CHAPTER 20; SHE IS NOT PICKING MY CALLS

I stood still staring at the

lecturer without saying a

word. he looked up from

his table and fixed his

gaze on me.

"Christian what's wrong? you

haven't said anything since I

told you about the event" Dr.

Mike said

"yes sir, I'm ready sir. I will

surely do my best sir" I said

immediately.

Dr. Mike observed me for a

while.

"okay, you may leave now" he

said.

I turned and walked slowly to

the door. I couldn't even raise

my legs. I opened the door and

went out.

I went to the class we had our

first lecture to see if Sylvia

and Sharon would still be

there but they were no longer

in the class. The class was

already empty. I located a seat

at the back and sat down. our

next lecture was in the next

ten minutes, but I didn't feel

like going. What Dr. Mike just

told me had really changed my

mood. I left home the morning

with the aim of overcoming

my shy nature. that was why I

tried my possible best to

answer questions in class

today. but right now I'm

doubting my capability of

overcoming shyness . I'm

scared that I will just

embarrass myself and my

department in the presence of

thousands of people. I really

can't do this. I better look for a

way to decline, in order not to

embarrass my department. it

would be so shameful if I will

just stand in front of

thousands of people and

couldn't say a word. the HOD

would be very disappointed.

my course adviser would be

disappointed. all lecturers in

my department will be so

disappointed.

I will just make it look like

I'm ill when the day of the

event draw closer. that will be

the best thing to do.

I was lost in my thought that I

didn't notice that Sylvia and

Sharon were already standing

beside me. it was when Sylvia

called my name that I came

back to reality. I turned to see

them boring holes on my

body.

"Christian, what are you

thinking of? you didn't even

realize that we have be

standing beside you for two

minutes now." Sylvia said

I didn't respond.

Sylvia sat beside me and held

my hands.

"what's wrong?" she asked

"nothing" I responded

"are you not going for the next

lecture? it's almost time?"

Sharon asked

"you both should go ahead, I

will join you later" I said

"Sylvia let's go then" Sharon

said to Sylvia.

"you can go ahead, we will join

you later." Sylvia responded.

Sharon stood still for a while,

staring from Sylvia to me and

back to Sylvia

"okay" she said and left the

class.

Sylvia gripped my hands and

stared into my eyes

immediately Sharon left.

"you can talk to me now.

what's the problem?" she

asked

I took a deep breath and stared

back at her.

"you are aware of the event

our department is organizing

next week right" I said

"yes I'm aware. everyone

should be aware of that." she

responded

"Dr. Mike called me to his

office and informed me that I

would be among the three

students that will deliver

speech on that day" I said

"wow!" she exclaimed

"this is great news"

I looked at her, surprised that

she was happy about it.

"what's good news?" I asked

"have you forgotten that

I'm...…." I paused as I

couldn't complete that

statement.

she patted my back.

"Christian this is the best way

for you to overcome this

shyness. you can do this" she

assured me.

"Sylvia, I can't stand in front

of that large crowd. I just

can't" I said.

"you can" she said.

" let's go for our next lecture.

forget about it for now. we will

talk about it later."

"okay" I responded

we stood up and headed

straight for our next lecture.

I didn't pay attention to what

the lecturer was saying. my

mind was far from what was

happening in class. I kept

trying to assure myself that I

can do this. the more I assured

myself that I can do it, the

more I get nervous.

I left the school immediately

lecture ended and went home.

I needed to rest my head

before it explode.

I quickly lay on my bed to take

a nap.

The knock on my door woke

me up hours later. I turned my

gaze to the the wall clock in

my room and realized it was

6:15pm already. I quickly sat

up and stretched my body.

that should be Sharon. she's

definitely here for the tutorial.

I stood up from my bed and

walked to the door. I opened

my door and saw her already

glowing with smiles.

"hi Christian" she greeted.

"hi" I responded

"hope you are ready" she said

"sure. please come in"

She walked into my room and

sat on my bed. I locked my

door and went to sit beside

her. though I was nervous but

I won't allow that to prevent

the tutorial from holding. if I

can't be confident enough to

be in the same room with

Sharon, how then can I be

confident to face a large crowd.

I need to make sure that the

tutorial goes smoothly. I won't

disappoint this time.

"can we start?" Sharon asked.

"yes, I'm ready" I responded.

She brought out a book and a

pen from her bag and gave to

me. I collected it from her and

began immediately. I spoke

confidently without being

nervous. After a while of

teaching, she moved closer to

me and rested her head on my

shoulder. I paused for a while,

took a deep breath and

continued. I fixed my gaze on

the book I was holding as I

tutored her. I didn't take my

gaze off the book. it was the

best way for me not to get

nervous. I continued that way

and later decided to asked her

a question, for the tutorial to

be interactive.

I asked her a question and

waited for her to answer but I

got no reply.

I asked the question again but

got no reply. I slowly raised

my head to see her staring

deeply into my eyes. cold

shiver went down my spine,

but I remained calm. I stared

back at her. I was really

nervous, but I didn't take off

my gaze from her. I don't want

her to realize I was nervous.

we kept staring into each other

eyes until she finally took her

gaze off. I heaved a sigh of

relief immediately. while I was

still trying to gain control of

myself, she turned back to me

and stared deeply into my

eyes. I could feel my heart

pounding in my chest as I

stared back at her. All of a

sudden, our faces drew closer

to each other. her lips were

almost touching mine. her

eyes were already closed, but

mine were wide open in

shock.

My door suddenly opened. I

quickly turned my gaze to the

door to see Sylvia standing at

the door. she stared at us

open-mouthed. Sharon quickly

sat up properly and adjusted

her blouse. Sylvia fixed her

gaze on us for a while before

she finally spoke.

"I'm very sorry for barging in.

I didn't know you guys are

busy. I will just take my leave

now" she said.

"Sylvia I....."

I tried to speak but she walked

out of my room, slamming the

door behind her. I quickly

stood up from my bed and

rushed out of my room but she

was no where to be found. I

returned to my room to see

Sharon already standing.

"maybe we should continue

tomorrow. let me leave for

now" she said.

"okay" I responded.

I lay on my bed immediately

Sharon left my room. I sighed

and took my phone from my

bed. I dialed Sylvia number

and waited for her to pick but

she didn't pick. I continued

dialing her number but she

still didn't pick the call. I

waited for about five minutes

and dialed her number again,

but this time, it was switched

off. I dropped my phone on my

bed and took a deep breath.

why is she not picking my

call? what is she thinking? I

asked myself.....