CHAPTER TWENTY - FOUR

NICK WALKER ©

I stared at the interactive whiteboard, but my mind was somewhere else.

I couldn't stop thinking about what had happened earlier. No matter how hard I tried, it stayed in my head.

I did not even have the boldness to ask Enzo why he did it. I felt too embarrassed to bring it up.

I took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, trying to focus on what the lecturer was teaching.

“You sounded jealous.“ I remembered his words, and I scoffed under my breath.

Jealous? He clearly did not know what he was talking about.

Avery nudged me lightly, her eyes still on the lecturer.

“What’s wrong?” she whispered.

I shook my head, trying to push my thoughts away.

“Nothing,” I said and she lowered her head before looking at me.

“You still haven’t told me where you went earlier,” she whispered and I swallowed hard.

“Your ears are red, Nick.”

I quickly massaged both ears.

“What does that have to do with what you’re asking?” I whispered back.

“You tell me.“ She said.

“Well… I went to the restroom,” I said, making her frown at me.

“So, you jumped up like that just to use the restroom? And you spent all that time there?” she asked. I paused, then gave a small nod.

“Wow, Nick,” she whispered. “We’re already at the stage where you lie to me?”

“What? No, it’s not like that,” I said quickly.

“Excuse me, the two students talking over there.”

I heard our Manufacturing Technology lecturer speak, and Avery and I quickly turned to the front.

She was pointing right at us while the whole class turned to look too, making my stomach sink.

“Would you care to tell the class what the two of you are talking about?” she asked through the microphone.

Avery and I exchanged a quick look.

“We weren’t, ma’am,” Avery said loud enough for the whole class to hear.

“Last warning, you two,” the lecturer said. “If it happens again, I’ll send you both out of my class.”

We quickly lowered our heads and sat quietly.

“That was close,” I whispered.

“I’m still not done with you, Nick Walker,” Avery whispered back, shooting me a look.

“I have nothing to tell you,” I whispered. “You’re the only one thinking like that. I’m not hiding anything from you.”

She scoffed softly.

“Oh, can we talk about those strange words you’ve been trying to figure out for days now?” she whispered and I let out a quiet sigh.

“It’s just something silly I’m trying to figure out,” I whispered back.

“Something silly?” she said. “You should see yourself. You sit there mumbling nonsense and whispering random words like you’re trying to crack a code.”

That time, she spoke a little louder than a whisper.

A loud sigh came from the front before the lecturer spoke again.

“Thank you very much,” the professor said with a tired sigh. “The two of you can leave my class.”

Avery and I shot up from our seats the moment we realized she meant us.

Shit!

Why was I even arguing with Avery in class?

I rubbed my forehead while the professor watched us pack our books.

Seriously, why couldn’t we just stay quiet?

“We’re really sorry, ma’am,” I said.

But she only stared at us as we walked out. From the look on her face, she clearly was not ready to accept any apology.

Avery and I left the lecture hall in silence and headed to the library.

To be honest, I did not want to tell Avery everything that had happened between Enzo and me. I already knew she would talk about it nonstop.

It still felt strange getting close to the same Professor I used to hate back then. The same Professor that I accused of murder.

Now, talking to him felt easy. I could spend time with him without feeling awkward, even if most of the time all he did was tease me.

I still couldn’t believe he thought I was jealous of whatever was going on between him and Professor Douglas. But at the same time, I could not stop thinking about what he had said to me that day.

It felt like he said something wrong, then stopped himself when he realized it. That's exactly why I was curious to know what it was.

“Cheers to us.”

Professor Douglas’s words echoed in my head as I remembered her clicking her glass with Enzo’s.

“It seems they’re dating,” I said.

“Who?” Avery asked, turning to me.

“Enzo and Professor Douglas,” I replied and her eyes widened at once.

“They are?” she asked, shocked.

“I mean, they spent the night at the bar together,” I said. “And when she got drunk, Enzo carried her home.”

She gave me a look.

“Was that what’s been bothering you?” she asked and I frowned at her.

“No,” I said quickly.

She kept staring at me.

“Then what’s the weird word you’ve been trying to figure out these days?” she asked.

I let out a slow sigh.

“Enzo told me something in a language I don’t know. That’s what I’ve been trying to figure out,” I finally told her.

“A language?” she asked, surprised. “So that’s what’s been bothering you? Because of Professor Grayson?”

I turned to her at once.

“Why do you say it like that?” I said. “It’s not mostly about Enzo. It’s just about what he said.”

She nodded slowly.

“So he lets you call him Enzo?” she said. “You’ve been calling him that, not Professor.” she said and I cleared my throat.

“Well… he told me to call him that when it’s just the two of us,” I said, then started walking toward the library.

“Oh, speak of the devil,” Avery said.

I turned and saw him coming out of his office building.

He was carrying something in his arms. Students nearby tried to help, but he just shook his head and kept walking.

“Isn’t that his office computer?” I asked.

“Maybe,” Avery said. “Why didn’t he call IT for help?”

Just then, our eyes met. I quickly looked away and started walking into the library building.

Avery called my name, but I kept walking faster.

Then I heard my name from him.

I stopped at once and bit my bottom lip before turning back.

He walked over and stopped right in front of me.

“I have no idea where the IT technician’s office is. Lead me,” he said.

“Let us help carry it, sir,” Avery offered.

He shook his head with a small smile. “It’s fine, thank you.”

Then his eyes moved to me.

“This way,” I said quickly, and turned away without waiting for them.

“So… Professor Grayson, which country are you from?” Avery asked.

“Why do you ask?” he replied.

“Well…” she trailed off.

I stopped walking as soon as I caught on to what she was doing. I turned back, walked over, and gently pulled Avery along with me. Then I gave him a quick, polite smile.

I wasn’t lying when I said I wanted to get rid of whatever was going on between us.