At the cafeteria, Claire, Kyla and myself dined over excerpts from famous philosopher Niccolò Machiavelli. On the table were a cup of warm coffee and a few doughnuts.
Claire, an avid coffee drinker, took a sip on the cup. Then she took a fork, grabbed a piece of the doughnuts and ate it.
"Sweet," Claire admitted to us. "The sugary feel of the doughnuts makes my day."
Every seat inside the cafeteria had been taken by students, employees and customers alike. Even the wireless internet connection was wildly inconsistent as it could not contain the heavy volume of users.
With my laptop, Claire's tablet and Kyla's smartphone on hand, we took notes and dissected one particular quote from Machiavelli.
"It is better to be feared than loved, if you cannot be both."
In between, Claire sipped some more coffee and chewed on a few slices of doughnuts. Meanwhile, Kyla brought out some mints and put it on her mouth.
What the professor gave to us was a group project about a quote from Niccolò Machiavelli. We were free to choose any one of his quotes and explain it thoroughly on a sheet of paper.
"What do you think?" Claire inquired Kyla and myself about the quotation.
"Personally, what Machiavelli said was typical of a dictator ruling with an iron fist," Kyla commented. "Look at Ferdinand Marcos. He possesses many friends, but because of Martial Law, he became an extremely intimidating ruler."
"Same with the likes of Hitler and Lenin," I replied. "Machiavelli's passage applies to the totalitarian rule of a few countries. Those whose power is too imposing and unyielding at the same time."
"In my opinion, this quote is also applicable to corporations and families too," Claire joined in. "If you have a father who seems to care about your well-being but shows some tough love as well, then that's a Machiavellian way of putting it in context."
All three of us typed our respective explanations on my laptop. Then Kyla brought out her USB stick and saved the file on it.
"I'll be printing out the sheet for our group," Kyla notified us. "But since the deadline is not until Wednesday we could chat and continue delivering our contributions online. Is that all right with you?"
"No problem with us," Claire replied affirmatively.
We continued talking over our project when a sudden vibration shook my pocket. That turned out to be my smartphone ringing.
"Girls, I'm sorry but my class comes in a few minutes," my voice trembled in desperation. "We'll talk later."
I hurriedly ran out of the cafeteria without even saying goodbye to Claire and Kyla. My heart suddenly beat fast upon racing to the classroom.
By the time I arrived, my body had been sweating and weary. Making matters worse was the unusually hot weather that we experienced that day.
I sat inside the classroom exhausted, my heart rate rapidly increasing by the minute. As Michelle entered the room, she looked at me with a worried expression on her face.
"Christine, you look tired," Michelle remarked thoughtfully upon sitting down beside me. "What's the matter?"
"It's nothing," I answered wearily, my voice slurry with all the rapid breathing.
"Christine, would you like some water?" Michelle offered me her jug. "You must be running out of breath."
I received Michelle's jug and gobbled some of the water. Upon wiping my mouth, I gradually breathed deeply to relax.
Michelle then used her towel and wiped the sweat off my face.
"Christine, are you okay?" she asked me.
"I'm fine now," my deep voice replying to Michelle. "I had to run straight to class just to avoid getting late."
"Actually it's only 11:15 on the clock," Michelle showed me her watch. "You're five minutes early, but that's enough."
While waiting for photography class to start, I messaged Kyla and apologized for not immediately saying goodbye to her and Claire earlier. She replied with, "It's okay. We understand your situation", before closing with a pair of smiling faces with halo emoji.
"Any assignments?" I asked Michelle upon staring at her.
"You should be lucky that there were no projects this week," Michelle replied. "But I do possess some notes from the previous lectures. You might require them."
"I indeed do," my direct response to Michelle's generous offer. "Good thing there were no assignments due for this class so time is absolutely on my side."
Just then, Taylor and Erin arrived, and sat alongside Michelle and myself. Shortly after, the professor entered the classroom as well.
"Good morning students," the professor greeted us.
"Good morning madam," the whole class typically responded in unison.
"Today we're not having photography class in this classroom," the professor announced. "Instead we are moving to the studio for a little orientation on modeling photography."
"Did you hear that?" Michelle exclaimed to us. "We're going to the studio."
"Great," Taylor answered back. "I always dreamed to be a model."
"So do I," Erin joined in.
The entire class walked downstairs and into the studio. It was situated on the second floor and was constructed next to the equipment and audio-visual room.
Upon entering the studio, the professor again assigned us into nine groups of four. This time, however, Michelle, Taylor, Erin and I found ourselves in different groups.
As Michelle and I went our separate ways for the project, she issued me one final reminder.
"Christine, remember to coexist with our other classmates," Michelle said to me. "Try being respectful and friendly with them all the time."
With one final nod of approval, I went to my assigned group while Michelle walked towards hers. The group I joined in consisted of three charming ladies and myself.
Surprisingly, they accepted me with open arms. It was a surreal experience because for much of my life, Michelle and myself would constantly be in the same group.
But then I recalled first grade when my teacher forced me to join a group with one of the bullies. However, the situation now is different as we were more mature and refined with our movements.
"Welcome to the group," the three students enthusiastically greeted me.
Now I must deal these strangers with renewed determination and positivity. God please help me.