Lured into Love (Blossom in Winter #2) - Melanie Martins Page 0,26

so many hugs.”

“Oh, c’mon,” Katrina ripostes just as fast. “We have double reason to celebrate today.” I tuck some hair behind my ear—half blushing, half embarrassed with so much attention.

“Congratulations on your engagement,” David says, patting me on the back. “Your fiancé is a very lucky man. Is he studying at Columbia?”

“Her fiancé is way older,” Matthew interposes. “At least fifteen years, if not more.”

I frown at his unnecessary comment. What is that? Jealousy? What the heck, Matthew? I censor him with my glare, but he doesn’t give a crap apparently.

“It doesn’t matter,” Sarah snaps, coming to my rescue. “He’s super handsome, and you guys look great together.” I smirk at Matthew; Sarah is such a great ally.

“Okay, time to get serious now,” I say as I glance at my watch. “The course is gonna start soon.” I lead them into the dining room, which is the best place to attend Public Economics via Zoom. My laptop is already plugged in and connected to a projector, which will display the class on the white screen stretched in front of us. Once the video call starts, Sarah praises my idea to watch it on the “big screen” like we are in a theater. So far, though, all we can see from the classroom is an office desk and an empty chair, a whiteboard on the wall behind it, and a closed door beside that. After a few more seconds, the door finally opens wide and a gray-haired man steps in. My brows lift, and my lips spread in a wide smile as I quickly recognize him—it’s Prof. Reich, one of the funniest and most fascinating teachers I had last year. Unlike Prof. Chilnisky, Prof. Reich has always managed to entertain us—most of the time involuntarily, but his short stature and sympathetic gaze, combined with his oversized jackets and cringeworthy expressions, make him all too funny and adorable. My eyes move discreetly to my right where Matthew is sitting, trying to gauge his reaction. After all, he considered Prof. Reich, like, his idol last year. But my curiosity is then startled at the sound of Prof. Reich’s quirky voice. “Is it working?” I hear him asking. And we giggle like children seeing his face and neck in full screen as he double-checks his laptop cam.

“Do you think he can hear us?” I ask Sarah.

“I can hear everyone,” Prof. Reich shouts at his laptop. And I try my best to contain a laugh, so I just chuckle inwardly. “But I can’t see anyone though.” And he narrows his eyes, trying to figure out how to make it work. “Ah! I think I can see you guys now. Oh! There are a hundred people attending?”

Matthew puffs into his palm, but I can hear him all too well.

“Very well, so…” Prof. Reich reaches into his briefcase sitting on the chair and takes out a pen. Then he starts writing something on the whiteboard: Wealth is not money. So what is it?

I feel Matthew leaning toward me, and he whispers something in my ear. “And here lies all the beauty of philosophy.”

My eyes travel in his direction, a smile already hanging on my lips, but Matthew doesn’t notice me as he’s already taking notes on his MacBook. I observe him for a few more seconds, my smile just as big, and, for some stupid reason, it just crosses my mind that he’s the only one who didn’t hug me at the entrance. Not even to greet me. Nothing. Why didn’t he show any affection like the rest of the group? I thought he cared about me; at least, during our video call when he nearly cried, he seemed like he did.

Then, as my attention falls back to the screen, I realize Prof. Reich is already engrossed in his introduction speech, and I’m slightly annoyed that I missed part of it. “So, in order to preserve some social interaction between students, each group of five will prepare a study of an ideology as applied to economics. It can be anything, from liberalism to Marxism. The idea is that you deeply analyze the ideology and how good or bad it can be when applied to public economics, including governmental policies, equity, welfare, and the role of the government itself.”

He looks again at the whiteboard and writes:

Title and ideology of the study to be assigned by Sept. 15.

Study to be delivered between Nov. 15 and Dec 5.

I take note of the deadlines and what the study should include. For