The age of love : A tale of forbidden passion

chapter 9 : DOPAMINE

The next day was the deadline for submitting two records and giving two presentations. Most people had already submitted their work, but the five of us were still left to give our presentations. We were all feeling tense because there was a lot of pending work. We decided to first complete the written part by 11 AM, so we gathered in the college garden to finish it and submit it. We were divided into two methodologies: English (Methodology 2) was common for everyone, while Samara and I had Social Science (Methodology 1), and Aria, Adah, and Nia had Mathematics (Methodology 1). After completing our work, we went to submit our records and give our presentations. We started with the English methodology presentations, and each of us had a different topic. The professor scolded us for submitting our work late but still gave us marks. Then, Nia, Aria, and Adah went to give their mathematics presentation to Professor Paul, who is known for being strict, especially towards them since they attended her class less frequently and often submitted their work late. She carefully observed their records, got angry, and threw them, asking what nonsense they had done. She pointed out the lack of proper formats and the disorganized arrangement. Nia and Aria tried to explain, but she became even angrier and asked them to call their parents. Nia took the phone and called her dad.
"Nia's dad: Hello? Hello, sir. This is Paul from MJ College, the mathematics professor of your daughter, Nia. Yes, ma'am, what's the matter?" Nia's dad replied. "Your daughter is extremely irresponsible. She submits her work on the last day and in an almost incorrect format. I didn't expect this from her. Is this how she behaves?" Nia's dad responded, "No, ma'am. She is very responsible when it comes to her work. Even at home, she sits with all the records you give them. Every day, there are new records to do, and maybe that's why she was unable to do it properly." You should have seen the professor's face. She became silent and cut the phone, saying, "Thank you, sir. Have a nice day." Then, Aria called her father, who stays in Dubai. "Hello? Good afternoon, sir. This is Paul from MJ College," she explained the whole matter to her dad. Her dad asked, "I don't know, ma'am, what the exact matter is, but my daughter is very responsible and sensitive. Her health is not that good; she frequently falls sick and doesn't even eat properly." Her dad savagely said to the professor, "Please explain to her to eat properly and take care of herself." The professor replied, "Okay, sir," but she thought it was a waste to tell their parents and cut the call. Then, she asked Adah, Nia, and Aria to correct it and show her the presentation in an hour. They came out, and Samara and I asked, "What happened?" They said it was all wrong, and we had to correct it in an hour.
Nia asked, "What about you both?" I replied, "Yeah, we've submitted the records. We have to give the presentation, but our professor is busy with some work," said Samara. "Okay, so we all have to give the presentation in an hour," they replied. We all went to Vintage Garden and sat there, unsure of what to do. Our minds were tired, and we felt lost. We were all feeling down. Then, we saw some college boys smoking cigarettes, and Aria said, "I wish we could be chillin' like them." We all felt disappointed and lowered our heads. Nia said, "Guys, we're going through a rough time, and we need some energy and dopamine to do the work. I think we should try smoking a cigarette." Adah asked, "But how?" And Samara asked, "Who will bring them for us?" Everyone looked at me, but I said, "Sorry guys, I can't do this." Then, Nia looked at Aria with a smirk. Aria asked, "Why are you looking at me like that?" Nia said, "Call Umair and ask him to bring cigarettes for us. He's a guy, so he can get them." We all agreed and asked Aria to call Umair. She explained the situation, and Umair said, "Okay, but don't make it a habit. I got them just because you all requested. " We said, "Okay."
We sneaked to the back side of our college, where no one could see us. Even though it's common in our college, we had never tried it before, so we were a bit nervous. But after finding a secluded corner, we got excited to smoke our first cigarette. Umair helped us light the cigarette and showed us how to smoke it. We all held the cigarette, took our first puff, and at first, we coughed a bit, but then we tried again, and it felt amazing. It was like all our stress melted away. We thanked Umair for bringing us the cigarettes, and he warned us that it was the first and last time. He patted Aria's head, smiled, and left. We went back to the college to correct our records. Aria, Nia, and Adha worked on their presentation. After everything was arranged, we went to class to give our presentations. They presented on mathematics, and we presented on social science. We received our marks and were finally happy. It was a hectic day, but we focused on the fact that we had our first cigarette. We all laughed and thought about trying it again someday, and then we headed home.