My Words Are Law

Troubles Arise (1)

"What? You want to do this project on your own?" Mr. Rowland, Amaryllis' professor in her one and only elective course for the semester, frowned at her in disappointment. Her confidence that had brought her marching in the faculty room began to diminish as she stood beside Mr. Rowland's desk with a posture that was growing stiff by the second.

She completed the first requirement earlier than the deadline, thinking the professor would regard her capable enough to agree to her request. After seeing the look of disapproval on his face, however, Amaryllis realized she might have gone too far ahead with her judgment.

"Yes, Sir..." She gingerly muttered. "All my classmates seem to have already found a pair, and the class count ends in an odd number, so-"

Mr. Rowland's loud sigh was enough to push her into an uncomfortable silence. She gulped, shifting her weight on either foot as she eyed the professor who took at the list of students in their class. Amaryllis licked her lips nervously, wishing for the bell to ring faster. She didn't think he'd go through the trouble of verifying her words, but now that it came to it, she wished she wasn't here to witness her lie crumble into one pathetic mess. Please ring! Please ring! Please ri-

"Miss Larson..." Mr. Rowland's frown deepened as he veered away from the sheet to look at Amaryllis. She took a deep breath and tried to keep her face straight despite the anxiously accelerating pulse in her rib cage.

"Yes, Sir..?" She even managed to force out a lax response to her professor as if everything was going her way when it clearly wasn't. And the bell still didn't ring.

"The last number in this list is clearly an even number. You would have known that if you checked it in the student portal."

Already did, actually. "Oh... I'm sorry, sir. I must've mistaken another class for yours..." Amaryllis apologized, looking very surprised at the not-so-new information he offered. Mr. Rowland's eyes narrowed at her face as she continued to blink at him innocently.

After what seemed to be an hour, he decided to give her the benefit of the doubt, saying, "Miss Larson, project management isn't only about being the head of a project. Even if you are the smartest project manager, it is not a guarantee of success. Having the capacity to work with other key professionals involved is as important as having a good head on your shoulders. This is why I made you do this project by pair-- To help improve your people skills. Do you understand?"

Absolutely. "Yes, Sir. Yes, of course." Amaryllis bobbed her head as if uttering 'yes' twice wasn't already enough.

The aging professor nodded as he put the list down and held her research instead, skimming over the contents before speaking. "You've chosen quite a challenging project, which I trust won't be very hard for you, judging from your reputation. This is good. Once we solve your problem regarding the pairing, you could talk among yourselves if both of you will proceed with this... Or who knows? Your partner might have a better output. We'll see."

Right. "Yes, Sir. Thank you for your time." Amaryllis could only cry inwardly as her teacher handed back her research.

"Make another copy of that and pass it to me during class hours." He proceeded to check the pile of quiz papers in front of him, ignoring Amaryllis' troubled face.

She never had the chance to do it alone in the first place. "Yes, Sir..." She replied glumly.

She trudged out of the faculty, only sighing once she was out in the hallway. Ugh. Her luck is absolutely detestable. She sighed once more as she put the paper back in her file case before tossing it all together in her bag. Where is Mia now..? She wondered as she trotted gloomily in the hallway, feeling even more depressed after hearing the happy chatters of the students loitering around her. She stuck her fingers in her front pocket for her phone, thinking of texting Mia to save her a seat when the bell rang. She sighed yet again as her fingers slid out of the tight space, falling dejectedly to her sides.

Fixing the strings of her bag on her shoulder, she began racing through the hallway like a madman, not slowing down even at the two flights of stairs to reach the sixth floor. The professor in her next class is quite mellow compared to others, but tardiness can set him off to death mode in mere seconds. The consequences are dire, and usually, students who knew of him would sometimes skip class rather than enter late.

She was huffing as she finally reached the landing on the sixth floor. Her airway felt painful as it rubbed like paper sand against her windpipe. Regardless, she hastened towards her destination as she repeatedly gulped to moisten the mini Sahara desert in her throat.

"Hello, Amaryllis." A deep voice interrupted her. Oh, come on...

She didn't want to, but she had to pause to acknowledge the voice's owner, who was coincidentally standing beside her. She wanted to sigh noisily, but only ragged breaths came out of her mouth as she met Chryses' amber eyes. What is wrong with the universe!?

She planned to quickly utter a standard response but was distracted by the sight of her professor halfway reaching the classroom. Her eyes exchanged frantic glances between the teacher and Chryses before finally choosing to focus her attention on the classroom door after a quick nod and a few gestures at Chryses, who was apathetic to her plight. She doesn't care if the two-faced angel understood it as she made another quick sprint, narrowly escaping a scolding.

Phew! She hastened her footsteps, walking over to Mia, who beckoned her towards a nearby chair after removing the bag from the seat.

"Thanks!" Amaryllis grinned at her.

"You crazy woman! The professor came a second after you entered!"

"I ... know," Amaryllis muttered in between huffs as she accepted Mia's water bottle, taking big gulps to rehydrate.

Mia shook her head at Amaryllis. "Okay. That's enough. Calm your breathing before you get noticed-"

"I already told you this the first day, but I hate latecomers." The professor's voice boomed, and everyone turned quiet as their eyes went to Amaryllis. However, she didn't notice it as she was busy patting her chest.

Mia poked at Amaryllis, who frowned at her questioningly, utterly clueless about what was going on. Her friend gestured with her eyes two times before she looked around, noticing her classmates were watching her with amused faces, some secretly snickering behind their books. Finally, she followed the direction Mia was pointing with her hand that was hidden under the desk. It seems she guessed correctly when she met the cold, hard stare of the professor, who didn't find the situation amusing despite her classmate's reactions.

"I'm sorry... Sir," she quickly apologized, finally realizing her mistake.

"Do you even know what you're apologizing for? It seems your attention is still on the student outside. Are you sure you're ready to listen to my class, or would you rather I call him so that you could finish your conversation?"

Fudge cake. Student- who? Chryses? Her brows slightly furrowed, feeling insulted at the unsolicited comment. "I... I'm sorry, sir. It won't happen... again," she finally replied, still gasping for breath.

"First warning." His gaze turned sharp. "You only have two more left," he added before turning to write on the board.

Right... Because Amaryllis couldn't have guessed that. Her face crumpled as she momentarily rested her forehead on the desk. Ugghhh...

She'd better keep her head down the entire time until class ends.

So embarrassing...

***

A/N: Ah... This made me reminisce college. The younger ones are mostly kind, but there are others who like to go against the grain. So you have to be careful on the first day until you know for sure. ಠ⌣ಠ