Faded Memories
Chapter 2

"Sorry I'm late," Atem said, closing the door behind him, the chain holding the Millennium Puzzle chinking quietly. "I just started here, so it's hard to find anything."

"Understandable." The teacher looked over the remaining seating, and then nodded to an empty spot next to a girl with tanned skin. "The seat next to Nephthys is open, if you like, Mr. …?"

"Mutou."

The man looked at his roster. "Atem?"

"Yes."

"All right, I marked you here. Please have a seat; I'm going over basics before I hand out the course syllabus."

Atem nodded before slipping off his bag, sitting down next to the girl who hid her eyes from his view. Not in an attempt to pay attention, but out of what seemed to be embarrassment.

"As I was saying," Mr. Reming said, resuming his spot, "please keep your works PG-13. I hate to censor you, but this isn't college. Higher ups are not as understanding of creativity as them." He clasped his hands together. "Right! Well while I go make copies of the course outline, since I ran a bit late today, at your tables, discus any and all ideas of what you'd like to do this year. I do, of course, expect you to act like adults."

Which never happens. Atem snorted, watching Mr. Reming leave the room. Almost as soon as the door clicked closed, the quiet class erupted into a loud roar and students visited from table to table, discussing a variety of things they did over summer. Shopping, movies, even a few guys talked of their sexual conquests.

"Typical," he heard the girl next to him say.

"… Neph-something, right?"

"I'll understand if you don't really want to strike a conversation with me." She flipped to a new page in her sketch book, working out a rough sketch of a human head. "And it's Nephthys, by the way. Nef-this."

"No, was just going to ask if they're usually this barbaric. And I'm Atem."

She didn't look up from her work. "You don't have to lie. Some form of question must have come to mind when you saw no one near me."

"A bit, I'll admit. Not for the hostile reasons you're thinking of though." He crossed his arms over the black shirt with ripped sleeves he wore. "You seem sane, over most of these lifeforms."

She smiled a bit, still working. "In an insane world, only the insane are sane. That's my mantra." She side-glanced him. "Are you an Egyptian like I?"

"Born and raised there. We just came to America a few years ago. We've been traveling around a lot, and my parents finally decided to dump me on my grandfather."

Nephthys finally put the book down, showing a decent rough outline of what she wanted to draw. "So were your parents on a god-high when they named you? If so, at least yours changed the spelling a bit."

"You're speaking of Atum?"

"Yeah, sun god, second to Ra. You know what I mean."

He looked thoughtful. "Never thought about it. What about yours? Being sister to Isis, Queen of Hell, wife of Set."

"My parents are just oddballs like that. So here I am, stuck with Nephthys. Friends call me Neph."

He took a look at the picture she had drawn of a male figure, taking a slack pose. "You have talent."

"Huh? Oh." She cast her gaze downward. "It's nothing big. Just something I like doing." Nephthys shook her head. "But anyway, down to business. What would you like to do in this class?"

"Ladies first."

Her hazel eyes flashed amusement. "Fine then. I'd like to start something new. My other attempt at Egyptian romance didn't wo— What's so funny?"

Atem stopped his laughter, a few giggles bursting out here and there. "Greeks were the romantics, not Egyptians."

"Well yeah. That's why I wanted to try to make it a romance. Something no one has seen. Greek and Roman gods are overdone, and so is the symbol of ankh and Anubis. Dunno about you, but I'd rather read something happy for once, instead of death."

"Says the girl named after a watcher of the dead."

She huffed. "Not like I chose this name. Can't afford to go get it changed either."

"He's coming back!" one of the kids acting as look-out said. In a big scramble, the other students returned to their seats, starting up the actual assignment given.

"… As I said, typical." She reached for the sketch book again. "What are your plans?"

"We'll see when I get there."

She shot him a confused glance as Mr. Reming came back with a stack of copies. "And now duckies, we begin the fun."