Lit Review Pt. 03

"Cluster analysis are used to find groups within the data. These clusters share common characteristics. Clusters are made of points, which can be similar or dissimilar within or between clusters..."

Melody frowns as she types the last sentence. She wants to use different words but can't find them without sounding inaccurate. She sighs deeply and takes a sip from her ice coffee that's starting to drip condensation onto the table. She picks at her thumb impatiently, wracking her brain for synonyms. She sets her coffee down and readjusts on the swiveling chair, a luxurious find at her university's library.

She had just finished attending her neuroscience class and roughly has an hour break before the lab opens for students. She decided that rather than going back to her apartment, she would force herself to work at the library so that she would (hopefully) be more motivated to make progress with her final assignments. It has barely been thirty minutes and Melody is ready to throw her laptop straight across the first floor. None of her codes for her statistics class were running and she was growing frustrated, answering the assignment questions as best she could, trying to ignore the bright red error pop-ups that glows on her screen unsympathetically. She takes a deep breath, and exhales slowly, switching back and forth between the lecture slides and her assignments, meticulously scanning her lines to see where she mistyped.

Once. Twice. Three times.

It's useless. She scowls at her screen, punches several keys on her keyboard to save her work and angrily exits the coding program. Fuck it, it wasn't due until next week anyways.

She goes to her class homepage and clicks on "Behavioral Neuroscience". She taps her fingers against the motherboard, waiting for the page to load. She takes another drink of her coffee, her frustration slowly seeping away from her body with every sip. She navigates the page until she reaches the study guide. She opens the document and immediately her mouth dropped.

Firstly, it was fourteen pages. Secondly, every inch of it was filled with terms, questions, and diagrams.

This has got to be a goddamn fucking joke, she thinks to herself as she slowly scans each page. The content wasn't unfamiliar, as she recognizes some concepts that were taught earlier on in the semester. But for the majority of the questions, they were specific, and requires her to look back on her notes to answer them correctly. She half wanted to pinch herself on the arm. There was absolutely zero chance of her retaining any of this information before her lab practical that was coming up in two days.

Whoever teaches this class, it better not be who I think is

She zooms back up to the top of the document, where it reads in grey text in the header "NEU 385, Alexander".

Huh. Interesting.

She shoots up from her chair and yanks her charger from the charger port. She snaps her laptop closed and shoves it in her backpack along with her charger and pencil case. She swings the backpack over her shoulder and storms to the library doors.

Oh, he's going to get an earful of this when lab comes. Fourteen fucking pages, my ass!

Melody half runs to the health and science wing and swings open the door with such force that it nearly hit the nearby students as they exit. She stomps up the stairs, and continues her rampage down the hall, until she reaches the second to last door of the hall on the right. She was about to swing open another door when she suddenly froze. Through the narrow rectangular window, Melody can see there were already students sat amongst the three lab benches; some on their phones, some immersed in animated conversations.

All of her anger dissipated in a flash. She hovered her hand over the doorknob only to lower it. She felt silly, slightly shameful. She was about to enter the laboratory, guns and blazing, demanding an explanation from Professor Alexander as to why he made an exhaustive study guide in front of her classmates. If there's one thing Melody hates the most, it's public humiliation and holding a bad reputation. Even though it was nearing the end of the semester, it was only the first semester of the year. She had already signed up for classes next year and knew some students in this class that was going to be in her upcoming classes in the winter. The last thing she needed was a nickname.

Melody sighs and opens the laboratory door with significantly less power than she intended. A couple of heads pops up to see who came through the doors only to lower back down. She put her backpack in one of the cubbies and takes out her notebook that contained all of her notes and a diagram textbook of the brain.

"...and that's why you should always label your specimens. I drank simulated cerebrospinal fluid once accidentally, thinking it was water," Professor Alexander's voice floats through the classroom as Melody makes her way to the nearest lab bench. He's sat on his desk at the front of the lab, taking a swig from his water bottle. Behind him was a whiteboard covered with a sagittal cut of the entire brain with multiple arrows strewn across the board. Ironically, there was also a large sticker that displayed all the lab rules on the board as well.

"Professor.... are you not supposed to drink nor eat in the lab...?" a student's voice shyly asks.

The hesitance in his voice was clear as day.

Professor Alexander takes another swig from his water bottle. "Yes, but I'm also thirsty. Talking for three hours straight isn't going to help me get my thirst quenched."

"Are you wearing.... hoodie and sweatpants...?" another student skeptically ask.

Professor Alexander grins widely at the student, mischief gleaming in his eyes. "Another rhetorical question. Yes, Emily, I am. Because although opening the lab to undergraduate students on a twenty-four-hour basis might have been productive for you all, I have no doubt that I would come to find, the next morning, the entire building burnt down for unspecified reasons." He takes another drink from his water bottle and opens a granola bar. "So, I have generously decided to supervise the lab until it closes. Believe it or not, a suit is not the most comfortable thing to be in, especially late at night and in a lab, no less. Also, if you're going to eat something, which I highly recommend you do, please do so outside."

"Then...why are you eating inside the lab?"

Melody could almost feel his arrogance spread through the room.

"Because I can."

He takes a bite of his granola bar, chews it and swallows it all while staring daggers at the student. He leans in towards her direction.

"If you're thinking about being a snitch, I'm a tenured professor and have made significant research contributions to the university. You can't fire me."

The class suddenly fills with chortles and laughter. Melody raises her eyebrows in shock. Professor Alexander always seemed so cold and rigid. From the way he dressed to the way he taught the class, every move, every word was intentional; it had a purpose. This was the first time Melody saw him show a glimmer of what lay beneath his cold exterior.

"Okay, enough questions about me," Professor Alexander swings down from the table and scrunches up the granola bar wrapper. "Use this time wisely, as well as the resources around you such as your peers and the textbooks available. I'll be coming around to see if you have any questions." Melody subtly rolls her eyes and opens her laptop to the study guide while flipping through the diagram filled textbook to correlate the question with. The sound of papers shuffling and metal tools clinking against each other fills the lab as the class starts to review their dissections.

Time passes by quickly, as Melody steadily makes her way through the study guide. By the time five o'clock hit she had already answered at least a third of all the questions and defined all the terms. Professor Alexander makes his rounds, occasionally calling the class to pay attention to the board as he explained a neural pathway or a function of a specific cell. Students came and went as the hours passed, some packing up for good and headed home, whereas others took breaks, often in pairs of small groups, taking the time to eat together.

Melody, on the other hand, was concentrated on finishing her review guide. Several times she was asked by her classmates if she wanted to join them on their breaks, and several times she politely declined. She knew that if she knocked out this study guide tonight, she would have significantly less to worry about in the upcoming week, which she already anticipated to have more pressure than Satan's cesspool.

What felt like an eternity later, Melody finally looks up from her brain dissection, unable to take the smell of formaldehyde any longer, only to find an empty classroom. The last student was packing his bag and with a wan smile to her and a 'thank you, professor', he was gone. Professor Alexander is by the whiteboard, erasing the copious amounts of diagrams strewn across like graffiti. Melody exhales, massaging her temples. She had spent the past four and a half hours continuously tackling the study guide, she didn't realize she started to develop a hunger headache. She feels lightheaded and there was a pulsating ache at the back of eyes from staring at her computer screen for too long. She put her dissection back into the jar and takes her dissection tray to the basin to wash it with special cleaning solution.

As she was washing her tray and scalpel, she caught a glimpse of Professor Alexander through the reflection of the black stone backsplash. His hair was messy, as if he ran his hands through them one too many times, flopping into his face. As he lifts his arms up, she could she just the slightest hint of his boxer briefs peaking from underneath his sweatpants. A blush slowly crept up Melody's face. She had never seen him in casual clothing, he almost looks more attractive in then. His hoodie was taut against his arms, outlining his muscles. She follows his body down and could just make out his bulge in his sweatpants, further reddening her face. He looks over to the sink area where she stands, and slightly cocks his head to one side. She quickly looks down, cleaning the last of her dissection tools and heads back to her bench. She begins to pack up her textbook when her peripheral view picks up a figure on her left side. She turns and Professor Alexander was standing over her, with a container of food. He pulls out a chair besides her and sits down. He places the container in front of her with a spoon carefully wrapped in a napkin.

"Eat."

Melody looks up at his face. His eyes were like moss trapped in glass, filled with care and concern. She shakes her head and starts to push the container back to him.

"No, it's okay, thank you, I-"

He takes the container and places it once more in front of her. "I wasn't asking, Melody. You've had nothing in the morning, and it has been more than twelve hours since you last consumed something."

Exhausted, with her head pounding, she figures it wasn't a fight she was willing to engage in; but not before shooting Professor Alexander a dirty look. He smiles softly and points to the container with his head. She opens the container to see grains, with vegetables, dotted with pieces of pancetta. To take a deep breath in. After not eating anything the entire day, it smells divine. She scoops up a bite and brings it to her mouth. It even tastes better than it looks.

"What is it?" Melody asks as she scoops another bite.

Professor Alexander chuckles and folds his arms on the table, resting his head on his arms. "It's tomato barley soup. It's a recipe passed from my grandfather."

"Wow, so he knows how to cook and teach? What a multi-faceted man." Melody replies sarcastically, making sure her next bite had a piece of mushroom on it. "Thank you for this, really."

Professor Alexander rolls his eyes. "How I see it, I'm saving you from going back to your apartment and breaking open a ramen pack. I deserve a little more gratitude."

"First of all, I said thank you. Secondly, you should've let me suffer, just like how you're making us all suffer through your study guide. What the hell is all this?" Melody turns her laptop back and starts scrolling through the seemingly continuous pages, trying to gauge his reaction. He slightly turns his body to read her screen, not picking up his head.

"It's clearly your study guide, which was posted about a week ago. From the looks of that angry little face of yours, I'm guessing you opened it recently."

"Not the point, it's fourteen pages, filled every inch with writing. So even if I had the whole week, please enlighten me as to how the flickering fuck I'm supposed to remember all of this come time of the practical?"

Professor Alexander tutted, wagging a finger from left to right. "Language, Ms. Locke."

"That's all you have to say?"

"Yes, because believe it or not, it was your responsibility to check the announcements, just like it was your responsibility to check the class syllabus." Professor Alexander smirks as he sits up, putting his hands behind his head. "And still, you come here with an attitude. Somebody peed in your Cheerios this morning."

"This is the icing on top of the cake, considering what happened this afternoon," Melody snaps.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." He replies innocently.

"You know exactly what. I didn't appreciate your lesson," Melody sneers at the last word, "especially right before your class."

"Actions and consequences, Ms. Locke." Professor Alexander replies calmly.

Melody swallows the last bite of food, wipes her mouth with the napkin, and neatly packs and closes the container. His three words hit a cord in her. She leans over Professor Alexander and locks eyes with him.

"Have a little sympathy, Doctor Alexander." She murmurs as she puts one arm on the back of his chair and with the other hand, she strokes his crotch upwards. She can hear his breath hitch, and exhale sharply. He grips her thigh as he threw his head back, as she continues stroking over his pants.

"Today hasn't been going easy for me, and you didn't help." She runs her finger up the length of his cock causing him to moan. Melody slinks off her chair and got on her knees. His eyes follow her down, filled with curiosity and lust. She takes off his sweatpants, which pool around his ankles.

"As much as I want to kick and scream, that wouldn't help my case." She presses and squeezes his cock through his boxer briefs, feeling every vein, circling her fingers around the tip only to run her hand down to the base. Professor Alexander swears under his breath and grips her ponytail. She slowly pulls his briefs down, and his cock springs out, fully erect. She takes the base in her hand and slowly run it up and down his entire length. He moans loudly as she licks the tip, tasting his precum.

"But you forget that you're not the only one who has needs." With that, she takes his length into her mouth. She uses her hand to twist up and down what she couldn't fit in her mouth, making him gasp. Occasionally she would lick up the underside of his cock, feeling his legs tense every time. He suddenly rips her face from his cock using her ponytail.

"I can't take this. We can't continue here; the lab closes in fifteen. My car, ten minutes. Black Honda." He quickly pulls his boxers and pants up, walks over to his table to grab his water bottle and gave Melody one last look before closing the door behind him. Melody smiles to herself, secretly vengeful he got a taste of his own medicine. She quickly packed up her things, making sure not to leave anything, and counted down ten minutes.

Every second that passes, the more she felt butterflies in her lower stomach. She could feel herself getting wetter and wetter. She tried to think of another subject to distract herself, but her mind kept jumping back to the image of her pressed against a wall with him towering over her. The timer suddenly went off, making her jump. She grins and walks down the hall, down the stairs, out to the parking lot. She scans it for the correct car before tentatively making her way there. She softly knocks on the window and the car door unlocks. She gets in and immediately feels calm seeing his face. He smiles at her at turns on his engines and drove out.

"Where are we going?" Melody asks as they speed through the highway. He's going a hundred in a sixty.

"My apartment," he replies as he switches lanes. "It's safer, it's in an area that not many students frequent."

Melody nods understandably as she looks out the window. They were definitely not in student boundaries any longer.

They drive in silence until he turns into a residential area. He parks and cuts the engine. They exit out, and he leads the way up. It was only a three-story apartment; they didn't have to walk up that many steps before they arrive at the front door. He unlocks it and opens the door for Melody to walk in.

"Welcome inside the brain of James Alexander."

"You every say that again I'm actually going to leave," Melody snorts as she takes off her shoes.

The apartment was spacious for one person. The floor was a rich mahogany, contrasting with the cream-colored walls. Towards the back wall it was entirely made of glass, leading to the balcony, framed with silky curtains the color of sage. On the right stood a geometric bookshelf filled with books and loose-leaf paper. Small potted plants dotted around the apartment, creating an urban forest. The apartment was warm and inviting; it promises serenity and somewhere one can call a sanctuary. Melody looks around in awe, taking a deep breath. The apartment smells like his cologne with a hint of incense. She turns around and raises an eyebrow to Professor Alexander.

"So, this is a home of a tenured professor."

Professor Alexander laughs lightly, "my apartment before was terrible. This is a big upgrade." He extends a hand as Melody takes her backpack off.

"If only you could upgrade that horrendous attitude you have during your lectures as well..." Melody teasingly ponders and hands the backpack to him.

His face still held the amused expression, but his eyes darkens with disapproval. He places her backpack on the kitchen counter and slowly walks back to Melody. She can feel her heartbeat flutter as he covers the distance between them. Several agonizing seconds go by, the tension almost palpable. He takes off his hoodie and tosses it on the couch, revealing the white t-shirt he wore underneath. It was taut against his chest, highlighting his physicality. Melody could see the veins on his forearms didn't just stop at his elbow but continued up his bicep like a snake. He takes a finger and places it under her chin, lifting her face up. She can feel her breath hitch in her throat.

"Melody," he breaths, tucking the few stray strands of hair behind her ear. "When are you going to learn to control that bratty mouth of yours?" He softly kisses her forehead, temples, and cheek, following down to her neck. She moans as she felt his lips graze against the base of her neck and nip upwards. She can feel herself getting wet already. She was denied for the entire day, her frustration was building fast.

"Bedroom. Now." Melody gasps as he continues his attacks on her neck. She can feel him smile against it. He takes her hand and leads her to the bedroom.

The bedroom was minimalistic, with a queen-sized bed in the center, and two drawers one side of the room, all made of ebony. The other wall was a full-length mirror that covered nearly the entire wall. A speaker sat on the bedside table, softly glowing its ambient light. Professor Alexander guides her to the bed and kisses her deeply, gently laying her down. Melody runs her hand through his hair, securing his face to hers. She forcefully flips him so she's on top. She lightly drags her nails down his sides, causing him to hiss. She breaks the kiss and places her hands on his chest and starts to grind against his crotch.