Here's my chance... I sat next to him all during lecture... And I even murmured under my breath that I wasn't understanding it. I'm sure he heard me...
I just have to get up my nerve and make contact!
Tightly gripping the edge of the gray lab counter, she shot up to her feet:
"Can I copy them?"
She gazed nervously at the back of his broad, unmoving shoulders– waiting for a response.
Everyone else in the university's classroom seemed to be moving and breathing. Just not him.
He slowly turned around and looked at her– his sunken cheeks and lifeless blue eyes carefully hid the fixation she knew he had on science. It made her sides go hot.
"What?" He muttered, eyeing her blankly.
"Y-y-your notes... can I copy them?" She asked again, holding her small hands tightly. Her face almost turned as red as her hair.
Oh no... he'll think I'm weird...
"Here." He turned away and slid his paper towards her, "Look at it for as long as you want. You can even keep it, if need be."
"Ahh, really?" She squeaked before suppressing her mouth, "I-I mean, thank you. I'll be quick."
Her chair creaked when she gleefully sat back down. Like an electromagnet, her face warmed and kept twitching off to catch glimpses of him.
He's always so serious and absorbed in everything he does: when he's conducting experiments or writing reports... even when he's eating lunch.
All his movements are concise, planned, and methodical.
His large hands can delicately implement the smallest of instruments and glass beakers.
I really... love that...
"Are you still not understanding the section clearly?" He asked suddenly.
"H-huh?" She uttered breathily, gawking at him.
"You... haven't written anything down yet." He stated.
"R-right! I'm fine!" She panicked.
Nooo! I told him I'd be quick with copying his notes, but then I haven't even started yet!
Tensely beginning to write, her forceful hand slipped and snapped her mechanical pencil in two.
"Kyeeeeh!" She squealed.
Staring at the pencil in mortification, her head collapsed upon the counter.
"Ahh... That was my last one..." She sobbed to herself quietly. My last mechanical pencil.
And I forgot my pencil case today...
...Why...?
There was a rustling noise. Out of her teary peripheral vision, she saw a large-grip, steel-cased mechanical pencil edge towards her.
"Here, use this." He spoke, "I discovered that drafting pencils don't break as easily."
She gazed up into his sullen face.
His face. It's like sunlight, shining down and warming me...
I wish I could just waste away in his light, and, wake up in a different world alone with him.
Her hand automatically reached out and grabbed for the pencil. Her palm brushed against his knuckles by chance.
And her fingers tightly locked around the tip of his thumb.
"Eh..." She realized– albeit too late.
Grabbed the wrong object.
Her face emitted fumes of humiliation.
"...You are a very absentminded girl." He announced, pulling his hand away and placing the pencil by her side: "Take the pencil. You needn't return it."
He ignored her for the rest of class.
Her heart fell from orbit.
Absentminded?... Synonymous with... forgetful, inattentive, unheeding, oblivious...
informal: Scatterbrained. Out of it. Out to lunch.
Spacey.
She sat in the tiny rented conference room. Beyond its glass sound-proof slider loomed the rest of the massive library.
"So basically... he thinks I'm stupid now." She said aloud, holding her face in her hands.
"Nooooo!" She whimpered pitifully.
I guess it can't be helped. It's my fault for trying to be sneaky.
If only I was strong and confident, I could go ahead and tell him... About how I feel.
But what would be the use of that?
The probability of him feeling the same way is 1/15,831. I already solved the formula and figured it out...
An intimate relationship is a complicated structure. I must first build the foundation and frame before attempting to construct the doorway.
Typing on her tiny laptop, clicking sounds rained through the relative silence.
But first, I must hurry up and finish my Life Data Storage presentation for my Applied Science Applications class.
Ah... That's right, this portion is similar to the section I just had in my Evolution Theory class.
She looked at the messy notes she had copied from her crush.
Of course– I completely understood everything in that lesson. I was just pretending to be incompetent so I could gain a chance to speak with him under the guise of simple note-copying.
But instead, all of that happened...
Not being able to speak clearly in front of him. Her pencil breaking.
Grabbing his thumb by accident.
So many different variables; love is a difficult thing to calculate... Ergo, I'm a nitwit.
She went back to her presentation.
"Through this automatic mapping of genomes– combined with the stabilized reader technology developed in the past ten years– storage of live, biological material is possible..." She muttered to herself, quickly pecking at her keyboard.
"As such, otherwise malleable or irradiated genes can be stabilized to prevent further mutation." She stopped.
"Oh right, I need to cite that article..." She mumbled to herself again, holding her stiff, red bouffant hair.
Without warning– the room's glass sliding door flew open.
"Mars!" A tall girl breathed, "You are required in the student lounge. Now."
"Ju...Jupiter..." The red-headed girl uttered meekly, "I can't, I'm working on that presentation–"
"–I know! Bring your computer." Jupiter huffed, glaring up at the clock through her long, purple bangs, "Humph! We don't have much time."
"What's going on?" Mars demanded to know.
Did I forget about something again?
"I... Everyone needs your help on today's section!" Jupiter yelled, pounding her fist on Mar's table, "We can't understand it– the gene stabilization portion is driving us mad!"
"Calm down." Mars sweated nervously, holding up her hands.
Jupiter grabbed the tiny girl by the shoulders and shook her furiously.
"The 3D projector is free right now– everyone's staked it out and they're waiting for me to bring you there, so hurry up!" Jupiter growled.
The tall girl shoved Mars past the automatic doors and led her between rows of packed, extra-long couches. Faces smiled expectantly and paid attention when they saw Mars.
"Don't let it go to your head..." Jupiter hissed, "Just show us what you know...!"
At the edge of the large room, she pushed Mars up onto a raised podium.
Once there, the small girl stood before the student audience. A computer and orbed 3D-projector loomed at her side.
Shivering nervously from so many stares, Mars pulled her laptop out from her messenger bag and synched it with the 3D projector.
Clearing her throat, she began.
"R-right... On todays section in Evolution Theory– section 11.5– we were taught how transport-mapping technology could be used to stop or delay a pokemon's evolution..." Mars forcefully raised her voice, "We were presented several principles. This is a simplification of the first one."
She hit a few keys on her small keyboard, and a diagram popped up on the wall above her.
Voices awed and exalted at the diagram's appearance– several students sat up in realization, finally understanding. Other students brought out their cellphones and began taking pictures of the diagram.
"We were presented with the Save State Principle. This was a quick chart I created to show you how a pokemon's genes are mapped moments before storage. This same principal is applied when we forcefully halt a pokemon's evolution by use of a handheld controller... Otherwise known as pressing the B Button."
"Ohhhh..." Everyone finally understood.
"Right..." Mars choked nervously, sweating but keeping her cool, "The next principal is–"
Though her presentation was incomplete, she still had enough material to cover that day's entire section.
And at the end of her lecture, every person in the room finally understand the broad and abstract subject concerning halted pokemon evolution.
"And that concludes my presentation... er... well, for now." Mars rambled off quietly. Everyone began talking and laughing amongst themselves, completely ignoring her.
After absorbing her knowledge, they all hurried to leave her behind.
Only a few grateful acquaintances came up to thank her.
"Ha. You did an ok job..." Jupiter admitted before walking off.
As the room vacated, Mars despondently tucked her laptop away.
After all that attention... it feels so lonely... I'm drained of life...
How do people always manage to do that to me?...
Pulling her shoulder bag strap over, she glanced up and saw one last person left in the room. A tall man with a sunken face.
It was...
–him.
Her crush. The male student she had copied notes from.
"C-Cyrus..." She gasped, standing back.
Oh no... did he see my presentation just now?
This makes me look like a liar...
A hideous liar!
"One more question..." The sullen man began, staring at her with his cold, lifeless eyes:
"Why did you pretend not to understand all this earlier?"
"That's... that is..." Mars stuttered shamefully, staring at the ground.
I only wanted a reason to talk to you... To speak to you, and get to know you...
Because I like you.
He approached her slowly, effortlessly climbing up onto the podium beside her. Leaning in close, he sagely stared into her face.
"Eh?" She emitted, overwhelmed by his close proximity.
"I see... Your outward appearance is all just an elaborate act." He theorized, "You're an interesting specimen... Intelligent. You simply feigned vapidity so you could speak with me, correct?"
She shook in trepidation.
Somehow, he got into my mind... And he...
He knew what I was doing!
"Yes... it was all an act so I could speak with you." Mars gulped and confessed.
She stared at his light blue crown of hair. Gazing directly into his eyes would only steal away all her courage.
"You must recognize it too, then..." He uttered, grabbing her shoulders.
"Hah?" She squeaked nervously– her throat made breathless by her spontaneously pounding heart.
Is this...?
Could it be that he too...
"You must recognize that I feel the same way, then." Cyrus began, "No matter how we try to ignore it... People only selfishly use geniuses like us for their own selfish benefit– all before quickly discarding us. Their useless expressions of 'thanks' are void and meaningless... Humans are as weak as their hearts."
Mars quickly froze over.
"Huh?" She responded, her eyes narrowed.
"You don't agree with me?..." He realized, letting go of her.
Ah! His hands left me– noooo!
She panicked.
I have to agree with him!
"No, no, I agree with you!" She started, "You're right, completely right! The hearts of humans are weak. Even my heart is weak–"
He handed her a small card.
"I have a vision for the future... A revolution for the human race. Slowly... I'm trying to pull it all together." He explained, "I feel that you share my ideas. I know my words sound vague and peculiar right now, but if I explained everything to you, I strongly sense that'd you'd understand."
She quickly took the card and nodded.
"Yes. I want you to explain it to me then." She bumbled.
"Of course... We should arrange a time to meet then..." He considered, "And then I'll tell you all about this plan."
In her small, dark apartment– Mars exhaustedly sat at her desk, staring at the metallic card fixed between her fingers.
"Team Galactic..." She repeated aloud.
He's so strange...
I really want to learn more about him.
Her phone began to ring.
"Hello?" She answered.
"Mars! You didn't call me– did you pick up that money card I wired you?" A domineering female voice demanded.
"Mom!" Mars gasped, "N-no, I didn't do that yet... I'll go to the pokemart tomorrow–"
"How are you doing?" The woman's voice softened, "Are you getting good grades?"
"Yes, mom."
"And how's... your school life?" The woman inquired, "Is it ordinary and filled with many passionate, heart-racing moments?"
Mars pulled the phone away and bit her nails.
How does mom know?...
"Nm." Mars emitted, bringing the phone closer, "It's alright."
"Good... Excellent..." Her mother answered, "Well I have to go now. We have an operation to carry out in Goldenrod... We haven't located your father yet, so we're going to rush the Radio Tower and make a call-out to him."
"Is that so?" Mars uttered.
Father...
Cyrus kind of reminds me of him...
~End
This was just a quick one shot that I wanted to make.
Mars and Cyrus seemed kind of weird to me, so I wanted to understand them better. It makes sense that they meet during college, right?