Oh boy! Miss me? Well then, what are you waiting for?
oOo
Past the blurry lines of the skyline I saw a little light twinkling, it was fighting for existence. A bit intimidated by the other stats, but nonetheless... holding on. It reminded me of days when the world seem a bleak place to live in, and it reminded me of the days when I struggled to make someone overcome that feeling. I didn't know if I had been successful or not, but surely there was more to us than it was to only me. We didn't move apart, and he never stopped enlightening me with his thoughts. And that's how we functioned. We learned and taught each other. He taught me to love, and I taught him to be loved.
oOo
On bright, sunny days such as this, I feel like banging my head on the wall and wondering why in the world the summer season exists. It's one of those moments when I feel the need to leave the damn world and hide in some distant planet away from all the tomfoolery and crazy people, but that was not going to happen any time soon so I could just imagine.
I put down my pencil and eraser and gulped down the saliva to wet my throat.
No such luck.
My throat was scratchy and in need of some cold water. I stared at the tracing table for a moment and licked my lips. Should I run out and fetch some water for myself? I heard a slight shifting of feet and looked beside me. My friend- who seemed a little too comfortable in a hot day such as this- was staring at me.
"Are you done with the countour diagrams? All of the twelve?" she snapped.
"Don't be mean. I'm not done, yet." I smiled as I put my glasses down on the tracing table and left the lab silently, trying to ignore the curses my friend threw at me.
I smiled as I turned the tap open, and the cold water tricked down my arm and dropped on my feet. I leaned in and put my lips to my palm and sucked hungrily on the water. It slid down my throat, making me shiver in delight and gulping some more down... My stomach felt heavy with all the water I had comsumed, and I closed the tap hastily. My hands were pale from the chill of the water.
Feeling satisfied, I put my hand to my throat and smiled.
Turning to walk away I bumped into someone and turned to apologize. The man was no older than twenty three, and looked professional in his purple formal shirt, black dress pants and stripped tie he was wearing. His hair sported an army cut, making him look a bit boyish. I mumbled and sorry and walked away, noticing the bobbing of the man's head from the corner of my eyes.
oOo
"I just saw this freaking awesome looking guy on campus!" my friend shrieked. I flinched away, trying to stay calm as I worked on my geography practical at a slower pace than that was needed. I lazily finished the third one when my friend burst into the room after taking a break, shrieking about some guy.
"What are you, twelve?" I grumbled.
"Woman, I'm seventeen and hormonal. That man was lickable!" I rolled my eyes at her comment and tried to concentrate on my work. "Who do you think he is?"
"Who?" I asked her absentmindedly.
"You know... the guy I was telling you about!" she grunted. I nodded. "Purple shirt." I nodded again. "Do you know him?"
"I've seen him on campus today... nothing else... He's probably applying for a job." I shrugged.
"I hope he gets it then," she giggled.
"Yeah," I sighed, and went back to work.
oOo
"Oh my, he's here!" my friend squealed.
"Oh, him?" another friend commented. "He's the new librarian..." My ears perked up. I went to the library every day, but I'd never seen him around. "He's taking language developmental classes. They are literature oriented."
"I haven't seen him in the library," I told them.
"That's because he's handling the junior classes. This is his first job." I nodded and went back to reading the book I was holding.
oOo
In our school, the teachers stay back after school and attend physical education classes. I was there on one particular day, helping out the teacher plan out the independance day program.
I saw a flood of people entering the empty room, and buzzing with excitement. I felt a bit uncomfortable to be there... They were my teachers after all. They all greeted me. All except one. I stared at him for a moment and then went back to conversing with the afore mentioned teacher.
oOo
"And one, two, three four!" The P.E teacher shouted, as the teachers performed on stage moving their bodies to the music. Aerobics, they said it was... but most of it was plain... stretching. I mean, it was good when the teachers were performing, but... yeah.
I was nervous about my performance, so I was going to criticize everyone.
I spotted the lean man at the corner, not stretching... he was actually doing it right. Impressed, I moved forward and cheered. It felt good to feel relieved. I wasn't afraid to perform anymore. I actually wanted to get it on and do well. I stated at the man in shock, a smile spread across my lips and I moved back into the crowd before he turned towards me and saw me smiling.
oOo
I was sipping on the water when I heard people speaking behind me. I straightened up, immediately, feeling odd for having my butt sticking out in the air.
"Zoya! C'mon here!" the PE teacher called. I stiffened in a second, conflicted as to what to do. I turned back and waited. "Come here," the teacher asked again. I nodded, moving forward, concentrating on him rather than on the man beside him. "How was your day?" I smiled a strained smile and told him that it was lovely.
It actually was.
"You did a wonderful job," I told the librarian.
"Thank you," he mumbled. I had already turned to leave when he spoke again. "You were wonderful, too," he offered politely. I threw him a glance over my shoulder and nodded. I was walking away when I heard him say something.
"Thank you for cheering." My smile was there, lingering and I didn't know why.
oOo
Our conversations were restricted to greetings and his shy replies. It was as if he coiled inside when someone spoke to him, but I had heard him speak to the juniors. He was in control and definitely humorous. He cracked a smile when some senior girls spoke to him, but it was apologetic and a bit frightened. I looked from far and went on with my work.
About a few months later, I found that I liked going to school. I liked teasing the man. I liked to greet him, knowing that he'd blush and stutter. I actually looked forward to it.
My friends had crushes on the man. They all fawned over his hotness' which I could never notice. To be honest, I thought his nose was wrong... And well... I named him Flynn Rider... Flynn for short, and that's what I called him most of the times... in my head of course.
In these months, I'd bumped into him enough times to catch him trying to learn to play the guitar or passionately speaking about a book to one of the English teachers.
At one point, my trips to the library were scarred with his presence. He would come in, look at me once and then move away. Never did he speak... or volunteer to do so.
And it was fine by me.
oOo
It was the end of Teachers day; my last in the school. I felt a twinge of sadness in me as I leaned on the balcony and hummed to myself.
"It was a beautiful performance," I heard someone say and looked around. Flynn was standing a few feet away from me, with a smile on his face.
"Thank you," I smiled back, a bit happy that he initiated the conversation. I remembered seeing him at the end of the auditorium, staring at me as I made my grand- yet unexpected entry from between the crowd. I saw him clap for me. He was quite enthusiastic.
"Thank you for cheering for me," I told him, just to remind him of another such conversation. I turned back, leaned on the railing and started to hum again.
oOo
"He's a remarkable young man. It's shocking that you, being an avid reader and lover of literature haven't had a conversation with him yet." A teacher remarked. "His name is Asad..." I nodded. I didn't want to know that. My friends had been gushing over him and what he had worn... I hadn't noticed. That's were the conversation came from.
At least I know his name, now.
oOo
This was it; the last moment of my school life. I was going to step out of the school. I would never come back here. I'd told my goodbye's to everyone.
I remembered one person that I'd miss and frowned.
I turned back, unknowing to what I was going to do, and headed to the library. I opened the door and entered. I gave out a sigh of relief when I spotted him.
"Good afternoon, sir." I smiled.
"Good afternoon," he looked surprised.
"Thank you," I said. His brows furrowed together in confusion. "Thank you for teaching me to not be intimidated and do what I want." I dipped my head in respect and turned walked away.
That day I left with no regret, knowing that the man would take my words to heart and think about it.
Maybe he's come out of his shell at last.
It was the last time, and I'd made it worth the time.
oOo
It was my first day of classes. I was practically jumping in excitement. I'd worked hard and here I was... I was going to get a degree in creative writing. I wanted to, and I would. I knew.
Entering the class, I picked a seat which I liked and plopped down on it. The empty chair beside me was soon filled and I looked up to greet the person...
"...Sir?" I choked.
"Good morning. This is a pleasant surprise," he said.
"You... you're taking the class?" He nodded. "Why?" I asked, shocked.
"I want to. I was not ready to teach. I needed to pursue my dreams." I gulped at that. He'd actually thought about what I had said. Maybe it took him five years to realize that... but he had! "Thank you for leaving me with that thought," he said, and the days passed by like seconds...
oOo
I can't believe that it had been years since my school had finished. We remained friends... We held each other's hands... So what if he was nine years older to me. We worked.
Down the road, we'd finally gotten to the point where he was not only my teacher, but also my classmate and a close friend. Then love bloomed. We thought alike, we fought passionately, we loved our books and its characters and most of all we never took each other for granted.
"I always wonder what this song meant..." he chuckled.
"It's an evil song." I said.
"Nah... This song is not us!" He laughed.
"Don't stand so... don't stand so... don't stand so close to me!" I sang without tune, and that's how we were. We taught each other and learned a little.
We always had a little to learn.
oOo
This was Flynn... The one who's nose is NEVER right. And this person does exist... Let's just leave it at that for now. 😆
Leave me some love.
Sand.
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