Page 33 of Don’t Forget Me

Professor Daine commenced his lecture. He spoke about Rome’s interconnected cities when the empire began to fall. It wasn’t until he began to speak about Greece and its influence on the nation that I realized we would be focusing a great deal on the subject. Which meant a big project would follow.

“Your next assignment, due in two weeks, is an analysis paper on different roles in ancient Greece. The role of men, women, children, kings, queens, the church, and so on. Your partner for this project will be the person sitting next to you. If your friend is lazy, foolish, or irresponsible, figure it out. I will be handing out a packet with your assigned role in ancient Greece’s society and you will have to make sure to hand your twenty-page paper in two Fridays’ time.”

I glanced toward Ezra, who had an amused grin set on his face. I wished I could punch him and wipe the smile off his face. It was evident that I would have to have another conversation with him. This was my education; I would have to choke back my pride and get this paper completed on time. Plus make time for the rest of my homework assignments.

“Shaking me off won’t be so simple.” He beamed.

“Careful there, I might connect my fist with your face,” I warned.

The professor, who wore a knitted vest, walked over to us with a grunt, throwing our packet in the middle of our table. I waited to see if he would reach for the packet, but he did nothing other than scan my face, which caused my confidence to falter as I grabbed our assignment.

As I opened the packet, I could see the hundreds of teachings, research, and analyses of other researchers on the role of women in ancient Greece.

“Guess we’re going to be writing about women. Your expertise,” I said to Ezra, who slumped his shoulders.

“I’m not who you think I am,” he muttered, looking away. I followed his gaze, which had been set on a group of four guys who had been sitting together.

Our desks were meant for only two. They sat in pairs as they exchanged their packages with one another. It was the group that caused the most ruckus in the entire classroom. The professor would ignore them whenever they raised their hands, but then again, he did this to almost everyone. Which made me wonder whether I should ask for another professor. I came here to learn, I wasn’t sent here so my teachers could tolerate me. I knew just how much of a privilege it was to be here.

“Well, since it’s twenty pages long, I’ll do the first ten and you can do the last set,” I said.

“How will we know that we have the same thoughts on women’s roles in Greece?” he asked with a wider grin.

I sighed and rolled my eyes. “We can meet up during those two weeks to make sure we are on the same page.”

“How does tomorrow sound? Five o’clock at the grand library.”

“Sure,” I said.

“Class dismissed!” the professor yelled.

sixteen

EZRA

5 YEARS AGO

To say that I was excited to tempt Lysandra into bickering with me was an understatement. There was something about her arguing with me, showing me the fire within her, that I enjoyed. No girl in this school treated me like this, and I knew why.

I was the heir to the multimillion empire my father had built off of property development and private equity. Every girl in the school wanted to be the heiress. But I knew that none of them wanted me, they wanted my money. Which is why I steered clear of those girls. I had girlfriends before, but once I realized that they had ill intentions, then I had no choice but to leave.

Not that I considered Lysandra for the position, but I admired the way she didn’t pay attention to me. Which sounded awful. I didn’t really know how to explain it.

As I walked through the dark halls of the common rooms, making my way to the library, I found my friend Zack. He was a complete mess, his sleeves ruffled, his shirt unbuttoned and wrinkled, and his hair disheveled. I stopped before him with a creased brow. “Where have you been?”

“Having some fun,” he chuckled.

“You’re filthy,” I muttered, moving past him.

“Where are you going in such a hurry to?” Zack’s breath reeked of alcohol. I groaned in annoyance, covering my nose.

“None of your business. Mate, your breath stinks. Move away!” I pushed him.

“Is it a party? Free drinks? A girl? Or girls? You animal! Come on, tell me. What is it?” he asked, practically bouncing.

“It’s not like that.” I glared at him.

“Mate, is it that girl that Beckman told you about? What’s her name? Lillian? Leanna? Cassandra?” Zack cheered with delight, jumping forward to stop me from walking away from him.