For The Love Of History

Chapter 6

▪️O C T A V I A▪️

The week had been going well so far and as I rushed about, I muttered under my breath.

"Damn, this place is huge!"

My mind was flustered as I briskly walked across the campus, trying to find my Thursday morning class taught by none other than Professor MacAllister. In total, for the first semester, I had six lectures per week as well as two tutorials and four seminars.

Three of those lectures were held by Professor MacAllister. I had two lectures with him on a Tuesday and one on a Thursday, as well as one tutorial and two seminars, which would be taught by his appointed teaching aids.

All in all, since teaching officially began, I had classes every day except for Fridays. There would be one or two field trips for the REU Historical Society this semester on a Saturday. Those outings and their dates would be finalized soon and I anticipated them with excitement.

It was similar regarding my dance classes. We would have a session once per week, which had yet to be determined as well. I was really looking forward to participating in both club activities.

Back at my previous university, I had been the President of both the History and the dancing club and had also been part of the chess team. However, I did not think that I presently would have any extra time to devote to chess. Besides, it was something that I could always do in my own free time.

Silently mumbling, I cursed, "Where the hell is this blasted-ass classroom?"

It seemed that I had managed to get lost. I was not sure how, as I had so far succeeded in finding all my other classes with ease. I stopped to look down at the campus map again, my hands fumbling through the different pages; it was such a big school.

Normally, most students just used the map on their phones, but I liked fiddling through the campus booklet. It was at this very moment that I began to feel overwhelmed by its size. Thank goodness, I always organised to reach my classes early, otherwise I would have most certainly been late. My silent ramblings were interrupted when I heard someone calling my name.

"Octavia!" a deep familiar voice shouted.

Closing my eyes, I inwardly groaned upon hearing the melodic sound of Professor MacAllister calling out to me. It was one of those moments when time seemed to slow, and I could practically feel the weight of the impending conversation settle on my shoulders.

"Just great..." I whispered before turning towards the direction from where his voice originated.

"Where are you going? Aren't you in my Lords of the Great Western Isles class which starts in," his eyes glanced down at the watch on his left hand, "ten minutes?" Graham asked, holding his lecture notes in a neat-looking leather case in his right hand.

"Yes Sir, I am, but I seem to be lost," I replied, feeling a bit embarrassed.

"Well obviously, since you're going in the wrong direction," Graham said simply. His grey-blue eyes shone with a hint of amusement, though his face held no real emotion as he tried to keep a straight face.

It was a curious juxtaposition, the playfulness in his eyes clashing with the stern facade he presented. It was as though he had mastered the art of wearing masks, each one carefully chosen for the situation at hand.

I could not help but notice this intriguing duality. In a way, it was characteristic of the enigma that I was coming to associate with Professor MacAllister. His depth of knowledge and the layers of his personality were like a labyrinth I was just beginning to navigate.