Shazi

01

Her jittery hands is what caught Neels' attention as she walked into the meeting.

The professor stuttered, "You must be Sha-Sha Shady?"

With an annoyed look on her face, she said, "it's pronounced 'Shad-iya' with an a at the end."

The teacher nodded, and went back to discussing how they will embark on a trip to London, England.

Shadya sat in the nearest empty seat.

A couple of minutes passed by and all Shadya could think about is how she wanted to leave this hell-hole.

She was already stressed over finals and now she has to spend the summer with a bunch of strangers.

She didn't choose to study abroad, but her college insisted it'll help her earn credit while studying the arts of foreign lands. In fact, she was even surprised when her parents agreed to it.

They told her as long as it's for school and getting a degree in the long run, then they are okay with it.

The session ended. She put her brochure back into her bag and left.

Since the meeting ended, she had an hour until she had to take her finals. Instead of going home or going out to get lunch, she headed over to the cafe.

She was slouched, feet up, and munching on some chips when he approached her.

"Hey...uh you were in Professor Hopkins room weren't you?"

She faced him, a bit shocked.

Her heart started racing. She felt as if she could feel her blood flowing over her veins. No attractive young man has ever approached her throughout her college days.

"No, I don't think so," she said hesitantly.

He smiled, raised his eyebrows, and said, "You came in late?"

Her eyes widened. "Oh yeah, that's me," she gave a nervous chuckle.

He stuck out his hand, "Nice to meet you, my name's Neels."

"Shadya," she shook his hand.

"Shadya?" He repeated it.

"Yeah, Shadya Zara," she uttered.

Neels paused for a moment, the way his piercing blue eyes were staring at her made her feel a tad bit uncomfortable. It was like he was studying her.

He finally said, "Can I call you Shazi?"

"Shazi?" She repeated.

"Yeah, short for Shadya Zara," he said while grinning.

She nodded.

"Alright then Shazi, I guess I'll see you in London."

Without saying anything else, he left.