4. Long Days After That Evening

Laura walked toward the lobby that connected her to the street leading to the General Pathology Lab building, where her office was. She would just put down her bag and prepare the lecture materials.

Meanwhile, James walked to room 101. Many younger generations looked at him with adoring eyes and whispered with their friends.

"That's Brother James passing by... Cute, huh..."

"He's adorable, but he doesn't want to date. Even though a lot of people have tried to shoot him, you know."

"Duh, his gaze melts. sob sob..."

James continued to walk with a straight face, ignoring the whispers on either side of the road he was taking. The younger generation must be studying for the Microanatomy practicum pretest.

James got an offer as a Microanatomy Lab assistant last year, but he chose the position of Microbiology Lab assistant because it was more fun to practice.

He is also eyeing the position of assistant to the Anatomical Pathology Lab if there is an open recruitment, of course, to be able to meet often with Prof. Laura, who is the lecturer in charge of the Anatomical Pathology practicum. The old Pathology Lab assistant had entered the professional boarding school and had to resign.

"Bro, sit here," Deon exclaimed, waving his hand at James.

James walked to the empty seat next to Deon. "Hey, Deon, have you heard of the open recruitment for PA Lab assistants?" James asked dryly.

"There is, Bro. We need three replacement assistants for older siblings who have entered the Coass. Are you interested, Bro?" asked Deon curiously because James had been a super busy assistant for the Microbiology Lab, practicum three courses with three practicum sessions daily.

Sometimes, he was surprised by James's stamina, which seemed never tired. His course scores every semester are almost perfect. Even last semester, James finally got a 4.0 GPA, and his brain is brilliant.

"Good morning, everyone," Prof Laura's voice sounded clear and suddenly made the crowded class immediately quiet.

"Today's lecture material on respiratory tract pathology can be downloaded on the FKH website as usual. We will look at the normal anatomy of the respiratory tract organs first before comparing it with organ abnormalities in the process of tissue damage. Pay attention to the following slide show because this will be the material for the final semester exam," Laura spoke calmly and straightforwardly with her lecture material this morning.

James watched each of Prof. Laura's explanations carefully. He must get an A for this course to become a PA Lab assistant. "Seriously, bro," said Deon, nudging James' arm with his elbow.

"Hmmm ...," James answered. He tried to focus entirely on Prof. Laura's lecture, even though her beautiful lips made him crave last night's kiss. It was James' first kiss.

***

*Flashback to last evening*

The FKH campus was already silent. The garden lights were turned on because dusk was starting to fall. The man glanced at the red HRV in the parking lot east of the Anatomical Pathology Building.

That beautiful and sexy girl still hasn't come home, he thought.

A month ago, a new lecturer was young and beautiful, different from the old and unattractive FKH lecturers. Most female lecturers in this faculty look like nerds; the new lecturers are very different.

The man has served in the veterinary college for the past five years. The activities are monotonous and boring, but it's good that he can wash his eyes seeing the female students who are still young and energetic. Sometimes, he can also flirt with college students who need help because he holds the keys to all the lecture halls.

Today, he can prank the beautiful new lecturer, Mrs. Laura. He wanted to know what Mrs. Laura would do if the power went out. Fearful women are usually easy to conquer. Maybe she could hug and grieve if Mrs. Laura was scared in the dark.

Fifteen minutes passed, and the woman had not left the PA building.

Thirty minutes passed, and still not showing up! An hour passed, still not out, and the woman felt really at home in the dark.

The man was getting restless because his plan failed.

Plan B. The man deflated Mrs. Laura's red HRV in the dark. No one would know. Later, after the electricity was turned on, Mrs. Laura would rush home. She would hit the nape of her neck until she fainted. It must be great to be able to enjoy that helpless, sexy body in an HRV car.

The man chuckled impatiently, waiting for the woman to appear. He was waiting behind a grove of ornamental plants in the parking lot. The lights have started to come back on.

Yes, as expected, Mrs. Laura walked to her car. But damn! Why is there a male student?! The student was tall and burly compared to his short, stout stature.

He also watched as Mrs. Laura and the male student got into the white Fortuner parked on the west side of the PA building near a palm tree. The white Fortuner car drove away from campus.

The man was very disappointed because his plan failed miserably. But that made him even more obsessed with getting Mrs. Laura's body. He would make plans next time when Mrs. Laura was working late again. He knew very well that Mrs. Laura was a workaholic. There would be many opportunities to frame her. Just wait for the play date!

"Mr. Udin!" called the figure behind him.

"Eh, Mr. Dean. What's wrong, sir?" replied the man who had just recovered from shock.

Mr. Charles approached Mr. Udin and asked, "The lights went out for a long time, Sir. What's wrong?"

"Oo oh... there's a short circuit, Sir. I've been looking for the source for a long time, where the electricity has been turned on for a long time. It's safe, sir, now, there's no need to worry." Mr. Udin replied, making up stories so Mr. Charles would not be suspicious.

He didn't expect the dean to be home this late, either. Doesn't he have the number one position on this campus? Why work overtime like a lowly employee who has to work hard like a horse?!

"Okay, if it's safe. I'll go home first, Mr. Udin. Come on..." said Mr. Charles as he walked towards his car.

Mr. Udin stroked his chest with relief. He was worried that the dean would be suspicious of him.

***

Laura walked to her office after completing a 3-session lecture marathon from morning to noon. It was almost 1 pm. She glanced at her watch. No wonder her stomach felt very hungry. She felt her schedule on campus was very busy from Monday to Friday. Luckily, it's Thursday, the day after tomorrow, so she can relax and enjoy her weekend break.

Laura sat in her chair and then realized that there was a box of food on her desk. There was a piece of paper on the lid of the box. She peeked inside the food box, apparently gado-gado (Indonesian veggie salad) with one chicken egg.

How lucky that Laura was so hungry right now. She also read the message on the paper. "Enjoy your lunch, Prof. Laura. I hope the menu suits your taste." There was a signature with the name of the lunch sender. James Peter.

This child is very thoughtful, Laura thought. Laura immediately cleaned her hands with hand sanitizer and tissue, then tasted the gado-gado. Hmm, delicious!

Laura took her cell phone and typed a message to James's number. "Hi, James... thanks, the gado gado is delicious. How do you know I haven't eaten yet?"

Shortly after, a message came in. "You know, lecture session three has just finished. I'm afraid you'll faint in the office because you haven't had lunch yet!"

"I'm exhausted. I feel too lazy to drag myself to the cafeteria for lunch. I need catering services." Laura replied jokingly, but it was the truth. Her body was completely exhausted.

James read Laura's reply and smiled to himself. Then he remembered a bouquet on Laura's office desk earlier. "By who's bouquet is in Prof Laura's office?" he typed again.

"Oh yes, it's been a few days; someone has sent me a bouquet. But I'm not too fond of flowers. I like gado-gado," replied Laura, teasing James.

James almost choked on drinking water when he read Laura's WA chat reply. James is waiting for the 2nd wave of the Bacterial and Medical Microbiology practicum, which will start in 15 minutes in the Microbiology Lab assistant room with other Lab assistant colleagues.

"James drinks slower...," said Vera, his generation older than one year.

"Yes, Sis," James answered.

James was excited to read the chat reply from Prof Laura. He can only reply with emoji love in his eyes.

Laura saw James's reply in emoji eyes with love and a smile. She didn't reply anymore and finished her lunch.

The plan is that for the rest of the afternoon, she will provide thesis consultation for several students whose thesis manuscripts have passed to the final stage. This means one more step for the thesis trial after the revision.

James began to be busy with his work as a Microbiology Lab assistant. He is in charge of reading the questions about the practicum pretest.

After that, he also gave an example of planting Staphylococcus aureus bacteria on blood agar plates and several other media.

James is Prof. Widya Hartanto's trusted Lab assistant because his hands are very skilled, and his brain is brilliant. James always has the opportunity to accompany Prof. Widya to do his scientific research.

His name is always included on the posters of Prof. Widya's research that adorn the walls of the corridors of the Microbiology Lab. Many of his older siblings were jealous of James's achievements.

One by one, the afternoon practicums were finally finished. James and his colleagues also cleaned up the practicum tools before they went home.

"James, don't forget to take the probands data in the PA Lab and feed the mice." a message from Renata, who is in the thesis research group with him.

"Ready," answered James casually.

"Thank you, James. It's unbelievable that your stamina is different from ours. I feel like I'm going to faint. I'm doing three waves of practicum today." Renata said while busy packing books into her backpack.

"Is that so? It's just normal. So don't date too much. It wastes energy and time." Tease James, who knows that Renata has a boyfriend.

"Yes, when I have to stay single like you, James. That's called wasting my youth. While I'm still in college, I have to be happy. I need a distraction!" Renata chirped defensively.

"Hmmmm," James replied curtly, lazy to argue with Renata.

They were separated on the 1st floor. The Microbiology Lab is on the 2nd floor, just above the PA Lab. Renata waved her hand and walked towards the motorbike parking lot while James headed to the PA Lab.

James passed Prof Laura's office, which was open. Two final-semester students seemed to be consulting for thesis guidance. He didn't want to interfere and rushed to the research room.

"Hi, James. Go ahead," said Ronald, his classmate who is also a research fellow at the PA Lab who has finished working on his group assignment.

"Okay, Ron. Go ahead," James replied.

Two weeks later, according to the research schedule, the white rats will be euthanized, and their internal organs will be taken to make histopathic preparations for research data. This research has been running for almost three months.

James most often gets the task of taking care of the white rats even though his team consists of 4 people, but he never complains because he is used to researching with Prof. Widya.