The Reason it Happened

Chapter 4

Correction: He is a god. And his grace was only a few feet behind me, sitting in the back of the room. Even as he sat, I knew he was tall. I could see his long legs stretched out under the chair in front of him, and his extended torso towering above his seat.

Suddenly his pen and my heartbeat are completing for the loudest noise in the room. My heart wins, and I force myself to take deep breaths to calm down. All the while I am still staring at him. I've seen him before at a few games and a couple of parties, but never up close. I never thought we'd have class together.

I turned around before he could notice my gaze. And just as brought my neck around I heard Maverick saying something about an icebreaker.

"I assume none of you are ready or willing to work, so we will not begin our first lesson. However, I will not end class early. Today we shall get to know each other. I will place you into pairs and you will divulge your deepest and darkest secrets to your partner. Get to know their history."

I suppose this was better than listening to a lecture for an hour and fifteen minutes.

"Everyone sitting in the back, please move forward," the professor instructed.

The empty seat behind me was now filled with his body. My heart went back to pounding, my body went frail and my head went light. Just his presence made me nervous.

"Right, partner up. By the end of the next five minutes, I want everyone to briefly present their partner."

Stunned. I am barely able to move. I'm finally going to introduce myself to him, and I'm going to get to know him.

I am just about to turn around and speak to him when a girl beside me taps my shoulder.

"Do you want to be partners?" She asks.

"Uhhh, sure" I added a reassuring smile, although I'm feeling anything but cheerful. What a fucking cock block.

As I interview my peer, I learned that her name is Antonia and she is a foreign exchange student from Russia. She continues to tell me more about her upbringing and culture, but I am too focused on eavesdropping. I can hear him asking the kid behind Antonia where he's from.

"What's your major?" Antonia interrupts.

"Biology, with a minor in English Literature." I respond hastily in an effort to return to my lurking.

"That's interesting. What career do you aim to obtain with these degrees?" she asks with her heavy accent.

Antonia's annoyance forces me to give her my full attention. By the end of the interview I know that she is majoring in Astronomy, works at Pizza Hut, and has a Huskie named Lautner. I gather just enough information for the presentation; I'm not interested in knowing more.

However, Antonia is intent on getting to know me personally. She asks intrusive questions about past boyfriends and sexual encounters. She makes me uncomfortable, and, frankly, I'm relieved when Maverick declares the time is up.

"Alright you first, yeah." The professor points to a short blond with a pixie cut.

"Tell us your name, and introduce us to your partner." he instructs.

"My name is Taylor, and this is Conner," she gestured to the Black girl beside her. "This is Conner's first year here, but she's transferred from Lincoln Community College. She is majoring in Liberal arts, and she wants to be an English teacher. In her spare time, Conner likes to sleep and dance. Oh, she's a part of our spirit team, as well."