"Apollo?" a vacant voice asked curtly from the back of the room. "Wait, who was he again?"

Hearing the pause I knew that it would be some time before the poor creature would be able to answer her own question in any coherent manner.

I raised my hand impatiently. Maybe this sort of thing is the reason everyone had told me not to make the book suggestion I had for Classic Lit. Mine was usually the only hand up, and my answers the only ones making any sense.

Seeing that the poor girl was in no state of mind to answer any questions whatsoever, Iversen, the 'hot, blonde, and intelligent' professor on campus gave a slight frown and pointed me while reminding the class that exams were a lot easier to take if one had actually read the book.

"Apollo is the Greek god of the sun. In the chapter, Christine and Raoul go to the rooftop where this statue of him is. Apollo is the perfect counter balance to the Phantom who is a master of darkness. Under this statue, Christine and Raoul admit their love for one another suggesting that Raoul is, through love, leading Christine away from darkness and towards a world of light." I had not taken a single breath throughout that entire monologue.

The class just groaned at me while Iversen said "Very good. That's perfect, and I might like to add that if the rest of this class paid as much attention to this book as they did their egos they might actually pass this course."

A voice sounded. A female's but not the slow sedated one that didn't know Apollo. This was a real voice. A real intelligence.

"Really though, isn't that too… significant?" such calm magnificence. I had half a mind to turn around to find the voices owner but another half telling me that nothing could possibly be worse.

"How do you mean?" The teacher asked quizzically, not stopping to appreciate the fact that someone else was contributing to her class.

"Well, where in real life does something that symbolic and significant actually happen?"

"Right now actually."

"Really? How so?"

"Well I can't help but notice that you're eating an apple. True?"

"Yes…" the voice added speculatively. Iversen was clearly the only one making any sort of connection from the apple to anything else.

"Were you aware," the voice went on, "that in many cultures the apple is regarded as a symbol of innocence. You, being young and seemingly clean cut fit that description. Unless, of course your image is supposed to be misleading, I'd say that the apple is very much 'symbolic and significant'. So, are you… innocent?"

Although I couldn't see this girl, this voice, I could tell her face was blushing. I almost felt the heat of her face radiate just like the same way the heat came off the chandelier in its masterful unveiling in the prologue of the musical version of the book I held in my hands at that moment. Iversen had planned on class choice or Frankenstein. I believe my choice has been made clear.

But I digress…

So the red faced young woman looked straight into her cramped little fold out desk and practically whispered "Yes."

At this point the class had done more than the teacher had planned. She instructed us to read our books quietly. Naturally this meant that the room immediately emanated with whispers. I, being quite intrigued that anyone would comment in class (other than me of course) began searching for whoever had spoken before.

My eyes feel on a timid looking, black girl, who was incredibly pretty and dressed in garb befitting of any self respecting emo girl. I asked myself subconsciously if there could be such thing as a self respecting emo, or if that was an oxymoron as I walked towards her.

I couldn't answer the real question that was going through my mind; how was I so sure that this girl was the one with such intelligence? My explanation for this assurance was that she had been the only one following the professors' instruction and she still looked slightly embarrassed. Oh the things we'll tell ourselves in the face of fate. How human.

"Hi," I said eagerly. Too eagerly perhaps? God I hoped not.

"Hello," she said quietly. Shy. Or was I just being overbearing by comparison? Better yet, why was I so worried?

"Did you just transfer here from somewhere?" I inquired.

"No I've been here the past few years. This is actually my second semester in this class." Ouch. This was not good news for me. I was second guessing my choice of having come over to her at all. "Then again," she reassured while glancing back down into the book, "I really go to lengths to not make my presence known." She said it with such a mysterious quality I began to feel myself being hypnotized.

Still though, I was not rid of my feeling that I had done ill to have come over here.

"I'm sorry, would you like me to leave?" I contorted my face a bit. Make it look as if I didn't care either way. I succeeded for a second, but to my Irish luck it had been the second right before she looked at me.

"Try looking into the light."

"What?"

"You were about to sneeze," she said laughing a bit. That's good. She was loosening up some. She was more beautiful when she wasn't so embarrassed. Still nothing compared to that laugh. It was the sweet chuckle type of laugh. The one that sounds the same way sugar tastes.

"So," I began. "You enjoying the book apparently?"

"For the fourth time actually," she said casually.

"Nice."

"In six months," she added.

"Real, nice," I added, genuinely impressed. "That's about how many times I read the book total."

"Well, when you live by yourself there are very few things to do on a limited budget."

"Agreed."

"Favorite character?" she asked.

"Oh so now you're asking the questions?" I asked in the most joking tone I could think of.

"Yeah, what of it?" she asked matching my joking tone perfectly.

"Well this is a very controversial topic, so you go first, if you please," she paused, trying to find the answer to my question in my eyes. This gave me a window into hers as well. I was flattened by everything I had seen in there. What a human being sat in front of me.

"Alright, but don't judge me too harshly."

"Eh, why start now?" I said, trying to keep a smile up while I repressed my urge to quit while I was ahead.

"Raoul," she said matter of factly.

And then, right then, is when I realized that I would fall in love with that woman.