Professor André

Chapter 2

"Good morning!" I say, yawning and walking into the kitchen.

Jessica is sitting on the couch in the living room, combing her hair.

"Have you eaten breakfast yet?" She asks, turning to me.

"Nope, but I'm about to," I answer.

"By the way. Have you texted your mom or sent any pics to her? I forgot, and mom is going to kill me."

  "Actually, no! Mom's gonna kill me too. We need to go out and take some cute pics, or probably just video call her." I reply.

"Yeah. She's more excited about me going off to uni than I am." Jessica says.

  "What do you wanna do after class?" I ask her.

  "Let's go look around. I want to see the library because I will be spending a lot of time there. We can also check out the pastry shop and the grocery store close by. We are stacked, but we still need to know what's inside."

  "Sounds like a plan," I reply

After re-heating my sandwich, I turn off the stove and put it onto a plate. I then walk over to the fridge and pour myself a glass of orange juice. I then walk over to the table, balancing the plate and glass in my hands.

  "Yeah, that's a good idea, Jess," I say, sitting down at the table. I hurriedly finish breakfast and walk to my room to get dressed.

I decide to wear black high waist jeans with a floral top. Ever since I first saw my English lit professor, I have been very selective about what I wear and ensure I look my best. I know I don't stand a chance with him, but it doesn't hurt to look good.

  "You ready!?" Jessica says, leaning on my door frame.

"Yup! I need new jeans cos; these are not sitting well with my tighs."

  "Girl, you thick! That's a perk." Jessica smirks.

  "It's not a perk! I'm dying over here."

  "It makes you sexier," Jessica says, grabbing her bag.

  I grab my things and hurry out of the room so Jessica can close the door. "All done, let's go." She says, turning away from the door.

  Our first lecture is with professor André. I am looking forward to seeing him again as I do every day.  I am still puzzled at the fact that I am able to learn in his class while having such a huge crush on him. I notice every detail about him, and it drives me insane. The way his curly hair flops when he nods or shakes his head, the way he slightly bites his lip and leans on his desk with his arms folded while listening to a student speak—everything about him.

  "You want to grab a snack before class?" Jessica says, bringing me back to reality.

  "Uh, what!?"

"Bro, you're in the middle of the uni halls. How can you be daydreaming?"

  "I'm not daydreaming!" I respond.

"It's André, isn't it?" She says, smiling.

  "Yeah, let's go get that snack!" I reply, trying to change the subject.

"Uh-huh! You're not getting away with it this time. Do you still like him? It's been like two weeks."

"I don't think it's a crush anymore, bro!" I reply, walking alongside her.

  "You know what? Scratch the snacks. Let's get to class. I wanna hear more later."

  We arrive at our literature lecture just as it is about to begin. Professor André is already in the room setting up the smart board and taking stuff from his desk.

"Good morning, Professor," Jessica says as she walks past Andre's desk.

"Good morning." He replies, looking up.

Just as he does, our eyes meet, and I look away. Unable to make eye contact, I nervously stared at the floor, hoping it would just swallow me.

"Good morning, miss-" he pauses, and I look up to see why it's so quiet. "What is your name again?" He asks.

"Me? Oh uh, my name is it's."

" Aniyah Singh!" Jessica says, coming to my rescue.

"Ahh, yes! Good morning miss Singh." He says, smiling at me. He then returns his attention to his desk as if we weren't even there.

I look at Jessica, hoping she will say something to make the moment less awkward, but she only smiles and pulls me away. Remembering our plan to sit away from each other, I break away from her. I take a seat beside the same guy I did the day I first walked into this room.

  "Good morning! We'll be continuing our discussion on the book One side triangle."  Professor Andre says as he walks to the front of his desk.

"So, chapter 7. Let's talk about it."  He pauses to look up at me, and our eyes meet. I turn away quickly, hoping he does too, but he doesn't.

  "Miss Singh." He says, pointing to me.

My heart sinks, and a lump forms in my throat. I struggle to form words for five seconds, wishing this is all a dream, but it isn't.

"Could you give us a brief overview of your thoughts on chapters four to seven? How did the author use the climax to develop this story?"

"Shit!" I scream inwardly. I had read the book as requested, and I know exactly how to answer the question, but he is making it impossible for me to do so. I'm sure if I had a less attractive teacher, answering wouldn't be a problem.

  "Oh yeah! Umm....so in chapters four to seven, the story begins its climax. Synthia meets Harry and immediately has an affair with him the same night they met. The thing about this affair is that as time passes by, Synthia isn't as regretful as she was the first time she cheated on her husband. She finds herself longing  for the man she had an affair with, and this pulls her away from her husband day by day."

  "My take on these chapters is that the author structured the affair in such a way that it becomes the center of many of Synthia and her husband's problems, but it isn't. The affair sheds light on many problems in her marriage that she and her husband had been avoiding. I disagree with cheating, but in the novel, it threw away the rug that had many years of dust swept underneath it." I sit down in my seat and exhale nervously, awaiting the professor's response.

  He stares at me for a moment. He then rests his index finger atop his nose and nods.

  "Great summarization, miss Aniyah." He then allows his hands to fall and walks to the other side of his desk. "Is there something anyone else would like to add before I continue? He asks.

  Some other students stand up to state their opinions one by one while I sit and listen to them. A few minutes after, class ends. Professor André skips the slide right after the course ends to show the assignment screen.

  "Before you leave, this is your assignment. It's due on Friday of next week. I'm looking forward to reading all submissions. Good luck  with the rest of your weekend, students." He says, returning behind his desk.

   The other students and I stand up in sync to leave the room. As usual, I meet up with Jessica near the door, and we exit the room.

  "Girl! You killed it in there. You had me thinking differently about Synthia  after your speech."

"Well, it's not that big of a deal,"  I reply.

  "Miss Singh."

  Jessica and I both turn around to face the voice coming from behind us. Professor André is standing at the doorpost with something in his hand.

"Yes, Professor?" I reply, trying to hide how flustered I am.