Picture of a proud peacock above.
*****
I looked up when I felt someone tap my shoulder.
"Beam, what do you want?" I asked with a frown.
"It's your turn."
"My turn for what?" I completely lifted my head off my desk and leaned back in my chair. The classroom was almost empty with my classmates streaming out to go do what they do when afternoon class ends half period early.
"Ai'Pha went with me last time so it's your turn this time." Beam stuffed his books into is bag with an irritated air.
"And I'm asking you what this is about." I looked over at him in exasperation for the lack of elaboration.
"I have to go deliver a file to a professor at the engineering faculty. I swear our professor dislikes me. She always picks me for these kinds of things." He turned to glance at me before picking up his bag. "What are you doing still sitting there? Grab your stuff lets go." I didn't move.
"How many times has she sent you to the engineering faculty?" I scuffed before slowly putting my books into my bag.
"This is the second time."
"Then why did you make it sound like she sends you on errands to the engineering faculty every other day? And hasn't it already been two years since you and Ai'Pha run that errand? Or did this errand bring back memories you don't want to remember?"
"What memories?" Ai'Beam sounded miffed. I gave a little chuckle at his attempt to play dumb. Ai'Pha and I teased him about what transpired between him, Forth, Pha and the first years that day. I hope we didn't traumatize him. I gazed at him again. Naa, he's not traumatized.
"Are we taking your car or mine?" I stood up and picked up my bag.
"Yours. I didn't drive today."
"So, you wanted me to come because you need a ride? It doesn't matter. I have nothing going on right now. Let's go."
I led the way to the parking lot and drove us to the engineering faculty.
"Do you know exactly where you're going?" I asked after parking the car in the engineering parking lot.
"Not really, let's find someone and ask them where the teachers office is." Beam picked up the package he was to deliver, leaving his bag in the backseat of my car and stepped out.
"You've come here so many times, how can you not know where the teacher's office is?" I teased my best friend after I stepped out of the vehicle.
"Hey, I don't come here that often." He tried to deny but I know better.
"Weren't you here yesterday?" I raised my brow at him.
"I wasn..."
"Hey, you four, stop right there." We heard a familiar voice shout sternly, interrupting Beams effort at denial. "Shouldn't you be in the cheering hall? What are you doing out here?"
We turned in the direction of the voice, but our view was blocked by a tree.
"What's your excuse for not being at the gathering?" The voice had taken on a deeper, darker and more intimidating quality.
"Umm P'...we ummm..." We heard what we assumed was one of the accosted first years trying to explain.
"Go on, I'm listening." The familiar voice said, still with that dark tone, except it sounded more intimidating as the speaker had lowered the sound of his voice.
"Well...P'...the thing is..." One of the poor juniors tried to explain again.
"Drop and give me thirty squats each."
I turned to Beam. "Do you want to go see?" Only then did I notice the flush on his face. "Why are you blushing?"
"I am not. Let's get out of here." He grabbed my hand and dragged me along.
"Don't you want to see Forth?" I gave a small smile as I asked my flustered friend.
"I'll see him later. He's not the reason I'm here."
"Does Forth know you like this kind of thing?" I asked Beam.
I used to think Beam was more of a sadist because he loved teasing so much but now...I'm not so sure. Seems he might have some masochism going on somewhere.
"What kind of thing?" Ai'Beam looked at me like he didn't know what I was talking about, but I know he does.
"Heh! You look so cute with your face so red from hearing Forth haze those first years. Do you let him haze you?" I teased.
"What gave you such an outrageous idea." His flush deepened. He wasn't fooling me.
"Your reaction just now. Do you want a mirror? Your face is flushed with desire after hearing him speak like that." I lifted an eyebrow at him as he kept dragging me around in the building, looking for the teachers office.
"I am..."
We paused when we heard a chorus of murmuring from inside one of the rooms we walked by. We were still yet to come upon someone who could tell us where to find the professor Beam was looking for. We peeped into the room which turned out to be the cheering hall and stupid Ming was standing at the helm, looking bored and unenthusiastic.
"Louder, I couldn't hear you." Ming drawled. The first years murmured something. Ming's bored and unenthusiastic mood clearly affecting the mood in the whole room. In what planet will this be called hazing? I scowled as I watched him continue with his terrible hazing. "Ten squats, each of you." He drawled again. I know he said he didn't want this, but this is too much even if it's his way of rebelling for being picked for the position.
I turned in time to see Ai'Beam preening like a proud peacock. What does Ai'Beam think this is? A competition of whose boyfriend is the better hazer? Beam had a proud tilt to his chin and I could just see him ruffling his feathers and showing off it's beautiful colors like a peacock would. I grabbed his arm and dragged him away from that disagreeable scene. Ten minutes later we fulfilled our mission and I drove us back to the medical faculty.
I could barely stay focused all through our study time and Beam wasn't making it any better by recounting Ming's unsightly performance to Ai'Pha. Maybe it really is a bad omen to go to the engineering department on an errand and it wasn't even my errand. I need to have some words with my idiot boyfriend later.
*****
TBC😊
*****
