ArHiK::Wicked::Ch6-The Casualties[Pg -30]

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W I C K E D

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Chapter One - The Professor of Presumption

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Her hand shaking slightly as she juggled their two espresso's as her best friend for over three years now looked frantically from the crumpled class schedule to the room numbers they were half running past, Jessica Soren repeated herself for the hundredth time -"Amy 'babe'you have got to learn to let your hair down."

'Amy' on the other hand seemed entirely unconcerned when it came to her friends dire warning and instead finally crammed the schedule sheet away into a pocket and grabbed her espresso as she back stepped into the designated classroom with a back-step as she glared pointedly at her friend before slipping into one of the back rows, behind the football groupies she'd seen clustered all over the field last week.

"At least we're here before the teacher, although why a new guest lecturer is," she glanced briefly at her watch, " Over fifteen minutes late to his first class is beyond me." Whispered Amy as she took a sip of her now slightly cooled off coffee, as she checked out the crop of students in the Specific Contracts Course, there were a few of the Business students she'd done her Business Law course with , and oddly enough a startling number of cheerleaders, most of whom were neither Business nor Law majors. Being Editor of the campus yearbook, gave one a heads up on fun facts like that, although having just gotten back from home after the whole Summer off, Amna had to admit she felt more than a little out of touch here, her eyes falling on a never before seen jock in the most alarming pair of knee high khaki's and a black well worn AC/DC concert shirt ' well, she told herself, it was good to know that some things never changed.

In fact it was almost as if she had spoken aloud, for at that very moment, with the entire class murmuring amongst themselves as the bespectacled late teacher finally entered with a stack of books, the jock with the AC/DC T-shirt looked pointedly up at her and arched an altogether too knowing brow, as if he knew he had been stereotyped not seconds ago by prim little Amna.

Quickly tearing her eyes away, Amna faced forward, her perfectly crisp notebook laying open before her as she began to take notes on what the nerdy teacher had begun to write down on the board '

"Presumptions."

Oh the irony.

* * *

"'..There are many of you who have already learnt a great deal as law students, however for both you and non pre-law majors, the first thing you will need to know about this class is none of that matters. Contract Laws, most particularly those of Specific Contracts are biased off a basic principal of Law ' can anyone tell me what that is?..."

Amna 'Amy' Hassan, was not usually an inattentive student, but this man's ability to put a class to sleep would rival that of some of the world's best nannies, blinking away the remaining dredges of her late night, she poked Jessie sharply with the other end of her pencil as one of the other pre-law majors from the from row decided to speak up '

"Rule of Law ' no one is above the law."

Jessica snorted.

Amy rolled her eyes.

And so began another boring year of Law School.

"Anything else?" asked the new teacher, with an awkward wave at one of the many words he had littered the blackboard with ' Presumption.

Smiling sweetly, Amy decided to put the poor man out of his misery and pitched in ' "It is free of presumption ' after all Justice is blind."

"Is it?"

Amy crooked her head so quickly she could feel a slight pinch at her neck. But no sooner had she turned to identify the source did her eyes clash with startling hazel one's ' the AC/DC guy - watching her with amused attention, a red pen twirling between his fingers as he silently dared her to reaffirm her answer.

There was something she wasn't seeing here.

So she waited silently, only to have Josh Keegan, one of the particularly not so bright, very keenly capable of memorizing pre-law protge's pipe up instead '

"The law must on principal be free from presumption, to say otherwise would make the law fallible."

Mr. Hazel-eyes smiled, a slow steady smile, as he answered, never taking his eyes from hers ' "But the law is fallible ' It's made by fallible men ...and on occasion women, isn't it?" he added as is in afterthought.

"The law is not fallible ' and it is most certainly not based on presumption!" bit out Keegan in his outraged squeak, Amna shook her head in commiseration, that squeak would be the end of him if he didn't learn to at least cover it up.

However before Amy had had the chance to even think of anything else, Mr.Hazel-eyed-Smirk had stood up and was not taking a leisurely stroll down the aisle as he rattled off -"An Oral Contract undertaken by a family member is not usually considered a valid contract ' Why do you think that is Mr.Keegan?"

Amna shot the baffled Josh Keegan a look, before dragging her eyes back to the man now walking steadily down the aisle ' Why wasn't the teacher saying anything? Wasn't he supposed to be some hot-shot lawyer?

"Presumption One of Contracts Mr. Keegan, teach us that any verbal agreement entered into by a family member most probably lacks intent- as such the presumption holds that there was no intent to contract. You see ' the law is made up of presumptions, and so ladies and gentlemen are you. Am I right Mr. Henderson?"

Amna and the entire class watched in astonishment, as the geeky professor, who had entered the classroom mere minutes ago, tore off the tousled toupee and took down his glasses to reveal an unexpectedly handsome man who replied to the audacious jock with a jaunty smile and a cheeky, "'Course you are Professor Raizada, can I take my seat now?"

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Next

Chapter Two - A Study in Stimulation