November, 2009

Instructor Chevalier saw us and waved his free hand. "Ah! Miss Quinn. A pleasure to see you here," he sounded friendly and his smile – perfectly white set of teeth – looked so genuine. Despite being French, I did not hear any accent from him compared to the blonde beside him.

"Hi teach!" Raine waved back the two instructors. "Wow, ya and instructor hottie on a date here in this fine yet sloppy cafeteria?" her question made me stiffen.

"Hahaha. Well, you could say that..." Instructor Chevalier laughed weakly and rubbed the back of his head.

Was he embarrassed having a date with instructor Le Creuset? The woman who can put even the goddess Freyja to shame?

A low growl resonated from my throat upon thinking of such possibility. Something that Raine immediately noticed. My classmate stopped eating my bread and looked at me with a confused expression; which I clearly ignored. All my attention was focused on that man who dared touch and be close my instructor.

If I was him, I would take that goddess to any place she wanted and be proud of her! If she wanted to dine at one of those street food stalls, I would take her there. Even a food stall can look like a five-star restaurant just by gracing them with her presence.

"Are you okay, mademoiselle Elize?"

My annoyance disappeared when I heard the appealing voice of instructor Le Creuset. The mere sight of this beautiful being, her gaze towards me that's unreadable, it was enough for my heart to start pounding hard on my chest. Like a wild beast begging to come out of its cage.

"Geek, instructor hottie's talking to ya," said Raine, nudging my sides. She must've noticed how instructor Le Creuset called me by my first name.

Those darkened blue eyes moved to the side for a second then back to me. Instructor Le Creuset's expression bore something I'm unable to tell. Kinda like a mix of irritation, confusion and sadness; all in one pretty face.

Such emotion brought an unexplainable feeling to my chest. A strangling pain in my heart akin to a barbwire wrapping on exposed flesh. Something I'm unable to decipher.

Why, in all my life in college, does this woman bring forth unusual feelings from within me? Feelings I didn't even know existed.

Why does this woman even made me feel things?

But the sight of the man who clung to her, the man who can put any toothpaste models to shame, made all my questions to be put aside. His mere presence near that blonde instructor irritated me to the point of growling yet again.

"Mademoiselle Zaragoza?" instructor Le Creuset called for my attention again. This time, she was a few feet away from that pretty boy and somehow got close to me. "Would you like me to take you to 'ze clinic?" she asked, worry now evident in those greyish hues.

Her eye color changed yet again. Something I couldn't fathom how or why it does.

Instructor Chevalier called for the blonde's attention and spoke to her in French; a language I still could not understand despite instructor Le Creuset's speaking in the said language a few times. What he told her, one I don't even know what, changed something with the blonde. Her worried expression changed to something stoic – cold looking – and she stepped backwards, putting distance between us.

That toothy instructor approached the blonde and placed both hands on her shoulders. "Pardon Claire. It seems that Miss Quinn's friend is bothered by our presence," he said, still with a smile on his face. It was tempting to take out my laptop from my bag and smack it to his face.

Raine placed her arm on my shoulder and pulled me close to her. "Nah, not at all instructor. This Geek here just skipped instructor hottie's class. That's why she's all stiffy and such."

"Oh. That's new," instructor Chevalier grinned at the blonde who still has a stoic look on her face. "Someone's immune to your charms, mon amie," he had a smug look on his face while the blonde under his arm just stood there, staring at me with an expressionless face.

"I do not 'zink eet even matterz. Mademoiselle Zaragoza doez not need me and my claz zince 'ze already know 'zem all," instructor Le Creuset said, accent thicker than usual. Her voice was devoid of the flirtiness I grew accustomed to. Her face, wiped clean of the smirks and smiles I grew to be fond of. And her grace that I found myself admiring was held in place by a man I now loathe.

My 'swiper' classmate gasped after hearing what instructor Le Creuset said. Even that toothpaste model looked surprised at what he heard.

"Wow! Ya're really a geek, Geek! I'm impressed!" Raine said while patting me at the back. I'm not even sure if she was praising me or taunting me when she called me a 'geek'.

"I'm impressed as well," said the Economics instructor. "But really, you shouldn't skip her class. Your grades will be affected and we don't want anyone failing any classes. Plus, it's a waste if you won't even attend a class that's being taught by a beautiful instructor like your instructor here," he chuckled.

I could feel my brows narrowing at what he said. Yes, instructor Le Creuset's beautiful; everyone with eyes can agree to that. But him, saying it casually while he has her in his arms, it irked me to the core. To add up that instructor Le Creuset's did not mind their closeness or his touchy actions...

When I turned to the webpage instructor, I felt like a thousand needles stabbed my heart.

Instructor Le Creuset's still under that guy's arm but now, she's holding his hand that's draped on her left shoulder. The sight made my stomach churn and bile began to rise to my throat. "'ztop eet, Ma'zew. Mademoiselle Zaragoza eez clearly a buzy ztudent and I'm zure 'zat 'zhe will not fail my claz." her sights shifted to my right where Raine sat and then back to me. "Even eef zhe eez in 'ze middle of a date."

'Date? Who's on a date?' I looked around to find anyone who's on a date but found no one.

Raine laughed. "I won't call it a date if it's just in this cafeteria," she joked. Seriously, Raine should stop joking about those things. People might misinterpret it.

The webpage instructor nodded as if agreeing with Raine. "Yez, mademoiselle. Mademoiselle Zaragoza dezervez a place far more exquizuite 'zan 'zis place."

Instructor Chevalier nodded as well. "Indeed she does. Every woman deserves to be treated to the finest place in the world. Even you, mon amie," he said with a charming smile.

That's it. I don't want her assuming I'm a high-maintenance kind of girl or to see anymore flirting from him to her. So I stood up, took my bread from my classmate – ignoring her objections – and set my sights to the cafeteria exit. But even before I made ten steps away from the three, I stopped in front of instructor Le Creuset and looked at her in the eyes. "I don't care if I have a date at a cafeteria, a five-star restaurant, or just at home and watch a movie. What I care about is dating someone I actually love," I said with a stoic look on her face.

Taking two steps forward, not caring if everyone were looking at me, I stood a foot away from the blonde. Taking in her beauty, I took a deep breath and stepped sideways and continue making my way to the exit.

When I was side-by-side with the blonde instructor, staring at her in the eye.

"I don't like someone stealing what's mine," I whispered.