I’m glad you felt uncomfortable early on in the story. That’s the mood I was hoping for.
Saaleha, thanks.
I like stories with a little twist, but once people know you’re going to do that it makes it more difficult to think of a twist that isn’t predictable.
I personally find the final line totally hilarious as I can imagine the shock on the professor’s face when he realises he’s been stitched up like a kipper!
I really enjoyed this story. Your characters are well rounded and wonderfully written and I found myself tensing up even as the character of Rog began tensing up. Do I see potential here for a much longer story?
Jasmin, I have a lot in my head to say about the Roger character, although I don’t know if I have the discipline to sit down and tell his story. But to me he’s an almost real character and I feel I know what brought him to the place he’s in.
I don’t think the bulk of his back-story would be very agreeable, but it would illuminate his journey, that’s for sure and I think in the end he got what was coming to him.