Free Allergic To Time by Crystal Gables Page A

Anna.”

Chapter Nine.  

    “What, like, my academic files?” I asked, confused. For one, I wasn’t sure why Martin Anderson would even have full access to my academic files. There was a failed unit in the second year of my undergraduate degree that I really didn’t want him knowing about. I always thought those kinds of things were off limits to individual members of staff.
    And secondly, why on earth would my academic files be of any use to us in this situation?
    But Martin shook his head. “No, not academic files.”
    I took a slight step back towards the door, glancing at Robert, who also seemed troubled. “Then what the hell do you mean, files on me?”
    Martin didn’t reply, just kept typing away, clicking on his computer mouse, lost in concentration. He was clearly searching for something. I wished the door behind us wasn’t closed. I felt trapped, claustrophobic. “Excuse me?” I asked again. “What files on me are you talking about?”
    Still ignoring me, he sat up straight, He quickly double clicked on something with his mouse and his eyes began scrolling across something — I could see the screen’s reflection in his reading glasses. It appeared to be a dense document, barely any line breaks, probably dozens of pages long. I took a deep breath and braced myself for an answer, wondering what the hell was going on. What was he reading that was so engrossing?
    There was a knock on the door and the anxious tension in the room broke as we all turned to look towards it. “It’s probably Connie,” I muttered.
    “Can you get her to leave please?” Martin said. “She can’t know about any of this.”
    I reluctantly took my orders and opened the doorway a peep, just wide enough to see Connie’s face on the other side. She looked angry. She waved for me to come out into the corridor. I squeezed my way through so that she couldn’t get a good look in the door.  
    “Why on Earth have you brought your boyfriend to Martin’s office? What are you three doing in there?” she demanded to know.
    “Connie this is really none of your business-”
    “It is so!” Connie hated me getting more one-on-one time with Martin than she did. I could never tell if her jealousy was professional, or personally motivated.  
    “No, it really isn’t. Can you leave us be, please?” I turned to go back into the room.  
    “Anna! What are the three of you doing in there?”
    “Oh lord,” I said, then realised that term would probably be prickly to her. Connie was a Christian and my using the lord’s name in vain always caused a look of disapproval to run across her face. “I don’t have to explain myself to you!”
    “We are study partners, and peers,” Connie said, crossing her arms. “Not to mention friends.”
    I rolled my eyes. I wasn’t exactly sure what her definition of ‘friends’ was. People who were forced to work together despite having nothing else in common, probably.  
    “I need to speak to Martin, anyway,” she said, trying to open his office door. “About some teaching issues I’m having.”
    Bullshit she did , I thought, standing firmly in front of the door, blocking her way.
    “Oh, so now I’m not even allowed in his office?”
    “Connie! Stop shouting.” I looked around, then dragged her down the hall away from the office door, down to where we wouldn’t be overheard. “Fine. Do you really want to know what is going on? I mean, REALLY want to know?”
    Connie hesitated, but she nodded unsurely.  
    “You better be pretty freaking clear, that you really want to know.” My tone was so grave that it gave Connie reason to pause for a second. She stepped away from me slightly and gazed down the hall at Martin’s closed door.  
    “Are you three doing something weird in there?”
    I scrunched my nose thinking about what Connie’s definition of ‘something weird’ could be. What could she possibly think we were up to? Sometimes she really had terrible instincts. Then again, she