Just Dinner (PART 1)

This happened several years ago. I am of the firm belief that if I write this down, it might aid in me overcoming my nightmares.

So, a bit of backstory. I was a college student working for my Bachelors in English. My professor, who I'll name Professor Christie, was a very eccentric sort of teacher. He enjoyed talking with his students about hypothetical situations involving different fictional stories, like "If you were the main character in A Tell-Tale Heart, do you think the beating of the heart would get to you or do you think you'd be able to pass it off?" or "If you were Moist von Lipwig, what would you introduce to the people of Ankh-Morpork and why?". Stuff like that.

Through quizzes, exercises and our assignments, he had accrued a circle of individuals that he called his "Golden Circle" and I was one of it's illustrious members. The membership meant nothing but it showed your dedication to the class. As a rule, if you failed twice on an assignment or did something unbecoming of a student, you were booted out of the circle and had to work your way back up that particular Olympus before you were even considered for readmittance. Professor Christie also had friends in other professors classes, one of them being my friend Aaron, who was studying History and the Professor made it a habit of getting to know students from particular fields he found interesting.

During my third year of college, Professor Christie took a sabbatical and was rarely seen on campus. We later found out that his wife had gone missing a month prior and that the police had found her car splattered with her blood in a nearby copse. They had declared her dead and so the Dean gave the Professor time off to grieve. During that time, we members of the Golden Circle got together, along with the students he knew from other classes, and decided to check on him and get him some bereavement cards. We had to go through his assistant, Bradley, although he was more than accommodating and he even chipped in to a funeral fund we had decided to put together for him.

Professor Christie came back just in time for exam season. This was a time of year rife with stress, anxiety and backroom deals. Everyone and their dogs knew someone who could help them take the edge off one way or another. As a member of the Golden Circle, I and a few other members made sure that we'd be available to help the other students if they were ever in any need of a study buddy. A few times, we received the expected "Do you have a way in with the Professor?" and "Can't you just sneak us the answers?" requests. Trust me, if I could have gotten the answers, I would have.

I'm just going to put this out there; I was a very keen observer of people. I sometimes spent my free time watching the world pass me by, looking at the ways other people interacted with each other to try to get a sense of how they were feeling. And, on a few occasions, I'd monitored the Professor and his habits. He had a penchant for superstition; always avoided walking under ladders and the like. He favoured his left hand when writing but used his right hand for physical activity. And he always walked with a limp despite not using a cane. The way our campus buildings were designed, the sides facing the quad were all glass, which meant we could see into the rooms at the front of each building. Most of these rooms were smaller classrooms or meeting rooms for the business students but a few were offices. Unfortunately for the Professor but maybe good for me, the Professor's office was one of these rooms. The glass was angled so ,from certain perspectives, you could see the reflection of the street outside but, from an equal viewing are, you could see with a clear view of the office. As it happened, a campus cafe was situated on the second floor of our main campus building, so I could sit at the table nearest the balcony and look into Professor Christie's office.

From this vantage point, certain things became clear; the limp the Professor walked with was because he kept a key in his shoe. From time to time, he'd remove it from the heel of the shoe and use it to open the bottom most drawer of the desk (The desk draws were facing the eastern wall so it wasn't hard to tell). I had noticed this action of checking the drawer was more frequent during times of quizzes and exams so I had a mental note of that drawer being a possible location of test answers.

One night, out of the blue, Professor Christie walked up to me and asked me if I'd like to come over to his house for dinner. At first I began to decline but he went on to explain that A) I'd be the only member of the Golden Circle going and B) the other people in attendance would be the other students he was friendly with.

"Please, do come, "he said eagerly, "it will be the most exquisite dinner you've ever had".

I mulled it over for a bit and then agreed. I reasoned that this was probably a way that he could get some company in the house since his wife's passing.

One thing I learned on Day One of my first year with Professor Christie was that he definitely loved a prank; the more dangerous, the better. It started when he entered the lecture hall and said there was an airbag under a chair in the room and, only at the end, did he show the class it was his chair. During my second year, he got several undergrads to dress up as firefighters and pull a student and her roommates from their room under the assumption there was a fire. What he hadn't told the undergrads was that he had set a small controlled fire in the dumpster outside. So when they all rushed out off the student housing complex, not only were the students scared for the fire, but the undergrads were terrified because of the real fire that sprang up near them. While he did get into trouble for the fire, the Dean let it slide on account that the Professor had tenure and the prank had done its job; the student passed her exam and got her Masters.

During the days before the dinner, I met up with Aaron, who I discovered was also going. We were talking about the Professor and I offhandedly mentioned the pranks. Aaron was very familiar, Aaron was walking the halls when he saw Professor Christie enter the Archeology Dept with an airhorn. He heard it go off a few seconds later and the sound of a smash. Luckily, the only thing broken was the mug of the Archeology Professor. Aaron then told me that he'd also seen Professor Christie paying off a guy in a car and being handed a package. Where we live, weed is legal, but is frowned upon on campus. Putting two and two together, Aaron and I agreed that he'd bought some weed and planned to spike us at his dinner.

The night of the dinner arrives and Aaron picks me up and takes me to the Professor's house. I decided to go smart-casual and I wasn't alone in that assessment as, when we pulled up, everyone was in a variation of smart shirt and jeans and/or dress bottom. The Professor's house was amazing; a three story house with gothic architectural themes (according to Aaron). It had a two bay windows, with a vine of holly up the wall above the door and a lovely and well kept garden. Walking up the short flight of stairs, we were greeted by his assistant, Bradley, who ushered us in and showed us to the study. The study was as it should be for an English Professor; wall-to-wall bookshelves, with a fireplace against the interior wall. Along the emptier walls were cabinets containing taxidermied animals of various sizes, the largest being a Bloodhound named Rufus who had been commemorated in the position of raising his paw, forever his master's "good boy". In the middle of the room sat a table with several papers and texts sat on it. One by one, everyone in that room, including myself and Aaron, looked over that table. When the last guest arrived, Bradley joined us and began to talk to one of the other guests. I walked up to him and asked him what was going on tonight,

"I have no idea; Professor Christie told me about this dinner a week ago. He told me that I wouldn't have to do a lot as he had hired help to do most of the tasks for the evening"

I thought about it for a second; if this was a dinner for select guests, naturally, the Professor would want to give his long time assistant a break for the night and a chance to enjoy the food. I asked Bradley if he knew what the Professor had bought from the man in the car.

"No idea. I thought it might be drugs to spike the dinner as part of a prank, but it looks like no drug I've ever seen. It came with a pipette" Bradley answered. I concurred with him on the weed thing but this point about a pipette was very intriguing.

As the clock struck seven, a man in a white tuxedo ushered us into the dining room. As we walked across the hall to the study, two more people in white tuxedos were stood next to the double doors to the dining room.

"They must be the hired staff" I said to Aaron as we entered the dining room.

The dining room, like the study, was befitting of such a lovely home; a lovely, long oak table, with a chandelier over the middle of it. For tonight, it would seem, the tables had been set out with the finest cutlery and crockery I'd ever seen. It all looked immaculate. Sat at the head of the table was Professor Christie.

"Come in, come in, please, sit, sit, sit" he said with a friendly tone.

As we sat down, the professor went around the table, introducing each of the students. In total, there was 6 of us, 7 if you include Bradley. On my left sat Aaron, whilst on my right say Bhargav, a Political Science Major. In front of him was Deborah, a student of the Dramatic Arts, in front of me was Veronica, a Chemistry Ace going for her Masters degree and in front of Aaron was Dustin, a Business and Finance whizz. Bradley was sat at the other end of the table, positioned directly in front of the Professor. Greeting each other more formally, we turned our attention to Professor Christie. As the others listened intently, I couldn't help but notice the others. Aaron was leaning back in his chair, Deborah was sweating more than what was usual for an average temperature room, Veronica had her hands placed over her mouth and she kept biting her thumb nail. Dustin was blinking rapidly and Bhargav's leg was bouncing up and down. Even I found my eyes darting around the room, which made it perfectly clear to me at least; we were all anticipating the prank. We must have all found out about the Professor's exchange and therefore we must all be anxious for it to be sprung on us. I finally zoned back in to what Professor Christie was saying.

"... and so, I believe I've spoken long enough. Let's have dinner"

Clapping his hands, two hired servers entered carrying large, lidded plates, followed by four more servers with several trays of food. As the plates were placed down and the lids removed, the intoxicating aromas danced around the room, fluttering across the nostrils and into our minds. Each plate held a different dish from a different course and all of them were lovely to behold and were sure to be even lovelier to eat. However, I and Aaron looked at each other, knowing that any bite could be spiked with cannabis... or whatever Professor Christie had gotten his hands on. Looking around the table, I could see that the others were just as apprehensive; further confirming that they were all as aware of the potential prank. As the last of the dishes was placed, the Professor invited us to dig into this lovely feast. Slowly, we all filled up our plates, keeping an eye on who took from what and how much we had on our plates. Aaron and I were very picky about what we chose; if it was cannabis, we avoided any baked goods. If it was a hallucinogen, we avoided large steaks and burgers. Whilst we had to fill our plates, we were frugal with our portion sizes.

​

As the dinner went on, I noticed that Deborah, the actor that she was, was grabbing huge forkfuls of food and bringing it to her mouth, only to pretend to take a big bite and setting the same uneaten food back down on the plate, clearing the utensil as she did so before repeating the action all over again. Bhargav, not as smart as Deborah but just as anxious, found an ingenious way of making the food disappear by dumping it into his shoe. Every four fake spoonfuls, he'd dump a large fifth one into his left shoe and then repeat himself. I don't know where Veronica was hiding hers but her plate looked emptier every minute. Did she take a risk and actually eat the food? I wasn't going to ask, I just focused on my way of hiding my unwillingness to eat. The dinner seemed to last for long excruciating hours, each non bite extending the time until, finally, the servers returned and removed the dishes. The Professor, the only one of us to enjoy his meal, sat there with a large smile on his face, his stomach clearly full.

"That was a lovely meal, I must say," he said. Suddenly, the smile disappeared from his face as he positioned himself to a more upright position, "What a shame none of you ate any of it"

We were all shocked. We were sure that our methods of hiding our none consumption were nigh foolproof. However, as the Professor's demeanour changed, the room felt colder and darker, as though the previous warmth afforded us this evening were no longer here. We fidgeted slightly in our chairs as the atmosphere changed from one of friends to one of the cold academia we had never experienced with Professor Christie before. With another clap, another server came out and presented a large pot of broth and placed it in the middle of the table. Standing up, the Professor addressed us no longer as friends but as suspects.

"I've brought you all here tonight because I know that at least one of you is a vicious liar and sneak thief" he said coldly. The emphasis on the words "vicious" and "thief" made it clear that we were now dealing with a side of Professor Christie we had never seen before.

"Each of you were invited because each of you have an avenue with which you mean to cheat your way to answers you do not need nor deserve".

Gone was his beaming smile, gone was his lovely warm voice. We were dealing with the intonations and character of a cold and methodical chessmaster, whose moves we learned as the night progressed. We remained silent so that we may at least learn a little bit more.

"I know that you, Veronica, have a sibling in my undergraduate class. A sibling, I know, who is doing very poorly with her studies and is more than likely going to fail unless she passes the exams this season"

Veronica kept a stern face as Professor Christie brought up her sister, but her tearing eyes betrayed her inner anger at accused. Or was it more that the Professor had cottoned on to what her true plan was?

"And you, Dustin, you're quite business savvy, aren't you? And having had a look at your school records, I know that you have a citation for trying to copy the teacher's note papers from her desk back in high school. Twice"

Dustin flinched at that accusation. He looked uncomfortable, even more so than everyone else here, who had to listen as the Professor aired out some of their past secrets. However, a look he gave as the Professor left his side suggested that Dustin was uneasy at the idea that he had been caught. But for which act, I did not know.

Walking back to his seat, he presented an antique pocket watch. It was very ornate; with swans carved into the lid and a brass lining around the rim of the glass. He glanced at it once before returning it to his pocket.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, despite what you may believe, I had not "spiked" the food for today's meal. Those of you who partook of the meal I am glad you have full stomachs. To those that didn't, I'm sorry to see that food has gone to waste and you have wasted your opportunity at a last meal" Professor Christie announced.

We were all taken aback by what Professor Christie had said, but the words that stuck in my head, repeating in the gap of every beat of my heart; "Last Meal". What on Earth was the Professor planning?

Aaron had been becoming more and more shifty as the night went on and this last statement sent him into a breakdown. All the anxiety and fear built up and exploded in a very angry outburst.

"WHAT IS THIS ALL FOR!? IS THIS A SICK GAME?!" Aaron yelled, his voice cracking with fear.

The Professor, as a calm as he had ever been, took what Aaron had said and, in turn, answered to the room.

"I did not poison your food with any illicit substance. A few of you may have seen me a few days ago retrieve a package from a man in a car. This package is what I have used to ensure your complicity. I'm sure some of you noticed the vines hanging on the walls outside?" He stated.

A cold chill ran down my spine; "ensure our complicity?" What nightmare had I welcomed when I agreed to attend this damned feast.

Deborah spoke up, "What do you mean, ensure our complicity? And what's that got to do with the vines"

"Last night, someone broke into my office, opened my desk drawer and removed something very valuable from my possession. I would like it back" replied the Professor as he once again got up and walked around the table.

Stepping behind my and Aaron's chairs, the once warm aura and cheerful disposition of the Professor was replaced with an intense feeling of dread. He bent down between me and Aaron, his head now at our level.

"The vines outside grow a particular berry called White Baneberry. In large doses, it is a very strong poison but over time it slowly kills the host within a matter of hours. My contact in the car was giving me the liquid form of the berries I gave him".

We were all puzzled by what the Professor was saying; he must have been planning this for a while. A cheerful veneer masked a meticulously evil underbelly.

"So, if this poison is suppose to make us come clean to you, how do you intend to poison us?" asked Bradley, a look of concern etched to his round face.

"Well", said the Professor, as he began to pace around the table "I could have put it in your drinks but there was always a chance that some of you might be suspicious enough to avoid drinking"

In reaction, some of us glanced at our glasses, which some of us had drank from.

"There was no way I could put it in the food. I wanted to partake in such a lovely meal so I didn't really want to poison myself"

We watched as he hovered over the remaining seated guests, before moving away from the table and over to the long windows at the back of the room.

"But the one thing I was sure about was that, even if you never drank a drop and never ate a morsel, you'd all at least pretend that you did"

The penny dropped. We sat there, frozen as a the fear of God entered all of us as we realised; he'd coated all the cutlery with the poison.

"So, in one hour, you will all experience the worst pain imaginable as the poison took effect, you'll- Actually, no, I won't tell you what will happen to you. All I will tell you is this; if someone doesn't tell me what has happened to my property, you will never find the antidote" the Professor stated.

​

Needless to say, the nightmare was only just beginning...

Submitted March 27, 2019 at 01:09AM by Redcoat_Chazzles https://ift.tt/2OqXIsw