Books Before Boys

Chapotee 1.

Books before boys.

"Fuck."

"Damn!"

"Good one!"

"Whoosh, dork!"

"Are you stupid or you look like one."

"Slay girl!"

Zara checks all the exercises in finance book according to how the answers turned out in the annual sheet on the website of her teacher. She praises or un-praises herself and starts typing her report.

On her first year after raising her hand in class counting as one of the few students getting their admission into this university by merit her class mates seem to be bothered by her more like flies today.

"This answer right here is right." Someone marks her sheets with pencil. Her head shoots up at the unwanted intruder who happens to be her teacher in the privacy of her own desk in the library.

"I'm mistaken on the website. Remind me to change it." He smiles down and slides the contact screen to her. She tries to tell herself that even if he is few years elder than her. He's not worth dating... cuz he teacher, man.

"Is that a tactless way of asking for my number?"

"No, but give me just in case." The guy half smiled.

She takes it and types. "This is my home number, tell my dad who are you, the reason of your call and if he thinks I can talk to you or he'll assume that it's worth a chance he'll pass me the receiver." She hands him back.

She gathers her scattered papers from the table, stuffs them in her bag. "Good luck. My dad is hard to convince." She hangs her bad on her shoulders, ties her high ankle boots and stands in front of him. "A cup of coffee won't hurt either of us."

"I thought you were rejecting me." He says pulling the chair for him.

"Nah I thought it will be okay to at least ask for your name on a coffee table. I'm not as tactless as.." She smiles calculating which assignments are to be done by the end of this week. She is pretty much going ahead so having a coffee break and start studying the next hour is good for health. She deserves this luxury.

"This is Joel."

She notices the shirt from her online shop that he seems to be pulling off really nice over his lean body. Zara shifts her legs away from chair, ready to investigate if he knows its her brand. "Nice shirt."

"I like doing you a favor." He grins.

"As much I'm impressed you came all prepared." She smiles sipping in the cold cardboard coffee. "I think the best thing you can do me as a favour is giving the hint of possible questions you'll be asking in the annual exams."

"That's too much to ask as a return for coffee only. Maybe you should buy me a dinner."

"I think I should just gift you a joy-toy." She tips her head back, "It will be a long favor until someone gifts you a better model than that."

Her straightforwardness hinting him to mind himself before asking such thing did faze him on its place. The expression remains the same but things stirred inside him.

"Thanks for the coffee tho." She adds sugar into the tasteless liquid. With the tone she threw at him he knows she isn't grateful at all.

"Are you always like this or is it just with me?" A fake laugh hiding his embarrassment comes for Zara to hear.

"I'm never unlike me." She shrugs mixing with the spoon. The silence follows between them and she follows the same rule of thanking again, saying bye and leaving for the library to continue with her utmost project for the end of the academic year.