Midnight Message

Chapter 5 - I completely forgot

Gemma taps her pen against her lips absentmindedly as she stares out the window of her University classroom. Having already finished the essay that is due tomorrow, Gemma doesn’t really see the point of attending this class. But, like the good girl is, she’s turned up anyway.

She looks around at the panicked faces of some of her fellow classmates. Clearly they’ve left the essay till the last minute and will be pulling an ‘all-nighter’ in order to finish it on time. Gemma tries not to let her amusement show as she listens to the panicked questions that her classmates are asking their tutor.

‘How many references do we need to use?’ asks a Blond girl.

‘Can we use subheadings?’ asks a dark haired boy with glasses.

‘Can we get an extension?’ asks a red haired girl sitting next to Gemma.

Gemma rolls her eyes. Seriously guys, it’s not that hard. Write a 1500 word essay about a writer who inspires you. If you had have started it when we were supposed to, you wouldn’t be stressing about it now! Gemma begins doodling on her notebook, drawing different sized hearts in the margin and tuning out the panicked voices around her. Lazily, she begins writing names in the hearts she has drawn. Emily, mum, dad, Angie, Zack, Jan, Frank, Trent.

Whoa, where did that come from?! Gemma looks around guiltily before quickly scribbling over the last name. She throws her pen down and stares straight at her tutor, who is looking quite frustrated at all the last minute questions from his students. Gemma becomes aware of the fact that she is scowling and forces a neutral expression onto her face. She hates the way Trent, this arrogant, crude, jerk, is getting in her head! His texts are disgusting. His ego is ridiculously big. His arrogant remarks make her skin crawl. His confidence is somewhat attractive….

The sound of chairs scraping and papers rustling brings Gemma back to reality. Apparently the ‘panic session’ is over. Students scurry quickly out of the classroom, looking stressed. Gemma puts her notebook and pen in her bag.

‘Thanks’ she says to her tutor, a 30 something man wearing a blue shirt under a light, woollen jumper.

‘No worries’ he replies. He sounds deflated and looks a little down.

I guess it’s just dawned on him that no one is very interested in his subject, considering most of us have barely started our essays. Gemma is annoyed. She likes this tutor. He’s actually really nice and has a genuine love of writing. He really tries to help his students. No wonder he feels depressed when none of them seem to care. People can be so rude.

Suddenly Gemma makes a decision.

‘Excuse me, can I ask a question about the essay?’ she says to her tutor.

He looks up wearily, tries his hardest to look friendly and says ‘of course’.

‘I was just wondering’ Gemma says ‘is it ok to submit the essay early, if we’ve finished?’

The young man’s eyes light up and he struggles to contain his excitement as he responds ‘of course! You’re more than welcome to submit it early, if you want to’.

‘Thanks’ Gemma says, smiling warmly at her tutor. ‘I will’.

With that, Gemma walks out of the classroom. She wears a huge smile on her face as she makes her way to the University library. I officially made his day. Gemma laughs happily to herself. It feels good to do something nice.

She spends a few minutes proof reading her essay before uploading it to the online dropbox and pressing submit. Then she walks casually across campus to her next class. A smug smile plays at Gemma’s lips as she walks into the classroom and takes a seat. Obviously some people have decided to skip this class and use this time to write their essay.