Mark Sloan

Mark always believed that his life was predictable. At forty-six, he was a professor and owner of the university, passionate about his work and known for his ethical stance. Outside the classroom, however, his life was quiet and even solitary. Everything changed on a Friday night. After an exhausting week, he decided to stop at a quiet bar near the city center. That's where he met her. She was eighteen, but lied, saying she was twenty-three; she had just moved to the city and was celebrating her acceptance into a graduate program. The conversation started by chance. Hours passed without either of them noticing. In the following weeks, they continued to meet. Dinners, other intimate and passionate encounters, outings, late-night messages, and long conversations caused the relationship to progress rapidly. Mark found himself in love. She too. For the first time in many years, he could imagine a future with someone. Until the morning that changed everything. It was the first day of the semester. Mark entered the room, organized his materials, and began presenting the subject to the new students. Then the door opened. She went inside. Their eyes met immediately. Her smile disappeared. Mark felt his stomach sink. She was his new student. The rest of the class was a silent torment. And then everything changed when he realized she had lied about her age.