“Is that so?” Asked the lecturer, himself now getting angry with Howard’s attitude.

“Yeah, it is.” Stated Howard, and at this point, he stood up and looked around at his fellow students.

Howard Trenton felt both irate and nervous, suddenly finding himself being stared at by the rest of the class, but he felt compelled to make a stand against Mister Rossiter’s ignorance.

“It’s very easy to make light of the prospect of alien life. That’s because you don’t understand…”

“Sit down, Howard.” Ordered Mister Rossiter. “I’ll not have you disrupt my session like this.”

“No. No, I won’t sit down.” Replied Howard, in defiance. “Would you like me to tell you something, Mister Rossiter? Something that might surprise you?” He asked his tutor.

“Just sit down.” Mister Rossiter responded. Howard Trenton completely ignored him.

“There’s already extraterrestrials… here, on Earth, right now…and they’re not what you would imagine, either… in fact, if you ever saw one, then you probably wouldn’t even realise that you were looking at an alien.” Said Howard. “You’d think that it was some sort of cryptozoological freak of nature… but not something from out there.” Said Howard, gazing up at the ceiling. The other students stared at him like he had gone mad.

“And how would you know this, Howard? Is it something that you’ve read about on the internet? Some silly conspiracy theory website?” Mocked Mister Rossiter. Howard responded with anger to this.

“Shut up, you silly little man. You know nothing. You’re clueless. You’re…”

“Get out of my class now, Howard.” Ordered the tutor, finally losing his cool, and pointing towards the lecture hall door. Howard looked helplessly at his fellow students. Most of them were grinning, enjoying the argument. Ignorant twats… they’re not worth enlightening any further, thought Howard. “Did you hear me, Howard. Get out of my class. I will not have you talking to me in such a manner.” Repeated Mister Rossiter. Howard gave his tutor a withering look, and then he stomped out of the room. His lecturer followed Howard out of the classroom and into the corridor.

Mister Rossiter shut the lecture hall door behind him, so that the rest of the students couldn’t hear what was being said.

“Just what was that little outburst all about, Howard? It’s unlike you to be so… argumentative.” He asked. Howard dug his hands into his pockets, and refused to look Mister Rossiter in the eye.

“I told you. I’m annoyed by your flippancy, sir, and the way that you make light of a serious subject.” Howard responded.

“Well, I’m sorry that I offended you, Howard. That wasn’t my intention. Regardless of that though, it doesn’t give you the right to talk to me in the manner that you just did.” Said the lecturer.

“Yes. I know, I’m sorry.” Replied Howard, staring down at the floor. “I shouldn’t have called you silly or clueless.” He went on.

“No, you shouldn’t have, Howard.” Commented Mister Rossiter. Howard looked past the tutor, down the corridor. Somebody had caught his attention; a woman in her mid-forties, called Kate. She was a careers advisor based at the college.

“Well, like I just said… I’m sorry.” Repeated Howard, suddenly feeling distracted. He watched Kate disappear into one of the classrooms.

“Okay. I accept your apology. Now, are you coming back into the lecture hall, Howard?” Mister Rossiter wanted to know. Howard finally looked into the eyes of his tutor.

“No, sir. No. I’ll give the rest of this study period a miss, if that’s okay.” He replied. “You know what the other students will be like if I go back in there… they’ll spend the rest of the session taking the piss out of me.” Howard commented.

“Are you sure?” Asked the lecturer. Howard Trenton nodded. “Okay. Fair enough. I’d better go back in. I’m sorry that I offended you, Howard.” The young man forced a smile.

“It doesn’t matter, sir.” He said. Mister Rossiter disappeared back into the lecture room. Howard walked off, down the corridor, in the direction of where he had just seen Kate.

Chapter Two

Kate Williams was looking through some leaflets concerning an upcoming jobs fare in the nearby town of Knighton, when she heard a gentle rap on the classroom door. She looked up. One of the college students, Howard Trenton, was outside, smiling at her through the glass panel on the door. Kate smiled back. She beckoned for Howard to enter the classroom, which he did.

“Hi, Miss Williams.” Beamed Howard.

“Hello, Howard. How are you today?” Kate asked. Howard grinned.

“I’ve just caused a bit of a to-do in one of Mister Rossiter’s lectures.” Confided Howard.

“Oh, did you now? Sit down, Howard, sit down.” Said Kate. Howard pulled up a small wooden chair, and sat near to Kate’s desk.

“Yes, I did. He annoyed me.” Advised Howard.

“That’s unlike you, Howard.” Observed Kate. She couldn’t remember a time when she’d seen Howard annoyed before; he rarely seemed to get passionate about anything. “What did Mister Rossiter do to upset you?” She asked, with curiosity. Howard waved his hand.

“Oh, it doesn’t matter. Let’s just say that we had a little disagreement about matters of science.” He smiled.

“I see… so, is there anything that I can do for you today, Howard?” Kate wanted to know.

“Nothing really. I just popped in to say ‘hi’… are you busy today, Miss Williams?”

“No more than usual. I’m glad it’s Friday though… I’m looking forward to the weekend, Howard.” Said Kate.

“Me too, Miss Williams. Me too. Have you got anything nice planned?” Howard asked.

“Well, I’m planning on a quiet night tonight… but tomorrow I’m meeting up with an old friend that I used to go to college with.” Kate advised.

“Oh, that’s nice. What’s her name?” Responded Howard.

“Actually Howard, it’s a ‘he’. He’s called Jake.” Replied Kate, and with this revelation, Howard felt his stomach tighten with jealousy.

Howard Trenton forced a smile.

“Oh… that’s nice. So… Jake… is he an old boyfriend or something?” He asked. Kate smiled. Howard gazed at her. He loved Kate’s smile. Howard loved Kate. He had done for a while now, not that she was aware of that, of course. Though Howard would have been very pleasantly surprised if he knew exactly what Kate thought of him. Very pleasantly surprised indeed.

“Jake? No. He was just a very dear friend… with a brilliant sense of humour. I’m looking forward to finding out what he’s been up to for the past twenty years.” Replied Kate.

“How did you get back in touch with him?” Howard asked, with curiosity.

“Over the internet.” Kate informed him. Howard’s expression darkened.

“Well, just be careful, Miss Williams.” He warned.

“Pardon?” Kate responded, slightly puzzled.

“Be careful. People can change, Miss Williams. Especially over the period of twenty years. This Jake… he might no longer be the fun-loving young student that you remember.” Cautioned Howard. Kate shot him a slightly irritated look.

“Well, Jake seemed pretty much the same when I chatted to him online the other evening.” She pointed out.

“Yes, but that’s different. It wasn’t face-to-face… anybody can hide behind a mask when they’re talking via e-mail or messenger, Miss Williams.” Snapped Howard. He stared hard at Kate, which made her feel slightly uncomfortable. She shuffled the jobs fare leaflets in her hands, awkwardly.

“Well, thanks for your advice, Howard. Now, if that’s all… I’d better make some preparation for my next meeting.” Kate said.

“Yes, yes, of course.” Replied Howard, standing up. “I hope that you have a good weekend, Miss Williams.” He added.

“You too, Howard.” Kate responded, trying to smile, but unable to. Howard Trenton gave Kate a short, cold stare, and then he left the room, leaving the careers advisor feeling somewhat unnerved. And aroused.