Chapter Thirteen
857 Words
MARIAM'S POV
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They continued staring at me, seemingly unsure how to respond. I met their gaze, waiting for an explanation. Finally, Caldora spoke up, "There's supposed to be one female and one male as leaders, and you and I are the only females here, so we chose you. I couldn't present on that day."
I raised an eyebrow, thinking, 'Nice try, but I'm no novice when it comes to detecting lies.'
"And why is that? Is there a problem?" I asked Caldora, feigning concern.
Miguel cut in, his tone venomous, "Enough of this nonsense. That's none of your business why she can't present. You're the leader, whether you like it or not."
I turned to him, my face reflecting my annoyance. "I know you're behind choosing me as leader without my consent. I'm not letting you control me. Who do you think you are?" I snapped, my anger evident.
"Calm down, Mariam, we can solve this without arguing or accusing each other," Andy said, trying to diffuse the tension.
"I really can't present, Mariam. I'll be absent that day due to a doctor's appointment. Please do it just for my sake," Caldora said, her voice trembling. Is everything alright with her.
"No, it's okay. I'll do it. I just prefer not to be the leader because I'm not comfortable presenting in front of the whole class," I explained, trying to clarify my position.
''Just that, I mean they're our colleagues, for goodness' sake, Mariam. It's not like you haven't seen them before. You do every day in lectures. Why be shy about being in front of them?'' Andy said, his eyebrows shot up, and he let out a skeptical chuckle.
I glanced at the others, only to see them exchanging amused glances. Apparently, they found my predicament entertaining.
"Alright guys, it's already 4: 30pm, and we haven't done any work. If it's 5:30, I'm out of here so I can catch a car home. We'd better start working on what we can do today," Marcus said, his gaze sweeping over us as if daring anyone to object. His tone was all business, devoid of interest in our earlier debate.
"Who has the question?" I asked.
"Here, take it," Caldora said, handing me her notebook.
I looked at the question, and it read: "A marketing manager wants an attractive packaging for a brand of product." We were tasked with preparing a list of subareas by consulting literature, selecting subareas we were passionate about, listing relevant questions, and formulating the research problem appropriately.
"Really, this is confusing," I muttered, frustration simmering. "Who even asked me to choose marketing in the first place?"
"You said?'' Andy asked, his brow furrowed in curiosity, referring to my muttering.
''Nothing, uh, I mean how are we going about this?'' I said, holding up the question for everyone to see.
''Look at your phones; I've sent a suggestion,'' Miguel said, his voice filled with enthusiasm, not his earlier annoying self, his gaze sweeping over us.
I looked at him, wondering if he had a split personality. One minute annoying, the next, enthusiastic. He is really weird.
I pulled out my phone to check the message, curious about his idea.
I checked the message and saw his suggestion– a detailed outline on attractive packaging. He'd listed subareas like color psychology, sustainability, and consumer psychology, along with relevant questions and a potential research problem.
'Wow, he's really good at this,' I thought, looking at Miguel with admiration.
"This is good guys, what do you think?" Marcus said, flashing a broad smile. His eyes sparkled with relief, eager to wrap things up and head home.
"Yeah, this is exactly what we're supposed to do, so it's good," Andy said, looking pleased.
I nodded in agreement. "I think all we have to do is review it on our own, so we can understand and memorize it, just in case anyone gets called on," Caldora suggested, her gaze sweeping over us with a hint of seriousness.
"Yeah, you're right. Who doesn't do it is their own problem, not ours," I said with a shrug. The others gave me amused looks.
"What's so funny?" I asked, and they chuckled.
"You're not wrong, it's just our cross to bear," Andy said, laughing.
Marcus interrupted, gathering his books. "Guys, I think we're done for today. I need to get home."
I raised an eyebrow, teasing him. "You're leaving already? It's not even 5 pm. Is your mommy going to lock you out, or is your girlfriend worried you'll cheat?" My tone was playful.
"What are you talking about? My mom isn't locking me out, and I don't even live with her," Marcus said, his face twisting in annoyance.
"So it's your girlfriend, then," I said, bubbling over with laughter.
"What? Guys, I'm out of here," Marcus said, looking furious. He stood up and headed for the door.
I shouted after him, "So it's really your girlfriend!" The others erupted into laughter, and even Miguel cracked a smile, his sweet chuckle catching me off guard. I turned to him, surprised, and he met my gaze with a hint of amusement.
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