Saturday, March 19, 2011

The Good Student

When I was in grad school, part of the job of Graduate Teaching Fellow (GTF) was teaching intro courses, like English 101. It was a required class and all the students wanted to pass. Some students were determined to get As and would try to talk me into them during office hours. Some students didn't seem to care one way or the other. Those were the most frustrating, because they also seemed the most self-confident. They weren't grubbing for grades because they seemed to know they were going to have a great college experience no matter what and whatever they did in life, they would be happy. One girl, I remember seemed to just have a grace about her. She was smart, and nice, and pretty, and popular without being stuck up. But she was also unaffected by any pressures, either academic or peer. She seemed to be completely herself and happy with that. I also noticed once, that she hadn't worn underwear that day. She wasn't flashing me, more like she was thinking about her writing so intently that her legs realized just enough to sit naturally, just slightly parted, and from a direct head on view, I could see up her skirt. Any other angle looked perfectly normal, it was just that one angle, sort of low, when I sat at my desk. I tried to steal glances, without being noticeable, and without feeling like a complete looser. 

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