A Love of . Science?
Prologue
by Aisuru
*****Ami's POV *****
It started as a typical Friday evening. I was at the library working on an extra-credit paper that I was writing for my Molecular Biology of Microbial Pathogenicity class at my cram school. Personally, I found the topic fascinating. I was surrounded by current articles, and had been reading with gusto for hours: 'The expression of many virulence factors produced by the gram-negative opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa is regulated by a cell density-dependent mechanism known as quorum sensing, which utilizes a transcriptional activator protein...'
"Ami!" I heard a familiar voice cry. I looked up from my reading to see a very anxious Usagi looking down at me. "I am so glad I found you. I really need your help!"
I brushed a short lock of blue-black hair out of my eyes and removed my reading glasses. As much as I was enjoying my reading, my truest friend was always more important. "What is it, Usagi-chan?" I asked.
She looked as skittery as, well, a bunny! "Oh, promise you won't say anything to Rei!" she cried out as she grabbed a chair next to mine and flopped into it. "I need a favor, but if Rei ever found out ... well, I would never hear the end of it!"
I gave her a warm smile. A sensitive introvert myself, I know how difficult it can be to endure Rei's merciless teasing. "Of course, Usagi. You could trust me with anything," I said without hesitation.
"Well," she said, leaning in really close. "I want you to help me learn ... uh, well ... biology, physics, chemistry, and math!" She blurted out the last part very quickly.
I was flabbergasted. "Whatever for?" I asked. It was not that I did not know that Usagi was a lot brighter than others, including her, gave her credit for; I just could not imagine why she would suddenly show such an interest in these subjects.
"Well," she started. Most of her sentences seemed to start like that. "I kind of ... sort of ... want to impress somebody." She blushed furiously. "Somebody that finds all of that stuff really important. Uh, especially the biology part."
I was immediately interested. I had long hoped to share my love of biology with Usagi, but I was never one to push. This might be the perfect opportunity. "Okay, but maybe we should take this one subject at a time," I said after a moment.
Usagi exhaled. I had not realized she was holding her breath. "Oh, thank you!" she cried.
"Not a problem, Usagi-chan -- if you are willing to put in some work," I said, watching her closely for a change in expression. Surprisingly, her shoulders did not droop, and her eyes were still bright and willing. This was a good start. "First we need to answer two questions. The first thing I need to know is your background in biology. I'm aware that you're in Earth Science, but you have had bits and pieces of biology throughout school."
"I have?" Usagi asked, very surprised. She thought for a second, tilting her head back so her ponytails drifted to the floor behind her.
"Yes, Usagi-chan. Biology is just the study of life, whether it be plants, animals, people, or the organisms of the microbial world, which of course do not fall into the plant and animal categories in the most current classifications, but they still teach that silly 'three kingdom' theory in the schools..." I paused, realizing that I was straying from the topic. I have a habit of doing that. Usagi looked at me blankly. "Uh, never mind," I said.
"Well..." Usagi thought. "I did that book report on cute little bunnies last year. Does that count?"
"I suppose..." I said, remembering the fictional book on bunnies that she had read and giving her a small smile. "Let's just focus on the next question we need to answer. Biology is a large field with many specialties. What exactly is this, uh, person you want to impress interested in?" I questioned cautiously. I knew the answer to this question would give me a unique insight into the guy whose eye Usagi wanted to catch. I knew she was not doing this for any of our teachers! My mind ran through the boys in our class that had an appreciation for the natural world: insects would be Umino; ichthyology would be Kazunari; botany would be Tadayoshi...
"Um, actually ... I think he's studying mi-cro-bial path-o-gen-e-sis," she sounded out, looking at a crumpled napkin.
I looked at her a bit startled. That was the topic of my course at cram school. I thought through the guys in the class. None of them really seemed her type, except maybe ... I tried not to grin. Could it possibly be...? "Uh ... sure, Usagi-chan," I said. "Let's meet in the cafe behind the arcade at, say 9 o'clock tomorrow morning? I'll need to pull some material together or this will never make sense." She nodded enthusiastically and left me to my research.
This was going to take some planning. I put my glasses back on, deep in thought. How could I introduce Usagi to the exciting world of microbial pathogenesis without overwhelming her? It might be my only chance to see if my suspicions about her secret crush were correct!
*****
Author's Notes
Please submit a review at fanfiction.net and/or email me at aisuru_chan@yahoo.com so I'll know people are reading this story. I always have more written then I post, so you just might be able to encourage me to post the next part a little ahead of my own schedule...
If the idea of reading a story in which an evil Dark Kingdom child drains energy from humans to the point of killing them doesn't horrify you, you might want to read another story of mine, called "Crystal Tears." That story runs parallel to this one, but is entirely from the Dark Kingdom point of view. Either story will work by itself, so it really doesn't matter which order you read them in. I started "A Love of... Science?" first, but finished "Crystal Tears" first. If you do decide to read "Crystal Tears," make sure you review it! :)
If you read my author's page, you know that I am working on my master's degree in biology. In fact, I did my research on Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and I wrote a paper on this organism's use of quorum sensing in biofilm production! No, I won't be posting that on fanfiction.net (as if anyone would want to read it!) If you are for some reason interested, find an article on biofilms in Science at your library. Microbiology rules!
Prologue
by Aisuru
*****Ami's POV *****
It started as a typical Friday evening. I was at the library working on an extra-credit paper that I was writing for my Molecular Biology of Microbial Pathogenicity class at my cram school. Personally, I found the topic fascinating. I was surrounded by current articles, and had been reading with gusto for hours: 'The expression of many virulence factors produced by the gram-negative opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa is regulated by a cell density-dependent mechanism known as quorum sensing, which utilizes a transcriptional activator protein...'
"Ami!" I heard a familiar voice cry. I looked up from my reading to see a very anxious Usagi looking down at me. "I am so glad I found you. I really need your help!"
I brushed a short lock of blue-black hair out of my eyes and removed my reading glasses. As much as I was enjoying my reading, my truest friend was always more important. "What is it, Usagi-chan?" I asked.
She looked as skittery as, well, a bunny! "Oh, promise you won't say anything to Rei!" she cried out as she grabbed a chair next to mine and flopped into it. "I need a favor, but if Rei ever found out ... well, I would never hear the end of it!"
I gave her a warm smile. A sensitive introvert myself, I know how difficult it can be to endure Rei's merciless teasing. "Of course, Usagi. You could trust me with anything," I said without hesitation.
"Well," she said, leaning in really close. "I want you to help me learn ... uh, well ... biology, physics, chemistry, and math!" She blurted out the last part very quickly.
I was flabbergasted. "Whatever for?" I asked. It was not that I did not know that Usagi was a lot brighter than others, including her, gave her credit for; I just could not imagine why she would suddenly show such an interest in these subjects.
"Well," she started. Most of her sentences seemed to start like that. "I kind of ... sort of ... want to impress somebody." She blushed furiously. "Somebody that finds all of that stuff really important. Uh, especially the biology part."
I was immediately interested. I had long hoped to share my love of biology with Usagi, but I was never one to push. This might be the perfect opportunity. "Okay, but maybe we should take this one subject at a time," I said after a moment.
Usagi exhaled. I had not realized she was holding her breath. "Oh, thank you!" she cried.
"Not a problem, Usagi-chan -- if you are willing to put in some work," I said, watching her closely for a change in expression. Surprisingly, her shoulders did not droop, and her eyes were still bright and willing. This was a good start. "First we need to answer two questions. The first thing I need to know is your background in biology. I'm aware that you're in Earth Science, but you have had bits and pieces of biology throughout school."
"I have?" Usagi asked, very surprised. She thought for a second, tilting her head back so her ponytails drifted to the floor behind her.
"Yes, Usagi-chan. Biology is just the study of life, whether it be plants, animals, people, or the organisms of the microbial world, which of course do not fall into the plant and animal categories in the most current classifications, but they still teach that silly 'three kingdom' theory in the schools..." I paused, realizing that I was straying from the topic. I have a habit of doing that. Usagi looked at me blankly. "Uh, never mind," I said.
"Well..." Usagi thought. "I did that book report on cute little bunnies last year. Does that count?"
"I suppose..." I said, remembering the fictional book on bunnies that she had read and giving her a small smile. "Let's just focus on the next question we need to answer. Biology is a large field with many specialties. What exactly is this, uh, person you want to impress interested in?" I questioned cautiously. I knew the answer to this question would give me a unique insight into the guy whose eye Usagi wanted to catch. I knew she was not doing this for any of our teachers! My mind ran through the boys in our class that had an appreciation for the natural world: insects would be Umino; ichthyology would be Kazunari; botany would be Tadayoshi...
"Um, actually ... I think he's studying mi-cro-bial path-o-gen-e-sis," she sounded out, looking at a crumpled napkin.
I looked at her a bit startled. That was the topic of my course at cram school. I thought through the guys in the class. None of them really seemed her type, except maybe ... I tried not to grin. Could it possibly be...? "Uh ... sure, Usagi-chan," I said. "Let's meet in the cafe behind the arcade at, say 9 o'clock tomorrow morning? I'll need to pull some material together or this will never make sense." She nodded enthusiastically and left me to my research.
This was going to take some planning. I put my glasses back on, deep in thought. How could I introduce Usagi to the exciting world of microbial pathogenesis without overwhelming her? It might be my only chance to see if my suspicions about her secret crush were correct!
*****
Author's Notes
Please submit a review at fanfiction.net and/or email me at aisuru_chan@yahoo.com so I'll know people are reading this story. I always have more written then I post, so you just might be able to encourage me to post the next part a little ahead of my own schedule...
If the idea of reading a story in which an evil Dark Kingdom child drains energy from humans to the point of killing them doesn't horrify you, you might want to read another story of mine, called "Crystal Tears." That story runs parallel to this one, but is entirely from the Dark Kingdom point of view. Either story will work by itself, so it really doesn't matter which order you read them in. I started "A Love of... Science?" first, but finished "Crystal Tears" first. If you do decide to read "Crystal Tears," make sure you review it! :)
If you read my author's page, you know that I am working on my master's degree in biology. In fact, I did my research on Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and I wrote a paper on this organism's use of quorum sensing in biofilm production! No, I won't be posting that on fanfiction.net (as if anyone would want to read it!) If you are for some reason interested, find an article on biofilms in Science at your library. Microbiology rules!