Even though we did well in his class, I’m still scared of him.

I wipe my palms on my pencil skirt and listen to his assistant type.

Suddenly, the large mahogany door opens. “Sara, come on in.” Professor Thomas smiles.

I smile back, but it feels mechanical. Am I supposed to show this much teeth?

“Thank you for meeting with me, sir.” I stand in front of a visitor’s chair, waiting for him to sit first.

“No need for the formality,” he says. “I like to be tough in class to teach you guys something. But the students who pass get to call me Dustin. And considering you all were my first A-plus, you can probably call me Dusty or something.”

“Okay...”

“But don’t.” His expression turns serious. “Don’t call me Dusty.”

“Noted.” I nod.

“So what brings you here, Sara?”

“I was wondering...what your thoughts were regarding...the market regulating itself? I mean, shouldn’t companies fill whatever demand there is for a product, and then consumers have the responsibility to, you know, take it or leave it? Because it’s not like it’s on the company to decide what a right or wrong product is—they’re just supplying the option, giving people the choice. And frankly, isn’t that just more freedom, having more choice?” I realize I’m bouncing my knee rapidly up and down. I stop and fold my hands over my lap.

He studies me. “I’m not going to lie, darling. It sounds a bit like you ate the collective works of Ayn Rand last night and are now vomiting bits and pieces onto my desk.”

I recoil.

He continues. “But my inclination would be...no. I think that enough companies have literally poisoned unknowing consumers for us to wonder if regulation is obsolete.”

“Right.” I nod.

“I don’t like abstractions though. Or analogy. What are you really worried about? I doubt you came here just to discuss theory.”

I exhale. “Robbie thinks that Perfect10 is bad for people. That it lowers the level of discourse in the dating pool. That it encourages people to degrade each other.”

Okay, maybe that’s not exactly what he said. Maybe I filled in the blanks a bit with my own worries. But Robbie is the one who put this in my head, so he will be the one to tell Dustin Thomas that the first A-plus ever in his class was for an evil product.