PART ONE
There was a girl with long, flowing black hair sitting under a tree, gazing at the apple in her hand. She was wondering if she could produce a black coloured apple which can still be consumed.
Not far from her, was a beautiful Chinese girl with short hair, dressed in a white coloured t-shirt and blue mini skirt. She walked towards the girl who was under the tree and said, "Marcia!!"
The girl under the tree, Marcia Cheong looked at the other girl and said, "Yeah Hui Ming. What is it?"
"Just wondering………Emma's been MIA these days…….Wonder what she's up to?" said Hui Ming. However, Marcia didn't reply.
"What's with the apple, Marc?" the girl asked again.
Marcia stood up and said, "I'm supposed to eat it but I can't. There are too many people watching me."
"Ok," said Hui Ming and the both girls started walking, chatting and chatting.
The both of them walked up the stairs to the main building of the school, ignoring the rude glances of the other pupils around them. The schoolbell rang and they headed for the stairs, ascending to the third floor of the building to reach their destination, Biology lab.
Marcia pushed the door open and they saw their classmates running around the lab, like little children playing at the playground. However, there were also some of them who preferred to just gossip around in groups of 3 or 4.
"Over here," said Hui Ming as she pointed at an empty table that was near the window. Marilyn smiled and went to the table. They were glad that they finally got a seat.
"Hey Marcy!" said a 6 feet guy with spiky jet-black hair dressed in a purple shirt and tight jeans. He came to the table with a green coloured chameleon in a medium sized glass jar.
"Piss off Owen if you're gonna call me that!" said Marcia as she rolled her eyes incredulously.
James, the 6 feet guy, leaned forward over the table and made a silly face and said, "Awww……….I'm sorry Marc. I'm just fooling around."
"Take the reptile off the table!" Hui Ming snapped at the sight of the jar.
The sound of the chatting students lowered down when the door of the lab swung open and there was a man dressed in a white laboratory coat entered the lab.
The class greeted the man and they immediately went to their respective seats. Even James and his chameleon friend in the jar were seated at the table which was not far from Marcia and Hui Ming's.
The biology teacher placed his suitcase on the table and stared at the class with a pleasant grin. The class simply smiled back and wondered why was this man in his forties so happy in the morning like this.
Hui Ming asked Marcia, "I wonder what made him so happy today?"
Marcia shrugged her shoulders and said, "Who knows."
The Biology teacher, Mr Hogan clapped his hands once and said, "Alright class, I have good news for all of you today and I would like all of you to lend a hand when he needs one."
"Lend a hand? I've got a cupboard full of arms at home if he is in a desperate need of some. It never hurts to be generous," said a Japanese boy by the name of Renji Abarai.
"It never hurts to be generous," said James as he high-fived Renji and the whole class erupted with laughter.
Mr Hogan banged his fists on the table and said, "Enough is enough, Mr Renji Abarai," and the whole class went silent," I just want all of you to be kind and generous," he said as he stared at Renji, "excluding your wonderful offer of helpful arms."
Then, he exited the lab, leaving the class talking about the new boy. James and Renji's gang were cooking up ideas about befriending the new boy and some of he girls were discussing if the new boy was rich and good looking.
"I guess he might be taking Emma's seat for the moment," said Marcia as she flipped open her Biology textbook.
"Maybe he and Dougie might get along with each other," said Hui Ming.
"And be friends forever," said Marcia excitedly.
The door of the lab swung open and Mr Hogan entered and this time, there was a boy walking behind him, almost like a shadow. The class went silent again and they were focusing on the new boy.
The new boy was taller than the teacher but slightly shorter than James by 2 or 3 inches. He had jet-black hair, some piercings on his left ear and was dressed all black.
Marcia stared at the new boy and studied every inch of his clothing. She seemed to like the boy's haircut and the row of ear rings on his left ear. She felt like she could be a good friend of this guy. She even wondered if he was also into skateboarding.
"Class, this is Adam Gontier from Vancouver. He will be our new student body and let's give him a warm welcome," said Mr Hogan.
Mr Hogan whispered something while pointing at Marcia and Hui Ming's table. The boy nodded and walked towards the table. James and his gang stared at Marcia and Hui Ming with a wide grin on their faces.
The boy dragged the stool from under the table and sat next to Marcia. Hui Ming smiled at the boy and said, "Hi, I'm Cheng Hui Ming." The boy smiled.
Hui Ming nudged Marcia's shoulder and Marcia quickly smiled at the boy shyly and said, "Hi, I'm Marcia Cheong."
"I'm Adam," said the boy as he placed his right hand in front of Marcia. The sixteen year old girl blushed and shook his hands, her heart thumping faster than ever.