Focus

Focus

Yaren awoke with the first ray of sunshine filtering through her window, there was a peculiar sense of clarity overriding the intense exhaustion of the previous night. She lay still for a moment as she recalled everything that had happened yesterday: the heavy scent of the professor's office, the force of his touch, thd possessive comfort of his arms.

But the day was new and she wouldn't dwell on that so early in the morning. She had a life to manage, there was something motivating about the cool morning, about the sounds of people talking quietly as they walked down the hallway. She needed to pull herself together a bit, she needed to catch up on her studies.

She showered quickly though that was the last thing she wanted to do, she still wanted to preserve the fragrance of his perfume that has clung to her skin, but now she just smelt like sweat and she needed to shower.

She stood before her mirror as she assessed the outfit she'd he chosen carefully. The base was a structured, tailored brown colored shirt dress. The collared top, buttoned down front, and the full, pleated skirt made her look rather youthful today.

To make the dress practical for the cool morning and a long day of walking across campus, she paired it with black leggings underneath. The dark, opaque leggings anchored the look by providing warmth and modesty while complementing the dress's dark buttons, she loved it.

She took a deep breath, checked her reflection one last time and headed out.

On stepping into the hallway, the door to Jasmine's room opened simultaneously and she stepped out, also prepared to head out.

"Yaren! There you are!"

Jasmine immediately closed the distance between them for a brief hug. She smelled of lavender and vanilla like always and Yaren couldn't help but recall times she'd spend in her room for lessons and makeovers. It hadn't been so long ago but yet so much time seemed to have gone by, Yaren felt nothing like she used to be then, she'd changed so much in such a short time and it almost terrified her.

"Girl, I've been looking for you. You've been scarce lately. I was beginning to worry about you."

Yaren instantly put on her carefully constructed mask. She knew it was unlike her to be so scarce and all, and she didn't blame Jasmine for beginning to worry about her, she knew she'd been off lately.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. I've been a total mess. You know, the flu and all, and I had to spend so much time over at the library trying to catch up. I guess I just crashed out." She kept her tone light and reassuring. She could let Jasmine suspect something was office, she could afford to let anyone know about what was happening between her and the professor.

"Well, you look much better today," Jasmine said, scrutinizing her for a moment. "You scared me. I thought maybe something else was going on."

Yaren shook her head immediately.

"Not at all," she said, offering a warm smile. "But I'm back. I promise. Tell you what, we can resume our lessons over the weekend and we can catch up properly then. I should be done catching up on what I missed by the end of the week."

She had to put on a convincing show, making the promise of resumed studies and normalcy sounded utterly sincere, and it worked. Jasmine seemed genuinely relieved that she was back to normal.

"Sounds good," Jasmine sighed, linking her arm through Yaren's. "Come on, my car is right outside."

Yaren’s stomach sank immediately. She knew Phillip was outside waiting already, the black sedan that had dropped her off yesterday was a few hundred feet away, ready to whisk her away. To refuse Jasmine now would invite questions, suspicion, and a difficult explanation. She couldn't risk it, that would jeopardize everything.

She'd have to tell Jasmine how a poor scholarship student managed to have such an expensive car and even a driver. Jasmine would never let it be and she wouldn't hear the end of it.

"That would be great, thanks," she said.

On getting into the car, Yaren subtly pulled out her phone. She quickly typed a brief message and sent it to the professor's private line.

'To G.W: Good morning. Jasmine is dropping me off so I won't be going with Philip. Thank you.'

She tucked the phone back into her pocket just as Jasmine began chatting about something. She realized she'd actually missed this.

~~

Yaren hadn't expected herself to actually be capable of thoroughly focusing, but she awed herself by paying attention a lot during class; her mind didn't wander off to the professor, or her mom, or anything else. She was focused on the meticulous notes she was taking, it reminded her of when she newly arrived at St. Aldwyns, it reminded her of how eager she'd been to learn and boost her grades.

By the time she finished her fourth lecture, she headed to the library to catch up on what she'd missed when she hadn't attended the professor's classes. She covered a lot, and she was glad she hadn't just read through them but also understood every single thing. The professor's lecture notes were packed with information and they helped a lot, but Yaren knew well enough that you actually needed to attend the professor's class to get more knowledge.

The lecture notes just had what was required of the professor to give, but the professor gave more during his classes, so much more than what was in the notes and she was beginning to regret skipping his classes.

Hours passed slowly and the sun shifted till it cast long shadows across the desks. Yaren checked her phone for the time when she realized the temperature was dropping like it did every evening, and she was surprised to see that so much time had passed, it was 4:47 PM already.

The effect of the time was instantaneous; the focus she had maintained for hours shattered. The text on the page blurred, and the quiet of the library was disrupted by the heavy beating of her heart.

It was almost 5:pm. Almost time to head to the professor's office for 'her task'. The anticipation had her palm getting sweaty, her heart pounded harder and her breath faltered as she wondered what would happen today, as she wondered what the professor had in store for her.

She closed the textbook, unable to concentrate further. She packed her bag with unsteady hands in preparation to head out and go to the professor.