Green Hearts

Chapter 11

I'm seated in IND283, Design history and precedent class. My lecturer is yapping on and about high style forms with correlating historical contexts

Someone would think that after the project that we had just submitted, she would take pity on us and let us live a little before bombarding our minds with history

If not that I had a passion for Interior Décor, I could have easily given up on my major and probably quit showing up for most of my classes, changing my career to being a clown

Right now, I'm yawning as I try to find samples on the internet that are supposed to help with our latest project that has us shared into regions and cultures

I'd searched for indígena house models and interior planning of Italian homes and bless the seven seas for landing me a region that's popular and easy to access

Of course it comes with a challenge of having to bring about something original and different to be able to get an A or probably settle for a B. Yes, I'm really good at designing so only A's and B's work for me

The class isn't filled up and the people that actually showed are in worlds of their own. The first are the ones that are lost in working on their laptops while the lecturer goes round, inspecting and commenting with a large smile plastered on her face

The second are those that seem more interested in what's going on on their phones to actually care about what's going on around them

There's a last which probably includes just me who decides to daydream about food while staring longingly out the window. I should look like a woman whose husband is coming back from the war with all this staring

I feel a presence behind me and I twist my neck to catch a whiff of Mrs Black's flowery perfume which she makes herself, before my eyes land on her. My smile mirrors the one her face

"Care to share what you're dreaming about?" She smiles sweetly at me. I hear others around the class chuckle lightly and I mock glare at those that I actually talk to

I stand to my feet and address the whole class "Not to digress from matters of education, but there is a new burger joint that just opened up beside the Korean restaurant, and as a proud ambassador, I employ you all to make a visit"

"Autumn, are you only an ambassador for food. That's all you ever announce" Melissa comments with a snicker as head pops up from behind her laptop.

We'd first met in class before I discovered she and her dad owned one of my most visited restaurant. We'd become fast friend and that's being threatened by big head Jace

"You weren't saying that when I became one for you" I give her a pointed look but that soon falters, betrayed by a grin that breaks out on my face

"Enough talk about food, get back to it" Mrs Black comments and I sit back in my seat "You can't possibly be done researching right?" She peers at my face

I laugh "I've covered most bases"

She nods content. In addition to being in love with my course and actually being moderately good at it, we'd all been blessed with an intellectual and nice lecturer

"I liked your work 'Dark Rainbow' project but it did seem much of your style" she smiles knowingly at me and I twist my face away from her knowing that I had been caught

I had spent a whole day in Jace's house, taking in every colour and blend used in the set-up while making myself breakfast and dinner in his kitchen and dumped some leftover in his oven for his own dinner. How nice of me, I know

"I did have a reference but it's totally my style" I steal a sneaky glance at her ever smiling face

"It's fine but try creating on your own next time and coming to me when you reach any blocks, okay?" She says nicely and I nod in agreement

"Alright, let's wrap up for today and we'll pick it back up next class" Mrs Black says in a louder voice, addressing the whole class

Laptops slap closed and are shoved into bags. There's chatting around the class as the room slowly begins to empty out before I make a move to leave

When I step out, I'm shocked to find Muna standing off against the wall, checking out the bunch of people that had just exited my class. She has her lip pulled in between her teeth as she watches them like I'm about to watch the burger that'll be my dinner

"You look like 'a pimp named slickback' searching for new prey" I break her concentration from the retreating figures and she turns to me with a slightly confused expression

"Who in the devil is that? Besides, they are all good art references" She gives me a look that screams 'you're hella weird' but that doesn't faze me and never has for the past year that we've known each other

"You don't watch Boondocks?" I nudge her shoulder so that we begin walking down the hall and out of the Faculty of Arts

"You know, I've never actually really gotten round to it. I should though" she says, shrugging off her leather jacket and dumping it on my head

I pick off of my head "Only cause I like this jacket" I murmur and hold it in my arms "Why did you even wait on me today?"

"I was having a late art class and decided to let you pay for my dinner" she grins as we step out of the building and I begin to lead the way towards the new burger joint

This is girl keeps trying to try the hell out of me. Oh I'm not the one!

"Keep saying whatever it is you're saying in your head" she says and disappears and goes to order. I hadn't even realised that we had reached. Huh, I guess it isn't that far after all

"I'm not paying for shit, Munachi!" I yell after her but she only throws me a smirk over shoulder, turning back to the mobile food court

"Hey ambassador" Michael yells from inside the vehicle and I grin at his ability to make even his customers sitting around wince

"Hey employer" I yell back

"Hurry up you lazy ass or all of the food will be gone" Muna says to me as she sits at a table

"I do highly doubt that" I mutter to myself. The table is filled with two burgers, a plate of tacos and all sorts of things to put in them

"What did you say, shorty" she looks at me and I pale, knowing already what the look means before smiling giddily at her

"Nothing, grand masti" I laugh nervously and join her at the table

"Exactly, boo boo cakes" she grins at me before digging into the food