Study Session - by Ibn Abdullah 🦁

"It's an equation," Samuel said with a giggle. "Ohhh." Jessica tapped her head with her pen. "I thought..." Samuel's chest gently pressed against the back of her head as he leaned over her. He reached an arm towards the desk and placed a finger on the textbook. "Silly girl. Look here." Her eyes followed his finger as it traced the mathematical formulae. "It's not a regular indices simplification." Samuel's breath brushed against her ear. "You're meant to solve for X." He raised a finger to push his glasses up his nose. "So X is seven?" Jessica asked. Samuel paused and gave the equation a glance. Then his eyes moved towards her. "Jessica." "What?" "Where did you get seven?" She pressed her lips together, stifling a creeping smile. "Divine inspiration." She answered Samuel burst into laughter."Oh Dear Lord. You're very unserious. You know that" "Ohhhhh!" Jessica beamed. "Wait. I think I've actually got it." "Oh?" Samuel smiled, withdrawing his hand from the textbook. He rested his palms on her bare shoulders. "That's more like it." He leaned forward to explain one final step, but Jessica suddenly reached up and snatched his glasses from his face. "Excuse me?" Said he She balanced them on her nose. She puffed up her shoulder and straightened her back "Now, Mr Samuel," she began with feigned seriousness, "as you can clearly observe, the mathematical implications of this equation are rather profound." She lifter her index finger upward Samuel stared at her."Give me my glasses." "No" she stiffened "How do I look?" "Jessica . Hand them over" "No can do. Not until you admit I look intelligent." "You look like a thief." "Samuel!" "A very intelligent thief." She giggled. Finally she relinquished the glasses. Samuel put them back on, shaking his head. "Now, can we study?" "Yes, sir!" Jessica attacked her notebook with her pen, scribbling variables and coefficients with the passion of a careless tattoo artist. Samuel stepped back and watched her, arms crossed, a smile playing on his lips. After a while, Jessica brought the tip of her pen to her lips. "Lost?" the final-year student asked. "No!" the 100-level student replied, immediately plunging back into her calculations. A few seconds passed. "Oooooooooh!" Jessica sighed "I'm actually terrible at mathematics," she muttered. "Don't be silly" Samuel returned "You're not terrible at mathematics. You're just impatient with yourself." Jessica glanced over her shoulder. He smiled. "Take your time. You'll get it." She returned to her notebook, a little smile lingering on her face. She watched the numerals and variables dissolve into fractional indices and smiled as she subtracted the powers. Then... a negative power. She paused, thinking for a moment, before lowering her pen to the page again. A few strokes later, the negative index had become a simplified positive index. Before long, a simple equation lay before her, and X was soon found. She boxed her final answer and turned towards Samuel, arms crossed, pride beaming in her smile. "Done!" "Already?" "Yes!" She wiggled triumphantly, nearly spilling from her chair, catching herself in the nick of time. Samuel adjusted his glasses and approached the desk. He slipped an arm around her side before resting his palm on the desk. His other arm found its way around her shoulders. He studied her solution with the seriousness of Nigerian Professor. "Hmm." Samuel hummed Jessica's smile wavered. "Hmmmm." This time longer "Samuel!" He slowly nodded. "Correct." "YES!" She nearly jumped, throwing both hands into the air. Samuel laughed. "That's my girl," he said. She giggled "You're so fucking smart," he added, his voice whispery-sweet as he turned to look at her. "Okay. Try this next." He scribbled another set of questions in her notebook, this time more challenging. Jessica eyed the new problems suspiciously. "Wait. What do I get if I solve all these?" "The satisfaction of academic excellence." She turned to stare at him. "Samuel." "Ma?" He was smiling "Be serious." "I am serious though. Knowledge is its own reward baby girl" "Wicked man" He laughed and tapped the questions on the notebook. "Finish them first. Then we'll negotiate." Once again, he stepped back and watched as she bent over the desk. Not ten minutes had passed before she turned and presented the notebook to him like an excited pupil. Samuel looked at her, smiled, gave a quiet nod, and took the notebook from her. She watched as his eyes, behind those glasses, studied the pages. He nodded. Stroked his chin. Flipped a page. Flashed his white teeth. Nodded again. "Good," he said. She beamed. "Good," he said again. Jessica showed her teeth. He flipped another page. "Good." "Good." "Oh. Very good." Finally, his examination was complete. He closed the notebook. "Come here," he said, setting it back on the desk. He turned, rested his palms on the edge of the table, and leaned against it. Jessica approached him, one slow step at a time, her hands clasped behind her back. She stopped before him, her eyes lowered. He reached out, gently caught her chin between his fingers, and tilted her face upwards until her gaze met his. "You're so fucking smart." Jessica shivered. Her eyes glistened as she looked up at him. Then he leaned in. She felt his lips against her forehead. Her eyes fluttered shut. She barely noticed her own arms slipping around his abdomen, holding him close.They stood like that, studying each other's breaths. "Now," she heard him whisper. "Go ace that exam, my love." Jessica held him tighter in her embrace Samuel chuckled. "Young woman. Your exam." "I know." "Then why are you still here?" "I'm thinking." "About?" "Mathematics." He laughed, his chest trembling against her cheek. "Of course you are." She finally pulled away, smiling. "Thank you, Professor." "You're welcome, Professor's wife." Jessica burst into laughter. "Bye, Samuel!" "Go and write your exam, silly girl." She gathered her notebook and pen, flashed him one last smile, and hurried towards the door. "Jessica?" She turned. "Yes?" Samuel smiled. "Make me proud." She grinned. "Always."

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