Teal eyes slowly started to open as a huge ray of light hit them. "It's too early for this…" The girl muttered, her magenta hair spraying itself all over the white pillow.
"No kidding." Another girl with dark blue hair looked over at the one laying down. She gave a small smile. "Good morning, Tecna. Are you ready for the first day of school at this Alfea Fountain Academy?" She smiled more brightly. "I hear the guys are cute. Maybe we can finally find you one."
"I don't need a man to complete me." She gave a small sigh, sitting up and stretching. "You have Riven, you should concentrate on him instead of trying to find me a guy. Bloom should concentrate on Sky. Stella with Brandon. Meanwhile, Aisha and I will remain single." Standing up, she grabbed a purple towel and looked at her friend. "I heard that you and Riven got into a fight before summer vacation started, Musa."
Musa gave a small frown and crossed her arms at recalling the event, rolling her eyes. "He was being stupid. This girl flirted with him and he didn't even tell her that I was his girlfriend."
"Really? How illogical." Tecna muttered, going over to her purple closet. She opened it and grabbed her outfit for the day.
"Whatever, it doesn't matter anyways. We made up during the summer." Musa gave a small smile. "I just hope I don't see that dumb girl around." Shrugging her shoulders, she gave a small sigh.
"I'll meet all of you girls downstairs." The magenta-haired girl made her way to the bathroom, but stopped at her best friend's voice.
"Actually… we're all going to be with our boyfriends. You know, before classes start. The last time type of thing before the semester starts. I'm sorry, Tecna." She smiled a bit, apologetically.
"…" A small frown came across her lips. "Fine, then I'll go eat with Aisha."
"Actually, she told me to tell you that she's going to be busy this morning. I think she's trying to find a certain old friend."
"…I'll eat alone with my computer, then." Going in the bathroom, she closed the door and locked it. A sigh escaped her lips as she shook her head. "Great…" She disliked eating alone, but now she could focus on the new program she was currently working on her computer. A small smile came to her lips. Breakfast alone wouldn't be that bad after all.
After her shower, she started walking through the halls. Their schedules were already handed out and it was just a matter of time before the classes officially started. Tecna gave a small sigh, knowing that she couldn't bring her laptop. Last night, she was trying to learn CSS3 and HTML. She understood the basics of it, but no matter how hard she tried, it was as if it didn't matter. The websites wouldn't appear on command like she wanted to. She was too distracted by it that she passed out on her computer. When she woke up again, she just crawled onto her bed, forgetting to plug in her laptop.
Sitting down at spot with her breakfast, she looked around for anyone she knew, even though Musa had said they wouldn't be here. She looked at her apple on her tray. "Why am I upset, anyways? I shouldn't. There is no logical reason for it." She gave a small nod to her own words. Tapping her fingers lightly, she took note that all the emotions she felt were different. Before she met the club she was in, she was mostly alone. Facts, statistics, and technology were her closest friends, but now she had real friends. Reaching over and grabbing the apple, she bit into it. It was juicy and delicious. The bell rang after she got to the core.
"Good timing." Standing up, she got out her smartphone and stared at the digital image. Her first class was Calculus II. She started walking toward it, putting her phone on silent. She reached back, unzipping the small zipper of her purple backpack, placing the device inside. Looking at everyone in the classroom, she took a few notes that there weren't many students that seemed happy. Tecna, on the other hand, was overjoyed to be in here. Slowly, she walked to a seat, but a girl glared a bit.
"That seat is obviously taken." She said in a snobby attitude.
"Oh, my apologies." Instead of sitting down, she looked around the room. Everyone seemed to be giving her a look. "…" What is up with everyone?
Spotting a boy that had red glasses that was reading a book, Tecna made her way over. He seemed friendly enough. "Excuse me, is this seat next to you taken?" She gave a gentle smile, hoping that he wouldn't be as mean as the other students.
"Huh?" The boy looked up, his hazel eyes meeting her teal ones. His eyes slightly widened at her appearance, quickly taking in her image. Before he had time to think of his answer, he was already shaking his head.
"Thanks." Tecna pulled out the chair and sat next to him. She glanced at the book and read the title.
How to Build a Website: CSS and HTML Basics.
"Sure…" He trailed off, sounding nervous, shifting his gaze back to the book. The grip on it became a bit tighter at the presence of a female next to him. He tried to concentrate on the words of the book, but he couldn't. He never had a girl next to him before and it felt nerve wrecking. There were a lot of questions running through his mind. Finally, he closed the book and set it down. Turning to look at her, he opened his mouth, but the bell rang before he could say anything else. A sigh escaped his lips as he turned to the front.
Tecna didn't notice as she was getting out her pencil, notebook, and calculator out of her backpack. Setting it down, she looked toward the front. I wonder if I should get a book like that instead of trying to figure everything out by just looking at codes all night.
"Good morning, class. Welcome to Calculus II. My name is Ms. Calcolo. We will review the basics today and start on chapter one. If you fall behind, please ask someone around you or ask me to slow down." The woman with brown hair nodded. Turning, she pushed up her teal glasses and started to write on the board. "Let's begin, shall we?" After writing her name, she turned back to her class. "This will be a verbal review. If you do not raise your hand, then I'm going to pick on you randomly. You know, like the high school days. This is Alfea Fountain Academy, a college, please do not make me do something we both do not want."
The magenta-haired girl blinked slightly, staring at everyone. Turning back to the teacher, she opened up her purple notebook, pencil ready in her hand.
"First question. What is the square root of the imaginary number, i?" Ms. Calcolo stared at everyone, expecting for someone to raise a hand.
Teal eyes looked around, following her gaze. What she didn't expect was for the boy next to her to raise his hand. She gave a small frown. I was going to answer it…
"Yes, you back there." Ms. Calcolo pointed, which made the whole class turn her attention toward the guy. "What is your name? What is the answer?"
"My name is Timmy, ma'am." He started, then gave the right answer, "The answer is negative one." Timmy continued, though. "However, negative numbers do not have a square root, that is why it is an imaginary number." He stopped there, ignoring everyone's looks while looking down at the cover of his book.
Ms. Calcolo seemed to smile at that rant, clapping both of her hands. "Good! You even answered the next question I was going to give you. Students, you can learn a thing or two about him. That means I found one of the two geniuses in this room. Very good."
She turned her teal eyes to look at Timmy, wondering if he really was a genius. It was rare to find them. He's a genius? Well, that's surprising.
"Now…" Ms. Calcolo pointed quickly to the magenta-haired girl. "You, girl. I'm going to write an equation on the board. I want you to come up here and answer it."
Breaking her teal eyes from Timmy, she looked at Ms. Calcolo. A small smirk came onto her lips. Standing up, she confidentially walked over to the board while the teacher wrote a whole equation across the board.
"This should be review. I want you to show me your work." Ms. Calcolo smirked a bit. "What is your name?"
"My name is Tecna, ma'am." Grabbing a purple marker and uncapping it, she stared at the intimidating equation. While the teacher was writing it down, she was solving it in her mind. She quickly started to write normally, as if it were the easiest thing in the world.
Ms. Calcolo's brown eyes slightly widened behind her teal glasses as she felt her arms drop down to her sides. She couldn't believe her eyes.
Timmy quietly watched the girl, his own hazel eyes slightly widening in awe. He couldn't help but feel his heart slowly start to race at the action – it was a unique gesture. He could tell that Tecna already knew the answer. "Wow…" He breathed, staring at the final answer. It was the answer he had gotten while she was midway of writing out everything. "She's faster than me…"
"Shut up, you nerd." A guy said, rolling his eyes.
However, Timmy couldn't hear him as his eyes were now on Tecna.
"That answer is correct." Ms. Calcolo gave a small nod, staring at everything. "No, it's perfect. My, my. I believe I found the other genius." She gave a small smile at magenta-haired girl. "I'm proud of your work. Now, I expect more of you two. As for the rest of you…" Ms. Calcolo chuckled a bit. "We're starting chapter one."
Turning to look at the class, she met Timmy's eyes. She couldn't help but stare back at him, giving him a small smile. Wait, why am I smiling toward him?
The boy didn't smile back as he looked away, turning his gaze to another direction.
This made a small feeling stir inside of girl. She rolled her teal eyes as she walked up to her spot again and took a seat next to him. She took note that his calculator, pencil, and notebook were out now.
As soon as she sat down, Ms. Calcolo began the lesson on the first chapter of the book. She didn't stop, only for a few questions here and there. It wasn't surprising to Tecna that Timmy didn't ask any questions about the subject. She easily understood what she said, scribbling notes in a hurry not to miss anything. The pencil next to her was quickly following her lead.
Halfway through the lesson, Ms. Calcolo passed out a worksheet that contained ten difficult problems. "These will be due next class. You have thirty minutes of class. Please pair up and write your partner's name on the worksheet."
"Hey! Timmy!" A boy yelled out, trying to wave him over.
"Hey, Tecna girl!" A girl yelled out, trying to get her attention.
"Um, Timmy…" Tecna started, ignoring both of them.
"Oh, huh?" Timmy's hazel eyes shifted to look over at her, ignoring the boy completely that called him over.
"Do you want to do the worksheet together?" She gave a small smile, staring at him.
"Oh… uh…" He seemed to be getting flustered. "I mean… that guy…"
"Tecna!" The girl yelled, a small frown on her lips.
Once again, the magenta-haired girl ignored her while she patiently waited for Timmy's answer. "How about it? It's completely logical. We will get the worksheet done in the time that is left, I'm sure. Then we won't have any homework." We won't have to deal with annoying people that only want to be with us due to our smarts.
"I…" He trailed off again, unsure. Staring from the guy, back to Tecna, back to the guy.
"We'll probably have other homework in other classes. We need all the time we can get." She reasoned, hoping that it would be enough to get him to answer.
"You're right." He gave a small smile, staring at her. "Alright, then let's work on this worksheet together."
"Damn."
A sigh.
The last thirty minutes, both of them did five problems each. Most of the class struggled with it, but they did it perfectly. It took time, of course. In the end, they both had time to copy each other's work and answers.
"Finished. Thanks, Tecna." Timmy turned to her and gave a small smile. "You're amazing. I mean, I didn't think these would be easy for you." His eyes quickly widened at his own statement. "I mean, it's obvious you're smart, and–" He started to ramble.
"Timmy, you're fine." Tecna gave a small smile, unable to find the action of him rambling adorable. She didn't even take what he said as an insult, knowing that he truly meant it was a compliment. "However, I've looked far into the book and it seems that on chapter four, the difficulty will completely change." She said in a matter-of-fact tone.
"Well…" He trailed off. "I mean… if you don't mind… and if we have other worksheets… I mean…" He stuttered on his own words, trying to say them.
"Huh?" She looked at him, blinking her teal orbs. She had never met a guy that seemed shy around women. Perhaps he didn't have many interactions? Before she could think any further or before he could finish the question he wanted to ask, the bell rang.
"Class! Turn in your worksheet if you have finished it." Ms. Calcolo stated.
"I have to run, Timmy." Tecna grabbed the worksheets, already having placed her things away. "I'll turn these in on my way out." Quickly walking away, she placed the completed worksheets on Ms. Calcolo's desk. She nearly ran out the door, a small smile on her face. Calculus II seemed promising with a partner like Timmy.
"Oh…" Timmy started, watching her quickly scurry toward Ms. Calcolo's desk. He gave a sigh as he hung his head and shook it. "Great job, Timmy… you couldn't even talk to her." Taking the book in his hand that he had brought earlier, he stared at the door with a small smile on his face. "Tecna…" He repeated her name. It rolled off his tongue smoothly as his mind couldn't stop replaying the image of her solving the equation on the board so easily.
"Hello, Musa." The magenta-haired college student sat down next to Musa, giving a small smile. "I didn't you had this class." She looked around for anyone else, but it seemed as if nobody was here, just Musa.
"Well… I didn't want to take it, but…" She gave a small shrug. "Someone told me that it would be great to know how to work a computer if I wanted to go into the music business. You know, to make good songs without anyone's help. I don't think I signed up for the right one, though…" She glanced around. "All of the guys and girls here seem like nerds…"
"You sound like Stella." She joked.
"Shut up." Musa gave a small smile as she lightly shoved her friend. "How was your first class? What was it?"
"Calculus II. It seems very promising." She couldn't help but picture Timmy again. "There was this guy in there. He seemed very smart. The teacher called him a genius." Tecna gave a small nod, remembering Ms. Calcolo's words.
Musa shifted her eyes to a spot behind Tecna, but then looked back at her friend with a small smile. "Really? What's his name? Is he cute?"
"His name is Timmy." She blinked slightly at the third question, unsure how to answer it.
"Can we help you?" Musa gave a small frown to the guy that was currently behind Tecna.
Turning, she looked up at the guy. Her eyes widened slightly as she was staring into hazel eyes again with her teal ones. "Timmy." She repeated the name.
"Hi, Tecna. Hi, Tecna's friend." He gave a small wave. "I was wondering if you wouldn't mind if I sit next to you."
"You're Timmy?" Musa felt a bit embarrassed now, knowing that she had sounded very harsh.
"Hi, Timmy…" Oh. Did he hear me talk about him? A feeling of embarrassment passed through her. While she stared at him, she shook her head a bit. It felt embarrassing and she couldn't help but give a glance to Musa as Timmy shifted to take a seat next to her.
"I'm Musa." She reached over her magenta-haired friend, smiling a bit and holding out her hand. "It's nice to meet you, Timmy. I'm sorry about being harsh."
"Oh, that's quite alright Musa." Timmy gave a friendly smile as he held out his hand toward her. "I mean, I'm used to it by now."
"Used to it?" Tecna repeated, not liking the sound of that. She couldn't help but think about earlier and the glances the student gave her.
"Sorry." Musa gave him a worried look.
Timmy opened his mouth to answer, but tensed up when the back of his collar was grabbed. He shut his eyes as he was lifted up from his chair, his red glasses slightly going askew.
"Hey, you." Came a rough voice from behind him. "Are you trying to make a move on my girl?"
"Riven!" Musa frowned, standing up and crossing her arms. "Put him down, he's Tecna's new friend."
"I'm not making moves on any girl, sir." He opened his hazel eyes, a bit of fear reflecting off of them.
Scoffing, he let go of him with a harsh shove. "You better not be. Consider that your only warning."
"Riven." Musa frowned at him more.
"What?" He questioned, not knowing what he did wrong.
When Timmy got slammed into the table, he held himself up. He was glad that he didn't push over the computer, knowing how expensive they were.
"Oh, Timmy, are you alright?" Tecna asked, placing her hands on his arms.
A light tint of pink came onto his cheeks as he gave a small nod and pulled away.
"Oh, so you like her?" Riven asked, staring from one to the other.
"Riven." Musa warned.
Tecna sent him a small glare.
"What? I want to know. Do you like Tecna that way?" He leaned in.
Adjusting his red glasses, he stared at Riven. "No... I just met her this morning."
"Good morning class, please sit down." A male walked inside, passing row after row of computers.
Riven gave a small frown, knowing that Musa was at the edge. Next to her was Tecna and next to her was Timmy. The last computer was available. Giving a small sigh, Riven sat down, frowning. He was a bit upset that he couldn't sit next to his girlfriend, but didn't complain. A small smile made his features as he took note that the nerd got a bit tense when he sat down.
"Now, quiet down." The male teacher started, staring at all of his students. He was rather built with blond hair. His blue eyes scanned the whole area. "This class is to show you how to know your computer a bit more than what the normal computer users. We will explore programs, use keyboard shortcuts, and much more. Of course we will also get into how to create a website while exploring the physical parts of a computer. If you are not here for that, please leave now."
Riven gave a small frown. The only reason he took this stupid class was for Musa and he wasn't even sitting next to her. He was glad that the nerd next to him wasn't and that Tecna was. That was better than nothing.
"Great. Now, we'll begin." Walking over to the computer, he started to teach the lesson.
Tecna couldn't help but notice that Timmy got out a laptop. Her eyes slightly widened as she noticed the make and model.
As he got a certain program up, he quickly started typing the notes while the professor started to speak about it. The lesson was only to explain a bit more of the programs, but Timmy seemed to be using it to his full advantage. Fingers quickly typed on the keys as he didn't take his eyes off the main screen of the teacher's. He wasn't even looking as he was typing.
Tecna couldn't believe her eyes. None of her friends knew how to use a computer that way, much less type like that. He was probably typing around one hundred words per minute? That was her estimate, but she wasn't sure. She couldn't help but feel a small smile come onto her features. She felt like she should bring her own laptop next time to just show the guy that she could do the same.
"Wow, Timmy…" Tecna heard Musa say in awe.
"Damn nerd." Riven muttered under his breath.
Timmy gave a small smile at Musa, then shifted his eyes toward Riven and gave a small shrug, but his fingers never stopped typing as the professor kept talking while clicking on programs.
This continued on until the lesson was over. The professor gave a small smile. "Whoever was typing throughout my whole lesson, that is very unique of you. I haven't heard someone type that quickly in ages. I hope to see more of you students sprout up that way. As for the rest of you, my deepest apologies for not introducing myself. You can call me Professor Acer." Smiling and giving a small bow, the handsome professor walked out of the classroom.
"Timmy, you're amazing." Musa smiled as she stood up from her spot. Her ponytails lightly swayed in the air.
"He's a nerd, Musa." Riven frowned, not liking that the attention was on Timmy.
"Yeah, and? Tecna is too." She gave him a look, daring him to say it again.
"Well, it was nice to meet you all." Timmy closed the laptop and placed it back into his backpack.
"Timmy, wait. Riven and I are going to have lunch together and Tecna will be all alone. You don't mind having lunch with her, right?" Musa smiled, her voice showing that it was teasing.
His hazel eyes slightly widened as he looked up at her. "Oh… I…" He felt his voice slowly die out.
Riven couldn't help but lightly laugh at his reaction, causing the boy's cheeks to become a slight pink color.
"I mean, it'll only be for today. Tomorrow we can all have lunch together. We don't mind having another person in our group." Musa smiled lightly. "We have… let's see… two… four… six… eight… ten of us right now. With you it'll be eleven. We don't mind having you at all."
"I don't know how you can say that statement without all of us being present, Musa." Tecna started, knowing that everyone had different personalities. She didn't want her friend to speak for them. That didn't seem right.
"Oh, hush, Tecna. How about it, Timmy? I mean, if you have friends, then that's okay too. You just seem lonely." The navy haired girl offered.
"I would like that." He stood up, placing his backpack on. "I'll see you at lunch, Tecna." Timmy gave a shy smile, then looked at Riven and Musa. "I'll see you both tomorrow. Excuse me." He walked off, fixing the collar. He lightly dusted off the invisible dust he had on his vest.
"I should go to my own class. I'll see you later back at the dorm, Musa." The magenta-haired girl waved and walked away, off to her next class.
"What are you doing, Musa?" Riven grabbed his own backpack and Musa's, following after her.
"Me? I'm not doing anything." A smile came onto her features. "I mean, I do like him. He seems really nice, but he seems really shy too. I think he just needs friends to bring up his confidence, don't you think?"
"I guess, but that's not what I meant." He shook his head a bit. "Never mind, it's probably nothing."
Her magenta boots walked into the classroom first. She walked to the first seat she saw and sat down. This wasn't going to be her favorite class, that was for sure. It was English I: Basic Composition. The rumors were true. If you were excellent at math, it meant that you were horrible at English and vice-versa. There were only a handful of people that were good at both subjects and she wasn't one of them.
"Tecna?" A voice questioned from behind her.
Turning around, her teal eyes slightly widened when she saw a guy with long black hair and a gentle expression. "Helia." She called.
"Come sit with me." He offered.
Standing up, she went over and sat next to him. Part of her wanted it to be Timmy, but she wasn't sure why. She thought for sure that it was going to be him. "What are you doing here? I thought you would be in an advanced English class."
Helia gave a small, yet confused expression. "You did? How come?"
"You're artistic. I thought it would apply to literature too."
"Oh… I am artistic and I am poetic, but…" His voice trailed off. "The school said I need to take this class first before moving on. They said that when I took the exam to see my placing, I was two points short."
"What a bummer. Flora isn't taking this class?" She asked, looking around for her friend; however, she couldn't help but look for Timmy too. He seemed interesting to talk to and before she could ask question about his computer, he had left the previous classroom.
"No, her first class is English. I had my last class with her, though." He gave a small smile, his eyes showing an emotion he rarely showed around anybody.
She didn't even notice his look as she looked around the classroom once more, as if she had missed a spot. Still… there was no Flora or Timmy.
"Are you looking for someone?" Helia asked, his smile gone as he took in the actions of his friend.
"No, nobody." Tecna shook her head, a small frown coming to her lips. It was illogical to be looking for him in this classroom, but something was drawing her to the shy guy. She couldn't put a finger on it, but it was almost as if it was just… instinct.
"…" For some reason, Helia didn't believe that, but would leave the subject at that. He looked back at his notebook and at the poem he was constructing for Flora.
"Good morning, students." A woman walked in. Her heels clicked loudly as she went over to her podium. "Now, this is wonderful world of English. My name is Professor Coma. Go ahead and laugh, but if you love as much as English as I do, I suggest you don't." Smiling, she looked at the crowd. "I will teach you from writing a simple sentence…" She trailed off, muttering under her breath. "Because you know how kids horribly use English these days." Then, she continued her sentence. "To the ways of writing perfect essays. It won't only be essays, though. They will have your emotions and opinions in them by using facts. Now, go ahead and call me Ms. Coma if you prefer. Now, let's get started." Smiling, she pushed her black glasses. "Today we will be writing a love poem."
Helia didn't seem to be phased by this as he continued to look at the teacher. Looking down at his small notepad, he knew that he was already starting to write one. Of course, Flora was the center of it. He wasn't using her name directly, but words that described her personality and his own emotions.
Emotions. Tecna thought about that. How am I supposed to write a poem about love when I have never experienced such an emotion? I didn't even date in high school.
It was almost as if he was reading her mind when he spoke up next to her. "I can help you write it, if you'd like."
She didn't really want help, but there seemed no way around this subject. Technology, math, and even science were her strongest subjects. Her weakness was English and possibly drama. "I'd appreciate it, Helia. I'm going to need all the help I can get."
"Well, let's get started then."
Ms. Coma walked around the classroom, staring at their progress. She quickly noticed that Helia was helping Tecna and walked over to the two. "I don't recall saying that this was a group activity." She said.
They both looked up at her. Helia was already finished with his own poem about Flora and it was placed aside. He was asking Tecna questions to try to get her to open up, but it didn't seem as if it was helping much. There was only one line on the paper. He opened his mouth to respond to her, but Tecna had already beaten him to it.
"My apologies, Ms. Coma, but I don't know how to complete this activity on my own." She stated.
Her eyes slightly widened as she looked at the girl in confusion. "You don't know how to? How come?"
"I've never experienced an illogical emotion such as love. I am mostly a logical person that uses numbers and statistics to make decisions. Emotions such as anger, sadness, or happiness don't really apply to me. Love seems as if it is at the very top of the list and I haven't experienced that."
"You mean… you've never had a crush? A boyfriend?" These seemed like a bit personal questions, but her curiosity about her student was stronger.
"I have never had a boyfriend." She shook her head a bit. "I don't believe I have had a crush either. The only people I say I would use the term 'love' is with my friends, but even then it is hard to say because the relationship we have is different."
"What about your…" Ms. Coma trailed off, then shook her head and smiled lightly. "Never mind. Go ahead and carry on. Please finish this assignment by the end of this class." With that, she walked off.
Helia raised a brow, wondering what it was with the different attitude. Instead of dwelling on it longer, he stared at the paper in front of them.
"I wonder what she was going to ask…" Tecna trailed off, then went back to hearing Helia's questions about emotions and feelings.
The bell rang a few moments later. Fortunately, she had gotten the poem done. She didn't want to lie, but it was mostly that. Helia, of course, provided her the information about what 'love' felt like, but she couldn't help but feel comfortable about the subject. He only talked about contradictory things.
"He tells me that when his heart flutters, it feels heavy and light, but the heart can't flutter or feel heavy and light at the same time." She walked down the halls, holding the English book she had gotten against her chest. Shaking her head a bit, she gave a small sigh. Everyone except her and Aisha seemed to have someone. Bloom seemed deep in love with Sky, Stella seemed deep in love with Brandon, Flora seemed deep in love with Helia, and Musa seemed deep in love with Riven. Shaking her head slightly, she tried to find the answer as to why it seemed this way, but no answer came to mind. Turning the hallway, she stopped and stared in slight shock at Aisha. She was in a guy's arms, kissing him. He seemed to be kissing her back while having his arms wrapped around her waist.
Teal eyes blinked a few times as she processed it. Walking back the hallway she came, she shook her head slightly. "Wait, Aisha has someone but she hasn't told us? Maybe she's waiting for the right time? I bet she lied about this morning." She concluded. Thinking about Musa's words, she wondered if Aisha told her the truth and told her best friend to lie.
As the boy that was lip locked with her passed Tecna's view, she lightly tensed. Watching him leave, she started walking down the hall where they was. There was no sign of Aisha until she passed a door. She took note that she was already sitting at a desk with a particular look on her face. If Flora didn't have that look each time she thought about Helia, Tecna wouldn't have known what it meant. Shaking her head slightly, she walked down the hall and went into the classroom that was her next class. She looked for anyone familiar and noticed Bloom.
Sitting down next to her, she waved a small hand in front of her face since she was deep in her book. Bloom didn't even notice her when she sat next to her.
"Huh?" She blinked and looked at her friend. She gave a small smile. "Hi, Tecna. I didn't know you were going to take this class."
"It seemed interesting." The magenta-haired girl gave a small shrug, staring at the whiteboard. "I mean, I had to choose an elective and here it is. What about you? Why are you here?"
Bloom couldn't help but smile at that and chuckle a little. "I see… I only chose this class because there are stories about fairies and pixies. I wanted to learn more about them. I mean, I already know a lot about them, but I'm just curious if I'd miss some information or not."
"Fairies and pixies…" Tecna trailed off, thinking about that subject in particular. Continuing to think about it, she felt a bit off. The subject seemed as if it made her feel something in her stomach, but she wasn't sure what it meant.
"Those are my favorite." Bloom smiled a bit.
"Class, settle down!" The teacher walked in as she seemed a bit stern. "My name is Professor Griselda. I am also known as the assistant of the principal, Ms. Faragonda. Now, class, I am not a nice teacher and I will tell you that now. I expect that all of you turn in your work on time." She gave a small nod, writing her name on the board.
Bloom gave a small sigh, whispering under her breath, "I didn't think we should have such a stern professor like her."
Tecna couldn't help but smile, but couldn't take her eyes off of Griselda either. There was something about her that she couldn't place her finger on. She seemed familiar, but she wasn'
Throughout the whole lesson, which gave Bloom excitement to learn, Tecna tried to place a memory to where she had seen Griselda. No memories came up as she stared at her. Her head was starting to hurt, but soon, the bell rang.
"Read chapter one for tomorrow's class. There is going to be a quiz on it." Griselda quickly left after that. Once the door had closed, the whole class seemed to have groaned.
"She wants us to read thirty full pages." Bloom gave a small sigh. "Doesn't she know that we are going to get a lot of homework for our other classes? I mean, I want to hang out with Sky too, but how can I with all of it?" She frowned and pouted, crossing her arms.
"I guess I'm lucky that I don't have that problem." Tecna said, grabbing her books.
"Oh, Tecna… I didn't mean–"
"I have to go to class." She said, pushing her chair in and walked out of the classroom. Walking down the halls, she was glad that she didn't spot Aisha or the guy; however, she did quickly walk past Sky. He was probably waiting for Bloom. She didn't even hear him greet her.
The last class of the day was here. She sat down at an empty lab, not even giving the room a glance.
"Tecna? That you?"
Turning around once again, she thought it would be Helia, but it wasn't. It was none other than Timmy.
"Oh, so it is you." He gave a small smile, staring at her from behind his glasses.
"Hi, Timmy." She took note that the seat next to him was empty. Instead of asking for permission first, she got up and walked over. Sitting at the stool, she gave a small smile to him. "You don't mind if I sit here with you, right Timmy?"
"Oh… I… of course not." He shook his head a bit, smiling lightly at her. He couldn't help but feel a small emotion stir inside of him, but he couldn't place what emotion it was. He shook his head a bit more, knowing that feeling emotions was ridiculous. He wasn't the type to feel anything. It was mostly about technology that was in his life, not friends or emotions, much less pretty girls.
She gave a small smile, wondering if he said, 'Oh,' a lot.
"Aw, shoot." A voice came from Timmy's side, sounding disappointed. Tecna quickly followed it, knowing that the owner of the voice was familiar. There, Aisha stood with a small pout on her lips. "I wanted to sit with you, Tecna."
"I can move if that is more suitable for both of your tastes, ladies." The boy in between them quickly said, making a move to stand up.
"No, you're fine, Timmy." Tecna said, staring at Aisha. Part of her was wondering if the guy she was kissing was in this classroom, but she doubted it.
"She's right, you're fine." She gave a small smile. Holding out her hand, she looked at him. "My name's Aisha, it's a pleasure to meet you." She said with a certain voice that the magenta-haired girl couldn't place. Her posture was perfect, which made her friend wonder where it seemed familiar.
"Hello, my name's Timmy." He smiled lightly and hesitated, but took her hand in his own. Shaking it lightly, he pulled it away.
"I can't believe we have the same chemistry class, Tecna." Aisha smiled and took a seat where she was moments before. "Do you think we'll be able to do cool experiments here?"
"The probability of that depends on your definition of 'cool.' You know, we have to be very careful with the math and chemicals." She explained while the genius next to her went quiet.
Aisha made a small face of disapproval and disgust. "Oh, right. We have math here."
"It shouldn't be difficult if you've already taken calculus." Timmy spoke up, looking up at Aisha with a small smile. "However, if you've exceeded calculus and taken other mathematics classes, then you'll have more knowledge about the subject."
She blinked once, then twice. "Oh, wow… you sound just like Tecna." She couldn't help but cover her mouth gracefully and giggle.
"He does?" Shifting her teal eyes toward him, she met his hazel.
He stared back, but only for a second before he quickly looked away. A small tint of pink came onto his cheeks as he turned his face completely away.
"Oh, Tecna, I don't know anything about calculus. I'm barely taking it this semester." She made a small face. "Do you think you can tutor me later on and help me? Pretty please with a cherry on top?"
"…Sure." She agreed, wondering how to get an answer from her friend. Was that guy she saw the guy she was dating? "Say, Aisha, are you busy later for lunch?"
"Huh? Oh, did you want to do something? I mean, I am busy. Maybe we can do it some other time." Aisha smiled lightly while her eyes seemed to have a look of apology.
"No, but I'm going to have lunch with Timmy. I was only wondering if you wanted to join." She was busy? That seemed odd. Looking back at the previous semester, she wasn't that busy. She wasn't even that busy over the summer, Tecna knew that it was probably that guy.
Hazel eyes slightly blinked at that as he shifted his attention over to the magenta-haired girl. Oh right. He had agreed when they were with Musa and Riven. Staring back at Aisha, he wondered what she was busy with, but before he could ask if she needed assistance, the teacher strode in.
It was a handsome male that looked at the entire class, setting his bag down. "Good morning, class." He spoke with a slight accent – Australian. He had blond hair and hazel eyes.
"Wow, he's real handsome." Aisha whispered back to Tecna.
"I don't think he is…" She trailed off.
The light brown-orange haired genius listened to their conversation. He looked at their professor, noticing that he was rather built. It was no wonder Aisha seemed interested in him. A small sigh escaped his lips. Was that what girls noticed first in a guy? Maybe that's why he was always rejected in high school when he finally got the courage to ask a girl out. Listening to Tecna's words, he slightly perked up. She wasn't interested in a guy like him? Well, that was a huge surprise. A small smile came onto his lips, but he wasn't sure why.
"I am Professor Chimico." The Australian accent seemed to have gotten the girls in the class to have a certain gaze toward him. "It is a pleasure to meet you all." He looked at the attendance sheet. "Now, this is chemistry and we will not get into any experiments until you have all the paperwork signed for them. If something were to happen…" He trailed off, beginning to explain what one should do if they are accidentally splashed with a chemical. It was simple instructions. Since there was still time, he began explaining the scientific method as a review. Soon, though, the bell rang.
Aisha stood up and stretched. She turned to Tecna and Timmy with a small smile. "I'll talk to you later, girly. It was nice meeting you, Timmy."
"Aisha, before you go," Tecna started, stopping her friend in her tracks. "Musa said that tomorrow we're all going to have lunch together to invite Timmy into the group."
"That sounds great." She smiled at him. "I can't wait. See you two." She waved and left the classroom.
"Most of your friends seem very nice." Timmy spoke up, remembering Riven. He slightly shivered a bit.
"The rest of them are nice, I'm 98.5% sure that they won't pick on you. However, that doesn't include Riven."
"Really?" His voice sounded as if it had a bit of disbelief. "That sounds great already."
"Come on." She motioned him to follow, feeling her backpack rather heavy due to the English textbook. Once he started to follow, she went outside to look for a table. Finding an empty one for two, she sat down on a chair. "I wanted to ask you a few questions."
"Questions?" He pulled out the chair and placed his backpack down carefully onto the table. "What type of questions?"
"Well, do you mind if I inspect your computer?"
"My computer?" A confused look was thrown her way. "Sure, I guess." Unzipping his backpack, he took it out and gave it to the girl. "Be careful."
"I will be." Delicately in her hands, she opened it and stared at the screen with the password. "It's locked."
"Oh, right." Timmy shook his head a bit, knowing that he should have told her. "Here." Standing up from the chair, he got behind her. Leaning over, he placed a hand on either side of her to have more access to the keyboard. Quickly hitting the keys with all of his fingers, he pressed 'Enter.' Soon, the computer was unlocked. "There you are, Tecna." He smiled.
"Thanks, Timmy." She felt a blush come onto her cheeks since he seemed physically close. When he pulled away to sit back where he was, she started to look at the computer's inside.
"What are you going to look in there? Not my files, right?" He asked, finally knowing what was fully in there.
"I want to see this quick thing. Don't worry, I'm not interested in your files." She gave a small smile. "I know what guys look at and save on computers."
Hazel eyes slightly widened as his cheeks became pink. He wanted to protest and to deny it, but he lost his voice. Sadly, she was right in that statement. He didn't save anything on the computer, but his history would tell her what he has been looking at.
Her teal eyes slightly widened at something. "Oh, this processor is an i3."
Timmy looked at her confused. She was looking at that?
"It's a rather fast computer, but it surely couldn't handle extensive gaming." She nodded a bit, staring at the properties of it.
"You… know what an i3 processor stands for?" He lightly pushed up his glasses. For some reason, he felt his heart flutter slightly. He would never think that Tecna would look at his computer for that. For some reason, it made his heart slightly beat faster.
"Of course." She stared up at him. "I was only wondering since it's a good brand, make and model, but I wondered if you were a gamer yourself."
"Oh, I am." Timmy smiled a bit. "I have two computers. The gaming computer is back at my dorm. I use this one for school. There are two separate ones."
Her teal eyes slightly widened as she smiled. "You have a gaming computer?"
"Don't you?"
"I mean… no. I've wanted one for a long time, but I've never gotten around to buying one for myself."
"Well… how about coming to my dorm? I can show you it. You can even play games on it." He wasn't aware of what he was currently saying.
"Since you're inviting, I don't see why not. How about we get lunch and head there?"
Timmy gave a wider smile. "Sure," He paused for a moment. "Wait, but girls aren't allowed."
"I'll sneak in." Tecna gave a small smile. There was nothing that was going to separate her from that laptop if the offer was in front of her.
The light brown-orange haired one thought about it, then made a decision. "Alright, let's do it."
Delicately closing the laptop, Tecna handed it over. She was surprised that Timmy knew about technology this much. It was almost as if they were having a 'normal' conversation. It made her a bit excited to finally find someone that had the similar interests. Bloom was always interested in mythology, Flora was always interested in plants, Stella was always interested in fashion, Aisha was always interested in water, and Musa was always interested in music. She was the only one that liked technology or was interested in it. The guys seemed to have their own interests too, but all of them were different.
"Coming, Tecna?" Timmy asked, staring at her as she was in a daze.
"What?" Snapping out of it, she blinked a few times. "Oh, right." Standing up, she pushed the chair inside and followed him.
The two went over to grab two simple salads with different types of soda. Once they were at the dorms, Timmy looked around for a certain person. "You're going to have to quickly follow me." He dug into his jeans pocket and grabbed the key.
"What about the cameras?" Tecna looked at him.
"Oh, right. Well… I've been studying them and I know their angles. As long as you follow my lead, you'll be fine." He gave her a reassuring smile, his confidence finally showing.
She gave a small nod. "I trust you, Timmy."
His eyes slightly widened at the words. "Thanks, Tecna…" His voice trailed off, but pushing he thought aside, he walked into the boy's dorms. Following an invisible trail where the cameras wouldn't notice, he quickly slipped the key down. One the green light came on, he walked inside.
She followed behind him and looked at the huge space. It was like Musa's and her dorm room. "Oh, wow…" Her voice trailed off as she held the salad container and soda close. Staring at the sketches on the wall, she didn't notice the figure on the bed.
"Tecna?" A familiar voice questioned.
"You're here?" Timmy looked over at his roommate. "Wait, you both know each other?" He asked with a confused expression. "I thought you were going to be with your girlfriend right now."
"Helia." Tecna stared at him, wondering the same thing.
"Her class doesn't get out until a few more minutes. I came here to drop off my stuff and relax for a bit. You both know each other?" He shifted his eyes from one to the next.
"We met today in math class." Tecna spoke up.
"Helia, you won't tell anyone I snuck a girl in here, right?" He stared at him with silent pleading eyes.
"Of course not. She's my friend and I wouldn't want to get her in trouble." Helia answered.
"How do you two know each other?" Tecna asked, staring at Flora's boyfriend.
"We met the last year of high school. We're best friends. We decided to come to this university together. I wanted to introduce all of you to him, but he always says he's busy with his computer stuff." Helia gave a small shrug, knowing that wasn't the only thing holding him back. He could tell that Timmy seemed intimidated by new people and would go at the guy's pace. Besides, handling six females and four guys all at once didn't seem like a good idea.
"What about you and Tecna?" Timmy curiously asked.
He wondered why the questions were being thrown at him. "She's my girlfriend's friend. You know, Flora." Helia pointed up to the sketch above his head of Flora smiling with a flower in the corner of it. Deciding to leave earlier than he wanted, he stood up. "Well, I'll see you later, Timmy. See you around, Tecna." He gave a kind smile before grabbing the key to the room and slipping out quietly.
"I guess it is a small world." Timmy spoke up after his best friend had left. Walking over to his desk, he sat down and opened up the computer, pressing the button to turn it on.
"How about we eat first?" She placed her food down next to his, giving him a small smile. "It's not a small world. It's–"
"It was a figure of speech." He said before she gave a number. "I know how big the world is."
She gave a small nod and opened up the container that held her salad. Starting to eat, she watched as the computer started up. "Say, Timmy… what else are you into? We seem to have quite a bit in common. We both excel at math, we both like technology, and we like playing video games." She took into account everything.
"It seems like we do have things in common." He gave a small smile. "I'm not sure…" He tried thinking of what else he did. "I mean, I build things, but…"
"Wait, wait, wait." Tecna stared at him, her teal eyes staring at him. "You build things? Like what?"
"Anything. I also fix Helia's cellphones when they break."
"Really? That's what I do with Musa's stereos, mostly." She smiled. "I mean… I do built things too. I also program things on the computer, you know. I've been trying to learn how to build websites since it seems like it'll be useful in the future."
His hazel eyes slightly widened at hearing those things. "Really? I also program. I mean… I just got into building websites. I wanted to program a game to play, but I wasn't sure if I was ready for that yet." He gave a small nod.
Tecna spoke before she could think about what she was going to say. "Your girlfriend must be happy to have a guy like you."
At the statement, his cheeks started to become a pink color. "Girlfriend?" Timmy's excitement seemed to have to have slowly come to a stop. "I don't have a girlfriend, Tecna. I'm a geek, they all want jocks or pretty boys like Helia. I'm not sure they want a nerdy guy like me." He pushed up his glasses, almost as if making a subconscious statement. "Your boyfriend must be amazed at your abilities." He encouraged.
"I don't have a boyfriend, Timmy." A small smile came onto her lips. "I was only focused on my studies in middle school and high school. I didn't really care about boyfriends. I never felt about someone that way. Besides… nobody really asked me out. Nobody has ever caught my attention. It seems illogical to be attracted to me when there are more pretty girls out there."
"You haven't been asked out?" He asked in disbelief. "I don't believe you, Tecna. I mean. Look at you. You're beautiful." As soon as those two words left his mouth, he felt rather nervous on the inside. He had never told a girl he bluntly thought she was beautiful. It always took time since he stumbled on his words.
"I haven't been asked out," She shook her head. Then, she gave a small smile, lightly rubbing the fork with her thumb. For some reason, she liked hearing that compliment from him. "Have you asked out girls?"
"I have, but no girl has accepted. The only way I get attention from girls is because they want me to do a project or their homework." He gave a small shrug. "That's how it's always been."
For some reason, there was a surge of emotion going through the magenta-haired girl. She gave a small frown as she gripped her fork a bit tightly. "That's horrible."
He gave a small and gentle smile to her. "How about we eat and play games?" The genius grabbed his own salad container and opened it, starting to eat.
After minutes passed, the two were finished eating and were done with their drinks. Timmy and Tecna were now sitting next to each other on chairs, each a controller in their hands.
"Are you sure your computer can handle two people playing a game?"
"I'm sure." He answered, smiling a bit at her insecurity. "Or would you like to check?"
"No." Tecna trusted Timmy with technology now. "I'd like a tutorial on the game, if you don't mind."
"Sure."
The tutorial took a few minutes, but after a while, she had gotten it. Every single game they played, it seemed, she knew what she was doing. At first, the genius had gone easy on her, but after a while, each time he tried to win, he had lost. It was amazing how Tecna could easily beat him at his own best game. Timmy didn't seem to mind every single loss he got and had fun with her. He noticed that she didn't even apologize to him like Helia did. For some reason, he liked it.
Hour after hour quickly passed as they were engrossed in the games. No matter how hard Timmy tried, he continued to lose while Tecna continued to win. She never seemed to apologize and just laughed with him. They had played four or five different games now and it was rather relaxing.
"Ah!" Timmy sighed as he shook his head, a small smile coming to his lips. "I almost had you that time."
"No you didn't." Tecna smiled, staring at him. Finally, she noticed that she was experiencing emotions that she had felt before with her friends. It was odd, though, since the emotions were more intense and she couldn't control them. With her friends, she could barely control them, but got the hang of it. Timmy, though, was a different story. It seemed as if she was free from whatever was binding her emotions in the first place. Her heart started to slightly beat faster when her teal eyes met a pair of hazel.
"Okay, I didn't." He agreed with her, not minding at all that he had to admit it. Shifting his gaze to look over at the clock, his eyes slightly widened. "Oh, Tecna. It's rather late now."
"Really?" She turned to look over at it, noticing the time. "Wow." Her eyes widened. They had been playing games for eight hours now. Looking back at him, she smiled a bit. "I guess we were having too much fun."
"Why don't you let me walk you to your dorm?" He offered, not wanting her to let her walk the night campus alone. "The sun is already gone since it's nine."
"Okay… sure." She stood up and grabbed her backpack. Tecna reached over for the trash, but stopped when a hand was in her way.
"It's okay, I'll throw it away." Timmy smiled lightly and stood up. It seemed that the more time he spent with her, the more he started to feel comfortable. Inside, though, he was still a nervous wreck. However, it was getting better to hide. He looked over at Helia's empty bed, then walked out. Following the same path that he did when he entered, he stood outside.
"Oh, wow. It is almost completely dark." Lightly wrapping her arms around herself, she could barely see anything.
"Lead the way."
Nodding slightly, her feet began to carry her to the girl's dorm room. It was across a parking lot, but it was still rather shadowy. It seemed as if the lights weren't installed properly since some had burned out and some were flickering on and off. Seeing a shadow walk by, she moved back a bit. Feeling his chest on her back, she looked up at him. "Sorry."
"It's okay." He was glad that he sounded calm, but wondered if she had seen someone. Standing outside the dorms, he spotted two other figures. Squinting, he felt his cheeks slightly burn as he noticed that Helia was kissing Flora.
"Timmy?" Tecna brought him out of looking as he turned to face her. "I know it's a short distance walk, but I want to thank you for walking me like this."
"You're welcome, Tecna." He smiled. "I mean, it would have been rather dangerous if you came here by yourself."
"I'm aware. I'm also aware the statistics of crime happening to women in parking lots. That and the factors of the lights plus being a lone girl." She gave a small nod, starting to ramble about it.
Even though she was rambling on about the facts and statistics she knew, the brown-orange haired male couldn't help but listen to every single word she said. She was an interesting girl and he was sure of that. Once she stopped her rambling, she looked at him with a slight embarrassed expression.
"I apologize. I didn't mean to take up more of your time."
"You're fine, really." He reassured her.
"Goodnight, Timmy." She smiled and waved slightly.
"Goodnight, Tecna." He waved slightly, happy that he had found a new friend that he had a lot in common. He gave a small sigh as he watched her go into the dorm rooms. Looking toward where he saw Flora and Helia, he jumped slightly when he noticed his best friend was almost in front of him. "You scared me." Timmy breathed.
"Sorry." Helia said. "Come on, let's go back to our dorm." Walking away, he motioned Timmy to follow.
"You're walking me back now?" Following his best friend, he looked back at the girls' dorms.
"Yes." He answered.
He stopped in his tracks, giving a small sigh. "Great."
"What is it?" Helia stopped a few steps in front of him.
"I…" Timmy trailed off. "I didn't even get her e-mail address."
"Don't you mean phone number?"
"No, that seems too personal." He felt his cheeks turn pink as he started walking again.
"I can get it for you, if you'd like." They entered the dorms after a few more minutes.
"No!" He shook his hands a lot, knowing how it would seem.
Later on, his sleepy hazel eyes were staring at the ceiling. It was a blurry ceiling, but he could see it due to the moonlight coming through the curtains. He gave a small sigh, listening to Helia breathe slowly. Staring over at the computer, he couldn't help but replay the images of Tecna and him playing games. It felt natural and she seemed interested in him as he was interested in her. Shaking his head a bit, he turned on his side and closed his eyes, awaiting sleep. A few minutes into his dreams, he physically smiled as he noticed his new magenta-haired friend.
She was doing long equations on the board.