One Night With My Alpha Professor

Chapter 254

Audrey

The bar was busier than usual for a Tuesday night. The air was filled with the low hum of conversation and the scent of alcohol and greasy bar food, some sports game or another playing on the big TV against the far wall.

We managed to claim our usual corner booth, tucked away from prying eyes and ears. The Silver Star was here, after all. People were already starting to stare.

“Ah, I needed this,” Tina said as she took a long gulp of her beer. It feels like it hasn’t been just us girls for way too long.”

Betty nodded in agreement, turning to me and Avis at the same time. “Seriously. It’s about time you two pry yourselves away from your men for five minutes.”

Avis and I both blushed, although we knew that Betty was just teasing.

Little did she know that she had a man of her own who was pining over her. Peter must have had it pretty bad, too, if he still hadn’t mustered up the courage to speak more than three words to her.

I smiled as I sipped my gin and tonic, listening to my friends‘ chatter. It really was nice to get out, just the four of us; no pack business, no pressing matters looming over my head. It felt like we were in college again, spending a typical night at the bar when we had nothing better to do.

But something wasn’t right.

My eyes kept drifting toward Avis, who was sitting beside me. She was unusually quiet, nursing a martini, but hadn’t taken

eyes distant. more than a sip. Her fingers circled the rim absently, her

I wondered if she was having problems with Gavin, although it seemed unlikely. Those two had been thick as thieves since they had started dating. No, it had to be something else.

“Hey.” I nudged her gently, lowering my voice. “You alright?”

Avis blinked, her focus snapping back to the present like she had just been pulled out of a deep train of thought.

“What? Oh, yeah, I’m fine,” she said, but I could see straight through her lie. All of us could.

“You don’t look fine,” Tina chimed in, blunt as ever. “You look like someone just kicked your puppy or something.”

“I don’t have a puppy,” Avis muttered, pursing her lips.

Betty, a little more tactful, leaned in. “Seriously, Avis. What’s going on? You’ve barely touched your drink.”

Avis sighed heavily and pushed her glass away like she’d suddenly lost her interest in it. “It’s nothing,” she said, but her tone gave her away yet again. “Just… business stuff.”

“The shop?” I asked, cocking my head.

She hesitated, then nodded. “Yeah. The shop,” she admitted, her voice quiet. “It’s been… rough lately. I’ve barely had any clients this month. I’m not even making a profit right now.”

The table fell silent. Betty, Tina, and I exchanged glances. This was news to us. Avis’s shop was always busy–so busy that at least one of us usually had to help her on weekends just so she could get her projects finished on time. It didn’t make sense.

“But you’re amazing at what you do,” Betty protested. “How is that possible?”

Avis gave a weak shrug, but I could see the tension in her shoulders. “It’s that new company, Nightfall Threads,” she said

bitterly, her voice tightening, “They’re everywhere now. Selling cheap clothes for so little that people don’t bother getting their old stuff repaired anymore.”

I winced. This wasn’t the first time any of us had heard of that shady business.

“But their clothes are so crappy,” Tina sighed, scratching her head. “I can’t imagine why people actually want to buy from there.”

Avis shook her head. “People don’t care if it’s low quality. All they care about is getting trendy clothes for cheap.” She grit her teeth and stared down at the table. “It doesn’t matter to them if the stuff they’re buying lasts, like, three wears at the most.”

The rest of us looked at each other, matching expressions of pain on our faces. Avis had taken a major leap of faith in dropping out of school and starting her own business, and we all respected her immensely for it.

The thought of that business now going under…

“There has to be something we can do,” I said, already running through ideas in my head. I wasn’t going to just sit back and let this happen. “What about advertising? Getting your name out there more?”

Avis shook her head, her delicate lips pressed into a thin line. “Can’t afford it right now,” she said softly. “Like I said, I’m barely making a profit. I’m struggling just to afford rent, and that’s even with Gavin splitting it with me

Pursing my mouth, I reached into my bag and pulled out the digital tablet Edwin had bought me all those months ago–I carried it everywhere, just in case inspiration ever struck. “Okay but what about flyers?” I asked. “We could design them ourselves, print them cheap at the library…”

Tina groaned in mock exasperation. “Oh no,” she said, a teasing grin spreading across her freckled face. “That’s Audrey’s I have an idea‘ face.”

I rolled my eyes and navigated to a new document on my tablet. “Oh, hush, you.” I turned to Avis. “We’ll make a point of mentioning the environmental benefits of repairing your clothes. People care about that sort of stuff nowadays.”

A faint spark of interest flickered in my friend’s eyes. “You really think that would help?”

“It’s worth trying,” Betty added. “And we can all help. We’ll hang them around town tonight.”

For the first time that night, Avis’s shoulders seemed to loosen just a little. “Thanks, guys. Really.”

“No need to thank us yet,” I said, pushing up my sleeves. “We’ve still got work to do.”

post the Over the next hour, the four of us crowded around my drawing tablet, taking turns editing the flyers we drew up. More drinks were to be had, too, and by the time we were finished, we were all itching to drunkenly wander town and flyers up wherever we could.

After running to the library to print the flyers, we hit the streets armed with stacks of paper and rolls of tape. The night air was cool and the sky was dark but clear, the scent of early autumn leaves on the breeze. We split up to cover more ground, agreeing to meet back at the bar in an hour.

I took the market district, where the streets were lined with boutiques, coffee shops, and small businesses. I pinned flyers to every community bulletin board I could find, and taped thefn in shop windows where owners gave me permission.

By the time I finished my stack, my fingers were stained with ink, and my feet were pleasantly sore. I made my way back to our meeting spot outside the bar, where I found Avis waiting with a small, tentative smile on her face.

“All done?” I asked, noting the empty hands she held up in response. I pulled her into a tight hug with one arm. “See? Phase one of Operation Save Avis’s Shop: complete.”

Avis giggled and leaned her head on my shoulder. Before either of us could say anything, Betty and Tiña came skipping around the corner, arm–in–arm, singing some very off-key.song that made absolutely no sense.

09:20 Thu, Nov 7 G

“All done!” Tina coocd, throwing her free arm around Avis’s shoulders.

E

Betty grinned impishly as she pushed a strand of dark hair out of her eyes. “Tina and I were talking and we decided that if this doesn’t work, then we’re gonna go around with baseball bats intimidating anyone who refuses to patronize your business. Property belongs to Nôvel(D)r/ama.Org.

“Hey, hey,” Avis laughed as we headed down the street in a big, loud, annoying line. “If you’re gonna use baseball bats, then at least emboss them with my shop’s name on them.”

Tina snorted. “Right, so the bruises are shaped like the logo.”

I couldn’t help but burst out laughing. “Free advertising!”

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