Repay Me

Chapter 2 - My Professor

Great way to start my second year at Tokyo University.

The class murmured and whispered in a good way. Most of them talked about his looks which were undeniably gorgeous.

"Trust me, there's no reason to be afraid or thrilled by me, I'm only a couple of years older than most of you here so think of me no less than a friend but of course, respect is expected when needed," Akaashi stood up and nodded his head.

"Isn't he adorable?" the girl next to me giggled.

"Y..yeah..." I replied, sinking back into my seat.

"I'm not going to waste time on too much but this one's a must for me. I'm invested and want to know clear reasons as to why you guys picked the study of ancient Japanese art specifically when you could've chosen to, I don't know, play around with crayon's. Give your names while you're at it, starting from...you."

He pointed at the bottom row where a guy stood.
"Tamura Kenta. I'm going to be honest, my mom forced me into this, I didn't even want it. She's a big fan of art so," he shrugged as giggles spread throughout the class.

"Love the honesty, and you?" Akaashi pointed to the woman in the same row.

"Hinata Hara! It's unique in a lot of ways and I like to be impressed by my creations," she replied energetically. It went on like this and my heart raced. I just knew I was sweating. Akaashi looked at the lady next to me who smiled brightly.

"And y-" he stopped himself as he briefly glanced at me and focused back on her. I was sure he didn't know I was here until now "You?"

"Mei. Call it family tradition. Everybody in my family has studied this and made awesome paintings."

My heart was going to burst out of my chest.

"How elegant," he cleared his throat, his eyes landing on me. "What about you?"

I exhaled and breathed deeply. "Tekin Ece, Ece's just fine. I've had an interest in art since I was 4 years old and never found anything more challenging than ancient Japanese art. I think it's truly beautiful."

"Is your name Turkish?" Akaashi questioned with a held back smile.

He did not. The audacity.

"Um. Yes, it is."

"Oh how nice! And you?" so he went on as I sat back down and died inside.

After going through 25 students or so, Akaashi returned to his desk after requesting us to open our devices and join his Microsoft classroom. I took out mine and glanced over at Mei who sipped on her coffee, unintentionally staring. Coffee. It nearly sent me shivers.

"Huh? Do you want some Ece-chan?" she moved it over to me.

"Oh, no, I had mine," I smiled at her.

"Your name is so nice and sounds so sweet. What does it mean in Turkish?" she asked, leaning in.

"Ece means queen. Well there were possibly false myths that there was an earth goddess named Ece. I don't believe in thunder gods or fire gods or whatever, so I doubt my name is that special."

"Sure it is! It's so short yet so cute," she began working on her laptop. I felt better now that Akaashi's gaze wasn't on me and I tried my best to not think about it.

After 2 hours in there, I shut my laptop and stretched out. The students were already headed out for lunch and Mei stood up. "Do you want to sit with me, Ece-chan? Or do you have plans with a friend?"

"Oh don't worry, I'll call her over. It's just the two of us anyways," I got up with my bag.

"I've got a friend with me too, I'm sure she won't mind."