"Julia Ambrose?" said Tony with utmost excitement. "Seriously? The same girl you had a crush on?"
Nick blushed a little and said, "Yes, it's her. I have crosschecked multiple times."
"That's so awesome dude!" Tony said, a bit too louder. "What are the odds that you get paired up with your first crush, right?"
"I know! It's crazy!"
"Almost as if the universe is trying to give you a sign, you know."
"There you go with your nonsense."
"Come on, you have to accept that it means something, something significant in a mystical way."
"This is just a coincidence, Tony."
"I guess the word you are looking for is 'destiny'."
"There is no such thing as destiny," Nick said scowling at him.
"So, you are trying to tell me that everything that has happened so far in your life is not part of the 'god's big plan' and your existence is irrelevant to the great prophecy?"
"Now you are just plain messing with me."
Tony laughed and said, "Listen, sometimes you should accept that there are things that we cannot explain because we are not the smartest beings in the universe. Sooner or later, you will have to acknowledge the existence of mystical forces beyond our control that define our lives in mysterious ways."
"Tony, why are you wasting your time and talent by sitting here? You should become a preacher or a self-proclaimed prophet and teach ignorant people about these mystical forces you are talking about."
Tony laughed. "You are right. If I don't do well during the four years I am here, I might have to become something like that. It's a good backup option."
Nick bowed down in front of him with folded hands and said, "All hail our saint Tony!"
"And may the god's blessing befall upon thee, so that you get to hook up with Julia."
"Screw you, Tony!" Nick said throwing a mock punch at him.
"Hey Nick," Rita said stopping at his desk.
"Hey, what's up?"
"Is everything alright with Cynthia?"
Nick recalled the little incident they had on the night before yesterday. She could be still upset about that. But Nick decided not to reveal it.
"Why, what happened?" Nick said, pretending to be unaware of her situation.
"She has stopped responding to my texts since yesterday morning."
"Maybe she's busy with something. Wait for some more time and she will reply back."
"I hope so. I thought you would know if something happened to her. Anyway, bye."
Nick wondered how close they might have gotten with each other in the past few days that made Rita worried about not getting replies from Cynthia.
After the classes were over, Nick went to Professor Swanson's office.
The door was open. So he peeked inside and said, "You were looking for me, Professor Swanson?"
He looked up from his table and said, "Nicholas Fowler! Come in. I have some news for you."
As Nick took a seat across him, he said, "Well, I have two news exactly. One good and one bad. Which one should I start with?"
Nick already had enough bad news to deal with. He was getting used to bad news, no matter how bad they were. What else could go wrong?
"Bad news first," Nick said.
Professor Swanson opened his table drawer and produced a sealed envelope. He handed it to Nick and said, "The response for your scholarship request came in."
Nick took the envelope with a saddened face and said, "And?"
"I am sorry, Nick," said Professor Swanson resting his hands on the table.
Nick clenched his fists under the table to suppress his emotion and said, "That's okay. I will try again next time."
He was not okay. In fact, he was far from being okay. This was the second time he was denied the scholarship he needed desperately. He had all the prerequisites for it, but then why was he being denied? Why were his batchmates earning the same scholarship who were much less qualified than him? Some of them did not even need it as they came from very decent backgrounds!
"Now about the good news," said professor Swanson in a slightly cheerful tone. "I spoke to the dean and the academic coordinator. They will allow you to appear for the end semester examination given you don't miss any more classes."
"Sure," Nick said. "Thanks, professor Swanson."
"That's all I could do."
"Anything else you needed to tell me?"
"No. You can go now."
Nick got up and headed for the exit when the professor suddenly said from behind, "Nick, listen...."
Nick turned around. "Yes, professor Swanson?"
"If you are having serious issues in terms of money, which I know you are because of your mother's sickness and the lack of a steady source of income currently, I can help you out."
Nick smiled at this. "Professor Swanson, it's okay. Sure, things haven't been great lately, but we will manage with whatever we have in hand."
"You sure? Don't be shy, Nick. If you need to borrow money, just let me know. You can pay me back in the future, whenever you can."
"If I need, I will let you know," said Nick. Of course, he wouldn't borrow money from him, never. He said it just to keep him quiet about it. How could he ask his professor for money?
"Don't worry about us. We will be fine," said Nick.
"I am happy as long as you are doing fine."
Melvin Swanson reached his home and rang the calling bell. His wife Emily came and opened the door for him.
"Welcome back, honey," she said. "I hope you haven't forgotten about the stuff I told you to bring when you return."
He swang the big polythene bag he was holding in front of her face and said, "I would not dare to commit such a crime!"
"Now you may enter the house," Emily smiled and stepped aside.
"Can I get some tea?" he said throwing his briefcase on the sofa.
"Why not? Get changed first." Emily said from the kitchen.
When Melvin returned after a refreshing shower, the cup of tea was waiting for him on the table.
He took a sip from it and groaned in pleasure. Nothing beats the feeling of drinking tea after a long, tiring day! He thought.
Suddenly Emily shouted from the kitchen, "We are running out of sugar! Bring some tomorrow on your way back home!"
"Okay, I will," he shouted back.
Then he picked up the cup of tea and shifted to the study room. There was a pile of assignments waiting to be assessed on his study table.
"Dear Lord," he sighed and took his seat. If it was up to him, he wouldn't have given a single assignment during the entire course. He even thought about prohibiting assignments if he ever became the dean. But that was not going to happen anytime soon, so he had no other choice but to listen to the current dean and provide students with weekly assignments.
He hated assignments as much as the students, if not more. Going through so many copies of the same assignment and checking for any kind of mistake present, was not the least bit appealing to him.
He put on his reading glasses and started correcting the assignments.
As he reached the fifth assignment, he checked the name and got thrilled.
Nicholas Fowler.
He stared at the name for a while with a pleasing smile on his face.
Nicholas, oh my Nicholas! Thou art breathtaking!
He glanced at the door which was securely closed from the inside. Then he took out his phone and opened the gallery.
There he was - Nick in his glorious form. The magnificent dragon running across his soft, smooth skin, which Melvin found to be exhilarating. He marveled at his innocent beauty; untouched, unconquered. His eyes were captivating; his lips with an appeal of seduction.
"Nicholas Fowler," he said staring at the image with his bemused eyes. "One day I am going to make you mine. That's my promise to you."