The World of Misfit Toys

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

                I woke up around five fifty-nine in the morning but my alarm was set at six o’clock. I hate times when I woke up a minute earlier than my alarm. Facing the dilemma between squeezing some more sleep on my bed and hitting the shower earlier is a horrible feeling. I did neither; I just stared blankly at the ceiling and waited for my alarm so I could put it off. Alex replied to me last night, she said we can have a talk at the library the morning before our last exams. I really don’t prefer the library for talks but I agreed since I have already reviewed last night and would just run down my notes.

            I sat on the benches in front of the library to kill some time since I have arrived thirty-minutes earlier. I amused myself with the students passing by at the library. It was the last day of exams, so you would see a diverse ecosystem of students running about the campus.

            A young lad passed by, heavily encumbered with books. His eyes were groggy from lack of sleep; he must have crammed last night for today’s exams. I really don’t get the idea of cramming, it’sa waste of time and energy since the information that I have read would just disappear into thin air the moment I finished my exams. Anyways, let’s get back to him. He was busy shuffling though his notes that he didn’t notice another lady approaching him. They collided head on. His notes were sent flying in midair and the coffee that the lady was holding spilled into his shirt. They looked both aghast as a flicker of moment passed before they knelt to pick up the scattered notes on the floor. The lady kept saying sorry for pouring coffee at the lad while the lad was also saying sorry for bumping into the lady. After a couple of seconds they stood up, the lad holding his notes and the lady handing him her handkerchief. They smiled at each other and laughed at the situation. The sleep deprived young lad with a coffee-spilled shirt and disarrayed notes walked away happily with the lady’s handkerchief in his pocket and her heart in his sleeve.

            To my left emerging from the stairs, a sharp looking woman in her mid-thirties was texting in her smartphone. Judging from the paper bag she was holding, which contained stacks of newly printed papers, she’s a professor. She has this air of notoriety that could burn anyone who comes near. Her chin was tilted and her red lips curled in an annoyed manner. She must have learned a few things from Noah since the sea of students in front of her immediately parted in the aisle where she was walking. Her eyes darted here and there mimicking a predator hunting for prey. She was my microbiology professor who gave me a seventy-five during undergrad. Not because I didn’t study on the subject but because of her lectures consisting of gene splicing and DNA recombinant technology. More than once, I checked for my course description to see if it was really Microbiology 101 and not How-to-make-your-student-dumbstrucked-with-highfaluting-hogwash-scientific-words 101. I didn’t dare to greet her as she passed by me; I pretended not to notice her.

            Another classmate of mine arrived at the library to review. He was holding a cup of coffee on one hand and a granola bar at the other. I scowled at his idea of breakfast that falls under the concept of fast pace consumerism. If I have to eat breakfast, it should be served on a plate with spoon and fork. Anyhow, he’s the silent type who’s mostly absorbed on his notes and books. I often wondered if he hand any social life of his own, he seemed rather detached with reality. I waved my hand at him so that he could notice me but he just gave me an awkward smile then disappeared to the stairs.

            I checked my watch, it was still eight fifty. Alex would probably be on her way by now. I replayed the words in my mind that I would be telling her, hoping that I won’t stutter or lose my control when things would go out of hand. Just be calm and keep your composure, I told myself. Everything’s going to be okay.