As you tore through her office like a tornado on a really bad Redbull high, Luciana was only starting to feel marginally guilty about lying. You were on the verge of flipping her couch over in the hope that the answer key for the finals would magically turn up and your scolding was growing in frequency by the second. The seven stages of grief had nothing on the emotions you had to be cycling through right about now.

Of course, the actual answer key was safely tucked away in her car. Luciana could be responsible when she wanted to. Honest. She could also lie as smoothly as any actress, proven by the speed at which you had made it to her after getting her frantic phone call.

It was a little mean to have tricked you like this. She wasn’t a sociopath. Probably the opposite of one with how bright and expressive she tended to be. But it was the only excuse she had to keep you around longer, to keep you to herself. The semester was ending for the summer, and while you would be back during the fall to reclaim your position as her personal assistant, she wasn’t quite ready to let you go.

“I’m sure it’ll turn up, muñequita,” she spoke softly, putting a pause on your tirade with a simple touch to your upper arm. “Take a breath. If you want, I can make you a coffee.”

Coffee was likely the last thing on your mind, Luciana knew. Losing the answer key wasn’t the end of the world. It would take a little bit of time to remake an acceptable copy, but it was doable. The real issue lied with the possibility of her having left it somewhere a student could have grabbed it. Having to remake the entire final exam the day before it was due to be tested on? That would be a pain in the ass.

Obviously, you weren’t going to have to help her do that. Just as obviously, you had no idea that things actually were fine. She’d come clean to you soon! Maybe. At least before it got dark.

’You have it bad, Mija,’ her father had teased her one day, upon hearing her whine about you like a girl in gradeschool and not a thirty-five year old grown woman with several prestigious degrees behind her name. He wasn’t wrong, either. Luciana had nearly tripped over herself the day you were introduced to her. An assistant assigned to her and her alone after admin had finally gotten tired of her forgetful nature. Though you were meant to follow her around and pick up her slack, she would have happily trailed after you like a puppy if given the opportunity. Practically had this past school year.

Now that it was all coming to an end, albeit temporarily, Luciana was floundering. Too conflicted to properly ask you on a date, this little ruse was the best she could do.