Maka was waiting impatiently at the entrance to Dr. Stein's office when Soul finally caught up.
"Took you long enough." She sneered. "If Dr. Stein asks, you're the one who held us up!"
"Well, if someone hadn't rammed my knee with their bag I could've walked faster. What do you have in that bag anyway? Bricks?"
Maka's face brightened slightly, "I have the book series…"
"Woah, you have a whole series of books in there?"
Maka's face soured at Soul's tone of voice, "Yes, I do. Seven in the set to be exact." Then she deliberately turned her back without waiting for his response and knocked on Dr. Stein's door.
Maka couldn't understand why this boy infuriated her so much. She was normally very level-headed and it took more than just some off-hand comment and sexy grin to get her riled up. Wait not sexy. Annoying. Maka shook her head in frustration trying to clear the fog that was slowly filling her senses from Soul's scent and proximity.
Lost in her thoughts, Maka didn't hear Stein's invitation to come in until a slight nudge on her elbow by Soul brought her back to the hallway and at the same time sent small tingles up and down her arm.
As Maka pulled her arm away and began to open the door to Dr. Stein's office, she was startled when the door suddenly flew open and Dr. Stein peered around the doorway.
"Are you coming in or not?" He growled.
Sheepishly, Maka muttered an apology and walked past him to sit in one of the two chairs in front of Dr. Stein's desk. She flinched and scooted over farther when Soul sank into the chair next to her. He smirked at her slight movement and her sudden preoccupied interest in the other side of Dr. Stein's office.
Maka's interest was not pretend by any means. Dr. Stein's office was a crazy assortment of test tubes with brightly colored liquids inside and some with objects floating grotesquely in the half light. The test tubes were only a small part of the haphazard arrangement, everything in the office seemed just slightly off-kilter and tainted with a slight haze of misdirection. If one looked at an object too long it seemed to shift and change, but when viewed from even a slightly different perspective the whole office seemed intentionally normal. It made you feel that perhaps it wasn't the objects in the office that were off-kilter but the person viewing them instead.
With an inward shrug, Maka turned away from her observations and began to fiddle with the cuffs of her sweater again. Maka heard Dr. Stein shut his door and his slow tread as he moved around her to sit backwards on a rolling office chair behind his desk. Resting his arms on the back of the chair and turning toward Soul, he asked a question that Maka couldn't hear.
Stein served as a rather eccentric science teacher for the upper level classes, and was also the guidance counselor for the juniors and any troubled students. Maka was not a troublemaker and as a sophomore she was not in any of Dr. Stein's science classes, so though she knew him vaguely she took the opportunity of his conversation with Soul to examine the professor. Maka wasn't sure if it was his mannerisms or his appearance that were considered eccentric. His clothes were normal enough for a teacher: black dress pants, grey turtleneck sweater, and a lab coat, but the unusual aspect was that all of his clothes had large sloppy stitches in the seams. His shaggy grey hair was too long to be considered professional, and the large gauges in his ears looked like screws. All of which could be excused because he was a younger professor, probably only five or six years older than the seniors; however, the most unusual aspect was the glint of either intelligence or madness present in his grey-green eyes.
As he finished his conversation with Soul, Dr. Stein leaned back and pulled open a desk drawer to grab a pack of cigarettes. He tapped the pack a couple of times on the desk before he opened it and selected a cigarette, finally placing the pack back into his desk drawer.
Maka looked questionably over at Soul as Dr. Stein proceeded to light the cigarette. Soul seeing Maka's look of incredulity shrugged, laughing a little as he did.
"Hey, Stein." Soul said turning toward the desk and leaning backward while stretching his arms above his head. Maka couldn't help but notice the slight flash of skin, which showed, in just those few seconds, what must be a taut stomach. Maka swallowed, shook herself slightly and looked away as Soul continued. "I don't think pigtails here likes you smoking in the school." Finishing his stretch Soul leaned forward onto Dr. Stein's desk before turning his head slightly to see Maka's reaction from the corner of his eyes.
Maka sniffed, crossed her arms, and her right leg over her left before slouching back uncomfortably. "I don't care. He's a professor and knows the rules as well as I do." The slight flush in her cheeks gave away the lie.
Dr. Stein chuckled, but didn't put out the cigarette. "The Dean allows me to smoke in my office Maka. I assure you he knows." At this, Maka visibly relaxed and turned back toward the desk. "Regardless, we aren't here to discuss my smoking habits. I know that you weren't the cause of today's earlier flagpole problem Maka."
Maka sits up quickly, "Well then…"
Holding up a hand Dr. Stein continues, "But I also know Black Star couldn't help me with the task that I need accomplished."
Slouching back again Maka muttered "As long as this doesn't go on my record, I guess."
Dr. Stein hadn't heard her mutter but Soul's snickers earned him a scowl with a hissed "Well some of us care about our grades."
"Precisely," Dr. Stein's simple response brought both Maka and Soul's attention back to the professor. "As you know, Soul is a junior who has recently transferred to our small university. He unfortunately was not blessed with a drive to do well in school, and if his previous academic record in any indication, he will probably fail my class." At this Soul fidgeted and began to tap out a beat on Dr. Stein's desk with his thumbs.
"Dr. Stein, I don't see what that has to do with me." Maka's matter-of-fact statement clashed with her increasing agitation with Soul's fidgeting fingerbeats.
"I have been given permission to move you into my science class. Professor Sid says you could easily move into my class with no problem and do well. It would give you a challenge that you sorely need in your academic repertoire. The only caveat is that you must partner with Soul and tutor him as necessary."
Soul's fingers stopped their tattoo on Dr. Stein's desk. "What?! I don't need some uppity underclassman to tutor me! That's not cool at all, Stein."
At the same time Maka said excitedly "I can transfer into your class!? It's nearly impossible to get into that class as an underclassman!"
When both Maka and Soul realized what the other had said they started to bicker and the noise level began to steadily escalate. With a sigh, Dr. Stein stubbed out his cigarette, opened his desk drawer and repeated his earlier process, but this time he slammed the desk drawer closed with a bang.
Maka and Soul both jumped. Giving each other a final glare they each settled back in their chairs before refocusing on Dr. Stein.
Lighting his cigarette looked the pair over thoughtfully. "The Dean has already approved the idea and Maka will be in my class on Monday. Soul if you aren't there your transfer will be revoked and I will no longer be able to act as your guardian. Your parents will pull you back to your old school."
"This is bullshit and you know it Stein." Soul snarled as he stood up and went to the door opening it before turning back with one last parting gibe. "I guess I'll see you Monday, Pigtails." Then he slouched through the door slamming it shut behind him.
"Is he going to be like this in class too?" Maka said staring at the door still shaking in it's frame.
"Probably worse." Stein said with a final drag on his cigarette. "You can leave now, your community service for today is finished." Stein waved her away in a obvious dismissal. "Enjoy your weekend."