"Thanks," Nicola replied somewhat sarcastically to Finn's rather backhanded praise. She couldn't be sure whether or not he was making fun of her, and it didn't sit well with her. The reactions of the others were unhelpful. Professors Russo and Cowley seemed annoyed, but Whyte and the Dean seemed more amused than anything, and Smith remained a cipher.
Nicola's eyes lit up at the mention that there would quite possibly be an actual alien in her classroom. Someone who had come from another planet, another solar system, another galaxy, even, and all that entailed. Already, she was nearly bursting with questions she wanted to ask this girl, but she restrained her excitement in front of her colleagues.
"I don't expect any problems," Nicola replied confidently to the Dean's address. It was rather an understatement as far as it went since she had no idea what to expect. "I would like to discuss with you, Professor Smith, if you could find the time," she said to that woman. "Given that we have a very broad subject to cover, I think it would be best if we coordinated our efforts."
There. That sounded reasonable, didn't it? Not at all like a panicked plea for direction. And Nicola was competent; her cofidence wasn't all bravado. But, however dear the subject might be to her heart, she had only ever approached it from the angle of the theoretical. Now, she would have very concrete examples sitting right in her classroom. The thought was a little daunting.