MIDSUMMER CRUSH

Chapter 11

The countdown began and Derek signalled me to get ready. He played the signature jingle of his show and with a smile played a pre-recorded announcement of my arrival on  his studio. “Hey there fellow listeners, you’ve tuned into a special edition of the Derek’s show! Guess who’s in our studio tonight?  Yes, it’s Giselle herself, but before that here are few words from our sponsors so don’t go anywhere, we’ll be back in a short break.” 

Derek winked at me and played in the recordings of their sponsors while I stared at him.

“Why didn’t you talk live to them?” I asked him suspiciously.

“I didn’t get you,” he replied and tilted his head.

“I meant you said we’re going live on air then why did you play an announcement that was recorded earlier?” I asked and noticed him shift in his seat.

“Uhm…babe, that’s how we RJ’s roll on the radio. Most of the lines we speak are pre-recorded and played later unless it’s a contest or live chat. It saves time when you’re meant to  blabber the same lines again and again,” he  justified, but didn’t sound convincing.

“But I’m coming to your studio for the first time,” I said when Derek hurriedly switched back to his show and addressed his listeners rather than giving me an explanation. Something was fishy here.

“And we’re back! Yes, you heard it right the lady herself is sitting right next to me and man is she gorgeous,” he said and flattered me.

“I’m sure you may be having hundreds of questions for her. I promise a question answer round at the end of tonight’s show, but first brace yourself as Giselle takes you back to where she left us all hanging for more,” he added and signalled me to greet the listeners.

“Erm…Hi, this is Giselle and yup I’m sitting right next to Derek….” I spoke and got a bit nervous seeing the mike. Derek gestured me to continue and begin my story for his audience.

“You’re doing well, keep talking…” he whispered and played some soft music in the background.

“Uhm…so after I heard Derek’s weird condition of not confessing his love until I shared my story to you guys…I decided to come over and finish what I had begun,” I paused and was about to speak further when he interrupted me.

“But first, here’s a few words from our sponsors,” he cut me  short and played the recording.

“Wha-t! But you just played that few seconds ago already, right?” I crunched my brows and looked at him.

“I know, but when I told the management you were coming on our show, we suddenly received more new sponsors. Our rating just got higher,” he explained.

“Wait, so you’re making money out of my story?” I frowned.

“Babe, this is showbiz. Oh…get ready the commercial is ending now,” he smirked and told me to focus on the mike while I sighed.

“3..2..1…go!” he whispered as I took in a deep breath.

September  20th 2008, it had been a year since Giselle and her family had moved to New Jersey to start a new beginning. She had been studying business administration at St. George for quite a while and had a close group of friends who shared the same ideologies.

The decoders as they loved to call themselves comprised of 5 girls including Giselle. Katnis was the suspicious and tensed one, Reece was short tempered and closest to Giselle, Aliyah was the typical bimbo and Amber was plain foodie and a big time Eminem worshipper.  

“They failed me in accounts!” Giselle screamed in distress after seeing the notice board in the hallway.

“I told you that professor was strict, now you’re gonna waste a year,” Katnis adjusted her glasses and made Giselle feel all the more upset.

“Oh shut up, Kat! She ain’t gonna waste anything. I’mma go up there and show em who they messin with!” Reece tied her hair into a pony tail and turned to head towards the PCR (Professor’s Common Room) when Amber held her back.

“Relax, guys! You will make it worse than it already is and Kat you weren’t helping either. According to the rule book you’re allowed to carry a max of three failures along our three years  stint in St. George. She can reappear separately and improve her grades before college starts,” Amber sucked in the last drop of cola with her straw and made an irritating noise.

“I’m sceptical about this,” Katnis commented.

“When are you Not?” Amber sighed.

“So do I punch em or not?” Reece asked and looked at Giselle.

“Thanks Reece, but I think what Amber says is right, though I would still prefer having a word with prof. Bean,” Giselle replied and adjusted her glasses.

“You want me to come?”  Reece asked eagerly, but Giselle insisted she could do this alone.

“Well then I guess  it’s goodbye until we return from our winter break,” Katnis cribbed and crunched her brows.

“Yup, I was thinking we could head over  to our favourite burger joint to mark the end of our first academic year at St. George,” Amber sighed.

“Ya, but we can’t coz the year wasn’t good for Giselle. She’ll be reappearing while we’ll ring in the holiday season,” Katnis interrupted.

“Thanks for rubbing it in on her,” Amber did a face palm and pulled kat along as they left the hallway.

“Aren’t you going too?” Giselle looked at Reece and asked.

“When was the last time I let you walk alone to the bus stop, eh?” she gave me a sarcastic look and asked.

“Erm…never in this past one year,”  Giselle replied.

“Then why do you ask stupid question like that? Go ahead and beat the s**t out of that Bean, I’mma be down in the front lawn waiting for you,” she said and walked her till the PCR.

The PCR was the most dread place in college, not just because it was gloomy and washed with dull vintage wallpapers, but because of the unwelcoming vibes that one received on entering the waterhole for professors.

No soon she stepped in, she felt their nasty gaze following her until she paused near Prof. Bean’s table.

He was a no nonsense man with high standards, a disciplinarian to be more precise. Many had fallen victim to his intense paper corrections during the finals and Giselle was unfortunately one of them.  Busy on his computer, he ignored Giselle’s presence and continued his work.

Likewise Giselle wasn’t going to give up that easily. Knowing he was ignoring her on purpose, she went ahead and began  sulking about her poor grade in his subject. It was then when he couldn’t take anymore of her complaints that he decided to break his silence.

“I know you’re a good student, Giselle, but acing the subjects I teach has never been easy for anyone. However since you’ve shown an interest in improving your grades unlike those who care a damn about their future, I will go easy on you,” he said and invoked a sense of victory in Giselle.

“Oh thank you Prof. Bean. I knew you would help me, I’m so grateful to…” she hadn’t finished when he cut her short.

“I hadn’t finished, Giselle. Hear me first….” He made a face and crossed his hands. “There’s a catch to me going easy on your paper when you reappear this winter,” he added and grabbed her attention.

“And what is that?” Giselle enquired curiously.

“Well, to cut the story short. Our old international student counsellor is leaving St. George. The management is still looking for a replacement. Admission season will commence soon and we need more work force. Hence in order to prove you are worth the grades you desire, you must don the role of the ISC this winter,” He explained while Giselle turned pale in fright.

“An ISC…Bu-but Prof. Bean,  I have no prior experience in student counselling….how am I going to handle international students?” Giselle made a puppy face.

“That’s none of my concern, if you don’t want to fail for a second time then you better head to the Academic counselling home immediately,” he retorted and got back to his computer.

Giselle wanted to protest, but realised aggravating him would prove fatal to her grades. Hence having no other option she faked a smile and agreed to rush to the Academic counselling home as soon as she could.

“Oh so you’re the new substitute ? How very sweet  of you to help the academic counsellors,” The lady at the desk said without knowing that Giselle was forced into this.

“Here,  these freshman enrolment forms just came in today. Go through  every student’s  details thoroughly , because these are students from other countries and you will be their ISC till we find a permanent replacement , okay?” she explained and handed her a bunch of files.

“Okay…” Giselle smiled and rolled her eyes as she turned to leave.

“Oh and Giselle! There’s this one file marked in red, the student isn’t in his freshman year though. He’ll be joining you some time soon, so make a note of that , okay?” she said and happily got back to her work while Giselle sighed and left the Academic Counselling home.

Reece had been waiting for hours till Giselle finally showed up in the front lawn. “What took you so long and what’s that you’re carrying?” she enquired curiously as Giselle tried balancing the files.

“Guess what, they made me the new international student counsellor,” Giselle announced and shocked Reece.

“Whoa…wait you and an ISC? How much are they paying you for the job?” she seemed interested and probed further.

“Better grades from Prof. Bean,” Giselle replied and left her miffed.

“That’s so-so….I can’t believe you agreed to this, couldn’t you have just said no? Being an ISC isn’t an easy job, you have to deal with students coming from different parts of the world and see to their needs till they fit in,” she got hyper as usual and flared her nostrils.

“Chill, it’s only temporary. Beside’s we aren’t planning to go anywhere this holiday season, so I may as well make the best use of my spare time and do what Prof. Bean said,” Giselle explained before they walked down the bus stop.

Neither of them spoke a word until the bus came. “Fine do as you please, but call me if you need any  help,” Reece finally broke her silence and bid adieu as Giselle boarded the bus.

“Let me know if you come across any hot foreign student,” she shouted and left a smile on my face.

That night, Giselle sat up late and went through every file. She cursed her luck and wondered why  students from abroad were flocking in to St. George. “Ah man, I’m never going to get this straight. There are students from various backgrounds and race. How am I going to remember each one of them?” she took off her glasses and reclined on the rug with all the files spread around her.

“Okay let’s start afresh!” she took in a deep breath and randomly picked a file.

No sooner she brought it closer, she realized it was the certain file marked in red. Curious to see who would be joining her in class midway during the academic year, she opened the file.

“Aariz Haddad….”  She read out the name and drifted her gaze over his photo to the corner of the enrolment  form.  “Nationality Arab…born in U.A.E…” she paused and stared at the young student’s picture.

There was something quite familiar about his appearance, but try as much as she could, she failed to recollect why his face seemed so familiar.

“Okay, he looks good…rather more than just good,” she smirked and sat up right.

“Religion Islam, age 19…oh he’s a year elder to me,” she wrinkled her nose. “Reason for joining halfway through the course….Heard a lot about St. George though I was already studying in my home country, but finally decided to take the plunge and continue the course here…” she read out the explanation he had given and frowned.

“This guy is so confused, what kind of an explanation is that?” she muttered and wondered how his form was accepted in the first place when all of a sudden her gaze fell over  his outstanding grades right from middle school.

“Hmm…no wonder they roped you in, Mr. A,” she sighed and went through the rest of his details, before moving on to the other files.

It wasn’t long before she made a note of every individual’s joining date and decided to study their culture, likes and dislikes three days prior. “Yes you can do this, Giselle. Just do some research and make them feel comfortable at St. George,” she convinced herself and began researching more about each student’s cultural background as and when their joining date approached.

“Arigato! Akira Kinamoto,” Giselle thanked the Japanese student after he complimented her for her helpful nature. Likewise Giselle was all too excited to have done it correctly without offending him.

So far everything had seemed manageable, having settled seven foreign students already, Giselle seemed to feel more confident about her job as an ISC along the weeks. With the eight student having joined today, Giselle looked at her watch and wondered why the student from U.A.E was taking so long.

It was mentioned that he would be at the college campus by  12 and yet there were no signs of him. Feeling frustrated she sat on a bench and gazed up at the clock tower before realizing what a blunder she had done.

“Freak my watch has stopped! The clock tower shows that it’s 2, oh flip, he’s already here!” She panicked and jumped off the bench in search of Aariz.

Pushing her way through the frat boys who were having a game on the field, she darted towards the student’s union hall to check if he had been waiting for her there, but to her dismay he wasn’t. Tensed that she was going to mess up everything , she kept her fingers crossed and searched every nook and corner before giving up.

“I bet he’s going to complain about me not being there to receive him,” she cribbed and thought about Prof. Bean and her grades.

Tired and disheartened, she walked lifelessly towards the college cafeteria and took a seat.  “Excuse me, but could you tell me where the academic counselling home is?” someone enquired from behind.

“Go straight and take a left from the library,” she answered without looking at him.

“Oh, thank you,” he said and walked away when Giselle turned and noticed him dragging a heavy suitcase.

“Hey…you….stop!” she called out to him and gasped when he turned around.

“Aariz….Aariz Haddad, from U. A.E?” she raised her brows and pointed at him.

“Yes, I’m Aariz….but how do you know my name?” He felt sceptical and stared at her with an absentminded look.

“Uhm…Sorry for startling you like that. I’m Giselle, your ISC…” her voice trailed off as she admired his height and physique. “Have we met before…?” she enquired suspiciously while he continued staring at her.

“Erm…nope ma’am, this is my first visit to New Jersey,” he smiled and revealed his dimples before Giselle felt butterflies in her stomach.

“And with  that we take a commercial break, stay tuned for the rest of the story. This is me, Derek with Giselle on 54.9 fm!” Derek suddenly announced and broke my flow.

“Couldn’t you have signalled me? You broke my flow,” I complained and gave him a nasty look.

“Sorry, but I wanted to give a cliff-hanger effect to our listeners, anyway in the meanwhile you can head over to our cafeteria and try out our famous hot dogs. They make the best ones out here,” he insisted, but I was too lazy to move out.

“I’ll be fine here, “ I sighed while he shrugged his shoulders and left .

 As the seconds passed, I reminisced about all that I had shared earlier and felt nostalgic all over again. Every event seemed like it happened just yesterday, If only I had mustered courage to tell him about my feelings then, life would have been different for both of us.