Chapter Five

Monday finally came, relieving me from the weekend.

Jacob and I said our apologies to one another, then went back to being buddies. That was one stress off. I still had to suck it up with Ethan being my roommate. So, I was happy when I walked into class with the sole desire to focus on school. I beelined for a seat in the far back of the classroom. I always picked the seat most distant from the professor, but enough for him or her to glance my way if they happened to do attendance. That way, the professor wouldn't be dead set on calling me out to make sure I was present. I rested my laptop on the desk I chose and lowered myself into the seat. It was a long table, the kind that shared with three people maximum.

When the professor walked in, he introduced himself as, "...Professor Baker, but please call me Shannon."

Then, he jumped into the lesson plan.

I opened my notes and whipped out my textbook in case he wanted to go over the first two chapters. My focus trained on the lesson, at least fifteen minutes in when something shuffled beside me. The legs of the chair echoed in the classroom as they scraped against the floor. I pulled my eyes away from the projector, which showcased the PowerPoint for today's lesson, and peered over my shoulder. A smile stretched from cheek to cheek as I said, "Hey!" I instantly cringed as my tone seemed too chippy for my taste.

His blue eyes twinkled back at me. "Hey!" he said back. He opened his mouth to say more, but Professor Shannon butted in.

"Liam Alexander, right?" he asked, checking his attendance sheet.

Liam nodded in response. Professor Shannon knew to match Liam's name with his face because the photos we took for our IDs displayed next to our names on the attendance sheet. The class and Liam and I waited in silence, wondering if the professor would say any more of the matter. Most professors on campus only call out the students who were late and mark them in the books. Sometimes, the students get a warning or a grade reduction. Thankfully, he moved on from the subject and continued the lesson. I turned back to Liam, with brows raised.

"Class starts at nine-thirty," I poked.

Liam let out a soft laugh. "It looks bad on the first day, doesn't it?" he said, playing along. "I missed my alarm."

"Technically, last Friday was the first day of class."

Liam shrugged. "Not for this class."

"Well, prepare to kiss ass," I told him.

"Will do."

I giggled, then turned my attention back to the lesson.

"We as humans adapt to our environment every minute of the day," said Professor Shannon. "When our stomachs growl, we eat. When our eyes feel heavy and the day weighs in, we go to sleep to rejuvenate.

But what happens when those simple adaptions come with challenges?" he continued. "For instance, you're exhausted from a long day, and all you want to do is sleep. But, you have assignments to catch up on. Or you're hungry but have to skip breakfast to get to class on time." I wiggled my brows at Liam, who scoffed playfully. "When challenges come our way, we react accordingly. The harder the challenge, the more complex our reaction will be.

Like love," Professor Shannon added. "The idea of love is simple. Applying it to expectations of relationships creates a challenge in itself."

He went on about the general description of relationships and sexuality. The theories rolled in, afterward. However, there were two Professor Shannon urged us to hold onto specifically.

"Attachment Theory and the Triangle Theory of Love," he said, counting them off with his fingers. He started with the Attachment Theory: from its definition to examples. He even used a chart as a visual idea of how each theory suggested how we carry on in relationships. It was exciting but also made me self-aware. I watched the hands raise around me and listened to the flow of questions being asked and answered. In between, some students shared mini-stories of their experiences with past lovers. Still, I squirmed inside when the topic pulled me back to what I wanted to avoid in this first place—Ethan.

After class, Liam had to ask the question.

"What's your story?" he asked me. I had an hour break before my next class. Ethan, on the other hand, had less than thirty. With that said, I didn't understand why I strolled with him to his class. 

"Why the sudden interest?" I rebutted. "You didn't share your story with the class." Liam nodded. 

"I didn't care for the class to know," he said. "I save those stories for someone I care to tell."

A snarky expression danced on my cheeks. "Hmm, talkative but not talkative," I started to say. "Mysterious of you."

A brow raised a Liam repeated, "Talkative, how?"

"I only met you a few days ago," I said, "and I know a lot about your childhood."

"Can't I be both friendly and mysterious?"

"Depends," I teased.

Liam laughed. "Well, I come from a family who doesn't mind talking to strangers," he said. "That's how you make friends." I chuckled. "But you avoided my question? I guess you are the one who's mysterious."

I rolled my eyes. "My story is too long to squeeze in for another ten minutes," I responded as we walked through the glass doors of the STEM building, which was the Hall of Pythagoras Arts. The building we came from was mainly for psychology courses. It was called the Abraham Maslow Center. "By the way, what are you studying?" I asked Liam as we walked down the halls with walls dedicated to historical mathematical theories, the founders of engineering science, and nominated projects presented by the alumni. All were sealed and protected behind crystal glass cleaned continuously by the campus's cleaning staff.

"Philosophy of mathematics," Liam answered.

My jaw dropped. "Wow, you have to be a genius to grasp any of those concepts!"

Liam waved me off. "I'm good at mathematics but not a genius." He pointed to the display of the founders of mathematics. "Those guys are the real wizards!"

Stepping into someone else's world is like going through a library. There are so many stories, but you will always obtain very little knowledge about that person. No matter how many stories you explore. Liam glimpsed over at me and asked, "What are you studying?"

"Psychology," I replied. Then I bite back. "Wait, wait. Don't trash talk me for being a psych major," I teased.

Liam shook his head with a curious look on his face. "Actually," he started to say, "I think anyone who genuinely wants to help others have the kind of patience I don't have. Any job where you are willing to be something for someone who needs comfort is admirable."

"That's a first," I said. "People genuinely think psychology is useless."

Liam looked like he was the one offended. "Some theories I don't agree with," he stated. "But, people wouldn't write self-help books, mental illness would still be deemed as devilish, and the relationships we have wouldn't be important to us." Then he added gesturing between him and me, "I wouldn't be trying to get to know the way I want to because the world would want me on a stick." He shook his head, half to himself. "I can write a series of why psychology is just as important as math and medical science and architecture. This is coming from someone who wants to be a mathematician someday." Looking back at me, Liam said, "I hope that makes you feel better."

Truthfully, those were the first positive words someone said to me in a long while. Not only because of my major, but even after Ethan. Jacob and my friends were so caught up with me dropping the other shoe that I practically felt them counting each step I took. 

So, I smiled to myself because Liam's words were honestly refreshing to hear.