Your friend AJ glares at you like you just kicked his childhood dog.
“Did you seriously just say teaching isn’t hard?”
You raise a hand defensively. “I didn’t say it wasn’t hard—it’s easy if you have common sense. Especially when you don’t have to pass anyone.”
AJ narrows his eyes, a slow grin spreading. “Wanna bet?”
You grin back, cocky. “Sure. Fifteen hundred bucks says I can teach a college course for a full semester.”
AJ barks a laugh. “I’ll do you one better—I’ll pay for your entire graduate degree if you survive the whole thing. Lectures, grading, office hours—everything.”
And like an idiot, you say, “Deal.”
⸻
19 months later
You step into your new office, the smell of industrial carpet and overworked air conditioning greeting you like a punch to the gut. The department head had smiled politely when he handed you a mountain of “startup tasks” that read more like hazing:
• Build a syllabus
• Draft a lesson plan
• Coordinate with the lab instructor
• Figure out Moodle again
Somehow, you powered through it all.
Tomorrow, your first real lecture. Your official debut as a college professor. And the start of the most expensive bet of your life.
You’re adjusting the crooked nameplate on your door—Dr. Elijah Titanoth—when there’s a knock.
You open it to find a woman maybe a year or two older, athletic and striking with a wolf-cut that frames her sharp features. Her body has the kind of presence that makes rooms quieter, and her soft brown eyes hold just enough danger to make you forget what day it is.
She smirks. “You must be new. I’m Momo Hirai.”
Her voice is low and warm, with a faint accent that lingers like smoke. You fumble for words.
“Hi—I mean, yes. Elijah Titanoth.”
You extend your hand. She ignores it and pulls you into a hug—surprising, clumsy, but… genuine.
You manage to return it before she steps back, eyes glinting with amusement.
“I’ll see you around, Dr. Titan,” she says, then disappears down the hall as she owns it.
You close the door, still a little dazed, and mutter to yourself:
“I really hope so.”
The next few days pass in a blur of caffeine, deadlines, and mild existential panic. But slowly—miraculously—you manage to finish your prep for the semester.