Mikaal

15: Mikaal

"Ten minutes left," an elderly woman said from the front of the hall, projecting her aged, croaky voice to fill the large room.

Dalia flicked back to all the pages of her Chemistry exam paper that she had dog-eared at the top right corner - a reminder of the questions she either needed to review or questions she hadn't yet completed. Among them where short answer questions she had simply left blank, having no clue what to write in spite of the two hours that had passed - marking them in hope that she might somehow conjure an answer magically was silly really, but as they say, 'without hope, all is lost'. There were thankfully one or two questions that she felt she could attempt to bluff her way through, writing whatever came to mind based on the keywords in the questions themselves and from faint memories of what she had written in her colourful study note summaries.

"Pens down."

Dalia's heart had been racing, leading up to the peak of the journey, like the end of a race - the pulsations strummed through to her fingertips, that displayed slight tremors. She let out a loud sigh of relief - it was finally over.

The exam wasn't exactly 'easy', but to her surprise, it wasn't the nightmare she had expected - she felt well prepared, which meant something. You could never be sure how it would all turn out, but at the very least, she felt those two days she'd dedicated had been worth it.

Having packed up her few allowed stationary items and returned them to her red backpack, she walked out into the cool spring air, making her way to her car, which was parked in front of the recreation centre - the nearest parking to Winthrop Hall where most of her exams would be located.

Winthrop Hall was a building whose interior looked like something out of Harry Potter - the brown and beige tones of the surrounding walls made up of wood and limestone, that lead up to high ceilings, as well as the large, archaic remains of an organ that framed a geometric patterned, circle window, which decorated the front wall. Graduation ceremonies were always held in this building, which fit well with the pomp of the occasion - and the overall prestige the university was known for. However, exam time transformed the building somewhat, the theatre style seating replaced with wooden tables and chairs in neat rows throughout the room.

Dalia strolled in a slow pace towards her parked car, her feet meeting with varying surfaces - from hard, rough concrete, to soft, well kept lawns - all the while, trying to clear her mind of everything to do with Chemistry so it would be fresh to tackle the next subject. However, trying not to think about Chemistry in the post-exam buzz wasn't an easy task - even worse because her mind now associated the study of Chemistry with her study buddy Mikaal...

Dalia's forehead creased, weight descending over her head. There had still been no follow up message from him. Although she had spent all that time preparing to deflect an invitation to catch up again, it still bothered her not hearing from him. It just didn't make sense.

Why would he be so keen to catch up with her the entire week, but then abruptly become silent? Had it been something she had said? Was he really 'playing her' and hadn't really delighted in their time together, or had he grown bored of her company?

Yet he did say he really enjoyed studying with her - more than once. Didn't he even say he would miss her that day she would be studying with Simon? Didn't he thank her more than once for spending that time with him? Was it all just lip-service?

'No,' that annoying voice inside her head butt in, forcing the thought on her that he had always come across as sincere... Yet at the same time, how could she know for sure when she hadn't had that much experience with guys in a relationship context - Blake had been her first love and first 'real' relationship.