15.

ALEX.

Who would have thought that teaching young adults would be such a pain in the ass? I ran my hand through my hair as I made my way out of the building.

I need to give Nathan a piece of my mind. He was the once that convinced me to be a lecturer instead.

It was thirty-three degrees Celsius out today and the sun was blazing. I'm wearing dress pants and long sleeves.

Fuck this heatwave. It's a pain in the ass. Maybe eating in the office was a better idea.

Sorry, bitch here is being whiny.

Scanning the surroundings, I saw a man who looked like one lost sheep, staring at our directory while holding two cups of coffee. Or at least I think its coffee.

His brows were furrowed as he scanned the board. It doesn't take a genius to see that he has never been here before.

Let Alex be nice for five minutes and show him the way.

I'm such a Saint.

"Hey, need to go somewhere?" I tapped on his shoulder, getting him to turn around. "I can show you the way."

He looked at me and seemed a little relieved that someone was there to end his misery. "I'm looking for a person named Theodore. He's an ECE lecturer. Do you know where I can find him?"

Theo? He's looking for Theo?

"He's having class right now. Are you here to deliver his drink? I can help you pass it to him."

"Ahhh, then it's okay. I'll wait for him." He looked around behind me. "Any place to sit around here?"

I looked at the tall guy with confusion. He took out his phone and started to type into it. Probably sending a text.

That's when I noticed the red band on his neck. It was the same one that Theo was wearing.

Let me put on my smarty-pants and put two and two together.

Oh boy, is he the one that Theo has been going off about? Well, only one way to find out.

"Hey, have you crashed a lecture before?"

DANIEL.

God damn, I'm shaking.

If you looked at me right now, you would probably laugh at me too. A grown-ass man was sweating cold sweat from crashing a lecture.

"He's in there. Go on in," the man urged.

My hand hovered around the handle, hesitating to turn it and open the door.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" because I'm pretty sure this isn't.

"Just go in. No one's gonna notice," he stated before casually opening the door for me.

Fuck! I wasn't ready for this.

I gulped down in nervousness and stepped into the theatre. Sure enough, all the students were too focused on the screen to notice that I was coming in.

"As you can see from the model, the child is in the middle, and everything else the encompasses the will be influential in their early years. The immediate family members..."

I took a seat as stealthily as I could at the corner of the theatre while he was took focused looking at the screen, describe some alien circle that was projected onto it.

Theodore looked very much in his element, teaching about a field of study that he was so passionate about all these years.

A smile formed onto my face as I watched him. He seemed very comfortable down there.

"Mr. Wu, what are your thoughts on same-sex parenting then? Does this influence the child since they will technically be the child's immediate family?" a student asked.

This question caught my attention and it certainly made Theodore raise his head. That's when he saw me sitting in the corner because our eyes just met.

He smiled suggestively at me before looking back at the student.

"Hmm, how about you tell me what are the problems you think the child may face from having a family whose parents are of the same sex."

"Probably prejudice and stress from society," the student answered.  "After all, people are still rather conservative when it comes to such sensitive topics. The child may feel the stress that's coming from the talks and looks that are being thrown their way."

And I couldn't agree more.

"Well, I don't see any problem with same-sex parenting," Theodore answered. "Of course, there are bound to be some problems coming in from a society's point of view, but ultimately you as future parents will decide how you will nurture the child. At the end of the day, do you want to be affected by how other people think?

Remember, regardless blood-related or not, children are going to look up to adults as role models. Those living in the same house as they will be the first person they will learn from. Regardless of gender, one should also set great examples for the younger generation. In the end, does having parents of the same gender matter?" he finished off and looked back at me.

That idiot. He was saying his opinions for me to hear.

There was silence in the room. It's like he made the students all think in their heads about what he just said.

Theodore stuck his hands to his waist. "Now, of course, my opinions don't hold its water right now. How about we do a mini-assignment about this topic and let's have a healthy discussion about it in the next lecture? Bring along your articles for reference."

The rest of his class went by with him explaining the topic he was covering as well as students asking questions. To be honest, being in the setting itself made me miss school too.

Maybe one day I'll go back and finish my degree.

————————

"Well, well. Who do we have here?" he said with a smile.

"A coffee delivery boy," I answered while showing him the drinks I was holding. "Though your cappu is no longer hot. Hope you don't mind."

"No problem. Wanna grab a bite? We can head to the canteen?" he suggested.

I nodded my head and we made our way over.

"Why are you having a class now anyway? Isn't it a few days away from New Year's?"

He sighed. "It's a make-up for the lesson that we will miss on the holiday itself. Life sucks when you're a lecturer."

"Yeah, sure does but your class was interesting. I liked the way you answered your student's questions."

He raised one eyebrow at me. "You like how I answered my students or what I answered?"

I slapped his arm lightly. "How you answered. And I knew you were saying that for me to hear. Don't do that next time. The things you say need to be supported with documents."

He shrugged his shoulders and lightly pushed my back. "They asked for my opinions, not a model answer. Come on, let's walk a little faster to get out of the sun. I'm about to melt in this heat."

We found a place in the staff's section of the canteen. Like seriously, there was a place cornered off for the staff only. Was there such a thing back in my day?

"Anyway, what are you doing here?" he questioned as we took our seats.

"I'm delivering your coffee?"

He rolled his eyes. "I got that part, but I didn't ask for any."

I shrugged. "I figured you might need one."

He nudged me playfully in the shoulders. "Aww, someone's being sweet."

"Shut up. Not every day is Sunday. Don't peg it on me to be delivering you drinks all the time."

"Hmmm, but its a Thursday today. So, will I get another cup on Sunday then?"

THEODORE.

"Shut the fuck up, Theo." Damn, he was cute. No matter how much he tried to hide it, Daniel's cheeks were burning as bright as the sun right now. I laughed light-heartedly at the man who probably wished he had a hole in the ground to stick his head into.

"Thanks anyway for the energy boost. I've been busy with extra classes but also with this new guy that just got transferred here."

He crossed his arms and propped them onto the table. "That's something new."

"Yeah," I answered with a slight tilt of my head. "He's really good though. I've heard all about him even before he transferred here. Oh! That's right. You may know him. He went to the same secondary school as us but he was our senior."

"Really now? I guess the world isn't so big after all. What's his name?" he asked.

"Xander Chin. He says he remembers you. You must have made a lasting impression on him, ey?"

I don't know what I did or said wrongly but almost instantly, Daniel's face visibly pales. Like he's seen a ghost.

Or something worse.

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A/N: Hi Alex! So nice of you to make an appearance here!

Will you deliver things for the person you like just because you want to? I will :D

New character alert! So far, so good. Right?

Please comment on your thoughts about the story so far!

Stay safe everyone!

See you all in the next part!