04

“We apologize, Dr. Han,” Seth supplied smoothly, nodding to the professor. “We tried to pay attention but I will admit that that was a very long documentary and with no class interaction at all, it is, without question, going to tempt anybody into sleep.”

“Interest is a choice, Mr. Wallace,” the professor replied curtly. “If you’re interested in what you have to learn, your mind stays alert. If you weren’t interested in what I had to present to you today, why did you even bother coming to class ?”

Seth opened his mouth again to answer but I kicked his foot. Dr. Han turned to me with a disapproving look on her face. “And you, Miss Benning. You’re usually pretty well-behaved. It may be the new generation but I don’t tolerate sleeping in class. I find it much disrespectful especially when other people are paying for your time to be in school.”

The comment hit me like hot water on the face and I grew warm in embarrassment.

“I don’t think that was a fair comment, Dr. Han,” Seth said in a low, edgy tone I’ve barely heard from him before. “Learning is a two-way process. The student must open his mind but the teacher has to know how to put that information in.”

“I’ve taught for ten years, Mr. Wallace,” Dr. Han countered, her china doll face, darkening with anger. “Nobody’s ever complained about how I teach.”

“Maybe you never asked,” he replied, shrugging, and I turned to him in horror. Oh my God, does he have a clue what he’s destroying here ?

“Alright, that’s it !” the professor spewed violently, flailing her arm towards the door. “Out you two and don’t ever come back. You can expect your marks to reflect your repulsive behavior.”

“No, Dr. Han, please,” I suddenly found my voice and begged, imagining in horror my future going down the drain. “We’ll make up for it, Seth and I. Please, it was simply just human error on our part. It doesn’t mean we haven’t learned anything in your class.”

I nervously glanced at Seth to see if he would protest. He can fail this class and not worry about consequences—he’s got nothing to lose.

But he quietly nodded, waiting for the professor to speak.

She looked at us carefully for a long time, as if assessing our sincerity. Then she glanced at the skinny, nerdy-looking Wilson, her teaching assistant, who nodded in some sort of unspoken agreement.

“Alright, I’ll give you another chance,” the professor spoke up, straightening. “I’m usually not so lenient but since this is a first offense, I’ll let you make up for it.”

I sighed in relief until I saw her pick up a thick brown folder from the several ones that Wilson was cradling close to his chest.

She set it down on my desk and I glanced down at the label on it : Popular Indian Folklore.

“I want you both to report on it—create an extensive presentation that will consume two hours and nothing less,” she instructed in an almost haughty tone. “Let’s see how you can make a two-hour presentation interesting enough to keep everybody awake.”

I swallowed hard and glanced at Seth. He didn’t seem at all worried by the enormity of the professor’s expectation.

“Present it Friday next week but I need you to show me the outline of contents by Monday,” she added before turning to go. Wilson followed behind her like an obedient dog. “You can now both leave.”

We mumbled our thank-yous before rushing out of the room.

The moment we were out, I started sprinting.

“Ali, wait !”

“Leave me alone, Seth !” I snapped at him, marching forward without care at the people who were glancing my way.

He easily caught up with me, grabbing me by the elbow. “But we’ve got to talk about the presentation.”

I tried pulling my arm free in anger but his grip was tight. “I’ll do the presentation myself. You don’t need to inconvenience yourself with it. I’ll give you your script by the end of the week. And you’re hurting me.”

He blinked and loosened his hold without completely letting go. His thumb rubbed my elbow as he gently pulled me to the side of the hallway. “What do you mean you’ll give me a script ? We’re both working on this—it’s both our problem to deal with.”

I rolled my eyes. “A problem that would’ve never happened if you didn’t make me fall asleep.”

His eyes widened. “Make you fall asleep ? How did I make you fall asleep ? That documentary needed no help from me at all.”

“You know what I mean !” I argued, not caring if I sounded like an unreasonable child. “If you didn’t charm Alicia into swapping seats with you and sit next to me, if you didn’t lend me your jacket that made me feel warm and nice, I wouldn’t have fallen asleep !”

“So it’s my fault that I kept you company and made you feel warm and nice,” he countered, exasperated. “I never knew it was such a crime.”

“It is if you know that I take school very, very seriously,” I answered, determined to win the argument.

He put a hand his hip and looked heavenward with a sigh. “You take it way too seriously, it’s becoming disturbing.”

“Seth !”