Arielle Immortal Quickening (20 page)

“Good morning, class.” The baritone was just right for an early morning on a Monday.

“My name is Professor Allworth,” he said. There was confidence and poise in his voice that was hard to disregard. “I’ve been assigned to teach this class in Professor Mayfield’s absence. He’ll be away for the rest of the semester for personal reasons.” Walking around the podium, he stood in front of the first row of desks.

“I need for each one of you to touch the screen in front of you and key in your full name. Then, hit send and clear. This will consign your names and positions to my personal screen at the podium. I find this extremely helpful in becoming familiar with your names and faces. If you ever have to change your position, please repeat the same steps so I don’t get confused. I’ll give you five minutes to complete the task. Starting now.”

Arielle keyed her name in and hit send. She looked back at Sebastian, and he had already finished also. Noticing her attention on him, he winked and motioned for her to turn back around.

Professor Allworth’s voice brought her to reality.

“I’ll not be lecturing and assigning work for you to take home. There’ll be actual interaction among all of us in this class, and it will be based on the day’s theory or problem. We’ll resolve all your concerns before you leave this class.” He paced back and forth while he took a couple of deep breaths and continued. “There will be six tests throughout this semester, excluding your final, and they will be administered at my discretion. You can’t miss any of those tests or you will fail the class. If you miss two days of this class, you will be dropped a letter grade. I want to make sure that we are clear on my instructions and that there are no misunderstandings.” He now looked down at the screen on the podium and paused for a few minutes.

She couldn’t believe that he took the time to go around the auditorium and call the name of each and every single person to confirm that his instructions were understood. He then moved to the board and started to discuss the fundamental theories of physics. She happened to be good in physics, and she had been over the quantum physics, relativity theory, and statistical and nonlinear dynamics, so she was losing interest in his lecture fast.

She turned carefully back and looked at Sebastian rolling her eyes, and she could almost hear his silent chuckle. He lifted his eyebrow, as if he was wondering about her state of mind. She was bloody sure that he knew his presence was turning her world upside down, but he was toying with her. He had been her whole world since the day they met on the beach over a year ago. She was trying hard to dismiss his perfect image from her thoughts; it was rousing sizzling sensations across her body.

She was used to some private daydreaming in Professor Mayfield’s class. He used a large portion of his time for lectures. He left the total responsibility in their hands to pay attention, absorb, and learn. He concentrated on facts and used part of his time for conceptual questions to make their brains work, searching for answers that were factual recalls from previous discussions. He had called it an excellent way for mind discipline.

She had a system for daydreaming during his lectures, and her mind fell into the old pattern. She pushed away the flood of her classmate’s thoughts that invaded her head, some happy and some worried. She successfully placed them in the part of her head that she created for that purpose alone. Now, she moved to her own personal dream world, clearly disconnected from her surroundings in mind and soul. She was in another place, a magical place with only Sebastian. A wide smile had spread across her face, reflecting the wild thoughts that were swirling in her head. She closed her eyes, trying to enjoy the images that were making her skin prickle with sheer excitement.

“Miss Lloyd!” The voice was thunderous. Her eyes snapped open, and she was horrified to see Professor Allworth standing a few centimeters away from her. His blue eyes were glaring into her eyes, and her body began to feel numb, like she was being pulled hard by a strong magnet into that deep, dark blue whirlpool in his eyes. She blinked, shocked, and pressed her lips together in distress.

“Yes?” she managed to say. Her voice came out quivering.

“Am I boring you, Miss Lloyd?” he asked, using the same forceful tone.

She gulped, swallowing a mouthful of air. “No. No, sir…” Her voice trailed. She pulled her book up against her chest and hugged it tightly. She lowered her eyes, unwillingly to meet his gaze. Blood thrashed in her temples, and she prayed that she could get through this without bursting into tears.

His eyes were piercing, making her extremely nervous, and his lips curved into a contemptuous smile. She lowered her gaze, wishing that the humiliation would stop. Rage was slowly replacing her apprehension, and she wanted to strike back.

“Miss Lloyd! Am I boring you?” he pressed on. The whole room went quiet; you could hear a pin drop.

“A little,” she replied defiantly, and her voice echoed across the room. She heard quiet mirth move across the auditorium. She lowered the book that she was hugging tightly against her chest and set it on her lap. She lifted her head slowly and glared directly into his eyes.

He had grown completely silent. His gaze had moved from her face to her neckline, and she noticed a hint of shock in his eyes. She knew that her blouse had a low cut in the front, but not low enough to shock or piss off anyone.
What is his problem?
He seemed to be having difficulty expressing whatever he was going to say. There was a resounding silence. Everyone’s eyes were now on Allworth, who looked mystified.

She bit her lower lip and kept her gaze fixed on him unwaveringly; she was ready to stand her ground for as long as it took. The short period of silence seemed like a century to her. She heard a soft murmur again moving across the auditorium. It wasn’t long before he broke away.

He shook his head, turned around, and walked down the steps to reach the podium in complete silence. He fumbled with his papers for a second. Then, he slowly looked up at her; she noticed the way his expression had changed from mockery to one of surprise.

“Miss Lloyd, please try to pay attention.” She could see a concerned expression on his face, but she was sure she was mistaken. She pressed her lips together and dropped her head in her hands. She was so embarrassed and worked to swallow her humiliation. She hauled a huge breath feeling suffocating, trying to get as much air as she could in her lungs. She sighed and leaned back in her seat.

Danielle leaned closer and whispered quietly. “Seriously, what was all that about?”

Arielle shrugged her shoulders, and they both chuckled quietly. It had been a couple of minutes and Professor Allworth was still scanning through his papers. The last time he had said anything was for her to pay attention.

Jane, an old friend since primary school, was sitting directly behind Danielle and leaned forward.

“What in bloody hell is he doing?” Looking directly at Arielle, she nudged her shoulder with her finger and chuckled. “What did you do to him, Arielle? He looks shaken up.”

“I’m sure I’ve no idea what you are talking about,” Arielle said, quietly.

Jane leaned closer and whispered in her ear, “Something happened to change his demeanor. Couldn’t you see it?” The girl was trying hard to hide her amusement.

Arielle bit her tongue against the overpowering urge to say something unpleasant to Jane, but she fought the words back.

She tried to imagine Sebastian’s thoughts. Was he amused or shocked over her ridiculous interaction with Allworth. He was probably amused. She heard professor Allworth clear his throat, and his voice came out sturdy and firm.

“I expect you to review the first three chapters. Next class, we will discuss each theory in detail. That’s all for today.” He collected his papers and moved them from the podium to the desk and took a seat behind it. The room started to clear slowly; Arielle waited for Sebastian to come down to her row before she made an effort to stand up.

“See you later, Arielle,” Danielle and Jane called as they made their way down the steps towards the exit. It wasn’t long before Sebastian was standing next to her. He leaned down, took her hand, and pulled her up into his arms. The warmth of his embrace brought her senses into the familiar sanctuary that she needed so much right now. She pulled herself even closer, as he bent down and pressed his lips on hers quickly.

“I love that fire in you,” he chuckled without breaking the kiss. She pulled back and smiled.

“You got me in trouble. I was daydreaming about you,” she said, and he laughed in clear pleasure.

“I wish you could understand how much I love you,” he murmured brushing his lips against her ear. They walked down the steps with their arms around each other. She couldn’t help gazing up at Professor Allworth, as they walked in front of his desk. She was taken aback again to find him gazing at her with a perplexed look on his face. He then turned to look at Sebastian for a very short second before immediately averting his gaze back to her. She gulped and moved closer to Sebastian, and she felt his arm tightening around her as they walked out the door.

“I wonder what there is about you that made him so bewildered,” Sebastian said, face expressing curiosity. He seemed to be thinking and frowned. He couldn’t read the professor’s mind and that was pretty strange.

“I thought you might tell me,” Arielle said, glancing up at him. “Can’t you read his mind?” She was now eager for some kind of answer. Sebastian shook his head, brow raised higher, obviously pretty baffled.

“I did try to hear his thoughts, but I all I could get was complete silence.” He let out an exasperated sigh. She did notice concern cross his eyes.

“That’s weird. I don’t understand. How can that be possible?” She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “I thought you could read everyone’s mind with no exceptions,” she murmured keeping her voice soft, gaze focused on his. She noticed tension spreading across his face. He paused and then shook his head completely stumped.

“Arielle, there is something perplexing about Professor Allworth, and I don’t like it,” he mumbled. “I can’t read his mind…” his voice trailed. “And he’s not an immortal. The silence of his mind is a huge puzzle for me. I’m not sure what the significance of this could possibly be, but I don’t like it,” he pressed on, clearly frustrated.

“I’m wondering why he was so bothered by your presence?” he murmured. “It was obvious to everyone in class that something about you, got him completely disturbed.”

“Well, maybe he finds me irresistible,” she chuckled, meeting his gaze. She saw a soft smile lift the corners of his beautiful lips, and he pulled her closer in clear amusement to steal a kiss.

“I don’t find that hard to believe. There are a lot of guys in this university that would love to have a chance with you.”

“Oh…please! Be serious,” she remarked and rolled her eyes, refusing to believe a word of it. “Nobody is proposing to me in front of you; however, I can’t say the same thing about you and the females on this campus.”

“Arielle,” he turned her to him, still in his arms and gazed deep into her eyes. “I don’t care about any other female but you. I’m also pretty serious about the guys here and their desires about you. Remember that I can read their minds. If I wasn’t with you, the picture would be completely different.” She didn’t comment, instead she closed her eyes enjoying his embrace. They walked quietly for a short way.

“Sebastian, the thing is that Professor Allworth makes me a little nervous,” she whispered.

“Well, I must say there’s something very peculiar about him, but I don’t want you to worry. I’ll be right here with you,” he reassured her.

“I know,” she reached up and pressed her lips to his. However, she was still a little troubled. Sebastian kept watching her; nothing escaped him when it came to her moods. He squeezed her softly and tried to change the conversation.

“I’m glad you were daydreaming about me,” he whispered in her ear. “I wish I could dream. I would spend a large part of my time dreaming about you, if not all of my time.” He pulled her tightly against him and locked them in a hot kiss right in the middle of campus. She was sure that there were a lot of people watching them, but she didn’t mind. Many girls among the watchers would love to trade places with her right now. Sebastian, Troy and Ian stirred incredible desires in the female world at this university. She smiled, utterly content, and stayed in his embrace as they made their way toward the cafeteria to meet Ian, Eva, Paul and Loren. Arielle and Paul would be the only ones purchasing lunch. She was sure the immortals would have a drink, trying to blend with the rest of the students. She chuckled at the thought. They had classes in the afternoon, so they all decided to kill time, the same way they did each and every time, socializing at the cafeteria pavilion located by a beautiful manmade lake.

Chapter 16

A
t the pavilion, their group was already seated and deep into a conversation. She hadn’t seen Paul for a few weeks, and she realized she had missed him a lot. He stood up when he saw them approaching, and reaching out, he picked her up and twirled her around with sheer pleasure.