The Designer
By Paul Haedo
Chapter One — selected excerpt

Chapter One

“Jonathan, your enthusiasm for the subject material is contaminating,” hissed the professor, eyeing a half-awake pupil from the corner of his eye.

The betrayal of his boredom caused Jonathan to blink his half-closed eyes wide open and sit straight in his chair. His behavior was not outside the norm until the teacher decided to make Jonathan the focus of his ire; a good portion of the class was following his example of walking the line between consciousness and sleep. The room in which the class was conducted was efficient and bland, with several desks that allowed seating for around a dozen pupils, two rows of old and dim lights for illumination above, and a single door at the far corner of the room. There was a small bell above the door, which alerted the class when the time block that consisted of a single class session expired. It was not a grand lecture hall in a prestigious university, but it was all that was available for Jonathan’s humble college.

© Paul Haedo. All rights reserved.
Author-supplied manuscript; opening selection beginning at paragraph 1. Paragraph numbering follows non-empty body paragraphs in the supplied file. Authorized short excerpt; full manuscript is not exposed.