AFFAIRS OF THE HEART

The morning was slower than usual, dragging on for longer than the hours were worth. The lecturer was boring as he rambled to a half asleep class.

The lecture hall was modern and spacious with rows of curved, white desks and chairs, arranged in a tiered fashion for optimal visibility. The walls are painted a neutral tone, and the ceiling is adorned with sleek, recessing lighting fixtures that provide ample illumination. A projector is mounted on a wall at the front of the room, spewing graphs and statistics that the students, bored out of their minds, tried and failed to grasp.

The lecturer was touching on quantative finance this bright morning, in the hopes of preparing his students for the upcoming tests; which the whole department had brainstormed to come up with.

'Haa~ where's Jacob, at least with him, I know he would be able to tackle and maybe pass those exams,' the greying man sighed and looked over his shoulder to glance at the inattentive brats,'But with this bunch! Don't these brats know how important this course is?' a vein popped on the man's forehead.

Gritting his teeth, he began to mouth a special mantra that always seemed to calm him down in situations such as these.

'Just keep teaching, the money is good. Just keep teaching, the money is good. Just keep-'

And like magic, his mood recovered and with a philosophical tone, he kept on with his lecture. He might be blabbering now, but the students would be the ones to regret not listening to his lessons later when the tests arrive. That thought somehow got a smirk spreading the man's lips in sadistic humor. Oh yes, this class was doomed.

Not that the class was a can of stupid sardines, no, there existed a handful of individuals whom the lecturer got along with in this hall. A group of five or more students were always active in his lectures and for this, he was grateful for as it made the teacher enjoy his work and feel appreciated for the knowledge he was departing to the said young ones. But as of late, for close to a week now, the absence of a particular student has knocked- the competetive nature of the hall- down a few notches. Study groups were no longer taken serious and the students struggled to maintain their relationships with the course books.

'Dammit Jacob, where the hell are you!'

The lecturer was surprisingly not the only one affected by the man's absence. Up the flight of chairs, a lady dressed in a cream shoulder-split top and spotting high waist grey pants, furrowed her brows, the dark circles under her eyes adding a certain charm to her black irides.

Dianne crossed her legs for the nth time this morning, her fingers drummed the desk before her as her gaze occasionally drifted to her phone and laptop, an expectant gleam burning in her eyes. It had been days since the last incident Jacob had found her in while on his delivery. The man had not even called to...to...to ask about her well being or demand reasons or maybe an explanation?

She did not know what to expect, as being caught red handed by your boyfriend in the sheets of another guy...correction, two guys; was not within Dianne's calculations. It was a sudden discovery and Jacob had just left and actually cut off all form of contact with her, she could not reach him even after she decided to call first since he was not keen on initiating it himself.

Seeds of rumor were beginning to sprout amidst her coursemates on how the Top Student had been cucked and was avoiding school because he was still crying his heart out. Little did they know, how far off the mark they were!

Fred and Conner had released the clip they had been filming with Dianne. They had made eranings from it of course, but Dianne felt a twinge of guilt everytime the two men called on her for another meet up. Yes, she did indulge herself, but day after day, she found her mind drifting to Jacob and why he was no longer getting in touch with her. She even tried messaging Clara, his roommate, but she too was avoiding her... it felt more like not wanting to be involved with Dianne at all.

In fact, Dianne had initiated the relationship with Jacob in hopes of academic support as he was the leading student in the course. She was confident in her looks and knew that after one night, the man would be wrapped around her little finger and could even have him do her tests.

But oh-was she wrong! She still could not believe that she had to try more than once to advance to the couple stage. The man was overly serious about relationships, and rather than bending to her every whim like a slave, Jacob sought to diligently help Dianne in her studies. He was poor, thus could not afford to take her on grand dates, but nonetheless an interesting guy. She had seen how he interacted with Clara, his roommate. He acted differently from when he was in his academic persona, and Dianne had gotten hooked to uncovering the new personalities her boyfriend showcased.

As the young woman drowned in the affairs of her heart, the doors to the hall slid open and new people stepped in. The dozing students became alert as they sensed a drama to soon unfold; late coursemates always made the lecture's atmospere lighten up with mirth as they would be engaged in an embarrassing tag of war with the lecturer.

The sudden entry consisted of three people, the shorter of the trio, leading. Dressed in a black cotton tracksuit with green stripes, the man was enviably fashionable for his slim stature. He wore his hair long with styled braids and walked with a confident stride in front of the group. The way he held himself triggered a sense familiarity amongst the students in the hall that they could not immediately pin point. A step behind him was a man and a woman.

Flanking his right was a well fit man with sleek strawberry-blond hair that was tied into a short ponytail. He stood at 182cm(6'0") and was dressed in an olive coloured sweatsuit that wrapped around his physique; the envy of clothing models. He had royal blue eyes that complimented his rose biege skin tone. There was a small tag at the corners of his lips upon his handsome face that was cleanly shaven.

"Well sir, so this is where you were cooped up before?" He chuckled in a lazy voice.

"Be quiet Raven," the lady beside him remarked, her euphonious voice silencing the murmurs.

The lady was the tallest of the bunch, standing at a height of 188cm(6'2"), she too wore her jet black hair in a ponytail that swayed slightly against her nape. She wore white military cargo pants and balck leather combat boots to match. Pairing the attire with a jungle green, long sleeve top that displayed her- limestone skin tone- ripped midriff, the tall woman did not even spare the hall of students a glance, her hawkish features held a pair of dull metal red eyes that stared at the back of the man before them.

The trio arrived before the stupefied lecturer, and the man at the front presented a folder while offering a courteous smile to the elder man.

"Long time no see, Mr. Jonathan," the lad greeted.

"Jacob? Where have you been these past few days? Is something wrong? You know you can come to me if something happens..." The lecturer slipped into a mode of worry.

The hall broke into a murmur on the sudden turn of events. Is that really Jacob? What brand are those clothes? Who are those people behind him? The topics drifted across the place as the lecturer gave his student a run down on what he had missed.

"There will be a test at the end of this week. Hope you have been studying for it coz the whole department has clashed heads to create the questions," the greying man smirked with confidence as he expected that even his best student would have trouble solving those problems.

"I'll be fine," his student grinned, his hazel eyes warming up with challenge,"Actually, I came over today to get these signed."

The lecturer picked up the papers and briefly passed his gaze over the pages. He scrunched up his nose and looked up at the man.

"You're applying for online classes? But you only have 3 months to you graduation Jacob! Wouldn't this be detrimental to your study schedule?" Worry tinged the lecturer's voice.

"No need to worry yourself sir," the student assured him, "A couple of things came up and require me to constantly be away from the premises."

His reassuring gaze calmed the worry in the teacher's heart and he signed the documents. He really hoped that whatever his student was going through, would not cause him to be held back a year like last time.

"If you fail the upcoming tests, I'll drag you back to my class," the lecturer tapped the student's shoulder and they shared a laugh.

With that settled, the trio walked out of the hall without further delay and the lecturer, now occupied with distracting thoughts, let the rest of his class be a study session and left.