54

Amina

"Yes? Yes, you just did." He replied the rhetorical question which I asked.

"Just leave me alone, Viktor." I folded my arms and frowned at him. I was mad at myself for almost talking about Ivan.

"Who do you have to take permission from before you can make friends?" He asked me despite my frown. I decided to keep quiet no matter what he said from now.

"Is it the guy who comes here with you?"

"No." I heard myself despite wanting to not say a word to him.

"Okay...who is that guy anyway? Your brother?"

"What?" I had to ask because in what way did Ivan and I look alike for him to assume that we are siblings?

"I don't know, he always drops you off, and he waits for you till classes are over..." He gave his reason.

"So? Do we look like siblings?"

"You guys could be adoptive siblings?" He shrugged.

"We are not siblings." I clarified.

"O my goodness, he's your boyfriend?"

"What?" Where is he finding his assumptions from?

"No. He's not."

"Is that why you won't talk to me? Is that why he sat with you the other day, to keep you from talking to me? Is he the one who won't let you befriend people?

"No. Stop with your questions. He is NOT my boyfriend. I don't have a boyfriend." I said and saw him smiling."What?" I asked because I wondered what he was smiling about.

"It's good to know he is not your boyfriend and that you don't have one. Now I know I still have a chance with you."

I scoffed after he said that."Go away." I told him.

"No."

"What do you mean NO? Go away, you are going to make my headache come back." I sighed at his unwillingness to leave. 

"I can sit wherever I want." He sat more comfortably on the chair and raised his legs to the desk, crossing them and smiling at me.

The lecturer came in,"I'm sorry I'm late, shall we start?" Viktor quickly dropped his legs from the desk and sat up. I laughed.

*****

Class was over and I knew I had to sit and wait for Ivan but it was hard today because I was excited about going somewhere else that wasn't back to his place.

"Hey," Viktor came closer to me."Did he come with you today?" I heard him ask about Ivan but didn't answer him."Pretty," I turned when he said that and saw a smile plastered on his face.

"Pretty, how about I all you that from now on since you've refused to let me know your name."

I shook my head, drained from his blabbing. He can call me whatever he wants, I knew I wouldn't answer if I heard him call me that.

"The assignment that was given to us by professor Leah, I wasn't able to take down all of it while she dictated. May I borrow your jotter?" He asked and I just chuckled.

Did he think I wasn't smart enough to know that he could get my new from the jotter? I didn't have my name penned down on the jotter but I still wasn't giving it to him.

Ivan showed up and waved at me to tell me to come to him. I got up happily and picked my things.

"Are you going already?" Viktor followed behind me.

"Stop coming with me. Leave me alone, you will put me in trouble." I stopped to tell him but he wouldn't listen. 

"What kind of trouble could talking to me leave you in, huh? Tell me?" I ignored him this time and decided to skip some steps on the stairs as I descended towards Ivan.

I was successful in getting rid of him following me because as I skipped some steps, someone else came out from the row of chair there and was behind me now.

I got to Ivan and he wasn't smiling like in the morning. I know he wasn't a big smiler but I also knew that this face of his he had on now wasn't very cheerful. He was in a bad mood but I planned to cheer him up because he promised to take me anywhere that I wanted to go today and even if I didn't know anywhere yet in Russia, he could be the one to pick a place, as long as it is fun, I will be surely be good with it.

"Are we still going?" I asked him and got a question from him with a cold face.

"Why was he talking to you? Is he following you? Is he bothering you?"

"Who?" I asked like I had no idea of who he was asking about.

"Hey pretty, I caught up with you..." I heard Viktor say and sighed.

"What did you just call her?" Ivan asked him and moved me so he could look at Viktor as he spoke.

"You...you came today..." Viktor stammered.

"What did I just hear you call her?"

"Ivan, can we just go?"

"No, we can't. Why is he calling you pretty? Did you say it was okay for him to call you that?"

"No? I refused to tell him my name so he says that's what he will call me but whatever, if he calls me that I'm not gonna answer."

Ivan put his right hand on Viktor's shoulder like he was going to be friendly but his face wasn't friendly looking.

"What is your name?" Ivan smiled at him but I could see that Viktor was a bit shaky around him.

"V-viktor." He muttered.

"I didn't hear you, what did you say?"

"Viktor. My name is Viktor."

"Good name." Ivan tightened his grip on his shoulder.

"Ivan..." I wanted to stop him because I wasn't comfortable with what he was doing to Viktor.

"Sshh," he hushed me and returned his attention to Viktor."Now, Viktor, listen to me carefully, will you?" He paused and I saw Viktor nod vigorously."Stay away from her. It is very simple to do, yeah?"

"Yeah," Viktor nodded in compliance.

"Good." Ivan said and let go of his shoulder. Viktor started to massage where Ivan's hands just left. He walked past me and left the class."Now we can go." Ivan said to me and started to leave the class. He walked for a while and noticed I wasn't coming so he turned around and said."Use your legs, Jewel."

I dragged my legs to where he was and he  took my hands in his so we could walk faster.

"Why did you have to do that?" I asked him but got no reply. Deciding to not let it ruin my mood, I smiled when I remembered what he promised to do if I took my drugs earlier.

"I don't know places to go but you surely do so you will be the one picking where we are going." I told him and he stopped walking. O my goodness, did he forget his promise?