something.
Ramble about history at me, Princess. Aw, yeah.
"Ashley--" The doctor of history taps his chin as if he's trying to remember something. "--Banks, was it?" he asks. "I believe I said you'd be a welcome addition to any lectures I might hold in the future. And, of course, I'll say the same thing now. I can't say I agree with your decision to skip classes at your own college today, but I take some pride in knowing that you decided to skip them in order to attend my lecture."
I'm just going to shut up and not say anything else. I'm not going to tell him that she skipped her classes in order to come here and punish me with sexy stuff, and then, uh... more sex. Also, almost shower sex. I'm just not going to say any of that.
It helps that Ashley's beaming like a fucking flashlight right now. She looks so fucking happy, you don't even know. I guess it's cool. I kind of like this Roger Telford guy, too. He doesn't seem as stuffy as a lot of history people. He seems alright.
"There aren't going to be any problems between you two, though, are there?" he asks us. "Heated discussions are one thing, but arguments are quite another."
"Nah," I say. "It's cool. She's my stepsister."
Apparently it's not cool, though. Not fucking cool at all, I guess.
"You're an asshole, Ethan!" Ashley says, yelling at me. To Roger Telford, she adds, "I'm his girlfriend. It's fine. I know how to deal with him."
And... this starts some huge uproar. Which is kind of stopped before it starts, because Doctor Telford apparently knows how to do those crazy loud wolf whistles. You know where you stick some fingers in your mouth or whatever the fuck and whistle and it's loud as fuck?
Everyone's quiet after that. Roger grins at me. "You seem to have an assortment of interesting stories yourself, Ethan. I'd love to discuss them some day. I don't mean to boost my own importance, but if you'd like, I can arrange to have lunch with you and wonderful... stepsister girlfriend? Is that what we're going with?"
"I just call her Princess, but I guess you can go with whatever," I say.
He laughs at that. "How about I offer you an invitation to have lunch with me sometime, and you can offer an equal invitation to Ashley? I imagine she'll be impressed with your prowess and ability to gain such a prestigious offer."
"Oh, she's impressed with my prowess, alright," I say.
Why the fuck am I still talking? I don't know why I said that. I mean, fuck, it's true, but...
Ashley's mumbling and blushing to herself in between glaring at me.
"Oh, to be young again," Doctor Telford says with a silly, wistful sigh.
"I'd like that invitation, though," I say to him. "Going to be honest with you, I think history is kind of boring, but your lecture is fun so far, and I guess Ashley thinks you're awesome, so..."
"I try," he says, smirking at me. "Shall we get back to the lecture at hand, though? Unfortunately we only have so much time, so..."
"Yeah," I say. "Democracy. In America. Some guy with a girl's name. Let's do it."
"Alexis de Tocqueville," he says with a laugh and a nod. "Indeed, his book on Democracy in America was intriguing at the time, and even now it's an exciting window into history. He traveled the countryside asking people about their thoughts on the New World. This was fascinating back then, because the concept of democracy was just taking root. Everyone had different ideas and ideals. Compared to Tocqueville's home country of France, where the aristocracy had a fading foothold, this New World was ruled by something many thought of as more chaotic. If none exist who are powerful enough to control the country alone, how will it grow? It seems an odd question now, but at the time it was what many thought of as the proper way of the world."
"Huh!" I say.
"I like that," he says. " Huh! A grand sentiment in a simple exclamation. I'll let you sit now, Ethan, but before I do, is there anything you'd like to ask me about myself?"
"Yeah, actually," I say. I didn't
Rebecca Hamilton, Conner Kressley