For The Love Of History

Chapter 4

▪️O C T A V I A▪️

With a smile on my face, I found myself standing outside the lecture hall. It was a bright and sunny Tuesday morning, and I was looking forward to my first class of the day.

A part of me was very curious to see what all the fuss was about over the supposed sexy professor. Since the previous class was still in session, I leaned against the wall outside in the corridor. As usual, I was early for my lecture. It was a habit my father had instilled in me from my days at U.W.I.

Other students soon entered the lobby, many smiled and began to idly chat with me. The writing on my t-shirt was a definite conversation starter, and once they heard my accent, it just continued from there.

The black tee read "I'm so broke, I can't even afford to pay attention!" and it had been a gift from my friend who lived in Montserrat. It never failed to make people laugh when they read the yellow printed words.

A few students shyly asked me about my hair and if they could touch it, to which I would pull a thick, long, curly lock over my shoulder in front of me so that they could gently feel it. I could not help the smile that tugged at my lips; it was the same everywhere I went.

"Imagine, if I charged people every time they asked me that question, I'd be super rich," I joked to myself.

It was not just the texture and volume of my hair that fascinated people; I supposed the colour had a magnetic pull as well. It did not matter if I was in the Caribbean or elsewhere, the reaction of people remained the same, they were simply curious about me.

Similarly, whenever I saw a full-blown redhead pass me, I could not help but want to reach out and touch their hair as well. Being in Scotland, I had to restrain myself on more than one occasion, doing my best not to ruffle strangers' red hair as they passed by. I had no problem with people being inquisitive about my appearance, as long as they were polite and not rude about it.

This class was one of the bachelor courses I had to complete as a prerequisite for my MSc. Naturally, the numbers would be bigger than the smaller postgraduate classes. I scanned the hallway as more people gathered. It was a nice mix of students–young and old–everyone excitedly chattering.

It was then that my eyes fell on a group of males entering the hallway. They went to stand by the windows, and one in particular caught my attention immediately. I instantly recognized him as the same man from the library, and I had to do my best to keep a straight face to hide my excitement.

"I can't believe he's in my class!" I whispered softly. "Maybe the universe decided to be on my side for once."

I noticed that he had a bit of a frown on his face. It seemed like the incessant chatter was annoying him. I could not help but stare at his hair. He had thick, straight, medium-length auburn hair. The colour was a mix between brick red and spiced cider, depending on how the light hit it.

This caused me to bite my inner cheek to hide the enthusiasm the colour brought me.

Taking a deep breath to calm myself, I continued to slowly take in his appearance, now being able to view him at a closer distance. This allowed me a more thorough observation, something I was not able to do in the library. He was very large in size, standing at least 6-foot 3-inches. Though he was not the tallest person in the vicinity, he did have a presence about him that demanded attention.

The black thick-rimmed wayfarer glasses framed his eyes which I now realised were grey-blue in colour. He did not have an overly large nose, but it was well pronounced and suited his face. I also noticed that he had a very strong jaw that had a light dusting of reddish hair which made up a short beard that was neatly groomed.