The Professor's Son

Knock On - Part 6

You noticed a new face in your philosophy 101 class this morning. He had raven black hair, cropped into a stylish bob and round silver glasses that perfectly contrasted the sharp angle of his jaw. The boy, no older than you, typed away furiously on the laptop, skimming through the PowerPoint slides Mr Jeong was about to present - even though class hadn't started yet! This guy was definitely a show off, or just steadfastly determined and dedicated to his studies. You couldn't distinguish between the two sometimes. His cat-like eyes scrunched up in concentration as he fiddled with his glasses, trying to get a better look at the MacBook Pro screen.

Snap.

Mr Jeong clicked his fingers together, directly into the microphone. You hadn't noticed him coming into the lecture hall because you were so focused on the boy two rows down from you.
"According to the Hebrew scripture, that was how all of existence and mankind as we know it today started. The Lord said 'let there be light'." The deep timbre of Mr Jeong's voice pierced the ears of the students, making them fall into silence. "Today we'll be focusing on creation and how it differs from religion to religion. Are you all with me?"

After class you decided to go to the cafeteria for a quick brunch. Your stomach growled in protest as you stood in the queue. Out of the corner of your eye you saw the boy from this morning's lecture walk into the cafeteria. He cautiously looked around, like a new kitten familiarising itself with a foreign territory. You peered over your shoulder, watching him make a bee-line for the lunch queue, briskly, but confidently moving between the tables.

A flurry of butterflies swarmed inside your stomach. Should I talk to him or not? You thought to yourself. You knew he was standing right behind you, but your throat felt dry which made you reluctant to speak.

What the heck, you might as well say something to him, right? "Hey I'm Y/N, I'm in the same philosophy class as you."

The boy looked up from his phone, eyes wide with curiosity and mouth pursed. He instantly gave you a comfortable grin.

"Hey," he said reaching out his hand, "I'm Mark."

You couldn't help but notice the Canadian twang in his voice.

"Nice to meet you, Mark!" you took a moment to think of something to talk about, "I saw you typing away really fast on your keyboard this morning," Mark blushed slightly in response to your comment, "I guess you were really into what we were learning right?" You gave him a hearty chuckle.

"Yeah," Mark scratched the back of his neck, "Honestly, I was trying to catch up on the reading the professor gave us over the weekend. I totally forgot to revise and didn't want to fall behind on my first day of class."

"Oh don't worry, the professor goes over everything with us. The reading is there as a kind of extra."

Mark gave you a quizzical look, "Oh really?" he stroked his chin, "I guess universities are a bit different here."

"Huh, where are you from?"

"Canada, well Vancouver to be exact."

"Ahhh! I couldn't help but notice your accent."

"Yeah it's pretty thick...Actually, I'm surprised it's stuck."

"How come?"

"Cos I moved around a lot as a kid."

"Really? Whereabouts did you move to?"

Mark played with the rims of his glasses, looking up in the air and thinking for a moment, possibly hoping for a list of places he's lived to fall out of the sky.

"Vancouver, New York, L.A, South Korea...Not that many come to think of it."

"Well that's better than me, I've only lived in this city all my life."

"Do you ever get bored of it? You know staying in one place all the time?"

Now it was your time to think, "Nah, I always find a new reason to stay."