"Tia, Tia, wake up, it's time for morning class. You are gonna be late." Rhea tapped her, as she stared at her bed.
"Umm." She opened her eyes gently, stretching her scattered hair, then lay back down.
"TIA!" Rhea shouted. "School!" She pulled her by her arms out of the bed onto the blue rugged floor.
"One more minute please," she knitted her brow, trying to crawl back to the bed. But she was pulled back by the leg.
"No! No more minutes. You've exhausted all the minutes I've been given you for like two hours now." Rhea tried pulling her from the floor by her hand, but Tia wouldn't, releasing all her weight on her, wobbling like a jelly. "Ohh, Tia, you are heavy, stand up."
"I don't want to, give me one more minute please," she placed both palms together over her head. Suddenly she looked up at Rhea from the floor she was seated on, "Wait, I'm not going to school today! I've something to pick up. Didn't I tell you yesterday?"
"Noo!" Rhea placed her hands on her waist, her brows hitched.
With a bright smile, Tia said, "I'm not going to school today," crawling back to her bed, "so you don't need to bother about me. Bye."
Rhea smirked, shaking her head, "I bet you are happy right now," and walked out.
"I will prepare your favourite for you by the time you get home," Tia shouted through her house.
"Okay."
The door clicked open, and the room fell into a hush as Zeenare entered, his silver-grey hair neatly parted halfway, letting some to fall on his shoulders, dressed in an ash grey suit, black tie and shoes, and golden glasses with a chain strap on them.
He set his notes on the desk, scanning the room as his gaze lingered slightly when it landed on Rhea.
Rhea bathed her eyes slowly over Zeenare as she scanned him upwards and downward. Then back to his face, folding her arms over her chest, looked away from him.
"Last week," he began, voice like thunder, "we formed groups for your upcoming Moot Court exercise. I trust you've already introduced yourselves within your teams. If not…" he looked up, slow and pointed, "you're already behind."
A few students murmured, shifting uncomfortably.
"Mooting," he continued, "is not a performance; it's war in words. You're not here to act like lawyers. You're here to become them. And the courtroom won't be kind."
He picked a marker, clicked it open, and began to write on the board:
Moot Court Breakdown:
Issue: The legal question you're arguing.
Facts: Stick to what's given. No invention.
Authorities: Case law, statutes, journals. No fluff.
Structure: Introduction, submissions, rebuttal.
"You'll be expected to argue both sides, the Appellant and the Respondent. Note, your written brief is due in two weeks. Oral submissions begin the week after."
His eyes returned to the class.
"For today, we'll walk through the anatomy of a moot. Structure, Etiquette, Tone, and Confidence. The ones who sound loudest aren't always the strongest. But the ones who hesitate..." His gaze cut into Rhea again, "...they get eaten."
Is he talking to me?
She crossed her arms, leaning back in her seat like he bored her.
Two girls in front of Rhea murmured, their conversation catching her attention, "The professor is very hot! I can't seem to get enough of his face! If I can keep coming to school just to see his face, I will never regret my school life!"
"I bet he has a girlfriend." The other replied.
"Obviously, how can someone like him not have a girlfriend?" The first one was added.
"And I believe she'll be so hot too," said the second one.
As the class continued, Zeenare never looked away from Rhea for too long.
"Sir," Tiffany rushed towards Zeenare.
A girl scoffed as she spoke to her friend, as they watched Tiffany run towards Zeenare. "Look at her throwing herself all over him. I bet she'd detach herself from her boyfriend soon just to get fucked by the new lecturer."
"I can help you with that, Sir," Tiffany tried to take the textbooks and the submitted assignments from him. The other replied.
"Ms. Rhea," Zeenare called, turning to the other side, causing Tiffany to stumble forward. "Come help me with these."
Why me? Jane is there, this is her work as a class president.
Rhea stood up and walked up to him, "I have another class right now, so I can't help you with that. But why doesn't Jane help you, Sir? She's the class president."
Zeenare glanced from Rhea to Jane's direction.
Sitting on the front row, frozen, probably wondering why Rhea had mentioned her.
He trailed his eyes back to Rhea, scanning her face. Then chuckled softly at the light smirk on her face.
"Ms. Jane, I believe you are busy, right?" he said, glaring daggers towards her.
Jane flinched at his sudden cold expression. Then turned to Rhea, who was pleading with her eyes for her to say no. But the death stare from Zeenare made the air in her lungs freeze.
"Yes, I'm busy," she managed in a sharp whisper.
Zeenare turned to Rhea with a soft smile, placed the bulk of the notebooks on her arm, and headed for the door.
Rhea walked behind Zeenare as they walked through the hallway, her gaze fixed on his back, then down to his waist, staring at his butt.
Why are his butt cheeks so firm?
She moved her eyes away, as her eyes widened, her cheeks crimson by the sudden realisation of her thought.
Zeenare turned to Rhea after opening the door, gesturing for Rhea to step in.
"You can place them on the table," he said, walking behind her. "And thank you, Ms. Rhea, for your assistance."
Rhea dropped the books, her back still turned to Zeenare, not turned to face him, and spoke, "Mr. Zeenare," Rhea's voice cut through firmly. "One thing you should know is that I don't like you. At all."
Zeenare froze on his track, his brow furrowed as his fingers twitched by his side, then clenched tight, trembling slightly at her words.
Rhea continued, "I don't know what idea you had after that day you bluntly humiliated me. But one thing you should know is that I don't share the same sentiment as you. You said you came here solely for me, right? Please leave. I feel if you remain here and keep harassing me like this, I'd hate you and you will be the first person I'll come to hate." Rhea tilted her head upwards and exhaled. "I will report you to the Disciplinary Board if you keep this up." Rhea turned and walked towards the door.
"Rhea, please wait! Please!" Zeenare extended his arms, as he held Rhea by her palm. "I'm sorry," he said, as he choked on air. "I... I can't lose you!" He walked towards her, his hands on her right palm. "Not again." A bead of tears rolled down his face. "I'm sorry. But there's —"
Rhea jerked her hand off his, not *paying* any attention to Zeenare, and walked out.