SHE

Chapter 3- She and the lack of concentration

I couldn't concentrate.
I couldn't concentrate one bit.
It was the middle of my first lecture and I had no idea what was going on in the class. The professor was going on and on and I couldn't hear let alone understand anything.
The reason was sitting 3 rows behind me. Probably listening to the teacher and not fixated on me. But I was. I was fixated on him. I was thinking about him, more so his eyes.
His eyes reminded me of something I couldn't quite place. They held a look of mystery as well a sense of understanding. My mind was spinning trying to make sense of why I was feeling this way. I'd never seen this guy before, so why did it suddenly feel like this.
I tried to concentrate my thoughts on the lecture again and as soon as I did, the class was over.
I was beating myself up over the fact that I'd wasted the whole hour of my class on something probably insignificant. On this note, I started gathering my belongings and headed for the door. As I was leaving the aisles, I bumped into something or rather someone which made me drop my phone from my hand.

"Shit", I said in an annoyed voice.

"Oh I'm sorry, I wasn't looking. You okay?", I heard the "someone" say to me.
I bent down to retrieve my phone at the same time the "someone" also bent down.
I spotted my phone on the step beside a desk and as I tried to get a hold of it, my hand touched his hand and I looked up.
A shiver ran through my body when I saw the green eyes looking at me with the same complexity as before.
His eyes held the same expression they had when I turned from my seat earlier that morning.

Just as fast as his hand had gone to help me get my phone, he pulled it back. I quickly got out of my trance and stood up.

"I didn't break your phone, did I?", he asked politely.
I blinked hard.

"No, it's fine. I drop it a couple times everyday", I said.

"Good. Again, I'm sorry I didn't look where I was walking", he said looking directly into my eyes.

Feeling myself relax a bit, I told him it was okay.

"So, if I may ask, why did you give yourself a whiplash earlier this morning when my phone rang?", he asked me with an amused tone.

I was caught of guard by his question but I guess I knew that it was coming.

"You have the same ringtone as me, I was just surprised by the coincidence", I told him, leaving out the part where I stared at him the whole time he was speaking on the phone.

He gave a light chuckle on what I probably think was my expression.

"It's nice to have something in common then, I'm Dean by the way", he said smiling at me.

"Anna",I said extending my hand.
He too extended his hand to meet mine. Again I felt a shiver run through me and what I felt was mirrored on his face.
It was quite odd if you ask me, seeing someone's expression mirror what you're feeling.
We quickly released our clasped hands and the air was suddenly too thick.

"Are you new to this class? I seen you before?", I ask trying to diffuse the tension.

"Yeah, I actually just stumbled upon this class and was pretty interested in the...um...course", he said hesitating a little.

We started walking out of the classroom together and it felt oddly comfortable now. A sense of familiarity settling around us.
I didn't prod more into asking him about the class since he was a bit hesitant. I didn't want to push it.

"Do you have a class now?", he asked me as we reached the main door of the building.

"Not right now, I have one in an hour and a half", I replied.

"Great, then would you like to join me for a coffee? I could really use some company right now", he asked me, his voice laced with hope.

His invitation took me by surprise. I stopped in my tracks and felt him stop too.

"Hey, you okay? I understand if you don't want to join me. After all I'm a stranger. You don't have to feel obligated", he said in a worried tone.

"No, I'm not. I mean I would like to join you. It's just that I'm not really the person that anyone hangs out with", I said to him.

He turned and stood in front of me and again stared at me.

"Well, I think it's their loss. I would hang
out with you any day", he said with surety.

I think I smiled when I saw him smiling at me. I think he was reciprocating my expression again. It was strange but it felt good.

We started walking towards the campus cafe located a few buildings away from our classroom. The walk again was very distracting especially when the source of my distraction was walking inches from me. But it felt natural somehow, like we've been doing this for years.

Once we teach the cafe, he held out the door for me. I was surprised. Chivalry was something that I wasn't used to.
Scrap that, company was something that I wasn't used to. I stepped in the warm area as the smell of coffee hit me.
I suddenly remembered something very important that I had maybe neglected due to my lack of concentration.
And in this state where my concentration was minimum I concentrated on him.

.......................

Good morning/ afternoon/ evening everyone. I hope you're having a good time. Thank you for reading my attempts. I'm eternally grateful and don't forget to comment on my work, I would love the feedback.

Thank you again.

Appreciation Always,
A.belle