MARIA-OPUS OF EXUDE

CHAPTER ONE

Standing at the main entrance of the university, my umbrella at hand and my

books in my arms, my leather hand bag dangling from my shoulder, the humid

winds of a rainy day, blow towards me, splashing little cold droplets of rain onto

the bare skin of my legs and face. I am still contemplating as to whether or not I

should rush to my car. One thing for sure, it's getting late and I have to go home

but the rain is intensifying. I have no choice but to rush to the car park. On the

other hand, I am wearing leather heels and water is going to damage them! So

much for being a woman! I however swallow my pride, open my umbrella and I step

into the rain. I literally sprint towards the car park. My umbrella held over my head

and my books held closely to my bosom. As I near the car park I collide with

someone, loose balance and fall down. My books scatter on the wet pavement. I

quickly stand up to pick my books and the individual who bumped into me, also

helps me to pick up the books.

"You should look where you are going you nut head!" I scold him as I snatch my

books from his hands. Worse off my books are now wet. These books are very

expensive for crying out loud!

"I am very sorry. I didn't see you." he says to me.

"Keep that sorry to yourself. These books are expensive and your sorry won't buy

them. Now stop apologizing and move out of my way." I say to him as I push past

him and walk to the car park. Now my books are wet, my dress is wet and most

probably my heels have had more damage than they were supposed to have, all

thanks to a nut head who couldn't see where he was going. He should thank God

that my hands where occupied and I am running from the rain. I would have

punched him straight in the balls.

Genesis of a Routine

I roll off my bed as soon as the alarm rings, signalling the starting of my

busy day. I wash my face, brush my teeth and get into my track suit, put on

my tennis shoes, my I-pod and earphones and then I go out for an early

morning run. The running helps to jump start my system and get my blood

running.

5:20, I walk back into my house, breathing heavily from the vigorous

running that I was doing. I get into the shower and run myself a cold shower

and after that I dry my hair using the hair drier, dress up in a two piece

suit, red high heels and then I sit down in front of the dressing table to fix

my hair. I put pins on my long hair, so that no strand of hair falls loosely.

Only two long strands of hair, cascade graciously and intentionally down the

boarders of my face. The last touch to my dressing is red lipstick which

happens to be my signature touch.

6:20, the engine of my car, is on and running. I drive straight to the

university, whilst listening to the radio. The traffic is usually thick in the

morning, so I usually get to the university at seven o'clock and I go straight

to my office where I open the windows to let in some fresh air, water my pot

plants and i depart for the departmental meetings that are set for seven

thirty in the morning and after that its back to normal. On a Monday, my

first lecture is at eight thirty and the last ends at two in the afternoon and

after that I am dismissed.

I walk out of my office after a long day at the university. My feet are burning

and I am tired. Worse off I have a lot of marking to do and more lectures to

prepare for. So much for being a lecturer....

"Good afternoon" a male voice says as I am locking the door. I turn back to

look at the individual. I sigh audibly before replying because one thing for

sure, judging from the look on his face, he seems like he wants to ask for a

favor that's close to impossible at this time of the day regarding my

schedule.

"Good afternoon. How may I assist you?" I ask, cutting down to the chase. I

really don't have all day to entertain people.

"I am very well, thanks. Look, I wanted to apologize about the incident that

happened yesterday. I am very sorry. It's just that my mind was all over the

place. You know how it is when you are in a new environment. You easily

get jittery. By the way, I am Mr Thomas Shoko, the new lecturer." He says.

As much as I want to be angry at this idiot for bumping into me, I can't.

Why because he is new and I don't want him to get a sick impression about

me. "No, it's okay. I understand. It was nice meeting you. I hope you enjoy

your stay at the University" I say as I turn on my heel and face the other

direction. I want to go straight home. What more could a woman want after

having a long day. A hand pulls my free arm and I turn back and look at the

individual.

"Look, I was hoping if we could have some lunch together. I haven't

familiarized with the university, so can we go together to the staff canteen."

He pleads. His eyes also pleading innocently with me. I look at him and

exhale audibly, giving into his demands. After all he is new, so let me do him

the favor and be his host.

"Well, it's okay. But then, from today on wards you will have to get there by

yourself. My schedules get too tight. I barely have time for lunch" I respond.

"Okay. I am a fast learner, so I am sure i will remember the directions. So

let's get going" Thomas responds. His face beaming with anticipation.

Something that looks like a lazy 'Mission Accomplished' smile creeps up his

face. I shrug that away and I walk towards the canteen but before we get

there, I first leave my stuff in my car and then we head straight to the

canteen. I have taken up the role of a tour guide and he is playing the

tourist. I am telling him every single thing about the places we pass through

until at last we get to the canteen. We pass through the students' canteen

and then we move straight into the staff canteen. The staff canteen is more

like a restaurant. We settle down at a free table and we order our meals and

we dig in. He asks a lot of questions about this and that and i play the good

girl, answering his questions but then when it comes to personal questions,

I draw the professional line. After the lunch, I head straight home.

Upon getting home, I put on comfortable clothing and head straight for my

study where I start working, whilst listening to some soul music or instrumentals.

For the rest of the afternoon, I mark the assignments. Penning down every single

mistake. I am extra strict with the marking, so that I could produce competitive

students. The stricter you become, the harder they will work and hence, when the

examinations come, you have wonderful results. After marking, I start cooking my

supper. After supper I settle down and I start reading my crime novels for half an

hour and after that I resume my work. I go to bed at eleven o'clock sharp.

My day is born by the ringing of the alarm. I switch it off, go straight to the

bedroom where I brush my teeth, wash my face and I go for at early morning jog.

The street is usually deserted and so I run in the company of the music I am

listening to through the headsets. The jog is meant to jump start the day, to revive

the working mode and also to keep my aging body in shape. After the jog i do the

routine processes and after that i leave for work before the traffic gets thick.

Today is a Tuesday and so i have lectures from eight o'clock in the morning till

lunchtime. When the students go for lunch, i go straight to the school of Hotel and

Catering, where i have a small lunch with Vimbai, my best friend who happens to

be a lecturer. We usually have this lunch at either my office or her office. We

usually have a light meal and after that we have a game of chess. The looser in the

game gets to pay for a meal that we are both going to have. The winner chooses the

menu and the restaurant of choice

We are sitting in Vimbai's office. We are both consumed in the game at hand.Trying

to figure out ways of winning the game at hand. Slow instrumentals are sifting

through the room from Vimbai's computer, our eyes are running up and about,

playing the game on their own, and constantly our hands make certain moves on

the chess board. We both share the same goal-to win the game and choose a

restaurant of our choice..... "Check mate" Vimbai says. And this means that I have

lost this game again. I have been losing the game for three consecutive weeks.

"Which restaurant do you intend to go to?" I ask, as i sit back on the chair,

watching her packing her stuff.

"Come on, Red, you know that I want to go to our usual spot and yes I want to have

the usual meal" she says.

"Since you want to be sympathetic with my purse, its fine but I will not have mercy

on you once I get to win this game" i respond.

"well, its fine. I know what i am dealing with but unlike you, i don't want to gain

unnecessary weight" she responds as she stands up from her chair and we heard

out for our usual restaurant. Well, it's not a restaurant as such; it's a big coffee

shop, one of the most famous coffee shops in Harare. We usually have a table for

two saved for us outside at the balcony, if it's a sunny day and one in the shop at

the far end, near a large window on a cold or rainy day. Today is a sunny Tuesday

so we have a table saved for us at the balcony. We settle down and a female

waitress comes to take our orders and in no time, we are drinking our bush tea and

eating sponge cake. These tea Tuesdays are days when we take time out and enjoy

ourselves as grown women. We usually talk about different issues ranging from

gossip, health, social lives, fashion, the state of affairs in the university and other

hot issues at the point. We really enjoy our time here as we laugh and get to be

free...

"Don't you think it's about time that you get a man in your life?" Vimbai asks. I

smile at her and I respond

"I am content with single life. I have everything that could give one a good life.

What's the point of a man?"

"Red, stop fooling yourself. You need a penis in your life, some testosterone to give

a different scent to your sheets" Vimbai teases.

"No, thank you! I cannot handle men's masculine pride and arrogance."

"Look Red, you are beautiful, educated, well built, well cultured and I don't see why

you can't let anyone through to that heart of yours?"

"Maybe in another life" I respond.

"Let's just say, you haven't met the right idiot. The one who would make you angry

and yet your love still overflows for him. And that's when you will start talking"

Vimbai says.

"Stop reading those romance novels. They give you stupid ideas about feelings and

men that don't exist. And trust me, I have learnt it the hard way, now I am living

my life in response to reality" I protest.

"Okay, fair and fine. I will remind you one day when you are so love struck that you

can't even find time to come and sit with me right here in this coffee shop just

because 'he', whoever he is, will be using our time."

"Vimbai, when that happens please take me to church and let the pastor cast out

that demon. I will be possessed." I respond.

"Possessed by love. And that's a good thing." Vimbai responds...we continue to talk,

laughing and just being us-women! I really love this time with Vimbai, she is my

safe space. My dear fortress. Vimbai is the only individual in the whole University

who has ever seen the real me.... a waitress walks up to us.

"Good day ma'am, I was sent to come and give you this" the waitress says as she

hands me a piece of paper.

"Where is it coming from?" i ask.

"It's from a gentleman who is inside" she says.

"Did he give his name?" Vimbai questions.

"No" she replies.

I open the paper and i read its contents. Its written:

'hie, my name is Tedious. To cut straight to the chase, I like you. Can I

have your number so that we can talk?'

This guy is a complete idiot! What type of approach is this? If i was a man, i think i

would have done a lot better than this...I take a red pen from my handbag and I

scribble 'nice try Mr. smart pants but no thank you..I am not interested and

besides-Red for danger!' and I fold the paper and I give it to the waitress, a smile

plastered on my lips. The waitress takes the paper and walks away.

"And what was that all about" Vimbai asks, her eyes popping out in curiosity and

concern.

"Some idiot named Tedious was asking for my number so that we can talk" I say to

her as I lift my cup to drink the tea.

"And what did you say to him?" Vimbai asks.

"I told him to screw off, I am not interested" I respond.

"What!? Why?" Vimbai queries.

"This one is most probably some rich idiot, who thinks that women can be

approached by pieces of paper sent by waitresses. That's very low key." I respond.

"When it comes to men, you have to forget your standards. A woman makes a man.

So don't expect a ready made business official to walk up to you" Vimbai says.

"That's the reason, why I don't want men in my life! I am not good with this-play

the teacher thing. I am better off as an Economics professor." I respond and after

that I sip my tea.

"Excuse me ma'am, there is another note for you" the waitress says as she hands it

to me. This time, Vimbai snatches the note and reads it before i could read it. I

watch her jaw drop in amusement. She giggles mischievously and her the note

back to me.

"just give him what he wants ka-one" Vimbai probes. The guy is asking for my

number! I take my pen and again scribble something on the paper:

'077...leave me the hell alone! I am not your type. If you continue with this

nonsense, I will find you and kick your hard in the testicles. So hard that

they will crawl back into your stomach or burst!"

I fold the paper and i give it to the waitress, a fake smile plastered on my lips,

concealing the agitation that is building up. The waiter takes the note, nodes and

strides away.

"And what did you say?" Vimbai asks.

"I told him to leave me alone" I say as I sip my tea, my elbows balancing on the

table.

"Come on, give the man a chance. He likes you" Vimbai protests.

"No, not this time. Vimbai, i made mistakes as little girl and I won't repeat them

again. Each time the mistakes were based on men. Such men. Now that I have

learnt from my mistakes and gained some maturity, I am not willing to walk into

the same traps. Not this time" I say.

"Excuse me ma'am, I have another note for you" the waitress says.

"How much is this idiot paying you? I am willing to pay you double, so that you can

stop bringing these silly notes. I am not enjoying this, not at all." I say as i reach for

my handbag and i take out a whooping three hundred dollars and i offer it to the

waiter. Vimbai snatches the money before the waitress gets the chance to take it

from my hand.

"This is not necessary. Look dear, can you stop this fooling around. If it continues,

I might take this to your manager and jobs are scarce in Zimbabwe. Set your

priorities straight." Vimbai says.

"I am very sorry ma'am. I really thought the two of you knew each other." The

waitress responds.

"Well, unfortunately, none of us know him, whoever he is" Vimbai responds and i

smile sarcastically, loving the very fact that Vimbai is finally standing up for me,

even though she was the one encouraging me to talk to this idiot of a man. The

waitress then decides to walk away from us after further apologising.

"You give them the impression that you have a fat purse. Then you will never know

peace as long as you walk into this place." Vimbai says.

"I just wanted her to leave me alone" I respond.

"Money does not solve any problems. Instead, it would have made her eager to

shuffle, between the two of you, adhering to the needs of the highest bidder. At the

end of the day, she is at an advantage and you guys are at the loosing ends."

Vimbai reasons.

"Even though, this man is such a coward! He couldn't even approach me

personally. And that shows that he is not man enough" I protest.

"to a greater extent, but looking on the brighter side of things, this man might be a

rich shy man, trying to have his luck with this beautiful monument of a woman."

Vimbai says.

"I think that men are attracted by my dressing and self presentation and not by the

real me, which they have never seen before, because if they did...."

"They would love you more. In fact they would worship you." A male voice says

behind me and i turn my head to face this tall, dark skinned man, wearing a black

suit. He has a clean shave and a bald head.

"Hello ladies, my name are Tedious Nyadza." He says as he takes a chair from an

empty table and sits between me and Vimbai. He offers me his hand and I ignore it.

"A gentleman should wait to be accorded a seat and speak when spoken to. Just

that gesture shows that the gentleman is civilized." I respond.

"When it comes to a man's interests, he can role in the mud and forget all his

manners, just to get what he loves the most," Tedious responds. A smile plastered

on his face.

"Stop wasting your precious time. I am more than you can bargain, physically,

emotionally and mentally. Besides, i am far too educated to become your

paramour" I respond coldly.

"Let's clear the mist here. I am not married and i am not taking interest in you

because i saw you today. You stole my heart when i saw you two years back. When

you walked up to the podium, dressed in a white dress with red flowers, to speak

during the open day at your university.....Professor Red." He says to me. A

triumphant smirk plastered on his lips. My heart skips a beat when he mentions

my name. I look at him in total shock and finally i manage to say:

"Looks are fooling. You will never love the real Professor Red. Especially after she

wipes off the red lipstick off her lips." I say to him as i smile sheepishly.

"For you. I am willing to go very far, so don't try to discourage me. I will knock at

your door, until you let me in." He responds. Just that statement tells me that i am

dealing with some thick headed idiot, who is blinded by my looks but will not be

able to stomach the real product in the container... i look at Vimbai , my eyes

pleading for some back-up. She giggles mischievously, composes herself again and

he picks up my left hand and points to one of my fingers and says:

"See that piece of metal. It means that there is someone in her life. She is married

to a very influential man, so don't test the waters. You won't like the end results."

Tedious immediately recoils into silence but again says:

"i know a married woman when i see one. Professor Red here, is not married"

"how old are you?" i question.

"i am 37, turning 38 in a few days" he responds proudly.

"see! You are aiming for an older woman. Professor Red is 42 years old and has a 21

year old daughter. You shouldn't be courting her daughter not her." Vimbai says.

"Age is nothing but just a number" he says.

"That's if you have the intention to fool around with a woman and you don't intend

on marrying her" Vimbai protests.

"Not every relationship is supposed to end with the two individuals marrying each

other" he retaliates.

"Conflict of interests. I am past the age of fooling around, so don't waste your time.

But none the less, nice try. And oh yeah, the approach you used to get to me was

stupid. You look like a respectable man but your mannerism says otherwise. Revise

it for future purposes." I respond.

"Sending pieces of notes to women-that's how you approach prostitutes and not

ladies and you should know the difference." Vimbai adds.

"I wish you the very best in your love life and please have a nice life" I add on.

"Well, I really tried my luck! But then, it was nice meeting you ladies." Tedious

says.

"Under such circumstances, we can't say the same" Vimbai responds. Tedious

pushes his chair from the table, stands up, returns it to the other table and he

strides away. His step in-confident and his head held so. He is looking more like a

wilting plant. His ego has been having trampled upon by two over-educated women.

"You just kicked luck, straight in the balls" Vimbai says.

"and you gladly helped me to do so" I respond, adding a naughty smile so that she

knows the gravity of what we just did to that poor man's ego and self esteem.

"I was only being a good friend because, I for one noticed that you just did not want

to entertain that man and I intervened in your favor." She responds.

"Thank you very much." I say to her. We round up our tea. Both of us pumping

each other with jokes. Being just us- two crazy, highly educated, self sustained

women. After the tea, we settle the bill and we drive back to the University, where

Vimbai's car is. I park my car at the staff car park and we say our goodbyes. I head

straight to my office, where I tidy up, water my pot plants and after that I close the

windows.

"I thought you were gone already" a male voice says behind me. In the process

startling me. I turn back to face the individual and its Thomas Shoko. And he is

standing by the door, leaning on my door frame.

"Oh, Mr Shoko. I was just rounding up. I am leaving" I respond as I put my staff in

my box file.

"Are you free tomorrow in the afternoon?" he asks.

"What time?" I inquire.

"Lunch time?" he asks. His hands buried deep in his pockets and his thick eyebrow

arched upwards in question. I know what he wants. I sigh audibly, trying to think

of a good answer. First things first, why is he being so nice to me? Shouldn't he be

gallivanting with the rest of the male lecturers, speaking about how stubborn Iam.

Some even going on to say that I am a lesbian who needs a big stiff penis to return

me to my heterosexuality. Or shouldn't he be attracted to the other female lectures

who use volumes and volumes of make-up and have expensive weaves, dresses and

shoes, the same women, who see me as a potential threat to their Ben tens. The

very same lecturers who spread rumors that I am having affairs with the young

male students and that I am sleeping with the University officials.

"Professor Red?" Thomas says, in the process snapping back to the question at

hand.

"I know you want us to have lunch again and yes we will but tomorrow, I am taking

you to a certain corner I know but then Mr Shoko, let's keep things as professional

as possible." I say, in the process walking towards him.

"So long then and have a good day. Travel safe" he says as he turns on his heel,

wearing disappointment on his face.

"Same to you" I say to him as i lock my door and after that I head straight to the

car park, my heels clanking on the floors.

Wednesdays usually take a different twist from the other days. My lectures start

from eight o'clock in the morning, right through to lunch time and they even flow to

after lunchtime. I am stationed at the Economics lecture hall. Only the students

come and go. I barely get any consultations, so i push all my consultations to

Thursday, which means that my Thursday mornings would be fully pecked.

..... "Let's call it a wrap for today. Any consultations please push them to tomorrow,

we will see each other tomorrow. Dismissed!" I say to the students. All the students

stand up and walk out of the Lecture hall. After everyone has cleared out, i then

walk out and head out straight to my office. I unlock my door and i enter into the

office.

"Professor Red, are you ready for lunch?" Mr Shoko asks, as he enters into my

office. Doesn't this man know how to knock, as a way to announce his arrival.

Doesn't he have any idea of, how to structure speech, by firstly greeting an

individual and then indulging into whatever conversation he pleases?

"Good afternoon to you too Mr Shoko. And yes i am ready to go for lunch. Let me

put my things in order firstly" i respond as i am still busy, arranging my papers

into the places that they are supposed to be. This i do, so that i don't get to mix my

paperwork.

"You have a nice office over here." Mr Shoko says as he inspects the interior of my

office with his eyes, his hands still buried in his pockets. Where on planet earth are

his manners?!

"It's nothing peculiar. I made the best out of what i had." I respond as i pick up my

cell phone so that i could text Vimbai-

'Good day Vimbai. Save two plates of the usual. I will be hosting a guest to

tag along with. The bill is on me.'

"This is outstanding. Look at the paintings on the wall, the pot plants, the carpets,

the arrangement of books on the bookshelf. You even have a three seater sofa, a

coffee table, an electric cattle, a tea set... this right here is a home" he says.

"Let's go Mr Shoko, I need to be back early. I have somewhere to go." I say, soon

after I finished putting my things in order. I walk to my door and i stand outside it

as a way of showing him that i want to lock up. After locking up, i lead him out of

the building towards the school of hotel and catering.

"And where are we going? This is not the direction that we take to the canteen." He

says as he suddenly comes to a halt.

"today, i am taking you somewhere different. You will have something different for a

change" i say to him and i walk on. He runs up to me and again, we walk shoulder

to shoulder and he says;

"and where is that different place?"

"Mr Shoko, just follow me and reserve the comments for later!" i respond and after

that we walk in total silent, until we reach the school of Hotel and Catering's

restaurant. Which by the way is run by the students. The revenue is then used to

develop the school of Hotel and catering, through buying up-to-date machinery for

cooking and washing the dishes. Some of the money was used for the renovation of

the restaurant, buying furniture and sustaining the ever high food standards. The

restaurant is usually fully packed on each day of the week. Since the restaurant is

open to everyone, it's usually fully packed with business men and other rich

people, since the prizes are usually high. Wednesdays are the worst because the

restaurant offers a menu called the 'Zimbabwean Chisi'. This menu consists of

strictly native Zimbabwean dishes made from local ingredients. The restaurant is

fully packed with rich men, who are tired of eating foreign foods, cooked or ordered

by the lazy wives with long weaves, manicured fingers and waxed skin.

"There is absolutely no place for us to sit, so where are we going to sit?" Thomas

whispers to my ear as we enter the restaurant.

"Relax, i have everything under control" I respond as I walk farther into the

restaurant, towards the kitchen, Thomas following at my heels. I can feel the eyes

of a lot of lustful men looking at me. I am sure they are imagining me naked,

massaging their joysticks! Trust me, i am not exaggerating. Quiet a number of them

have approached me but they all got horse kicks, straight in the teeth.

"And there she comes, late as usual." Vimbai says to me, her arms wide open and

we hug each other.

"as you are well aware, I have a tight schedule on Wednesdays. Vimbai, meet

Thomas Shoko, the new lecturer and Mr Shoko, meet Vimbai, my best friend." I

say.

"I have met him before. Quiet a messy one, this one. The first time i met him, he

looked like a form one student. Searching for the administration block like his life

depended on it" Vimbai says and we both burst into laughter.

"Well, the thing is, your University is far too big. I easily get confused so i needed

help." Thomas says as he defends

"Okay, okay. Look let's get going. I have somewhere to go." I say to Vimbai and

Thomas as a way to stop them from the conversation. I have a lot of things to do.

Vimbai gets us plates of sadza rezviyo nemazvondo-(chocolate sadza/ millet sadza

with cow hooves.) it's my favourite dish among the traditional meals. Vimbai

usually opts for sadza rezviyo and spinach with peanut butter. Thomas decides to

have the same meal that I am having but it's his first time to eat sadza made from

millet meal. Since the restaurant was fully packed, we went outside to the quad

area, under the large shed, where a few individuals were sitting. We have the meal,

under the limelight of different conversations. Vimbai is firing questions at Thomas,

as a way of getting to know him better. And believe me you, this idiot has a crazy

past, shaped from a well up life style in a typical African home, where parents want

you to be highly educated and then chase the hobbies later. He had a comfortable

life, born with a silver spoon in his mouth.

"Well, it was nice knowing you Mr Shoko. Vimbai, thank you for the meal and the

time we spent together despite the pressure that we are facing." I say to her as i

stand up, handing her the money, that's supposed to settle the bill.

"You are already leaving?" Thomas asks.

"Yes. I have a lot of pressure. Both of you have a good day." I say as I walk away.

....... I am sitting in my office, soft soul music playing from the stereo in my

office. I am busy with the marking of the assignments that the students passed

today. I have three sets of assignments to mark and each one of them consumes up

to three hours, considering that my class has a minimum of two hundred students

and the greatest is three hundred and fifty. To avoid using a lot of my personal time

at home, i usually mark some of the assignments at work and some at home. There

is a brief knock on the door and the knocker enters the room.

"You're still working?" Thomas asks, his hands buried in his pockets, his eyebrow

raised in question.

"Yes. I have a lot of work to do. How can I help?" I ask.

"I just came to check on you." He says.

"What's wrong about me?" I ask in confusion, returning my attention back to the

manuscripts that I am marking.

"Nothing is wrong about you. Loosen up. Get some free time and ease up" Thomas

says as he walks up to me and removes the glasses that i am wearing.

"Look, Mr Shoko, I think we both have a lot of work to do, so let me do my work in

peace. Your time is lunchtime and for you, our lunch tours are over. I have shown

you every corner that I know, revealed my links, now you have to get off my case.

Start making friends with the other lecturers and find your footing in this

university. I am not the best you can meet currently. Now bring my spectacles, I

don't intend on having a sleepless night today." I say to him as I extend my hand

towards him.

"Whoa!! What's wrong? What's with all this frustration? That's why you need me in

your life, to be the humor in your life" Thomas says, fueling my anger.

"Look Mr Shoko, I don't want to fight with you. I am a bit busy and there is no time

for these silly cat and mouse games. Please give me my glasses" I respond.

"Come and get them." He says.

"Mr Shoko please. I need to clear this backlog." I respond. Defeated by his

arrogance. I just don't feel like putting up a fight. I want us to do things the civil

way.

"I will give you these glasses, on certain conditions...."

"And what are the conditions. They better be reasonable." I respond impatiently.

"First things first, can we be friends." He says.

"Under the terms that our friendship is strictly professional, does not include

digging up each other's pasts and it allows me to go about my scheduled routines,

which therefore means that you only get to spend time with me, twice a week. Monday lunchtime and Wednesday lunchtime. Its fine with me." I respond.

"That's too stiff!! Anyway, the second condition is that you must come and get these

glasses." He says.

"You're too childish to be a professor. It's as if you skipped a certain stage in your

childhood and you jumped straight to attaining very high qualifications." I scold

him.

"And you on the other hand are too stiff, too serious and the two of us make the

perfect combination, now stretch those legs and come and get these glasses." He

says as he walks away from the table and he starts inspecting the painting that

hanging on the wall. I sigh in defeat...this man is being a serious temptation and

nuisance. How dare he come and want to play games at such a time!...I stand up

from my chair and i walk towards his direction and he moves away! Great! He is

being such a pain in the buttock and a thorough nuisance!!! I walk towards him

and he continues to dart away as soon as i get near him. We start walking faster

around the room and sooner than expected, i am chasing at him! Imagine, a grown

woman who happens to be the custodian of a Masters degree chasing a grown man,

worse off in an office! That's absurd, pathetic if I might say.... in no time, i have

caught up with him and we are fighting for the possession of the spectacles...does

this idiot know how expensive these spectacles are and yet he is playing with them

as if they are some cheap children's toy!!... We jostle for the possession of the

spectacles, which to me will be the end of my misery and to him will be the

torturing tool he will use to manipulate me into doing, saying and agreeing to his

silly, childish things. He raises up the spectacles and I try to retrieve them from his

hands , in the process he loses balance and falls, I following right on top of him,

since he pulls me too, thinking that he might get some balance from me. The idiot!

We both land on the sofa. His back laying flatly on the long three sitter sofa and I

on top of him. We look at each other in total shock. Thomas looks into my eyes and

i look into his challengingly, not wanting him to get any silly ideas, the staring

contest goes on for a while until the idiot decides to kiss me!! His cold lips come

into contact with mine. I try to resist but each attempt, is weaker and weaker and i

give in. A thousand butterflies awaken in my stomach and they all start flapping

their wings. My chained emotions break loose and start making a freedom dance,

dancing to the tempo of my heart, which is drilling through my chest in

indescribable excitement. Finally Thomas stops the kiss and i open my eyes to the

situation at hand. we stare at each other in absolute shock and i break from his

spell first,. I remove his hand from my waist and I snatch my glasses from his

hand, stand up and I walk back to my table.

The room falls silent, with only the sweet melodies of slow violin instrumentals

playing. I don't waste time, I continue with my marking as if nothing happened.

After some time of silence, Thomas then decides to leave my office and i exhale in

relief. What has that idiot done!! Now he has unleashed a side I had chained and

locked away at the back of my head. A criminal side, capable of destruction....