Against All Odds

chapter two

AGAINST ALL ODDS
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Insert 2
I got to school and went straight to where Ava was sitting Ava stood up and gave me a tight hug. “You don’t look fine, what’s wrong?” Ava asked
“I am vexed I tell you, Luis has canceled dinner plans with me on Valentines for work” I complained
“Huh the nerves of that guy, why don’t we just run him over and break his legs so he might not even go for that work dinner?” she said
I shook my head and laughed at what Ava said, the one thing one thing I love about Ava is the fact that there is never a dull moment when we are together and no matter how sad i feel, Ava always finds a way to make me laugh.
“That’s a jail sentence you know?” i asked while smiling
“At least you are now smiling, I hate to see you sad” she said 
As we were catching up on our weekend, the lecturer walked in holding a bunch of papers in his hands.
“Can we all settle down” she shouted
We all sat down so we could get started with the day’s lessons. After everyone settled down the lecturer asked everyone to pay attention to what she was about to say.
“I have an assignment for you that will require a lot of research and each of you will need to have a partner in order to carry out the research. “She said as we all paid listened attentively
“How are we going to choose our partners?” Some girl at the back asked
“Well I have written down names of the guys and folded them on small pieces of paper so each of you ladies will pick one paper and the name you find written there after unfolding it will be   your partner for this research, I need you all to take this research seriously because it is a very important part of your exams so you will need to work hand in hand with your partner so you can get good marks, the marks will be added to your final exams.” She said
I didn’t like the idea of choosing names randomly because I disliked most of the guys in our class, Ava and i looked at each other as we made our way to the table so we would choose names of our research partners.
Ava choose first and she was so excited she had chosen her boyfriend Chris so she knew the research was going to be a success, I on the other hand was a bit reluctant in choosing, I kept paving way for others to choose while I stood still.
“Sophia just close your eyes and pick one paper” Ava encouraged.
I closed my eyes and picked one paper, and before I could unfold it Ava snatched it from my hand and opened it herself.
“Oh My God” Ava exclaimed
From the look on her face, i knew i had chosen the wrong person. i got the paper and loudly cursed as I read the name causing the lecturer to get angry.
“Sophia why are you cursing in my class” she asked
“Madam, there is a mistake somewhere, I can’t work with the Trevor it won’t work” I panicked 
Trevor on the other hand didn’t seem concerned about the fact that I had chosen his name he just looked the other way as though he was uninterested with whatever was happening.
“Sophia please go back to your seat and after class talk to your partner and find a way out, how you do it is none of my business, you are one bright student I wouldn’t want you falling because of this” she said
I was upset as i walked back to my seat there was no way i was going to work with Trevor, I couldn’t stand his guts, he had a stinking attitude that I wasn’t ready to deal with. Everyone in class knew me and Trevor were enemies since year one, the thought of working with him on such an important assignment distressed me.
I failed to concentrate throughout the day because i was thinking of who i would swap partners with or how I would persuade the lecture to exchange my partner with someone else. Immediately class was over I rushed to Madam Lungu’s office and tried to explain why working with Trevor would make me fail but everything she said fail on deaf ears so I walked out of the office feeling defeated.
Sophia, maybe it’s not so bad,” Ava told me as we were having our lunch
“Ava that guy and I are opposites, he does things contrary to what I like,” i said
“So would you rather fail than find a way to make things work out?” she asked
“No, you know I need to clear or else Luis would be angry with me “i answered
“Then give this a try just set the rules and work by them” Ava encouraged
After eating we went back to class so we could get to talk about the research and make suitable plans on how we would go about the assignment with our partners being in our final year we never had afternoon class because that time was reserved for studying, assignments and any other business.
When we got to class everybody was busy discussing with their partners, I decided to swallow my pride and walked to Trevor’s desk, he didn’t seem to notice me as he was busy listening to music so i tapped his shoulder, he turned to face me and our eyes locked, his eyes where captivating, it’s the first time he had ever looked at me like that and for a moment we silently gazed at each other until he broke the silence.
Trevor: What?
Me: I am your research partner
Trevor: So what?
Me: Aren’t we supposed to be discussing how we will go about it?
Trevor: When I am ready I will call you.
Me: I am trying to be polite here
Trevor: And did I ask you to?
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