She Fell for the College Janitor Everyone Looked Down On
Chapter 3
Samuel had a secret.
He wasn’t actually a janitor.
At least, that wasn’t how he had begun.
Three years earlier, Samuel had arrived at Hawthorne College carrying a leather case and a letter of recommendation.
His father, Professor Nathaniel Reed, had once been a respected scholar there.
Nathaniel taught mathematics, philosophy, and classical languages.
Then he accused several wealthy trustees of selling examination answers to favored students.
No one believed him.
Or rather, no one wanted to believe him.
The trustees forced him out.
His reputation was destroyed.
His wife became ill from the humiliation.
Samuel watched his family lose everything.
After his father’s death, Samuel returned to Hawthorne under another arrangement.
The college needed someone to maintain the buildings.
Samuel needed work.
So he accepted the position.
He could have told everyone who he was.
He chose not to.
He wanted to know whether anyone would judge him for himself.
The answer came quickly.
Students mocked him.
Professors ignored him.
Trustees treated him like furniture.
But there was one person who didn’t.
Eleanor.
She began visiting the library nearly every afternoon.
Samuel would repair books while she read.
Sometimes they spoke.
Sometimes they sat in silence.
One evening Eleanor found him struggling to fix a broken clock.
“You’ve been working on that for an hour.”
“It deserves another hour.”
“You always say that.”
“It is usually true.”
She smiled.
Then the clock suddenly ticked.
Samuel looked pleased.
Eleanor laughed.
“You look happier fixing a clock than most men look receiving money.”
“Money doesn’t tell you when you’ve succeeded.”
“And clocks do?”
“They either work or they don’t.”
Eleanor studied him.
“You’re different.”
Samuel’s expression changed.
“Different isn’t always good.”
“I didn’t say it was.”
She leaned closer.
“I said I like it.”
Samuel looked away.
That frightened him more than anything.
Because Eleanor Whitmore was becoming the first person in years he wanted to trust.
And Samuel knew exactly what happened to people who trusted powerful families.
