My First | Harry Styles

Chapter Twenty Nine

Tessa POV

I drummed my fingers with anticipation for the class to begin. We were about to engage into a new topic, one I had been prepared for since the beginning of term. My favourite book in English Literature, Pride and Prejudice, is to be the next piece of reading we are to read and analyse together. Me being an over achiever, however, have already read it twice and made annotations on each page. 

My fingers stopped their unnecessary drumming as I watched my professor walk to the front of the room. He had with him copies of the book, which he didn't bother handing out to me as he noticed mine already laid out on my desk.

"Started ahead, have you?" He chirped with friendliness in his tone.

I nodded and tried not to boast at my actions, but I did feel proud to have gained the approving smile from my professor. 

Kate, sitting next to me rolled her eyes. I let her reach across my desk and skim through the busy pages, stopping at a few to read some of my notes but probably not making much out of them.

"You better land as my partner for this project, Tess," She sighed and handed me back my book. "Or else I'll fail this assignment."

I laughed quietly as my professor handed out remaining books to the back of the class. Something told me I was the only once excited about this assignment.

"Well if you read it, you probably will not fail." I said reasonably, but apparently that's not the kind of answer she wanted to hear. She rolled her eyes once more but this time out of annoyance which only amused me more.

"Ah, another bright student, I see," My professor announced from somewhere behind a few desks. I turned around curiously to see what had drawn his attention. "I presume you have also read ahead?"

"Obviously, professor." Said a boy whose name was blank inside my brain. His appearance was not striking as I focused on him. His typical brown hair made him look exceptionally ordinary, along with his brown eyes and tanned skin. I turned back as soon as he noticed my seemingly long devotion of time  looking at him. 

I suppose I wasn't the only one excited about this assignment after all and I wasn't sure if that made me feel better or worse.

"I assume you all read what I wrote on the board," My professor said, walking down the gaps between the desks until making a stop at the front. With the few nods he received from the class, he proceeded. "This assignment will be worked upon in pairs. There is no switching partners once I have assigned you one and the only work I want to see is team work. Both of you must contribute in some way, or else you are putting your mark at risk."

He was always the dramatic teacher out of all the departments, but that is what made his classes the most entertaining.

Names began to be called two by two into pairs. Although I was excited to read and exercise this book with my class, I found myself disappointed it had to be in pairs. I always preferred working alone, unless it was a friend but not a stranger.

"Tessa Brown," My professor called as I stood up. "And Liam Payne." 

The name made my eyebrows scrunch in confusion. The ability to put a name to a face was denied even though I raked my brain for the information. 

A light tap on my shoulder made me jump and stumble over the desk behind me. I would have fallen because of my unbalanced nature, but Kate who was still standing next to me helped me steady. 

I wasn't given time to thank her when a boy, who I was assuming was the on who startled me, reached out his hand to me. The gesture took me a back momentarily, not quite sure what he was doing, but then I understood.