As I mentioned in a previous post, we requested a written speech from the dean for our graduation yearbook and despite his dead-fish-eye look when I met him that 11 in the morning, he gave me his yes. The deadline was on Sunday but his class was cancelled until Tuesday, which signaled him being very super extreme busy. Not a good sign.
So yesterday Wednesday, I went to class. As I entered the campus, I saw him walking crisply by the Anatomy Department while in a distance, a dog barked. He walked towards the compound in front of the conference hall (going my direction, of course) and Kimi the three-legged collie (Izyan named him) was laying there. I bet it was him who barked, though he looked unthreatened. The dean kept his eyes on the dog while walking pass him with a kind look in his eye. After a good four meters away yet his head still turned towards the dog, Kimi finally got up and slowly followed the dean.
Hahaha. What is this? Even the dog respects the dean of medicine. Kimi really is part of the Kasr el Ainy Faculty of Medicine family.
P/s: Last Ramadan Dijah asked him if we could come visit him at his home for the Eid and he nodded whimsically. "We can arrange that. We have many cats." was what he said. I surely have good taste in crushes, bwahaha. (We never did get to arrange, he was too busy.)
His mood seemed good. He had only two cancelled call throughout the two hours half class that he called back in a short while. He was wearing white shirt and dark navy pants looking comfortable and ready to accomplish things today. I should not worry about bothering him if I ask him about the speech today.
But this stupid girl was segan. Go die la. So she decided to ask him tomorrow.
And so tomorrow came and became today. There was no dean sighting but when I climbed the stairs to the lecture halls, I saw the radiologist lady looking out with an unreadable expression.
So the dean isn't in yet? I walked pass her and entered the class at 8.30. I deduced right. The class was hot, Mr. Samy hadn't turn the aircond on yet. Why? I usually come around 8 and the class was cool and comfortable already.
"He just unlocked the door. There was a power outage until just now," Su said.
Oh. Took out my textbook and studied while having my breakfast.
8.50am and still no dean in sight. Was he going to call off the class? Mr. Samy came and announced the dean will be coming, he was currently in the hospital sorting out the power outage. We thanked him and went back self-study.
The dean entered at 9.15am. He seemed rather irritable, his voice sounded cracked. Ah Hana, you really should have asked him about the speech yesterday.
Around ten. He was vivaing one Egyptian classmate on the battery of investigation for an abdominal pain when a call came. His face turned solemn and excused himself to answer that call. Pardon my poor Arabic, but all I deduced from that call was it was from a respected person and it was serious. The call ended and the dean made another call to one of his subordinates to ask him to ask this Mr. Samir to come meet him at Lecture Hall 6. Asap.
10.20am. One guy arrived and the dean excused himself and they got busy outside. I turned back to my textbook.
10.45am. Finally the dean re-entered the class, still talking to the subordinates. But suddenly he turned his back towards us facing one subordinate and he yelled. The subordinate talked back. He yelled louder.
Nisa turned to me. "You definitely shouldn't ask him about the speech today." I couldn't agree more.
Egyptian style quarrel, normal. But this is the dean we're talking about. It doesn't equate. And I got a little bit scared. I can't help to be scared when I see my father figure yelling, and I imagined he resumed his class with that kind of post-yelling mood. What if he ask a question and we couldn't answer well. Will he get more frustrated? His usual "entu mish ma3aya" and exasperated look at our sorry faces was hard enough for me. Maybe he will yell at us? Walk out on us? It hurts. However foreseen it is, I will definitely still flinch. And he will definitely apologise profusely to class if he did.
10.47am. The power went out. He entered the class, walked around with his phone and cup of drink for a full minute while Mr. Samy and another lecture-hall maintenance worker came and opened the blinds and windows.
He resumed class with a lower perhaps tired voice and a lighter amd kinder tone. Perhaps he was trying to neutralize his angry self and silently apologising to us. The guys at the back automatically went to sit in the front row and Sarah the Egyptian girl came closer to the isle from her extreme right seat.
He didn't even ask everyone to sit closer with the mic off, but people just did. My thought then was how everyone was accomodating to him, so he need not to raise his voice a notch. It was a sign of huge respect, especially coming from Egyptians. You don't get this scene when the mic was off during the evening lectures with us Malaysians throughout the year.
He made a few jokes and even laughed a bit. Bullied Ahmed twice, first by staring at him while had him explain the meaning of acoustic shadow to Michael the new-sixth-year who came to join us today and second by having him draw the sagittal section of the abdomen on the whiteboard and having him explain the application of it.
This is Egyptians. Capable of 180 degrees mood shift. They yell and then resume life as per usual.
Power came back at 11.20am. Class ended at 11.45am. Amirul was at the door when he walked out, holding his hand out for a handshake. He took it, said bravo that I assumed for coming to class in the summer study leave and asked him about his study progress.
I walked pass them.
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