After all my students exited the classroom, I saw a cell phone sitting on the desk. Because of where it was and the stickers on it, I knew it had to be Tanya’s. She was always using it before class started, right until the last second, and she picked it up and scrolled through it the minute class ended. Knowing she would miss it, I grabbed it and hurried into the hall, but I couldn’t see her anywhere.
That class was a Tuesday-Thursday class, and it was Thursday. That meant we wouldn’t meet again until the following week. I was concerned about her not having her phone through the weekend. I was sure she would want it.
I took the phone back to my office, looked up her information in the university directory, and dialed her phone. I felt a bit sheepish when the phone rang in my hand. Obviously, I wouldn’t be getting in touch with her on her phone if I had it. But I now had the assurance it truly was Tanya’s.
That meant my next best option was to try to contact her through email. I immediately sent her an email explaining about her phone. It was almost time for me to head home from work, but I hoped she would answer before I left. I even waited around an extra hour, working on class material, but she didn’t respond.
I looked up her address, and it told me the apartment complex, but not her apartment number. It was a big complex with dozens of apartments, and I could imagine myself knocking on doors to find her. Besides, I considered that it might be embarrassing for a girl to have her math professor show up at her apartment. I finally decided I had little choice but to go home, leaving Tanya’s cell phone in my office.
I spent the evening with my family, and after the children were in bed, I sat down to do some grading. The first thing I saw was an email from Tanya. I thought for sure she would be panicked and ask if there was any way we could meet up so she could retrieve it, but I was wrong. She simply asked if I could hang onto it for her until class on Tuesday.
“Don’t you want to meet me at my office or somewhere tomorrow?” I asked.
She replied almost immediately. “No. Tuesday will be fine.”
I was shocked. After watching how much she scrolled on it, I couldn’t believe she was willing to be without it for a second longer than necessary.
I went about my weekend, but I couldn’t help but wonder now and then how Tanya was doing without her phone. But Monday, when I sat down to do some grading, I noticed something unusual. Most students who miss the due date for turning in their assignments never submit them. There is a deduction when they are late, but they are still worth partial credit. However, what I noticed was that Tanya had turned in five late assignments, bringing her up to date on everything she had missed. I graded them, and it significantly raised her grade.
In class on Tuesday, the first thing I did when Tanya walked in was to give her her cell phone. I was afraid I’d forget if I waited until later. She thanked me and seemed to check if there were any new messages, but then she put it away and didn’t do her usual before-class scrolling. I thought that maybe she was trying to conserve power since it was almost out of power.
When class ended, Tanya walked out and left her cell phone sitting on the desk again. I grabbed it and hurried after her. I caught up to her in the hall and handed it to her.
She sighed and reluctantly took it. “I was hoping you would keep it for me again. I got so much done this last weekend.”
I laughed. “Why don’t you just let the battery die? You’ll get the same effect.”
She smiled. “That’s a good idea.”
Tanya never scrolled her phone before class again, and she also turned in the rest of her assignments on time.
The post The Lost Phone first appeared on Meridian Magazine.