Charles set his bag down next to his desk and sunk down into his large brown leather chair that he found at a wall flea market. Even though it was a violation for employees of the University to bring items from the fall zone onto the premises, he felt it was necessary to have some connection to the past in his office. He unbuttoned his gray coat and folded his hands on his desk.
"You said you had a question about your topic."
"Oh, yes. Now I wanted to just ask you if you could think of any resources other than the library or the school search databases that I could find information about the fall. I mean, it fall within the parameters of the assignment." She pulled the course syllabus out of her bag and began reading. "Students must choose an event, person, or organization that had a unique and strong impact on our country between the year 20-- and today. Then, the student must present an argument as to why this topic should be presented in schools and to what capacity." She lowered the paper from her face. "I just feel like the fall is the perfect event to cover. It's somewhat current, affected all of us, some more than others, and it's rarely talked about in schools. I tried searching all the outlets you gave us, but it seems I can't find much information. Then, when I took to the internet, all I could find was crooked theories about it and nothing about the actual event. Did you have any suggestions?"
Charles just sat there in silence weighing his options. He could either go against everything he believed in about history and force the girl to change her topic or he could simply tell her the truth. He brought his hands up to his mouth thinking about the possibility of being fired, ousted from ever teaching at a reputable institution. He also thought about Harry telling him to go with his gut.
Jennifer just sat there confused by the silence.
Finally, "now you go," she said.
"The fall has always been a taboo topic," the young professor said removing his glasses and pressing against his eyes. "You can write about the fall and I can give you the resources, but you cannot tell anyone I gave you permission to research it."
"Of course. Crystal clear."
"You said you had a question about your topic."
"Oh, yes. Now I wanted to just ask you if you could think of any resources other than the library or the school search databases that I could find information about the fall. I mean, it fall within the parameters of the assignment." She pulled the course syllabus out of her bag and began reading. "Students must choose an event, person, or organization that had a unique and strong impact on our country between the year 20-- and today. Then, the student must present an argument as to why this topic should be presented in schools and to what capacity." She lowered the paper from her face. "I just feel like the fall is the perfect event to cover. It's somewhat current, affected all of us, some more than others, and it's rarely talked about in schools. I tried searching all the outlets you gave us, but it seems I can't find much information. Then, when I took to the internet, all I could find was crooked theories about it and nothing about the actual event. Did you have any suggestions?"
Charles just sat there in silence weighing his options. He could either go against everything he believed in about history and force the girl to change her topic or he could simply tell her the truth. He brought his hands up to his mouth thinking about the possibility of being fired, ousted from ever teaching at a reputable institution. He also thought about Harry telling him to go with his gut.
Jennifer just sat there confused by the silence.
Finally, "now you go," she said.
"The fall has always been a taboo topic," the young professor said removing his glasses and pressing against his eyes. "You can write about the fall and I can give you the resources, but you cannot tell anyone I gave you permission to research it."
"Of course. Crystal clear."
