Penfield's Greatest Swimmer

🌊~21

A few weeks later

"That's it for today, people. Don't forget, I'm expecting your reports on Sophocles' Antigone by the end of the week!" Our professor yelled, disregarding the fact that some students had already exited the lecture hall.

"Aw, great. Another tragedy," Akunna huffed. "Why can't she make us write reports on books like Fifty Shades or maybe After? I'm pretty sure everyone would love an assignment on that. Heck, they'd even hand in their work before the submission date."

"Yeah but did you forget that this is a classical literature class," I chipped in with a chuckle. "None of those books fall within that category."

"I know, I know," he mumbled, sliding his green backpack across his shoulder as he stood up. "I'm just fed up with all these 1800 books about death and egotism and male chauvinism. We're in the 21st Century for crying out loud, no one wants to read about shit like that anymore."

"I know right." Shoving the last of my books into my backpack, I followed my roommate out of the lecture hall and into the crowded hallway.

Akunna and I had been nagging about this very class ever since day one. It was really dumb of the academic board to make Classical Literature obligatory course for level 100 Science students, when it had absolutely nothing to do with our majors! Like, how is reading about the death of a girl who insisted on burying her brother going to help me with my engineering studies?

We had just reached the ground floor of the building when Akunna spotted a colleague from his bio-chem class. "Hey, mind waiting for me while I take pics of his notes from last week. I won't take long."

"Oh no problem." I shrugged.

"Thanks." Akunna dashed over, phone in hand.

Taking a look around, my eyes soon landed on a noticeboard drowning in colourful posters and office pins. My feet carried me over to observe the cluster. Penfield's Cadet corps was on the lookout for new recruits, the theatre students were hosting 'A Night of a Hundred Comedies and Music' this Friday, and the football team had a match on Saturday.

"Hm." Just when I thought next weekend couldn't be packed with more activities, a red poster with gold cursive penmanship caught my eye.

The Students' Representative Council presents:
❤❤A Twilight Valentine❤❤

Oh yeah, Valentine's day. It had fallen on a Saturday and the SRC was hosting a dance to celebrate.

Students as well as staff of the university are cordially invited. Come along with your loved ones and friends to have a great time!

Underneath that, were pastel figures of a man sporting a tux and a woman wearing a long white dress that formed a white halo round her legs as the man twirled her in place. The figures were faceless and my brain did not hesitate fixing mine and Shola's face in there. A vision of us dancing in each other's arms under a diamond studded sky played right before my mind's eye... until a sudden nudge pulled me back to reality.

"Ooooh." Akunna stood beside me, wiggling his eyebrows. "Thinking of asking a certain someone whose name begins with an S and ends with an A."

"W-what? No." Hitching my bag higher, I backed away from the noticeboard, wishing that moment hadn't even happened. Now Akunna was going to take advantage of it to tease me.

"Ah come on, Akwasi, it's me. You don't have to pretend," he said, falling in step with me. "For the record, I think it's a great idea to ask Shola out to the dance."