Chapter 4. Words That Stick

Not the face! I thought as my hand slipped and my head almost slammed into the desk.

“I’ve received many comments about my teaching technique, but it hasn’t been compared to sedatives yet.” The baritone voice filled with disapproval and a hint of humour. 

My eyes snapped open. I stared half-dazed at the MTH101 lecturer as if he was an apparition. Maths wasn’t my favourite subject, but not so terrible to put me to sleep. I had barely 3 hours of sleep and got to class late because I was too shy to dress up in front of my roommates. Ironically, they had no problem stripping down and getting dressed. Instead, I stood there moisturising my arms for as long as possible, trying to buy time. When they’d finally left the room, I was in a towel with only well-moisturised arms to show for all that time late to class. 

“N-not at all. I’m sorry.” I stuttered, discreetly wiping the corner of my mouth for any sign of drool. Thankfully, there was none. He looked at me and then gestured for me to stand. 

“Remain standing until I say otherwise.” He said before he turned to the board to continue the lecture. “That should help wake you up.” 

“Isn’t he so dreamy?” A girl whispered behind me. My ears pricked in curiosity. Behind me was a chubby girl with a baby face that made her look sweet and innocent. So cute. 

“I just want to wrap him up and take him home with me.” Okay, not so innocent. 

“Maya, forget it. He’s our lecturer for heaven's sake.” A girl behind her hissed in annoyance. I think I just choked mentally. The hiss was a bit too loud because it attracted the lecturer’s attention. 

“Who was that?” He asked as he turned around to survey the hall. Students giggled mischievously, drawing his attention away from the actual culprit. “I said, who did that?” 

“Sir, I think it came from over there.” A male voice spoke up. I turned to find one of the students pointing directly at me. From what I remembered about secondary school, everything about him screamed the teacher’s pet. 

“Thank you, Dayo,” The lecturer then turned to me. “I’m sure you’re new here. I don’t expect this sort of behaviour from you. I’ve changed my mind; you shall remain standing for the duration of the class.” 

I cast a deadly glare at the guy who got me in trouble. It wasn’t what I expected for crying out loud. How was it any better than secondary school? I was glad that I opted for home-schooling during the final years of my secondary education. At least I didn’t have to experience such embarrassing circumstances. 

“Even the way he scolds is just so attractive.” The girl behind me whispered. I clenched my fists in annoyance. Not another word! After class, all I wanted to do was disappear to my hostel. That hope shattered when someone stopped me at the exit. I raised my head and looked into dark, intelligent eyes that regarded me silently. 

“What’s your name?” He finally asked. He was the first student to ask for my name without introducing himself first. 

“Precious,” I replied as I stepped away from him. He nodded and noticed my sudden distance but said nothing about it. 

“Back there, what happened? Why didn’t you speak up?” 

“What do you mean?” 

“I know you didn’t do it. You didn’t hiss, so why didn’t you say anything?” 

“Does it matter?” I retorted. 

“Well, it does if you care about your reputation.” Right then, I didn’t care about much other than leaving that place. “I’m just saying you should speak up for yourself next time. Rarely would others do it for you.” He turned without another word and left me standing there. I realised he never introduced himself, but his words stuck with me. 

*** 

“You were rude to Mr Essien in your Maths class?” It was the first thing Anna said when I walked into the room. She and Ada were in the room, but Nafisa was not around. I just stood there wondering how on earth she had gotten that piece of news and so quickly. 

“Don’t look so surprised,” She laughed. “News travels fast here.” 

“I wasn’t rude. It was just a misunderstanding.” 

“Yeah, I think I’ve used that line before,” Ada commented, smacking her bubble gum as she walked past me in tiny denim shorts. “Listen, Mr Essien has a bit of a reputation around here.”

 I said nothing and waited for her to continue. 

“Nearly half the female population of this campus is crushing on him.” 

“Ew.” I wrinkled my nose. 

“I agree,” Ada said from her side of the room. “He once tried to convince my parents that I needed a tutor because I was failing maths. The fact is, I wasn’t, but then he always failed me.” 

That piqued my curiosity. “So, what did you do?” I asked. 

She smiled slowly and paused in her act of smacking her bubble gum. Judging by their smiles, I guessed it was a story they all knew. 

“During a class test, I duplicated my answers, so I submitted the exam sheet and held on to the other. I gave another maths lecturer on campus to mark them. I told him I was practising some questions and preparing for the exams. When I got my script from Mr Essien, I failed the exam, but as I suspected, my script from the other lecturer was excellent. That was when I was sure something was up.” 

“Wow.” I was impressed. “So, did you confront him?” 

“Girl, he doesn’t even look at her twice now,” Anna said. 

“Asides from that, let’s just say I have my ways,” Ada smirked. 

My stomach chose that time to grumble loudly. I guess it was time to visit the cafeteria. As I grabbed some meal tickets and extra cash if I needed it, I pondered just how easy Ada had made it sound. Was it that easy?