"Crystal!! Crystal get up! We are gonna be late for class!" Nora shook me as hard as she could but all I gave her was a soft mumble. I was enjoying my sleep too much and wasn't ready to get up. Besides, I didn't hear what she said because I was too deep into sleep. After a while of struggling, the room was finally quiet, and I nestled deeper into my dreams.
It was not until I heard my alarm go off that I jolted up, I groaned loudly at how fast I moved, it had caused me a severe migraine and even though I tried to go back to sleep, it wasn't coming any more. I turned around, there was no one in the room,
"Huh? Where did they all go?" I checked my phone, and it was a few minutes past 9. I groaned again and fell to my bed before it hit me and I sat up immediately again, "I AM LATE FOR CLASS!" I screamed at the top of my lungs before I jumped out of my bed and as a result, landed on my face. But that didn't stop me, I ran into the bathroom and three minutes after, I ran out with me still being a hot mess. I checked my phone to see that three minutes had passed, and it felt like thirty.
I was so screwed. I just got in, and I was already missing classes. As I ran to the hall, I remembered the girls telling me not to miss Music History classes as the lecturer was not fond of people missing his class. Well doesn't it suck to be me? It was the same class I wasn't supposed to miss that I was late for. And I had no viable excuse. I was fucked.
I reached the hall and I attempted to take the back door, but to my detriment, it was already locked. Nora told me the lecturer would lock the back door so anyone coming late would have to come through the front. I was so sad. I stared at the front door and said a short prayer before opening it to enter.
When I push open the front door, all eyes land on me. This hall is massive, with rows and rows of seats stacked on steps like some kind of fancy theatre. The seats start from the bottom and climb higher and higher, so yeah, pretty much everyone can see me making my grand entrance. Great.
The ceiling's stupidly high, like the place was designed to make you feel small, and the huge windows on the side let in all this bright light, making it even worse. The whole place feels too rich, too polished, and too intimidating for someone who just overslept.
And then there's Professor, standing there at the bottom, looking at me like I just broke every sacred law of his class. His eyes narrow, and I swear he can smell my panic from across the room. He doesn't say a word at first—just stares, making sure everyone gets a good look at the idiot who showed up late.
"Stand aside," he finally said, voice cold enough to freeze me in place. Yeah, this is going to be fun. It made it worse that some people snickered, and I just wanted the ground to open up and swallow me at that point. However, that did not deter me from learning, I exhumed my iPad and pen from my bag and took my seat on the floor much to everyone's surprise, even the professors, I began to make notes. I planned that I would be the best student to graduate in this establishment, I wasn't going to let some bad day take that away from me.
Other students ended up coming late too and after seeing me, they didn't bother to move to their seats but instead stood beside me, the only difference between them and me was that they walked in more confidently, like it wasn't a big deal. Eventually, the class ended, and it ended at 10 am, so I wasn't on the floor for too long. Everyone slowly left the hall while I was there going over what I had just learnt before I got up. I had to get to my next class, I didn't want to be late.
"Wait." I stopped in my tracks when I heard that voice again, almost as if it was a spell that had frozen me in my tracks. I gulped a little and gave myself a quick mental pep talk before I turned to face my Music History Professor.
Standing well over six feet, he practically towered over me. I always felt so small around tall guys, like a little mouse caught in the shadow of a lion. His presence was… intense. Maybe it was the way he carried himself, or the fact that his damn shirt was two buttons open, just enough to reveal a glimpse of fresh skin beneath. Distracting as hell.
And then there were those glasses—so sophisticated, but at the same time, they added this mysterious edge to him. His hair was pulled into that perfect bun like usual, neat and controlled, but I couldn't help wondering what he'd look like if it was down, a little messier.
His eyes were on me now, and I swear there was something more in them than just irritation. A flicker of something… dangerous. My heart skipped a beat. God, why did I feel like I was being pulled toward him? I was supposed to be embarrassed, not… mesmerized.
But damn, he made it hard not to be.
"You seem like a new student…" he paused for a while, sizing me up before resuming, "but I believe you know by now not to come to my class late, it has consequences. But I will spare you if you give me a good enough reason why you were late." his arms folded across his chest and I felt myself shrink even more, like as if I wasn't small enough.
"I… I…"
"You what?"
"Overslept." That was so embarrassing but to add to it, he chuckled a little. Almost like he wasn't impressed.
"Go. Don't come late again. Remember, there will be consequences." he turned his back on me and went back to his seat. My eyes were still wide in astonishment, does that mean I am forgiven? I was still so shocked until he turned back to me, just his gaze and not his body, "or do you want the consequences?" no one could tell me that wasn't a threat.
I squeaked and made a beeline for the door, never was I ever coming late to his class again.