Piano Days and Other Malec One-Shots

What Could Go Wrong with "Hello"?

@Shadowhxntress requested more College!AU and so here it is, with a little less College!AU than I had planned. . . I am sorry. This just got out of hand honestly.

He liked the little sharp "thunk" the eraser made as it fell from his fingers to the wood top of his desk, over and over again.

"I was shocked at the score you gave me on the Confucianism essay--"

Thunk.

"--talk because Coach wants to take me off the softball team--"

Thunk.

"--and frankly, Professor, I don't believe you even read my essay because if you had--"

He snatched up the eraser, his fingers unnecessarily tense.

"--I would have seen the blatant spelling errors, uninteresting content, and stunning lack of original research? I mean, truly, Arianna, did you really think I'd give you a grade without reading your assignment?" His eyes could instill fear or wonder into the eyes of his students, and he didn't use the latter as often as he should have.

Her mouth hung open, and Magnus instantly knew the type. She was an West Coast transfer, hoping to spend more time on Fifth Avenue than on her Finance 101 homework. She paid her sorority dues in full, up front with a platinum credit card, her name printed on the card and her daddy's address on the bill. And she couldn't believe it when her standard five-paragraph essay with it's Wikipedia citations didn't cut it in college.

Most freshman professors gave their students one essay they expected to crash and burn but Magnus went with the more eye-opening approach, and didn't hesitate to fail his students on huge papers. He knew he had a reputation on campus, and it wasn't always glamorous. But no one ever attempted to screw him over.

"And now, really think about the kind of content you produced. Was it really worth anything more than a D? Knowing full and well that I wanted something more than a biography and a timeline of Confucius' life? Or did you miss those instructions when you were texting in class the day I gave them?"

Her shock turned to resentment in record time. However, just like her essay, she couldn't compose an argument.

"This is the first of many assignments, I assure you," Magnus said, leaning back in his chair. He hoped his tone was doing the exact opposite of assurance. "You will have a chance to bring up your average in my class, but don't expect it to be easy and don't expect me to accept that kind of essay ever again. I will not hesitate to fail you."

She gathered her composure into a Dusky Rose-colored frown and stood.

"Fine," she spat out. "I'll drop the class."

"I wish you the best of luck then," Magnus grinned. "We will truly miss the sound of your phone vibrating every twenty seconds."

Magnus wondered if she flipped her hair on purpose as she strutted out of his office, or if it was purely habit by now.

..........

"Hotel breakfast ends in thirty minutes." The mattress sank near his stomach, and a hand brushed over his curled hair. "And you smell, so maybe a shower is in order."

Alec opened an eye and tugged out the other earbud that kept the sounds of the night. It was an old college habit that Lydia hated ("You'll strangle yourself on those chords," she'd argue), but one he couldn't sleep without anymore. An old movie soundtrack faded away as he tossed the earbuds away and stretched.

One of the children shrieked and landed on top of him, scrambling under the covers, and covering their face with it.

"Rafael!" Lydia shouted as Alec pulled back on the covers to reveal Max's scared face.