41 Winner: Amaan (1/2)

The threat that the Professor Amaan had spat out about herself did not seem braggadocios. It seemed genuine, and I didn't want to piss off another human being. But if it all was a bluff, then I could turn around and go home safely. I was smart enough to know when an axe was going to land on my foot. The past really had carved me into a smarter individual.

I walked back to the lobby not out of fear, but out of curiosity. I thought if I develop friendly relations with her, she could be a strong ally. Who knew all of it would end in a clobbering?

The maid who led me disappeared after making me stay in the lobby. I knew it was my second time looking at my eerie surroundings, nonetheless, it blew me away. The engraved textures of mahogany that surrounded the fireplace were beautiful. It gave an aura of the owner's personality. An unstable fire lit under the beauty that surrounded it. I chuckled myself at the ridiculous deductions that my brain was making before scanning the whole place once again. Whatever the professor wanted to say, I had to hear it and abide by it. I don't think a sane man would be able to justify the infliction of harm on another human just because I flustered and ran away. Positivity would get me through this trench.

I was facing a brightly lit bar with a slew of alcohol. It looked like an open chest of jewels. The glimmering lights reflected off the clear glass bottles and steel canisters that populated the entire area. There were few stools in front that seemed rather basic for the aesthetics.

I walked around the sofas that were in front of fireplace and started examining the field a little more. Ignoring the staircase that stood right in between the vast lobby, I saw a dining table, not lit at all. There were no lights turned on, making the whole surrounding area seem like an abandoned alley. Worse, it was reminiscent to the end of an alleyway, that ended sanity and humanity. Was this another metaphor to Amaan's personality? What could this dark room with a glass table in the middle could say?

The world of mine comprises of darkness all around, but please share a meal despite of it.

OR

If you thought the notion of satisfaction was welcome here, it is not. What you'd find would be nothing more than a void!

I thought about both of my notions for a long time. The complete lack of speech was only complimented to the wild fire that danced in its own grave.

Was I reading too much into it, I wondered.

The claim of her authority was yet to be proven, so why was I able to derive such fictional notions about her? had I already set her up on a pedestal and was looking down on myself? Well, that is stupid. Why would anyone fall in her/his eyes just because the individual in front posed godlike?

I was locked in a mental battle that had no point to exist when I felt a soft tap on my right shoulder. The touch planted a shiver in my spine that ran from my pelvis to my brain, vibrating the whole body in process. I took a quick step back and turned around if a monster had come to eat me alive. But a turn that quick made me ram my waist in the glass table, knocking my wind out momentarily.

”Master is waiting for you in her bedroom.” The maid, who had come to fetch me to the professor's quarters, barked out the order dryly. The inconsiderate human didn't even flinch when I assaulted myself with the table. She wanted me nod to her statement while I was crumbling on the ground.

I took a second to fill my lungs with air and followed the maid. We went under the stairs, turned right, and stopped in front of a giant white door. The maid knocked three times successively on the door before she got the confirmation to open the door. She pushed the doors inside and provided me the opportunity to lay my eyes on lingerie clad Amaan once again.

She was sitting on a round table with her back against the wall and a laptop in her lap. The maid stepped aside and made an opening for me to enter. I took couple of steps inside before the maid closed the giant door behind me. It was just me and her.

”Sit,” she said and I obliged.

Still no sign of hostility.

”Madonna House, do you know what I am doing right now?”

I shook my head. She saw that from the corner of her eyes and continued.

”I am logged into the master admin account of our university. I can access any student's, professor's or staff's profile with this. Not to brag, but I can also change particulars and grades with this too.”

I gulped. I could not see her screen, but she was scrolling through something with utmost concentration.

”Shouldn't this function be in hands of dean or something?,” I couldn't help but open my mouth.

”Let's just say that I have relieved the dean of his duties. All that slug does is make rounds and eat pasta in his damn office. Hold on, I'm already there. Mhhhm. Mhhhm. Ah, found it.”

She looked up with a smile and turned the laptop screen around for me to look. I hesitated to move my gaze from her breasts-I mean, her eyes but I finally moved my eyes downward. It was a student profile. Female. Not really enrolled after high school. Currently employed and yet, studying full time. Personal Comment- I hope I don't waste my time.

NAME: MADONNA HOUSE

AGE: 27 YRS

BLOOD TYPE: O-

I had to say it, I was very much afraid of this person who sat not five feet away from me. She proved her point. With simple clicks on her computer, she demonstrated the power she held in her hands.

I looked up to her and uttered a weak ”HOW?”

”I said I had my roots in the system. I am the safest individual in this part of planet. And I choose people who deal with. Madonna, you, are the chosen one.”

I felt like she was coercing me to join a cult. I would have happily obliged if I was also not the human being who deal in human lives.

I have to play this one carefully.

Amaan turned the laptop to face her way and after a couple of clicks, showed me my new grade. 73%.