"You're finally here! I have been waiating for ages! Why are you late today?" Venelope cried, looking at Jay with a face full of horror and concern with her arms wide opened.
Her voice sliced through the morning din of the classroom like a spark of electricity, the second Jay stepped into the room, still fumbling with her satchel strap, she was ambushed by venelope but she felt visibly amused but this attention.
"Jayyyy—wait, Jay, what happened to you?! You look… awful! you look tired… are you okay?" Venelope's voice rang out across the classroom as she bombarded her with hundred questions all at once.
Before Jay could even open her mouth, Venelope was already striding toward her, eyes wide with alarm. "What's with these dark circles under your eyes? Why are you looking so pale? Why are you looking so weak? Your lips are so chapped… you are looking like a ghost! Wait are you even breathing properly girl! Why are you—"
Jay chuckled, raising a brow as she dropped her bag on her desk. "I think someone missed me way too much over the past two days, haven't they?"
"Of course I have! How could I not?" Venelope forgetting jay's looks and getting back to the point of how much she missed her, replied, cooing like a baby before theatrically resting her head on Jay's shoulder, looping her arms around hers in an overly affectionate hug.
Jay burst into laughter. "aww…My little baby really missed me!" she giggled, trying to hold her balance as Venelope leaned harder, pretending to sleep with a mischievous smile tugging at her lips.
The two girls looked like a pair of kittens tangled together in mischief and affection, but there was a tremor behind Jay's smile. She sighed, half-playful, half-wearied. "But yeah, you're right… I am feeling weak. I don't know why. Something happened but I am not sure if it really happened…I think I am loosing it" she said with a sarcastic laugh.
Venelope suddenly straightened, her eyes narrowing with worry and all playfulness replaced with concern. Without warning, she cupped Jay's face between her palms, turning her gently left, then right. Jay's eyes shot wide open. "What are you doing?" she stammered.
"Be quiet. Let me take a look," Venelope commanded.
Jay blinked, startled, as Venelope examined her like a worried grandmother—scanning her from brow to chin, squinting into her eyes, checking every angle as if trying to read an illness hidden in her bones.
"Venelope…" Jay whispered, flustered, trying to escape her grasp. "Let go—people are watching—"
"Shh!" Venelope snapped, scanning Jay with narrow eyes looking like a mother inspecting her child for any injury. "Be quiet. Let me check."
Jay froze. Her friend's voice held enough gravity to make her sit perfectly still. She suddenly felt like a schoolchild again, being scolded.
And just as the silence became too thick— something unexpected entered their space. Right in the narrow gap of air between them, popped a face.
"ahm…I hope… I'm not interrupting…" A face—serious, slightly amused—had slid in between their shoulders, leaning down to inspect the scene like a spectator at a crime scene. It was Professor William.
"Professor!" Venelope yelped, clutching her chest as if her soul had fled her body. "You scared us to death!"
The man's head remained right there, between them, tilted with a comical confusion as he blinked with his narrowed eyes, genuinely puzzled, as if he had walked in on a cult ritual.
Then the professor raised an eyebrow and straightened up. "You should be scared," he said bluntly. "such kid of behaviour"he said while pointing finger at them, "is not acceptable in my class….Continue this somewhere else or outside of my lecture."
Jay's face turned scarlet. Her mouth opened to protest, but nothing came out.
"Sir! You are misunderstanding! We weren't doing anything!" Venelope insisted, throwing her hands in the air.
"Yeah, whatever. Open your books," Professor Raman said flatly, already turning back toward his desk.
Venelope pouted. "Sir, it's not even time for class yet…"
He glanced at her with a completely unreadable expression, then looked down at his wristwatch. After a moment's pause, he muttered, "Let's start after ten minutes."
Venelope didn't waste a second. "Sir, I was just checking her—look at her … she looks so pale and sick!" she said, clearly not done with the conversation.
This time, Professor Raman didn't respond immediately. Instead, his head tilted up slightly, and he looked first at Venelope, then shifted his gaze to Jay. Jay all embarrassed was melting into her seat.
"You do look sick," he said, matter-of-fact. "Are you alright?"
"Y-yes, sir. I'm good," Jay answered quickly, straightening in her seat.
He gave her a look that said he didn't fully believe her, but he didn't press. "Well, if you say so… But if you have any problem later, just get up and leave. No need to ask for permission."
With that, he returned to reading a set of notes he had laid out on the podium.
Venelope leaned over again and whispered dramatically, "Sir, can I go with her?"
Without looking up, the professor asked dryly, "Why? Are you her mother?"
"Yes, sir! She is my child, my blood tears and prayers! I'm responsible for her!" Venelope declared with mock seriousness, puffing her chest like a proud parent.
As professor heard this, he exhaled the slowest, most exhausted sigh known to man, and chose not to respond, as if accepting his defeat. He simply stared into the middle distance, as if contemplating every career choice that brought him to this exact moment, to deal with such nutcases…he rubbed his temples and returned to reading. Jay on the other hand, covered her mouth with her hand in order to hide her laugh, while Venelope burst into laughter and hid under the table.
Soon, one by one, other students trickled into the classroom, settling into their seats, filling the hall. The quiet buzz of chatter rose, the scraping of chairs and rustle of pages filling the air and after a few minutes, the lecture began.