Chapter 88

I'm workingon dissecting the right foot of the cadaver, one of the few parts that hasn't been shredded to bits by a scalpel courtesy of Mason. I'm carefully separating the muscle bodies of the extensor digitorum longus. The rest of Frank's limbs are too badly mangled to be tagged for the anatomy practical, but I'm hoping they might tag something in his right foot. I feel pride when Dr. Conlon finds one of my dissections to be worthy of an exam question.

"What are you working on, Dr. Zaleski?"

I look up, and my eyes meet Dr. Conlon's. Up close, he has the brightest blue eyes I've ever seen in my life, even hidden behind his glasses. I'm glad he remembered my name for a change.

"Just separating the extensor muscles of the foot."

Dr. Conlon makes his way around the table to get a closer look at my dissection. I watch a smile grow across his face.

"Excellent job," he comments. "Of course, what less could I expect from the best student in the class?"

I avert my eyes—I'm not used to compliments. It's even more surprising to hear from him than it was to hear it from Abe yesterday.

"I'm not… I mean, I don't have the highest grades or…"

"Nobody else in the class has had such a consistently superb performance on all the exams and quizzes," he says. He looks at Frank's foot again. "As well as superior skills on the dissections. Don't think I haven't noticed."

I don't know what to say. All this time, I thought Dr. Conlon barely knew who I was.

"Um… thank you…"

He smiles again. "And if you want that teaching assistant job for next year, it's yours."

My heart soars. "Are you serious?"

"Absolutely," he says. "I hope you're interested. I'd be disappointed if you said no."

"I'm interested!" I almost yell. I clear my throat, suddenly embarrassed. "I mean, of course I'd like to do it."

He folds his arms across his scrub top, "You know, after teaching this class so long, I can tell exactly what kind of doctor each student will become, just from watching them in the lab."

"Really?"

He nods. "This class brings out a lot of qualities in people, both good and bad."

I stare up at Dr. Conlon's face, trying to read his expression. Does he know it was me who left that letter in Rachel's locker? Is this all his way of toying with me?

No. There's no way.

"So what kind of doctor am I going to be?" I ask him.

Dr. Conlon hesitates for a long time then finally smiles again. "Well, I don't want to give away the surprise. You'll know soon enough."

What the hell does that mean?

"By the way." He clears his throat. "Have you… Have you seen Rachel around?"

I shake my head, not meeting his eyes.

He coughs and lowers his eyes.

"The two of you have spent a lot of time in the lab together," he observes. "Would you say that she… has a good grasp of the material?"

Now, why would he ask that?I can tell by the tone of my professor's voice how smitten he is with Rachel. Doesn't he realize that she's getting good grades only because of him? Is it possible that Rachel is using him to cheat without his knowledge?

Poor Dr. Conlon.

"Honestly?" I ask.

"Yes, honestly. Does she know the material or not?"

"She doesn't."

Dr. Conlon's shoulders sag. "Okay, thanks, Sasha."