It starts small. So small that you barely noticed.

He calls on you first to introduce yourself to the class during the icebreaker session. That’s on the first week of classes.

When lessons begin and students are too shy to vocalize their Italian pronunciation, you seem to be his first pick each time. He compliments your pronunciation — also each time, even when you’re sure you butchered a vowel or two.

Mid-semester, students begin to grow lazy. This is tradition, and you are not immune. You complete your PowerPoint project for Neil’s class last minute, like, last minute. Thirty minutes before class. You don’t finish it in class because you know, at this point, the likelihood of him calling upon you to present first is high. Your assumption turns out to be correct. He grades it like you spent a proper week on it.

Midterms roll around. You do well on your exam. So well, so much more than someone who studied less than half of the material would.

Neil dismisses class via a nod of his head after several students begin to look at their phones for the time. You stay behind, only sliding your laptop into your bag before walking over to where your professor stands behind the podium.