In one from the, "expected but not really" department, Apple CEO Steve Jobs recently got into a bit of an email spat with a Long Island University journalism student looking for information about iPad use in the academic environment.

As Gawker's report goes, senior Chelsea Kate Isaacs had been emailing Apple's PR team for a quote from Apple regarding iPads in the university setting. The assignment itself was a prompt from her professor, who suggested that she check out her university's recent decision to purchase Apple's iPads for all incoming students—a not-unheard-of practice in modern educational institutions nowadays.

Well, Isaacs struck out with Apple PR after leaving six voicemails—itself a not-unheard-of practice often confronted by those in the tech journalism industry. However, instead of just heading back to her professor empty-handed, she decided to email a bit of a jab to Jobs directly:

"Mr. Jobs, I humbly ask why Apple is so wonderfully attentive to the needs of students, whether it be with the latest, greatest invention or the company's helpful customer service line, and yet, ironically, the Media Relations Department fails to answer any of my questions which are, as I have repeatedly told them, essential to my academic performance," wrote Isaacs.

Perhaps unexpectedly, Jobs replied—and according to Gawker, who ran the messages past those who would otherwise know more than an average journalist about the potential authenticity of email headers, they look legit.

"Our goals do not include helping you get a good grade. Sorry," Jobs allegedly wrote back.

Isaacs and Jobs continued to trade a few barbs back-and-forth until Apple's CEO sent one final reply around 6:27 PST that evening: "Please leave us alone," he allegedly wrote.

While Isaacs never did get the quote about iPad use in education that she was hoping for, she's nevertheless being heralded amongst the tech journalism circles for actually evoking a reply from Jobs himself—a rare feat, even for those looking for a germane answer to an Apple-related inquiry.

She presumes that her failure to chat with Apple will earn her a "B" on the assignment instead of a hoped-for, "A," but, more importantly, she sees her exchange with Jobs as a chance to paint a clearer picture of Apple's leader for the company's consumers.

"Under no circumstances should a person who runs a company speak to a customer that way," said Isaacs in an interview with Gawker. "I'm just enraged and I want people to know this was done."

Apple, to date, has offered no reply.