Roger's eyes twinkled with mischief as he found me loosing my train of thought. AGAIN.

It eventually caused a round of snickering which caused Shezaad's jaw go taut and taut to the point I feared his teeth would break with so kuch grinding.

At these times he buried himself deeper in a paper or a book. Ultimately it ended with Roger being in the receiving end to a sharp kick in his shin.

I felt like I was missing something. Like there was a private joke among the two best friends that only they both knew of. Because Rona and Shaun copied my confused mask identically.

And each and every time we left the four of them and returned to our own solitaire, Tammy had hours and hours worth talk that she called observations.

It all revolved around how Shezaad peaks glances at me and how Roger peaks glances at him doing so. She then goes to a facial analysis of the two boys and draws possible hypothesis which she says she would draw conclusions for next week.

I thought I came to a damn law school. And here I am in the middle of a research lab!

It happened more often than less. I don't know up whose arse my luck crawled and got stuck in but Roger kept catching me in compromising situations over and over. And every time it happened it seemed like some unknown humour was passed between him and Shezaad,where Shezaad would glare at him and Roger tried hard to hide peals of laughter. I felt like he was saying

See I told you.

It didn't help my situation that my leapt everytime she mentioned him snaking peaks at me.

But the eventual outcome of all this was a very angry blotchy faced Rona on my trail.

Let me tell you it's very very very VERY unpleasant.

One evening, not so late after one of our very eventful committee meetings I was on my way out, by myself, when I was hurled a hundred and eighty degrees.

If my hair wasn't covered and hidden under my scarf, she for sure would grabbed it so hard that I'd have gone bald.

"What the......."

"SHUT UP WHO BITCH".

I was too stunned to come with a comeback. Witty, bitchy or otherwise.

"YOU think I don't see what you are trying to do? You whore!"

"Mind your......".

"Mind your what? How dare you shut me up bitch. You trashy peice of scum. Just because you got a little luck and creeped in here doesn't mean I'll wait and watch till you get into my fiancé's pants".

She panted after her long speech. That made no difference. I still felt stupefied.

"You gold diggers would stop at nothing where money is involved. Don't make me repeat this again. Know and act your place. Charity case".

She spat those last  two words dangerously quitely and stomped away. Leaving me breathlessly and furiously stunned to make a move.

As she walked out Roger walked in. Looking rather tense and troubled. His eyes were full of apology for the words I heard seconds ago.

He gave me a few moments to collect myself. I let out a shaky breath I didn't know I was holding.

"Follow me".

He didn't turn behind to see if I did. Maybe he could here me shuffling a few feet behind. Or maybe he didn't want to turn and make me more uncomfortable. Or maybe..maybe he just knew that for once I'd do as I was told.

I followed him to a rather abandoned part of the college. We saw no one on the way here. Assuming no one saw us, I followed him. I felt neither threatened nor unsafe in Roger's presence, even though he was taking me somewhere alone.  It didn't feel awkward in anyway.

We went through a broken outdoor class where only two walls were standing. Cement and stone were knocked down to rubble.

"Be careful", Roger's concerned voice was gentle.

I was concentrating on the uneven floor and walked or rather rammed into a something tall and hard.

"Owww", I rubbed my nose.

I rammed into Roger. Who now I see have stopped walking. He snickered and muttered a sorry.

I gasped.

It was the most beautiful sight I have seen. My jaw dropped in awe at the serenity of what lay forth my eyes. My head turned everywhere and I saw Roger watch me take in the whole scene.

I wanted to ask him why he watched me like that but I was too absorbed by the beauty in front of me.

It wasnt as big as a lake. Or lengthy as a stream. Or small as a pond. But sort of like a combination of all three. I couldn't tell if it was natural or not. It was surrounded on one side by big brown rocks surprisingly moss-free. So as to not let you fall by accident. You could climb and put your feet in water or let it dangle.

The grass was a fine green. And it covered every inch of the ground. In front of the lake, that is in front of me and Roger, was a stone bench, gray in color. You could sit there and watch the water for ages. It reflected the clear blue sky making the water look  like a shiny blue mirror.

I felt myself relaxing and Rona's outburst seemed like a distant memory already.

"It's...it's...it's soo..."

"Beautiful".

He breathed in. His hands shoved inside his pockets. He too seemed at peace. I walked ahead of him. With my hands outstretched to both my sides. I slowly turned  myself on spot. Letting the sun warm my face.

I opened my eyes to his curious ones taking me from head to foot.

"What?"

I asked. But my voice shook. And I knew why.

He gave me a long look and walked to sit on the stone bench.

"Sit".

I contemplated for a moment and then sat beside him.

Waiting.

At the same time hoping he doesn't say what I know he was going to say.

"You know I know of you".