Nothing to hide

I stared at the lecturer who was looking at me with a barely conceived rage. It was so scary and I barely knew what to do to make it better. I turned towards the left. My seat partner had her textbook opened. I hadn't even tried to open mine since the lecture began.

"Em…" I tried once more, as I tentatively looked at the header off the page. "You were lecturing on gender inequality," I answered sheepishly.

"Pick a question in your textbook, and answer it," the lecturer said firmly.

Oh, Lord!

What was his problem? I don't know one thing about this topic, and now I will be forced to make a fool of myself. I had no choice though because all eyes were on me. I took the textbook, earning a glare from the owner, but I ignored her. I won't be severely embarrassed for not even opening the exact page.

I cleared my throat. "Is there a need to strive for equality when in a patriarchal society?"