Chapter 05

The summer haze has lifted up and replaced itself with one crisp, almost electrifying, energy of a wholly new academic year. Old books intermixed with freshly waxed floors filled the air while traversing the hurrying corridors of the university-a forced marriage, a confusing encounter with MJ, and a painful breakup with Karen: all of these left a bitter aftertaste at the back of my throat, and I was determined to bury myself in my studies as if in search of some remnant of normalcy.

This first day, an unbearable cacophony of introductions, syllabus distributions, and inevitable small talk dawned like wild. I went out staring like in some daze, having my mind replaying the past few weeks. It was during this most incredibly boring macroeconomic theory lecture that I actually spotted her.

MJ.

She was seated a few rows before me, correcting her posture, and then devoting her attention to the professor. Instead of letting dark hair hang loose, it was slickly pulled back into a ponytail that cast accentuation on her fine features. While the other students were pulsing with brilliant energy, she seemed to radiate that sort of quiet, unassuming confidence.

It was a rather strange melee of curiosity and fear that swept over me. Why was she here, at the same university as me? The idea sent an unsettling ripple through me. Having been thrown into an engagement that both of us were being forced to deal with, this just added an extra element: it made things more awkward since we were in a shared academic space.

The lecture was over, and I got glued to the seat, watching her pack up. She looked animated moving back and forth, and her efficiency awed me. I inhaled deeply and prepared myself to approach her.

“MJ,” I said, drawing her name across the din of moving students.

She looked around in my direction, eyes meeting and an expression of surprise quickly smothered by cool indifference. “Alcantara,” she acknowledged flatly.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, the question slipping out before I could censor myself.

“Attending class,” she replied, her voice laced with sarcasm. “Just like everyone else.”

“I mean, what are you doing here? In this university?” I clarified, trying to keep the frustration out of my voice.

“Is there a rule against it?” she asked, raising an eyebrow. “This university is for everyone, last I checked.”

My hand ran over my hair as I said, "No, of course not. It's just...unexpected."

"Well, expect the unexpected," she said, her lips tugging into a slight smirk. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have another class."

She turned and walked off, leaving me standing there, completely bewildered. It was a brief encounter, but an odd feeling remained. Our paths were now intertwined, not just by an imposition of some forced engagement, but by the shared sphere of the university.

The next few days were spent in a whirl of classes and assignments. I tried to distract myself with classwork; MJ's presence was always in view. If I caught the slightest twinge in my gut, I would have to glance at MJ walking down the hallway, nose buried in a book in the library, or sitting at a table in the cafeteria.

Late one afternoon, after a tormenting calculus class, I saw Karen: she was by the door, her bright eyes shining at me expectantly with an encouraging smile.

"Lyron," came a whisper.

I stopped, feeling like my heart was sinking. I had tried to avoid her, to create some distance between us, but it seemed that fate would have none of it.

"Karen," I said flatly.

"We must converse," she said, walking up to me.

"There is nothing to discuss," I said, voice long and hard.

"Lyron, please," she begged, tears filling her eyes. "Just let me explain."

"Explain what? " I said, increasing my pitch. "How you cheated on me? How you completely broke my heart?"

"That's not how it was," she stammered. "It was a mistake."

“A mistake?” I scoffed. “A mistake is spilling coffee on your shirt. What you did was a betrayal.”

“I know I hurt you,” she said, her voice barely a whisper. “And I’m so sorry. But please, just listen to me.”

“You can't say anything further to alter the situation, I pronounced it coldly. "I am done, Karen. It is over."

I then walked away. She stayed there standing, tears streaming down her mangy face. I felt a stirring of guilt in my chest and then aggressively hammered it in the ground. I could not afford weakness now.

My postencounter with Karen had left me somewhat shaken. I really needed to hold my thoughts together. The thoughts slowly decided to enter the library, hoping that the calm would aid my cerebration.

I saw MJ in the stacks sitting on a chair with her face buried inside a textbook, fully occupied with it and oblivious to everything else. Almost, just for a moment, I hesitated to walk over to her again but I eventually did.

"Hey," I said, dropping into the chair opposite her.

Raising her head and looking at me was he revealing an expression that fluttered between shock and anger. "What do you want, Alcantara?" she asked tersely.

“Just wanted to talk,” I said, trying to sound casual.

“About what?” she asked, her eyes narrowing.

“About us,” I said, meeting her gaze.

“There is no ‘us,’” she replied, her voice cold.

“There’s an engagement,” I said, reminding her.

“A forced one,” she retorted. “And one I intend to get out of.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, my voice laced with curiosity.

“I mean, I’m not going to marry you,” she said, her voice firm. “but don't worry, there's still a contract that we need to fill out.”

“But our parents…” I began.

“Ah, they will forget about it,” she said while shrugging.

Her words hung in the air, brim-filled with defiance. I stared at her, trying to digest the whole thing. It was serious. She was serious. Maybe it was some strange mixture of relief, anger, bewilderment, maybe empathy for her.

I had dreaded the marriage, and yet now being taken away-the sudden realization was sort of off-the-wall.

“Why should you tell me this?” I asked, lowering my voice.

"So that you know where I stand," she said, voice unwavering. "I am not going to pretend to buy into this nonsense. I highly recommend you do the same."

She rose, scooping up her books. “Now, excuse me while I attend to some much-needed studying.”

With that, she exited leaving me there thinking in circles. Forced marriage, broken engagement, Karen's reappearance - such a mess my life had become and I had no idea how to fix it.