Zenith - Chapter 01
"Kaaaane~" Justice danced around me mockingly, "Lunch, please!"
"Yeah, yeah," I waved him away, annoyed. "Here's your lunch you little leech." I reached into my backpack and pulled out the bento I had packed for him. "You got lucky, Juju," I added as he snatched the parcel greedily.
He froze at the sound of his nickname and turned to face me, "I thought we agreed you wouldn't call me that anymore...Sugar Kane." I frowned, but before I had a chance to respond, a voice spoke up behind me.
"My my, what's this? Did team Umiiruka actually lose a flag last night?"
"Ah!" Justice hid the bento behind his back, "It's not like that Mr. Lios. We uh..." he trailed off.
Our teacher smiled at the two of us, "It's no use pretending you've stopped playing. Why else do you think I keep leaving the back door unlocked every week?" He glanced at Justice who was still awkwardly hiding his lunch. "But to think that the bet you made so many years ago has finally been finished," he looked down at me. "Did something happen?"
I instinctively drew back. Even though I was wearing long sleeves, I felt conscious about the cut I had received the night before. "It's nothing. I just...wasn't on my game."
Mr. Lios frowned for a moment, before turning aside. "Well, it's none of my business. But you should get back to your seats. We have a new student coming in now."
I turned to face the front of the classroom, mindlessly spinning a pencil on my fingers. I was pretty comfortable in my own circle of friends, so a new student was hardly a big deal. The door slid open. "Ah--" the pencil I had been spinning flipped out of my fingers and flew across the room. "It's the guy from last night..." I murmured to no one in particular. Justice glanced at me, confused. "What..."
"This is Zenith, your new classmate. Please--" Mr. Lios' speech was cut short by Zenith, who walked down the aisle towards my desk, his blank eyes fixed on mine. "Zenith?"
Zenith stopped in front of me, still expressionless. I saw his lips move, but I heard no noise. With a contented sigh, he sat down on the floor next to me. "Ah-" I glanced around, panicked. "Um...I ah..." Around the class I could see other students staring at me. In the corner, a few girls giggled. Justice frowned, confused.
"Who is she?" he asked, leaning over my desk.
I rolled my eyes. "It's a guy...I think," I replied. "And he's the reason that--" I shook my head. "Never mind."
"Zenith. You may sit at the desk in the back," Mr. Lios said, eyebrow arched. Zenith looked at him and nodded quietly, but did not move. I heard a round of giggles echo throughout the room. Mr. Lios shook his head and turned towards the board. "Chapter fourteen. Cell structure. Kane, what's one of the main differences between a plant cell and an animal cell?"
"Ah--" I flipped through my textbook frantically. "It's uh..."
"Cell wall." I glanced to my side. Zenith stared at me with his large eyes before repeating, "Cell wall." He looked at me expectantly.
I turned back to Mr. Lios. "Erm...cell wall?"
Mr. Lios sighed, "That's correct. Thank you for your contribution, Zenith." Zenith nodded an affirmation, unaware of the teacher's sarcasm. Another round of giggles in the room. "Since you've volunteered to answer, what is a cell wall made of?" Mr. Lios looked at Zenith.
Zenith turned to me. "Is it okay to answer?"
I stared at him incredulously. "Yes," I replied. "It's fine."
He turned back to Mr. Lios. "The plant cell wall is made of cellulose, a material that stiffens the wall and give the plant structure. Holes in the cell wall known as plasmodesmata allow nutrients, ions, and waste to pass in and out of the cell. The elasticity of the cell wall is contingent on--"
"Zenith." I interrupted him. "You can stop now."
He nodded. "I did well, right?"
I slammed my head on the desk, "Yeah...yeah you did well," I mumbled. This was going to be a long day.