8. Back To The Campus

Monday morning, I walked quickly to campus. This morning I woke up a bit late. I was arriving at the class, and the atmosphere was still noisy because Mr. Andi, the lecturer who was supposed to fill the first hour, had not come because there were still guests in his office.

I stepped into the only empty seat next to Tia. Tia and I always find a place to sit with each other, depending on who comes first. Tia often finds me a seat because Tia always comes earlier than me.

As I walked towards my seat, I realized that Ali occupied the seat in front of me. We stared at each other for a moment lazily, although only for a moment could I see the hatred in his eyes. I sat casually next to Tia and tried not to notice Ali's presence, which hurt my eyes. Ali seemed to be talking to Rani, who was sitting in front of him. Before long, he stood up and swapped seats with Rani. I just smiled sarcastically, seeing what Ali did.

Not long after, Mr. Andi came in and started to attend to us one by one, the students who attended this morning. Mr. Andi is one of the killer lecturers on campus, and if anyone is caught skipping class during class time, they will get a sanction, namely making a resume of a book about nursing or other health problems.

I followed Mr. Andi's lesson while trying to hold back my sleep and sighed in relief when the lesson was over. During recess, Tia and I walked out of the classroom together and crossed paths when I headed to the canteen, and Tia met her supervisor to consul her nursing care report.

Because I woke up late this morning, I was starving because I didn't have time for breakfast. I ordered a plate of fried rice and a glass of sweet tea for my breakfast. I sat on the chairs in the cafeteria's corner to wait for my order. I patiently waited, even with a rumbling stomach.

I immediately took a sip of warm sweet tea and intended to eat my fried rice shortly after my order arrived. Suddenly I felt someone sitting next to me. I turned and saw the most annoying face I didn't want to see the most, Ali! I looked around the room, looking for another empty seat, but all the seats seemed to be occupied.

"Sweet tea, ma'am," said Ali to Mrs. Atik, the school canteen owner, when the woman in her forties asked her,

I immediately stood up while carrying my fried rice and sweet tea to walk out of the cafeteria, but Ali grabbed my hand, making my drink spill a little on the skirt I was wearing. I glared at him, but he didn't seem to care at all.

"Sit down!" he ordered. He looked at me coldly.

I looked at his hand that was still holding mine. Ali followed my gaze, then released his grip.

"Sit down," he repeated, this time in a slightly gentler tone.

I looked at him. At a glance, I felt like I wanted to leave in front of him but I felt something forced me to sit back down.

Ali took a tissue and wiped my wet skirt from my sweet tea, and I quickly brushed it off before his hand reached my thigh with his face red from anger. I didn't think Ali would do that.

"You pervert," I squealed softly.

"I just want to help dry your skirt," he excused lightly while looking at me. He seemed to grin sarcastically.

I immediately glared at him while cleaning my skirt. Some of the cafeteria visitors who saw this incident just looked at us indifferently. They didn't really care about what happened to me because the sight of me arguing with Ali was a common thing on campus.

I stood up again to avoid the most annoying creature, but Ali grabbed my arm again, and this time harder than before, so my body stumbled towards him. Ali caught me not to fall, which made my heart immediately beat fast when my body was in Ali's arms. I immediately stood up before anyone saw that.

"Sit down and eat, or I'll feed you!" he said coldly.

I glared at him but remained seated by his side. Actually, this incident made my appetite a little less, but I forced myself to keep eating the fried rice that I had ordered with difficulty. I chewed the rice very slowly, and it felt like it was endless because of Ali's intense gaze on my left finger.

I immediately took a sip of my sweet tea, which was reduced by half. When Ali's order came, he immediately replaced my sweet tea with his. Then he drank my leftover drink until he finished. Ali stood up and paid for his order, and then he left the cafeteria just like that. I just stared at him walking further and further away, wondering what he meant by that.