Chapter 5
895 Words
Krista’s POV:
If someone had told me that the biggest turmoil of my life would come from a guy with authority issues, I’d have laughed in their face. But here we are. Already counting the number of days I’d have to endure before I can pass the semester.
I entered the classroom. He was already there, writing something on the whiteboard.
His eyes flicked up, and met mine. It wasn’t just a passing glance. It felt like a proper X-ray scan. Like he had memorized each part of my face and was annoyed by its continued existence. I quickly looked away and moved to my usual seat.
“Alright”, his voice echoed in a commanding way, “We’ll begin our group presentations from next week. Each pair will be assigned a topic by tomorrow. You’ll have 5 minutes to present. Keep it concise.”
I was paired with Selena Mickelson. Nice girl. Quiet nature. Selena collected the information, and I took the lead in prepping the slides.
The day of the presentation rolled around. Selena and I were second in the queue.
While he was doing the student assessment, I was busy stealing glances over his divine features, instead of revising my own topic.
The way he pushed his glasses up with one finger, casual and focused, shouldn’t have looked hot, but it did.
After the first group nervously fumbled with the clicker, we got up for our turn. “Next group. Krista Ashford and Selena Mickelson”, he announced.
“Hi everyone! My name is Kris…Krista Ashford”, I kept on with a trembling voice, “The topic we’re going to present today is…”, I wrote the name of the topic on whiteboard with shivering hands, “Ethical Considerations in Research”.
I felt it again. Eyes. I looked up. And just as I imagined, he was staring. Not at the slides. Not at the board. But…at me. I tried to look away, heart thudding in my ribs.
Why was he always watching me? It wasn’t the usual evaluation. It felt… personal. Like he was waiting for me to slip up. Or maybe…
I shook the thought from my head, telling myself, “It’s nothing.”
Selena gave me a supportive nod. I continued with the presentation, but deep down, I knew that all the confidence that I’d been collecting so far, isn’t helping me anymore.
He wasn’t taking notes. He wasn’t even pretending to. Just gawking at me with the chin resting on his hand. It threw me off…again.
My words faltered. I glanced at the slide to catch myself, but to no avail.
Selena jumped in smoothly, picking up the next point. I nodded gratefully, and forced myself to stay composed for the final slides.
“Thank you. Any questions?”, we wrapped up.
Some of the students asked, and I answered them like a robot, while trying not to pass out under his stare.
He looked at the class inquisitively, then said, “No further questions.”
“Noted Sir!”, I said quickly, and turned back to my seat.
The rest of the class passed in a blur. I couldn’t focus on anyone else’s presentation. Everytime I glanced up, I caught him watching me…again. Like I was an unsolved puzzle scribbled between the margins of his life.
After the class, Selena whispered to me, “You did great”. I nodded with a light smile.
We walked side by side down the corridor, the low chatter of students echoing off the tiled walls.
As we were going towards the gate, Selena hesitated, “Umm…can I ask you something? It’s probably nothing, but…”
“What happened? You can ask away anything”, I affirmed her.
She glanced around, and then leaned in, “Is there something going on between you and him? I mean…Prof. Zevaric?”
“Wait…what?…me?…and him?…no f*****g way!”, I blurted out.
Her voice was barely above a whisper now, “I mean…people are talking.” I raised an eyebrow, “Talking?”
She added up, “Like the talks about tension…chemistry…eye contact…”
I stared at her, “Like seriously?”
She nodded slowly, “They say he watches you. Like really…watches. More than just academically, you know…”
My lips parted to say something, but no words came out. Because suddenly, every glance, every unspoken moment, came rushing back with twice the weight.
Selena shrugged, trying to play it off, “It’s probably just gossip. You don’ need to worry about it much. You know how this place is. People make a mountain out of a molehill. Its just in their heads.”
Damn… How to ignore this? How am I supposed to not worry about it?
We reached the main gate. She waved at me, “Goodbye.”
And me? I was still stuck with her words. Anxiety started to creep in. I wasn’t ready for the fact that my reputation was being tamed.
Maybe not ready to accept that a small incident will influence my life in such a horrific way.
Something inside me shifted. I didn’t like it…at all.
The girl who didn’t give a damn about people’s opinions was now being concerned. Concerned of what people would say.
Because…I wasn’t sure if it was just in their heads anymore.
- Writer
