Mikaal

7: Mikaal

For the first time since having met him, Dalia saw Mikaal entering their Maths lecture. She wondered if it was because it was an afternoon class. Before her mind had a chance to really consider her actions, she felt her legs begin to take decisive steps towards him - until she noticed he had come in with two girls and seemed to be having a jovial conversation with them, to which her voice of reason regained control of her limbs, directing her to a seat near the entrance.

"Hey, is this seat taken?" Simon's cheerful voice asked her.

She turned and smiled at him, shaking her head, pulling out the chair next to hers. "Thanks for your text this morning. I was surprised to be getting messages at all at that hour! I really appreciate the message though."

"Did I wake you?" Simon asked with a look of concern.

"No, no, I was already up for an early class. I just didn't think anyone could be functional enough to send a text at that hour, that's all."

Simon laughed, making Dalia feel even warmer inside. "I was already up for hours - " He stopped, as if realising he had spoken aloud when he shouldn't have. "Uh, you know with exams coming up and all..."

Dalia couldn't help wondering why he didn't seem to want her to know he had already been up if it was just about exams. She had an inkling she decided to ignore, resolving to pretend not to notice. "Yes, that reminds me, are we still going to be study buddies next week?"

"I was just going to ask you what your plans were. I'm pretty flexible the whole week."

"How about Wednesday? My first exam's my worst subject, Chemistry, so I wanted to dedicate a couple of days just for that."

"Sounds good to me," Simon said, his face beaming.

Their conversation was cut short as the room began to lull into a hush, the lecturer's loud voice now reverberating through the theatre's speakers. Against her will, Dalia's eyes glanced at a diagonal to where Mikaal sat, only to be taken aback to find him looking at her. She couldn't read his expression; he seemed deep in thought. Even though it was one of those moments where two people have been caught looking at each other, and normally both pairs of eyes would dart away feigning nonchalance, it was almost as if he compelled her to hold his gaze.

Mikaal eventually returned his attentions to the lecturer, although he made no attempt to take notes. She smirked at the thought that he must be the type who could cruise through uni, passing everything by doing the bare minimum. Yet he did say he once relied on Simon for his notes from lectures he'd missed... Her forehead creased as she internally scolded herself for even taking notice, before she took out her iPad and honed her ears on what to expect in their upcoming exam, noting the specific past exam questions the lecturer appeared to be spending more time on, deducing there could likely be a similar question.

An hour passed much faster than Dalia was used to for a Maths lecture. After putting her iPad to sleep by clicking the power button and returning the device to her padded, red backpack, she turned to Simon to confirm details on their study date. "So I'll meet you 8am Wednesday in front of Reid Library?"

"That works for me."

"Do you have much else today?"

"Just Physics soon, then I'll be heading home at 4:30."

"Me too! Not Physics, but I'll be done as well by that time. Do you want a lift?"

Simon didn't have the luxury of living at home like Dalia and worked part time to support himself, so although he had a license, to save money, he didn't own a car and rather caught public transport.