15. fifteen
fifteen
LYSANDRA
My first day hadn’t been as bad as I thought it would be following the incident in the cafeteria.
The girls here were definitely belligerent, specifically toward my ethnicity. They noticed the accent in my last name and the harsh syllables that spilled from my mouth as I spoke in my second language.
For some reason, their English seemed much more advanced than my own, even though I used to pride myself on my pronunciations. Everyone back home told me just how much my accent had disappeared when I spoke English.
But the girls here uncovered insecurities I didn’t even know I had.
I had no choice but to push through it. Camille found her place within the halls of the academy more quickly than I did. For some reason, I had a sense that I would live my entire life roaming this world without finding an abode for myself. I hated this feeling.
One thing was for sure, I had no regrets about coming here. Even though I’d have to struggle more to find my place in this new society. There was nothing I could do but try to live with what I had.
“And there’s this boy, oh gosh, he’s something from another world. I’ve never seen eyes so blue before,” Camille babbled. “I have him for two of my classes and—ugh! Should I talk to him tomorrow? Perhaps I could charm him. What do you think Lys? Lys? Lysandra!”
“What?” I asked.
“Did you hear what I said?” she questioned.
“Yes, I did. I just didn’t find the topic worthy of a response.” I flipped the pages of my copy of Jane Eyre, letting the scent of paper fill my nose.
“Don’t be like that just because he ruined your first day yesterday.” Camille turned her chair to face me.
“That’s who you’re talking about?” My voice rose involuntarily.
My book fell on my lap as my gaze bulged when I realized that she’d been drooling about Ezra.
There was nothing about him that could cause any sort of admiration in my mind toward him.
Nothing except for his eyes, his hair, his stature.
No.
He was annoying and unattractive.
Camille had a wild expression. As if she didn’t understand just how much that guy infuriated me. I breathed in, closing my eyes for just a second to search for calm. Once I opened my eyes and looked back at her, anger still gripped my essence.
“You should go for it. Perhaps then he’ll leave me alone.
” A soft expression curved at my mouth. Sighing, I pushed myself from my bed and grabbed my brown leather purse.
My gifted MacBook from the school, leather notebooks, and quill pens were stuffed inside.
“I have to head out. My next session is on the other side of campus.”
She seemed tense as I walked passed her. I could hear her muttering a quiet farewell to me once I closed the door behind me.
My next class was with Ezra, and hopefully, he wouldn’t sit next to me.
I wished and hoped and yearned to be distanced from his obnoxious company.
But as I walked past the thick threshold of the lecture hall, he was already sitting in the same seat as yesterday.
Most of the chairs were occupied by other students.
Some of them were also sitting on the bench-tops.
What was it with them sitting on tables to have conversations with one another? Were chairs not appealing enough to them?
And then a plan formed in my mind. If he wanted to annoy me, then I would do my very best to win his little game. I neared him, a sarcastic smile forming over my lips as I settled beside him.
“You’re not going to run away, are you?” he asked tentatively.
“You’re not going to breathe while I sit here, are you?”
“What did I ever do to you to cause such reactions from you? I’m simply trying to be your friend,” he questioned.
“I don’t make friends with morons who think they deserve all the attention of the world.” The edge of my gaze peeked at him, and I noticed the line his lips formed.
“What’s the matter? Has a girl never disliked you before?” I asked.
“That’s not what this is about,” he began.
“No, you’re right. It’s much deeper than that, isn’t it?
You were raised with daddy’s money, maids rushing around your mansion on your every whim, and mommy buying you everything your heart desired,” I said.
“Is that what this is about? Someone doesn’t do what you want, so you start to freak out and search for ways to manipulate the individual into doing your will.
Starting with the talking and the cordialness. ”
Ezra’s brows shot up before his expression was replaced with the same arrogance that made me want to explode. It just reminded me of Mario’s pride. His unwillingness to admit his mistakes. That was one thing that would always bother me about anyone.
How dare this boy believe he was worthy of my time? How dare he try to convince me to talk to him?
Talking required the act of opening one’s heart to another. And I didn’t do that.
“Well, it seems as though I got what I wanted. You just spoke more words right now than you have in the entire week you’ve been here,” Ezra said.
I groaned and rolled my eyes, switching my stare toward the front of the classroom, to the worn chalkboard at the center. I decided to pull out a book from my backpack as he continued to chat about his success in making me talk.
“You know, everyone said I wasn’t going to be able to make you talk. That I should give up, but here I am. The winner of our little contest,” he said.
I growled.
“I despise you,” I muttered.
“Do you? Or do you just find me irresistible?” he chuckled.
My energy seemed to drain as I fumed. I looked down at the pages before me. Skimming through the symbols inked on them, trying my best to force my mind to latch onto the words, but they slipped from my grasp at every attempt.
The class commenced moments after, and I thanked God for it. I was saved from suffering with the silence between us, although he seemed rather pleased with my stifling with the soundless conversation being held through our glances and glares.
It was only my second day attending lectures, and I already felt like I was falling behind.
I stared at the binder before me. I couldn’t believe how much homework I already had. How could this even be possible? The semester had begun yesterday. Then again, it was the Spring semester, and they already had a consistent curriculum since last September.
Professor Daine commenced his lecture. He spoke about Rome’s interconnected cities when the empire began to fall. It wasn’t until he began to speak about Greece and its influence on the nation that I realized we would be focusing a great deal on the subject. Which meant a big project would follow.
“Your next assignment, due in two weeks, is an analysis paper on different roles in ancient Greece. The role of men, women, children, kings, queens, the church, and so on. Your partner for this project will be the person sitting next to you. If your friend is lazy, foolish, or irresponsible, figure it out. I will be handing out a packet with your assigned role in ancient Greece’s society and you will have to make sure to hand your twenty-page paper in two Fridays’ time. ”
I glanced toward Ezra, who had an amused grin set on his face.
I wished I could punch him and wipe the smile off his face.
It was evident that I would have to have another conversation with him.
This was my education; I would have to choke back my pride and get this paper completed on time.
Plus make time for the rest of my homework assignments.
“Shaking me off won’t be so simple.” He beamed.
“Careful there, I might connect my fist with your face,” I warned.
The professor, who wore a knitted vest, walked over to us with a grunt, throwing our packet in the middle of our table. I waited to see if he would reach for the packet, but he did nothing other than scan my face, which caused my confidence to falter as I grabbed our assignment.
As I opened the packet, I could see the hundreds of teachings, research, and analyses of other researchers on the role of women in ancient Greece.
“Guess we’re going to be writing about women. Your expertise,” I said to Ezra, who slumped his shoulders.
“I’m not who you think I am,” he muttered, looking away. I followed his gaze, which had been set on a group of four guys who had been sitting together.
Our desks were meant for only two. They sat in pairs as they exchanged their packages with one another.
It was the group that caused the most ruckus in the entire classroom.
The professor would ignore them whenever they raised their hands, but then again, he did this to almost everyone.
Which made me wonder whether I should ask for another professor.
I came here to learn, I wasn’t sent here so my teachers could tolerate me.
I knew just how much of a privilege it was to be here.
“Well, since it’s twenty pages long, I’ll do the first ten and you can do the last set,” I said.
“How will we know that we have the same thoughts on women’s roles in Greece?” he asked with a wider grin.
I sighed and rolled my eyes. “We can meet up during those two weeks to make sure we are on the same page.”
“How does tomorrow sound? Five o’clock at the grand library.”
“Sure,” I said.
“Class dismissed!” the professor yelled.