“Professor Hawthorne!” I called out as I walked across the nearly empty campus. He turned at the sound of his name and smiled at me.
“Well, hello, Katie. What are you still doing on campus? Aren’t you leaving for winter break?” He asked as I caught up with him, chest slightly heaving from the exertion.
“No, my parents are divorced, and they decided to get into a huge fight on who gets to see me this year. So, I told them since they can’t share, neither of them gets to see me this year. They live three blocks apart and can’t figure out a way for me to spend time with both of them on a two-week stay.” I said. The story I told him was true, what I didn’t tell him was that it was a convenient excuse to stay on campus.
“Well, I’m sorry to hear that. It’s Christmas Eve, do you have any plans for tonight?” He asked.
“No,” I said as I frowned slightly, my voice going distant. “I’ll be all alone for Christmas for the first time in my life.” He put his arm on my shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. I could tell he was genuinely concerned about how upset I was. Or, about how upset he thought I was.