Life has always been a mystery, you never know what could happen in the next instant so it was better to live every day as your last, enjoying every moment of it with those you hold dear. Love them as much as you could, before you lose them; that was what my grandfather said to me a day before he passed away. It was a bright August day and my first day in one of the well-reputed business universities. One could easily judge my excitement because my eyes popped open at 7:00 AM even though my first class was at 9:00 AM and I had no idea which classroom I was going to enter and what type of people I was about to meet. Being still in bed, I thought that maybe this was a bad idea but a voice in my head spoke to me "Hey, get up! Be a man and get dressed. You're about to start a journey leading to a great career."
Business studies are a better career option when compared to other disciplines. Everyone was either going into medical colleges or engineering complexes but no one came into business studies to become a professional. The majority here are those, who were rejected from everywhere else and they were forced to come here just be become eligible for a job. Almost no one came with a pure business mindset to learn techniques and start their own business. After a bit of daydreaming, I got out of bed to get ready, to wear a grey leather jacket with straight pants and my favorite Nike shoes. When I was done, I went downstairs and sat on the kitchen slab, still in excitement.
"Look at how much you've grown. I can't believe today is your first day in one of the well-reputed universities in the country." My mom spoke in her sweet tone as she came towards me to hug me.
Both of my parents were immensely proud. This might sound strange but I was the first in my family who got the opportunity to step foot in the top private university for business studies, I could not let them down. I had to achieve my goal for which I was going in the first place and that was to come out as a successful business professional. Dad had always told me one thing, all my life; "Son, do what you love and you'll be happy with it, it may not pay as much as you desire but what matters is that you'll be happy. Money can never make you happy because it will never be enough."
Very calmly, I picked up my bag, stepped outside and started to walk towards the garage, unlocked the car and put my bag inside, when I started to wonder that my so-called girlfriend was not as happy as she was supposed to be about my admission. Instead, she was worried about all the girls I might meet. Living in the capital and going to a well-reputed institution had its perks but if she knew me, she would know that I was not going for the girls or maybe she did not know me by now that was why she was upset about the whole idea, in the first place. Quite rude and disappointing if she thought like this. By now, my mother was waiting by the door to see me off.
"Is something bothering you?" She asked in a little worried tone.
I passed a smile and walked towards her for a hug.
"Nothing mom. See you in the evening." I replied.
After that, I turned towards the car to embark on my journey.
It was almost a 25 minutes' drive but as expected, I encountered heavy traffic. Dad had also told me to drive around with a light head and if you were stuck in traffic, think about your future, it would distract you and you would not know how the time had passed. Looking around me, I saw a person in the blue Mercedes, it seemed like he was in no hurry. Maybe he was an executive and did not have to be at work on time. He was the boss, who makes the rules and then ends up breaking them either intentionally or unintentionally. That was someone who I want to be soon. Cool and calm, in no hurry to go to work, he could take an off whenever he wanted and had money working for him instead of people.
As always, Dad's trick worked and I passed through the traffic without panicking or even looking at the time often. Before I knew it, I was entering the parking outside the university. Naturally, I was feeling a bit nervous about going inside, as it was my first day. Anybody could get nervous but it was not the case with me. My excitement had turned into nervousness and it could prove dangerous for certain individuals, like myself. As I raised my wrist to look at the time, it was 8:48 AM.
Upon successfully passing the front gate, I realized that I would have to live among such a huge crowd of students who are ready to steal your hard work just to get an A. Yes, you heard me right, people would sell their souls just to get an A. Unfortunately, that was what life had become now but I wished that people would not go into institutions like this one just to get A's or 3.5+ GPA. They should come here to learn and polish their skills, avoiding this rat race completely. Sometimes, there are people with a lower GPA who are better in other stuff than those who want to flaunt their GPAs and then bag the win in the end.
The campus premises spread across acres of land, I was fast walking towards my department. Roaming in the corridor I was looking for a room marked "G-011", where I was about to have my first class. Finally, I opened a door and this spacious room was right in front of me with two-tone paint, fully air-conditioned, with three wings, two seats on each side, six in the middle, with eight rows. I walked up to the fourth row and sat on the second seat. Waiting for my class fellows to arrive in due time.
It was past 9:00 AM and people started swarming in the room at once. Everyone staring each other, making everyone else feel as if they did not belong in this room or even like they were inferior to them in any way possible. I patiently waited for the professor to arrive. I was hopeful that my efforts would yield a better result soon enough and I would make it out of this alive, healthy, and wealthy with knowledge.
People were still coming in and while I was looking around, I saw a beautiful woman step into the room while talking to another girl. Immediately, she had caught my attention, was wearing a beautiful black shirt with a white outline and jeans. Her lipstick was shimmering and her moving lips were making that combo stand out. At that instant, her beauty had taken over me completely. Her expressions, the way she was talking to people she met for the first time was extraordinary. She even carried that dress so elegantly that one could not resist looking at her. The suit was not that revealing but it was something, I for one, had seen for the first time.
For some reason, a feeling came inside me signaling that she would never talk to me because it looked like that I was not her type but I might be wrong. She looked like a woman because she was being naturally mature while the rest were trying to act mature but were failing miserably. She caught my eye because indeed, she was perfect in every way possible.
The professor arrived late and after staring at the whole class of fifty-eight students, he cleared his throat making everyone silent and aware of his presence.
"Good Morning class." A short man spoke while holding a water bottle.
"I'm Harold Junior, your teacher for Business Mathematics. I hope you are finally settling in the class by now. I think that it would be better if we start with the introduction. Everyone will come on the stage and introduce himself or herself by stating their name, education, and the reason why they chose this institution. Let us start with you. Please move forward". Mr. Harold spoke while pointing his finger at the first person sitting in the first row.
What a terrible way to start, introducing oneself is the hardest thing to do. How am I going to introduce myself in front of so many unknown people? They were looking at that poor person as if they would eat him alive; I felt pity for him. He seemed like a good fellow, with glasses and a light beard.
After a few introductions, her turn came up. She got up from her seat, ignored everyone, and started to walk towards the center stage with a smile on her face. She sure was perfect; a person like me was unable to stop himself from looking at her. Her walking style was similar to an Egyptian Queen; with a figure so perfect that would make anyone fall for her and that was not a good thing. As far as I am concerned, it drew unwanted attention from people that may have bad intentions.
"Hi everyone, my name is Jessica Freeman; I've completed my high school and College from ICMG in engineering. I did not want to continue with engineering, as it is a very crowded and overrated field, especially for girls. This institution is the best for business studies so I joined here. I think apart from my professional studies; my skills will also be polished." Jessica spoke in her sweet tone.
Today was my first day in university and my vocabulary had already started to expand. I found out that there are girls with the name "Jessica". Who thought that there was more to education than just professional development and surprisingly, this was a mutual interest. I was so busy fantasizing about her that I could not keep track of whose turn it was. Suddenly, the girl sitting next to me poked me with a pencil and I realized that it was now my turn to introduce myself. As I move down the steps to the stage, I felt that the whole room was watching me stepping down, except her. She was occupied somewhere. Does she have a boyfriend or am I just not good looking enough for her?
I stood on the stage facing my class fellows, feeling nervous.
"Hello, my name is Eric Brown. Previously, I was studying at PGCC and completed my high school and college in general science. I wanted to go into CS but since my Dad is an executive who shares his daily business dealings with me so my interest shifted to business and I came here for my professional education. What I believe is that there is more to life than having the best education. Your degree can't show how much well educated you are, but your actions speak louder than words."
Everyone seemed interested in me after my introduction and even started to applaud, but she did not respond to me in any way possible. She was so busy doing something with her phone, probably letting her boyfriend know that "Hey, there is this freak in my class and he's staring at me. Come save me." or am I simply invisible for her? I did not know what worse, her having a boyfriend or me being invisible. That is something only time will tell soon enough. The best thing I can do is let it slide and see how it goes. I was not desperate for love or even compassion.
"Okay Eric, you can come back to your seat now." Spoke Mr. Harold.
I stood there staring at her and she still did not look up to see me. Disheartened, I came back to my seat thinking about all the reasons why she might not take interest in me.
"Hey man, I'm Frank. I'm from PGCC too." A big boy sitting next to me whispered.
"Oh. It's nice to meet you." I replied with a handshake as I sat down on my seat. Then the entire boring introduction continued.
I just realized that today's whole agenda was all about introduction, now I had to sit and simply listen to what the others had to say about themselves. The diversity in the class was insane; we had people from all lifestyles. Some were well off while some had come on assistance.
She was constantly on her phone, most probably texting. I think she was not going to give me a chance but every goal has a goalkeeper, but Messi still goals. I knew I had a chance if the Messi in me lived up to his reputation.
Amber was now a nuisance. I would not mind leaving her for Jessica if I get the chance. Well, that was only my perspective but in reality, things were far much worse. Her mother hated me, she even spoke ill of my mother and definitely about me as well in front of almost everybody she met. I think no one would want a potential mother-in-law to be this rude and ill-mannered.
It has been two years since my mother has had a back injury and 4 months have passed since she has finished her prescribed bed rest. She, being so ill still treated them as best as she could but those ungrateful women, showed no respect to my mother, and instead, they chose to talk behind her back. I hope things don't work out between me and my 'so-called girlfriend' and she becomes the one who wants me to walk away or even better, she breaks it up herself.
After a long one-hour and twenty-five minutes, Mr. Harold's class finally concluded. Everyone had started to leave except Jessica; she was still sitting and looking down on her phone. I could not understand why, but there was something off about her expressions now, she was not looking like the same person that entered the class before it started. Instead, she was looking worried, upset, and disturbed. I found this a bit strange that I could judge her without even knowing anything about her at all. My attraction towards her was not normal, it was as if something was drawing me towards her but I, for one, was resisting the urge to build a connection. It just did not seem right only because I was rushing towards something that probably did not even exist.
"Eric, do you want to go to the café right now for some refreshments?" asked Frank while standing in the hallway.
"Yes, sure." I replied hesitatingly.
Moving down the steps, I tried to focus on her but she was still using her phone. The girl sitting next to her was even stranger. She seemed as if she would be more of a foe than a friend. I might be wrong about her, but the thing that bothered me the most was that I was not able to take my eyes off Jessica. This had never happened to me before. I have never been so much attracted to anyone with this intensity. Nonetheless, I was still thinking about her while moving towards the café. What was I going to do now? She did not seem to notice me and I could not keep my eyes off her nor can I stop myself from thinking about her. I started to feel hopeless so I thought I should call Sam and let him know about my encounter. Maybe sharing with him might help to distract my attention.
"Sam! How are you? It was my first day today and I have already had an encounter. There is this girl in my class. She has caught my attention." I spoke without taking a pause.
"Hey, slow down. Relax. Don't panic, breathe and let it all out." Sam did his best to calm me down.
"Okay, I'm calm now. There is this girl. She has caught my attention but there is a slight twist. She does not seem to know that I even exist. Even when I was giving my introduction, she was busy on her phone and did not even pay a little bit of attention to what I had to say. I even stood there staring at her and she still did not look at me. The whole class was watching except her." I splattered it all out on the phone.
"I think we should meet and talk. When are you getting free?" Sam asked me.
"I'll be free at 2 PM, see you at your place then."
"Sounds great, I'll have tea ready."
"Oh, no. No need for tea. I'll just drop by for a few minutes because I have to rush back home." I said hastily while cutting the call.
Sam was my best friend from college; we have done many stupid things together, even had two accidents. The first happened because of me and the second was because of his weight. Fat person, average height and talks a lot. Even with the differences, he was still a true friend to me.
There she was, would you look at her; Miss perfect, walking towards the class. I wish there was a way I could ask her why she did not notice me or why I was unable to get her off my mind. Maybe I should start stalking her in broad daylight. Since she does not bother to notice me, I will have to resort to some drastic measures. When I gave it a thought, it instantly seemed like a bad idea, as I would simply irritate her and become nothing more than an unwanted stalker, also, it was not in my nature to stalk people nor did I like stalking or stalkers.
We had another class in today's schedule. By now, Frank and I had become friends and he started walking with me as well, which was quick. Anyway, our next class was of Sociology and we were a bit late.
We finally entered the class; she was sitting in the second row on the right, with a free row behind her. I moved towards her, she looked up at me and I looked her in the eyes but after 10 seconds, she looked down towards her phone again. I sat behind her without a word; Frank came and sat next to me.
"I hope there are no more introductions for the day." Frank exclaimed.
Our instructor was a psychologist, she understood people very well herself by simply looking at their faces so she did not require any introductions and the horrific interview session did not even start. She immediately moved towards the introduction of the course and told us about the structure as well. During the lecture, Jessica's perfume was even able to distract me. It was something with jasmine and lavender blends, complimenting the overall appearance. Her silky black hair was right in front of me and they too were so appealing to me. I was tempted to play with it but had to control the urge.
At 2:30 PM, the day was finally moving towards its end with no luck in getting Jessica to notice me properly. What I needed to find out was the reason why I was invisible in front of her. I had to rush and talk to Sam about it, or maybe I could just take it easy but this was stressing me out more than I could contain. I could not understand why I had failed miserably in taking her off my mind. Is this love or attraction? I intended to find out, soon enough.
I was free for the rest of the day now and it was time for me to head towards Sam's home to discuss this matter. I do not know why but he always looks forward to meeting me and having a cup of tea, he was the only person with whom I drink tea otherwise I did not like it. He liked my company I guess, or maybe I am the only company he had, for now at least that was the case. When I stood up; she was still sitting in her chair texting her supposed boyfriend. Naturally, I picked up my bag and got up from the chair and she noticed that someone got up. That was the only reaction I got from her this entire time. As I walked down the stairs, I could feel her eyes on me as I went towards the door. Something was telling me to stop, turn around and look in her eyes again. Instead, I chose not to and stepped out of the class. Moving in the hallway, my heart was still heavily beating since I thought I lost the only opportunity I had to look in her eyes again and show her how I felt about her. The only reason I made a call to move out was that I felt there was something that could go wrong, which could develop into an awkward situation for both of us.
Moving towards the car, this thing started pinching me that I had done something wrong. I needed to get to Sam and to my surprise; my patience had already started to fade. It felt like I did something wrong when I just moved down the steps casually minding my own business like a normal person, mind his own business but me being unable to stop myself from imaging her as she came in the room is a different story.
Starting the car, the thoughts of her eyes had taken over me again and this time, I was finding it hard to ignore them. There was something in them, which was making me curious, I do not know whether they have light or she was trying to hide something inside. There was something, I knew that there was. Passing by the main gate, I saw her again, moving towards her car with an awkward smile. Her parents were waiting sitting inside, probably wondering how her day had passed or how many people had disturbed her.
Looking down at the pathway, she alienated every person standing outside the institute and sat in her car. I found this quite strange, like she was not well. I should not draw conclusions about her yet but I am sure about one thing: She was not normal. Something was disturbing her so much and she was in a constant fight with herself. She did not talk to anyone, neither did she look around and she definitely did not want people to get close to her. I did not expect that I would become this much conscious about a particular someone even without properly meeting her.
Focusing on the road, I drove to Sam's place and as usual, he was waiting outside for me. Sam started walking towards me as I parked the car.
"Is everything alright mate?" He asked in a very curious tone.
"Yeah, everything is fine." I replied to him as I stepped out.
"Then tell me about it."
"There is this girl, Jessica." A strange sense of hesitation took over.
"Mh-um, go on."
"So, her name is Jessica…" I stopped again.
"What about her?" Sam inquired.
"There is something strange about her and she has got my attention. She seems like a sweet girl." I replied.
"Okay, but aren't you in an existing relationship with Amber at the moment?"
"It's complicated." I was somehow confused regarding Amber.
"What do you mean it's complicated? Is everything alright?"
"I don't know Sam. You know how she is. She does not care about my privacy. She does what she wants to do. You know how much I need my space. Besides, I am backing off because of her mother. She did not treat my mother well during their last visit. It would be better if we broke up." I said abruptly.
Sam was quiet for a moment, as if he could not come up with anything to say.
"Look, Eric, if you think that thing might not work out between you and Amber because of her mother then I say that you break up with her right now. Do not delay this. I don't want to see you hurt." Sam tried his best to comfort me.
"I appreciate your concern Sam; I want that she breaks up with me. You know how her mother is. I'll be in a deeper mess if I draw first blood." I replied.
"Come inside Eric, we should talk in a more comfortable environment."
"No thanks Sam, let's stay here and talk."
"Tell me about Jessica." Sam asked me.
"I can't describe her yet but I sure can tell you this: She has caught my attention. She acts normal but her eyes tell a different story. I do not know why. She refrains from looking at people in their eyes. By chance, I managed to peek inside but as soon as I could get a clearer picture she looked away."
"Wow."
"I know, right?"
"How can you get to know about someone by just looking into their eyes for a split second?"
"I didn't understand that as well but that was what happened."
"I'm amazed."
"And I'm stuck."
"Stuck where?"
"In between this nightmare of why she's ignoring me."
"She maybe isn't ready."
"You mean she might be recovering from a bad relationship?"
"It might be the case."
"It's possible."
"Maybe if you go a little slow, she might be interested in you."
"Yes, you're right."
"Now relax. Come inside, let's have something and talk over."
"No, Sam. I think I better get home."
"What's wrong?"
"I just don't feel like coming in."
"Oh, come on."
"Please, no need to force. I'll see you later." I replied as I went towards the car.
I was intimidated, I did not know how and I did not know why but this time Sam intimidated me. A strange confusion had taken over. On one side, there was Amber with her seductive methods and on the other are my parents. Amber has gotten strange in the past few months. Her mother wanted me to visit them at the club along with my parents. This was only because Amber wanted 'us' to take our so-called relationship further. After the visit, both Amber and her mother were now acting strangely. Amber was seducing me and her mother was motivating me to leave my parents.
Considering all of the circumstances, now I wanted both, Amber and her mother, out of my life. It was better to give both a cold shoulder and let them walk out on me. Sam was right about Jessica though, now when I thought about it. She did seem to be trying her best to overcome a bad relationship experience. Maybe she had an abusive boyfriend or a control freak or maybe he cheated on her or something. I did not know but I want to help her out if she would let me.
I got home to my mother who was waiting for her son to come back from his first day in a professional university. I hugged her immediately after greeting, as I knew she missed me. After a long day, a loving mother's hug was very soothing. Words could not describe this feeling but there was my answer; nothing can make me give up on my parents. I have to be strong, I will see about Jessica but Amber surely had to go.