Sirius Academy (Jezebel's Ladder) by Scott Rhine Read Free Book Online Page B

at 0600. Be real. I’ve already learned
most of this for something else. And I never get out of bed before eight.”
    “You need to have a firm foundation
before building on it. You’re impressive at what you do; you’re off the scale
on Intuitive . . . but you have a lot of gaps. Trust me; the devil is in the
details. You can’t use your talent as a crutch.” At the word ‘crutch’, she
raised an eyebrow. He continued, “It’s only one class, three days a week. You
can still take one more elective, your choice.”
    “Flight training, Saturday morning.
I’ll need it to unwind.”
    He took the tablet back and tapped
in her request for the Saturday slot.
    Red sat on the bed. “I’ll just take
the midterm and final for Tensor.”
    Zeiss shook his head. “No. To get
credit for the class, you still have to log in every day. They can’t make you
watch, but you’ll have regular homework which you can discuss with me each
week.”
    “You’ll work with me?”
    “As long as you don’t scare me like
that again,” he said with a smile. “Tuesdays at noon are open, but I can meet
during office hours whenever you need.”
    “Why?” she asked.
    “So we can discuss geometry,
proofs, and all the things you’ve been ignoring for years.”
    “Ick. Why would I do that?”
    “It’s my requirement for being your
faculty adviser. With your . . . condition, only about four staff members have
the clearance. Of those, only Professor Horvath has an opening.”
    Red rolled her eyes. “I wonder
why.”
    “This isn’t a plot. You came in,
uninvited and outside normal channels. We’re doing our best to accommodate.”
    Softening, she said, “I appreciate
everything you’ve done for me. You have been a gentleman and a scholar.” He bowed
curtly in acknowledgement of the compliment. “If only there were something I
could do in return . . . What was your tensor mechanics problem for?”
    “Sirius level two work, for my
dissertation.”
    “You’re struggling with it?”
    “The whole world is,” he admitted. “I’m
trying to come up with a new angle. I don’t want to tell anyone until it’s
proven.”
    “The FTL flash photos on your
ceiling,” she guessed. When his face shifted to a mask, Red rushed to add, “I’m
cleared for that. Let me look at your preliminary results. I might be able to
help.”
    “Sirius two for a freshman?” the TA
challenged.
    She swiped her crypto-ring over the
pad, and he blinked. “How? That clearance took me months and I’m a teacher.”
    “If I told you that, men in black
helicopters would have to kill you.”
    He shook his head. “I can’t let you
pass out again.”
    “No. Don’t worry. Remember
intuition? I might surprise you.”
    “You’re a multiple talent,” he
whispered. “Simplification?”
    She made an “Oops” face.
    “You had to know I’d guess. I’m
Sorenson’s TA for the class on talents.”
    “Maybe I can trust you. You’ve
already dragged me into your bed. How much more private does it get?”
    Zeiss looked around for nurses. “Don’t
joke about that again. I’m up for a professorship at Oxford. One whiff of
scandal, and . . .”
    “Relax. I’m offering an exchange of
scientific services,” Red said calmly. “You get up every day at six, right?”
    “How did you know?”
    “The schedule on your office wall.”
    “Uh, yes.”
    “Log me in when you get up, and
I’ll help you with your dissertation.”
    “You’re very persuasive. But I make
my own decisions.”
    He was resisting her Empathy talent,
so she decided for the truth. “Look, if you’re going to be my undergrad adviser,
we need to trust each other. Regardless of what you answer, I’ll never lie to
you.”
    “Because I’m a teacher?”
    “Because you risked your reputation
to save my life,” she asserted. “I’m offering to tell you three things about
your own dissertation that you may not have noticed. I’ll give you my badge and
you just have to swipe it on the