Chapter Ten

Have you ever imagined being in a gladiator ring and having to fight to death before the very eyes of blood thirsty Romans? The Spartacus movie gave a clear depiction of what that felt like, but I'm sure no one has had a real life experience of it like I did. I didn't necessarily travel back in time like Lady Soo in Scarlet Heart: Moon Lovers, but I felt everything.

 Right there in the classroom, everyone's eyes were on me, feasting on my startled body with their Romanic blood thirsty eyes while Dr Peter stood above all like Emperor Nero, watching as his subjects shot arrows at me; come to think of it, he somehow looks like the portrait of emperor Nero.

 " Mr Middleton, seems like you would like to continue with the class since you told me to stop", he peered through his thin glasses that were sitting on his big nose, fidgeting with the marker as if he was autistic or had a severe diagnosis of ADHD.

 " No sir, no sir. That was not what I meant. I.....I was......".

 " Then what did you mean", I didn't know when I got to my feet, but I was standing, praying earnestly that this would end well. " You clearly stated and I quote ' would you stop this instant '. Mr Cradle", he called a blonde boy sitting in the front row, " what did Mr Middleton's statement imply?" he folded his arms, waiting to hear something that would please him - that witch in human form.

 " Um ...... sir, it clearly implies that you should stop the class instantly", he said sternly, feeling special that he had been questioned by Dr Peter. Looking at him, I could only think about advising him to arrest his barber because the person really destroyed his persona with that haircut.

 " Mr Middleton, you've heard from your fellow student what the statement you made implies, not from me".

 " Sir, I swear, I was just distracted and the statement was directed more to myself than to anyone in this classroom", I pleaded.

 " You have no reason to swear to me and I equally have no reason to believe you just because you swore. I do not believe in such, and clearly, you cannot take back what you said", he just reminded me that he was an atheist - great, now I can't even use the name of God to my advantage, " so, just like you commanded, I would stop the class, and that means that you Mr Middleton would have to continue the class while I take your seat".

 " Sir, you can't be serious".

 " But I am. Here you go", he held out his board marker for me, " we don't have all day Mr Middleton, and this class will end anytime soon, and that will not happen unless we finish what we have for today".

 I walked out of my seat towards the front of the class. The evil Romanian eyes were still chasing after me as I walked. I collected the board marker from him and he went on to take a seat. I stood, facing the white board, a few economic terms written on them in sleek handwriting that almost seemed like calligraphy.

 " Get on with it Mr Middleton", Dr Peter said from where he sat. I turned around to face the crowd and my heart almost fell out through my mouth. I wasn't the type that had stage fright, in fact, I had never had stage fright. Right from middle school I had always participated in extracurricular activities that prompted me to face the public and speak to them. I even participated in a national debate competition as a representative of my school and came out in first place, so talking to a handful of college students was certainly not going to be a problem, only that I had never been able to speak to the public unprepared, out of the blue, and if I was sure of one thing, it was that the only thing that can boost one's confidence was one's knowledge of something, so technically I didn't know how I was going to be confident and talk about Essential Economics # Reduction Of Global Poverty without knowing anything about it.

 " Um... so ummm....", I tried to say something but their eyes kept distracting me; they were technically shooting lasers at me with those eyes, especially the blonde-haired Cradle who I suppose was keen on hearing what I had to say. Bryan who was supposed to be my friend and encourage me was busy making funny faces at me, trying to add more problems to the ones I already had.

 " So Dr Peter was talking about global poverty and the strategies of the United Nations in trying to mitigate this particular global issue", I was starting to remember things, yes, I had studied the topic the day before: not like studied studied, but I was sure enough that I had gone through the materials that were sent to us, although in that moment I couldn't accurately recall everything, but I was never going to give Dr Peter what he wanted from me - a deliquescent young man with zero interest in education.

 " So, you see, the key to global economic stabilization is entrepreneurship. Our next class is going to be on Entrepreneurship and its minions so I'll be stopping here for today", I rested my case, after tearing down the stage with lessons from every conceptual textbook that spoke about the global economy.

 Dr Peter was just nodding his head, savoring how vibrant I was and how I captivated everyone's attention - ' you seek to disgrace me, but I'mma gonna take the shot and shoot myself to the sky' I thought to myself, making the statement into a rhythmic rap that sounded so much like Lil Wayne's Mirror On The Wall.

 " That was ........ impressive", It was hard for him to say, but nevertheless he acknowledged me for the genius he realized me to be, " but, that is certainly not a criterion for you or anyone else to disturb us while class is ongoing. Are we clear on that?"

 " Yes sir", we all answered in union like kindergartens reciting the letters of the alphabet.

 " Well, that is all we have for today. Do well to send in your assignments via my email before the weekend. See you next week", he picked up his suitcase and dashed out of the class the very way he dashed in.

 " You damn bitch! How could you slay in that shitty situation?" Bryan asked, acting as if he was surprised.

 " If there was one thing I was born to do, it was definitely to slay", I played along.

 " You savage", we laughed, heading out to our next class: Ethics and Economics.

 By the time we were done with all the classes for the day, it was already midafternoon.

 There was nothing much to do. I considered going to the library but decided against that. I was hungry and I certainly didn't want to eat out. I had eaten only cup noodles the day before and also didn't take anything that morning - Hazel wouldn't even have allowed me.

 Get home, make spaghetti with omelet, eat it, and sleep for the rest of the day until it is time to study - I drew my timetable in my head and it fit properly, especially since most likely Hazel wouldn't be home.

 I headed first to a grocery store to get the needed ingredients.

 " Excuse me", an officer said to me as I was parking right in front of a grocery store. It was certainly not to give me a parking ticket because hell, I just got there.

 " Mr Hunter Middleton, right?" he asked, checking his iPad.

 " You were placed on probation from driving and yet... ", he pointed at the car as I got out, " here you are, driving".

 " Oh, please officer. I can explain".

 " You can do that at the station", he motioned me to his vehicle - my second visit to the police station.