"Fuck. The things I go through to satisfy idiots who hold me by the neck..." the professor mumbled when we returned to his workstation.
"You were saying?"
"Nothing."
He looked at the new batch of dissertations piled high on top of his table and pulls at his thick brown hair.
"Pedro!" he called outside his office. "Get your ass in here!"
"Sir?" Pedro looked terrified.
"What the hell is this mountain of junk on my desk?!"
"Sir, those are the thesis proposals of the new interns, awaiting your approval."
"Yes, I know what the hell they're supposed to be," he yelled. "I'm asking you, what the fuck this heap of trash is doing on top of my desk! Didn't I tell you to get rid of the garbage before sending me the rest? What's the use of getting regularized1 if you can't even do something as simple as that?!"
"Sir, I was thinking you might want to review them yourself–"
"What? You want this stupidity to invade my mind?"
The professor grabbed the first folder on top of the pile and read the title; "'A Study of the Omega Hormone'?! What are we? An elementary school? Does the author still not know what the omega hormone is? What kind of study did they work on? Why, my 10 year old niece could write a better book report than this!" He threw the folder out of the room. "What kind of mentally retarded idiot came up with this topic?!"
I heard someone gasp and saw a young woman burst into tears before running away.
Seems like we just lost another intern.
"Look at this other one – `How to Live as an Omega in Today's Society', what is this? The lifestyle section of some tabloid magazine?" and out of the room it flew. "Here's another one, `A Dissertation of the differences of Alphas and Omega'. Wow, are they that hard to differentiate?! And why did they only use one omega for comparison? Are you sure our interns are all post graduate students?
"Sorry, Sir, I'll just take them all back..." Pedro was about to reach for the pile of folders, when Prof. Antonio grabs them and throws them out the door, one by one.
"Burn them all," he said darkly. "And never place garbage on top of my desk again. Your job is to make sure that the work I receive is something worth reading. At least prove to me that you are worth your paycheck."
"Yes, Sir," the other replied, picking up the folders.
Prof. Antonio, on the mean time, pushed another pile of folders off his desk and placed his long legs on top of it, while he sat on his swivel chair and massaged his temples.
He gave a deep sigh and tilted his head back, placing his good arm on top of it.
"Are you okay, professor?"
"Do I look okay?" he snapped.
I closed the door of his workstation and gently placed a hand on the professor's tense shoulder.
"You are too hard on them."
"They deserved it! How would they learn otherwise? Just think, they reached grad school, and still can't come up with a good thesis proposal?!"
"There is a better way to educate them."
"I don't have time to educate them in a better way!"
"Then why are you accepting interns in the first place?" I asked, genuinely curious.
"Ask the goddamn HR department! Go interrogate Frankenstein's bride who keeps sending me brats for her 'Training Bright Minds' program!"
He kicked off another pile off his table.
"The hell... I'm the one who suffers the most due to their stupidity!" he grumbled. "They're just a bunch of rich kids with questionable credentials, eager to work under a famous professor such as myself for future reference. Their parents think getting my name in their brat's resume would do them some good," he continued. "Perhaps they think I would treat their kids nicely since some of them work upstairs."
"The god fucking bastards... what if those idiots turn into scientists and start messing up for real? They would do more harm than good! They could even drag my name down the drain with them someday!"
I touched his other shoulder.
"I see, that could really pose a problem," I said as I massaged him. "The last batch were quite exceptional, though. I look forward to their return, in case they decide to work here after they graduate."
"Hmph. That's what you think! Do you know what one of them passed as a thesis proposal at the start?" he asked me. It was called, `How to Love Me as an Omega'!"
"Yes, I seem to remember Pedro say you burned it in front of the student who made it."
"Worth it." he guffawed. "I still remember his opening line – `I know a lot of people don't love me an omega so I will learn how to love me for others.' He even placed a smiley at the end of the line." he tsked. "Just imagine. I will forever remember that god forsaken title for the rest of my life."
I was speechless.
I guess it really is irritating for someone like the professor who has photographic memory to read useless research.
"I will try to talk to Dr. Francisco about the interns," I told him. "Look on the bright side, though, at least you finally get your cast removed later."
Prof. Antonio gave a deep sigh and touched my left hand.
"Habibi..." he stared up at me.
"Yes, professor?" I looked down at him.
He reached up to my face to stroke my cheek.
"Didn't I tell you to stop touching me?" He suddenly slapped my cheek. Not so hard, but enough to sting.
He stood up, stared at me, and pulled off my lasso. My hair fell on my shoulders and off my back. This is his new way of teasing with me.
"Make me some coffee to cool my head."
I did as the professor asked.
When I came back with his cup of coffee, I saw him lost in his thoughts, staring at the picture of his favorite niece.
I placed the cup on his table and went to work on my own experiments. On my way to a free work-station, I saw three of the interns discussing amongst themselves. Some of them were still crying due to the professor's outburst earlier.
"This really is the worst! I had no idea that Prof. Antonio was such a savage bastard!"
"And did you see how he makes Dr. Abdel and Kuya Peter do all his work? If I knew better, I'd say Dr. Abdel is the true genius here, and that neanderthal is just taking all the credit!"
"That's right, he's like a sick pervert, pouring out his anger on us, just because he got scolded upstairs! And the way he keeps calling Dr. Abdel Habibi?! The nerve of that bastard! Someone should slap him with a sexual harassment case to teach him a lesson!"
"Why did Dr. Gonzaga scold him?" one asked with a titter.
"Probably since he hasn't done any work in the past three weeks! I mean, he hasn't taught us a thing since we got here!"
"And the way he dresses up in those old clothes... so disgusting!" The three of them laughed.
"Now, Dr. Abdel, he's the real deal!"
"He looks so immaculate in his white lab gown and three piece suit! He's a prince charming, who's literally a prince!"
"Gosh! Like, I've got a big crush on him!"
"And best of all, he's also an omega, like us!"
"Yeah, and not a disgusting beta like Prof. Antonio!" they snickered.
"I am nothing like you."
I stepped out into the open.
The three froze and looked guiltily at me.
"D-Dr. Abdel, sorry po, we were just having a private conversation..." one of them said.
"Have you finished the tasks given to you for today?" I asked them.
"Yes, sir," they answered. "We always finish our tasks ahead of time."
"Good. You may leave."
"Thank you po, sir..."
"And do not bother coming back," I continued. "If you cannot respect Prof. Antonio, then there is no reason for you to stay here."
"Sir?"
"Surrender your identification cards to Pedro. You may leave your lab coats near the entrance for disinfection."
"Pero, sir – "
"Go to HR for your time cards and tell them that you have been dismissed."
"Sir!"
"Good bye."
I flip my hair and made my way back to the professor's room.
1Regularized – after a probationary period, an employee gets regularized and gets eligible to receive benefits and employee protection.