Fatimazahrae Ouajjani

Fatimazahrae Ouajjani

The day seemed a week long, and it was only 1PM.

Up by 5AM per usual, a workout, a session of writing, another of homework, and after two courses of spatial mechanism back to back in university, I dealt with paperwork at the education center. By the time it was all settled, I had one hour to grab lunch and head to the other university for two more classes in Embryology and Cellular Biology. This plan got inconveniently interrupted by a knock at the door. What now? The reflection on my black

computer screen rolled her eyes at me as I spoke

‗Come in.‘

Through the half-opened door, the secretary insinuated her head, her hand still on the handle:

‗The father of a student would like to speak with you.‘

God no, not one of those, I made a hand gesture meant to invite him in.

I came in a short man with quite the long mustache dressed head to toe in designer business wear. Everything about him; the mixed smells of rich coffee, new leather material and fancy cologne, the newspaper neatly folded under his arm, the Rolex watch on his wrist, were all giving out on his prosperous situation. To my surprise, the so-called son was a fully grown bearded man in his mid-twenties, and the calluses I felt while shaking his hands confirmed what his muscular figure already indicated: he was a bodybuilder.

The second this parent and I took opposite seats of my office desk, he proceeded to talk my ears off about how his only child dropped out of school due to his stay at a rehab, due to a drug addiction, due to peer pressure and the Moroccan educational system, found purpose in travelling the world, discovering new cultures, and wanted this year to finally graduate high school and carry on with his education, he found the program our center has for dropouts fitting but had plans for a trip to Japan. Once back, he joined the courses, only to find out he was behind and didn‘t have a clue what was going on.

I had no interest in what he had to say since I already knew the whole tale by heart. Instead, I took interest in this … child who didn‘t find the chair as appealing as the opposite wall, against which he leaned, a leg folded against it, eyes on his phone. He was over six feet tall, dressed in designer clothing as well, but unlike his classy father, it was all street wear: baggy Thrasher sweater, shredded denim jacket, torn cuffed pants held to his waist by a black and

white checkered belt, the cherry on top (or bottom in this case) were these blinding red Yeezies of which the bottom part was dirtying my office wall. All throughout his father‘s monologue, he showed no interest in the conversation whatsoever, eyes glued on his latest iPhone.

‗Now young lady, what I came to understand from my boy (boy?) is that you‘re the creator of this entire program, and I do not think I‘ll find anyone more suitable to tutor him than yourself, someone smart with enough experience in dealing with cases similar to his, yet still close to his age range. Of course, the paycheck will be very generous, my boy (BOY??) deserves the best. Now, say he starts next week, how many hours should he receive per week to be ready on time for the exams?‘

There were so many ―interesting‖ statements that I didn‘t know with which to start, so I silently stared at him while getting my thoughts in order.

‗Sir, this here is your son?‘

‗That‘s my big boy.‘ said the father with a proud look at this six feet tall man whose eyes were still glued on the phone.

‗I remember him, shortly after registration, you approached me about the trip and I believe I had given you a virtual copy of all the lessons and exercises you should go over during the two months of your absence so that you do not struggle to catch up once back. I guess now you should look over those lessons to reach your classmates‘ level before you can join the class.‘

‗That is precisely where we require your assistance, he just can‘t study alone.‘ spoke the father for him, while he maintained his position, not acknowledging at all that I addressed him.

‗Thank you, sir, for your generous offer, and I'm really flattered by your kind words but..‘

‗Now, I do not want to hear a no, I came all the way down to this neighborhood to meet you at this time of day, since I was informed over the phone this is the only time during which you‘d be here for sure, you wouldn‘t send me back empty-handed now, would you?‘

‗Absolutely not, we have a staff of very experienced teachers who teach the classes of the program, they all would gladly cooperate to tutor your … son, each in their subject of expertise.‘

‗But here‘s the thing, I‘m asking for teachers, I‘m asking for you. As I said before, my boy deserves the best‘

I swear to Allah, if he says boy one more time….

‗I really appreciate your trust, and I would love to but I honestly don‘t have the time. I barely make time for foo..‘

‗I was also told‘ interrupted the man while pulling out what I first thought was a notebook ‗that you‘re studying for two degrees at once in Engineering and Biology. I‘m a businessman, and although it might look like my life is all roses, it wasn‘t always the case. I‘m self-made, I know a lot about the job market and I can easily tell you you‘re wasting your time on the Biology thing.‘

What I first thought to be a notebook turned out to be a checkbook he opened on the table and was now slowly writing in, still no sign of motion from his son, apart a slight laugh every now and then.

‗What I can also tell you is I see a lot of myself in you, and I can tell, just like the idea of this program, there are a lot of ideas simmering inside that brains of yours, and since you were able to achieve this level of freelancing as a nineteen year old, I‘m sure you‘d put a healthy sum like this one to good use.‘

He tore the check from the checkbook and slid it on the desk to where it was under my eyes. Reading the number, I felt my heart skipping a beat.

‗Now, this is, let‘s say, a little gift for acceptance. Wouldn‘t you think tutoring for this sum a better investment than a useless degree?‘

I looked up and for the first time, this boy of his was looking at us with a witty smile. I felt a wave of anger rise within me as I slid the check back to him:

‗I‘m afraid I‘ll have to decline once again, my education isn‘t up for sale, nor do I consider it a topic of discussion. It‘s a rather private matter.‘

‗Have you looked at the sum?‘ raged the man before me.

Determined not to let my sight gaze towards the check, I nodded.

‗At this price, you can easily get teachers to privately tutor him from the comfort of your own house for as long as he pleases, but money can‘t buy you anything.‘ I snapped back.

‗Young lady, I advise you to give the matter a second thought.‘ he scowled.

I heard quick footsteps in the hallway, which reminded me that a class was taking place. Without a knock at the door, three of my students burst in to find us standing from opposite ends of the desk leaning towards one another, with a strongly built guy who quickly put his phone away. I recognized them to be some of the dropouts from Aouinat Al-Hejjaj, which is a ghetto in Fez, nearby to the center.

‗Whatcha got doing with our teacher, whatcha shouting for?‘

‗Ey teacher, you alright?‘

This was not a desirable situation. On one hand, this ―parent‖ seems to be capable of lots and isn‘t one I‘d want my students to be stuck with, his son had stepped back and was shaking like a leaf, on the other, these students had a set of values the main one being loyalty, that are directly tied up to one‘s honor, and in their culture, crime is also considered used to preserve it. What worried me the most was the student who stayed silent. He had an-up-to-good look on his face and I knew he‘s been locked up before.

‗What type of grammar do you teach these kids?‘ provoked the man.

‗Now which one o‘ these sound good to you: You is alive, or, you will turn into a delightful plate of barbecued kofta?‘

‗Lemme know yo preference, I sort ya out‘ chimed in the second.

As my undesired guest hesitantly opened his mouth, I shouted:

‗How dare you leave your classroom and storm into my office??‘

‗My gosh, we sorry teacher, we heard them shouts and you know, we got you, teacher, we got y..‘

‗THIS IS A FAMILY MATTER. GET OUT. NOW.‘

‗We‘re very sorry, missy, we so sorry‘ spoke the third for the first time as he reached for the handle and closed it, pushing the others out.

‗YOU WILL BE HEARING FROM ME ONCE I DEAL WITH THIS. UNACCEPTABLE BEHAVIOR.‘

I heard shy mumbles in the hallway, blaming one another for leaving their class, along with footsteps walking away.

‗Baba, can we leave?‘ mumbled the person I had forgotten was there to start with.

‗Oh look, he has a tongue.‘ I threw sarcastically towards him.

‗Now young lady, I hope you think it over, what I can offer is more than just money. I can be a very useful connection to an ambitious young soul like yours.‘

‗Now sir, I think you better leave.‘

He took a final look at me, replaced the check with a business card and walked towards the door. Before he shut it close, he added :

‗Glad to meet you, after all‘

‗Thank you. Leave.‘

I looked at the card on the desk. For the first time, I shouted at my students, it left me feeling like a bear with a sore head. I quickly removed the card which was a source of annoyance into a book and left I was already late.

As I raced downstairs and ran around trying to catch a taxi, I thought of my dreams, how much more time I‘d have to work even harder than that to achieve them, how much of a shortcut it would‘ve been to take on the proposition. But then, I wouldn‘t enjoy making my dreams into reality as much, because it wouldn‘t have been fully my sweat and tears, but rather something un-conforming to my morals. The disappointment I‘d have in myself would come in the way of my futuristic happiness.

A taxi finally stopped and rode me straight to my university, but my thoughts were still going on. Maybe it was a sign from Allah? A blessing in disguise? And I was just too angry to look through it. I opened my book to read a bit about the class before me when a business card fell on my lap.