Author Note: Hey everyone! Welcome the chapter two. I'm planning on a daily uploading schedule for now, but it may change to every other day depending on how quickly I'm writing. Also when school starts back up I'll probably have to change it to weekly, but we'll see what happens. Anyway, thanks for reading, and please review! Enjoy.
Friday as the first lab that Emma would be working on with Naru, and that put her in a good mood. All her friends thought she was crazy, but she always did seem to take an interest in the weirdest kids in school.
"It's your talent." They would always tell her. "It makes you strange." Emma would laugh, and tell them they wished they were that strange, but sometimes it did make her feel bad. Emma knew that her friends thought her talent was cool, but sometimes she still felt alienated. 'I kind of wish someone could get it.' She pondered the idea of not being the only strange one in school for a moment.
"If only." She laughed allowed.
"If only what, Emma?"
Emma jumped and whipped around. "Who?- Oh, Naru, it's just you. You startled me."
"You know, you act pretty stupid for an honor student." Naru chuckled as he sauntered past her.
Emma snickered and raced to catch up to him. "You think so? What makes you say that?"
"You're jumpy and reactive."
"What, do you want me to be more like you, Naru?" Emma teased. "You're pretty sulky and cold you know that?"
"Yes, well." Naru continued to walk in silence. Emma followed suit.
"Hey, Seraph!" Someone called from across the grounds. "Wait up!"
"Oh, Thalia, hey." Emma greeted her friend as she approached.
"Oh, sorry I didn't realize you were with someone."
"What? No Thalia its fine. This is my lab partner-"
"I'll catch up with you later, okay?" Thalia stammered. "Bye, Seraph."
'What the heck?' Emma wondered. 'Is she scared of Naru?' The idea almost made her laugh.
"Seraph, right that's your nickname." Naru murmured as he watched the girl dash away. "Is there a story behind that?"
Emma was surprised this boy could make such an innocent question sound so condescending. What a jerk. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you." She shrugged.
"Try me."
Emma paused for a moment, deep in thought. What should she tell him?
"I see spirits." She blurted out, letting the words fall from her mouth. If Naru thought she was a freak, he showed no sign. "My friends nicknamed me Seraph because ever since I can remember I've had a talent for speaking to them and convincing them to pass on peacefully." She stared at the ground instinctively as the pair walked toward their Biology lab. "Seraph is a play on guardian angel." 'God,' she thought. 'What if he doesn't even believe in spirits? I'll look like such an idiot.'
"Interesting." Was all he said. Then after a moment; "Let's hurry, we'll be late for our lab."
"Oh, right." Emma smiled. Did this mean he didn't care?
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The lab was fairly straightforward for both Naru and Emma. Despite not knowing him well, Emma was surprised Naru was able to get through the whole hour and a half without insulting her. (Or anyone else for that matter.) The two were mostly silent save a few discussions on chemical choices and the like. The pair finished the lab first and with plenty of time to spare, so they remained at their table finishing that night's homework. The time slot ended and Professor Oak approached their lab station.
"Hey, Emma. I've got a really important meeting to go to in..." she checked her watch. "About five minutes. Would you mind staying and doing some cleanup for me so I'm not late? I would really appreciate it."
"Oh, yeah okay." Emma nodded as Professor Oak steered her away to tell her what needed to be done.
Naru watched quietly as the Professor filled Emma in on her cleaning jobs. So she was what- a medium? Strange. And that nickname; Seraph, he had to hold back a chuckle. She was right, that really was an awful nickname. Em wasn't too bad though. Neither was this girl, his lab partner could have been much worse. Naru was pulled from his thoughts when Emma returned to the lab station.
"Professor Oak has asked me to stay and cleanup for her so she could make her meeting. So I'll email you tonight about the conclusion, okay?" She smiled sweetly at him, he sighed.
"No, I'll stay and help you." He offered. "I don't have anything better to do today."
"Oh, well thank you."
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"Come on Emma, we should be done by now." Naru was sitting on top of one of the counter tops, legs crossed, ordering her around.
'Oh, yeah thanks.' Emma snickered quietly to herself. "You got it boss." the girl saluted, trying to be as sarcastic possible
"So, do you really see spirits?" Naru asked. Emma had never heard anyone act so nonchalant when it came to her talent. It was actually rather nice, not making a huge deal out of it.
"Yeah," Emma continued packing away microscopes and scoopulas into their boxes. "I have ever since I was a kid. For a long time I just chalked it up to overactive imagination, but then in seventh grade some of my friends decided to play with a Ouija board. The idiots summoned a ghost and it started bugging the girl who lived there, and they asked me to help. I ended up talking to it and convincing it to leave."
"And how much experience would you say you have with this?"
"Um, I don't know, I mean I don't do it super regularly, but I've gotten pretty decent at it." This was strange, and it didn't feel like casual conversation any longer.
"I see..." Naru seemed lost in thought.
"There, that's the last of it." Emma huffed as she pushed the last box onto the shelf. "You ready to go?"
Naru sat in silence.
"Hey, come on." Emma picked up her bag and slung it over her shoulder, the noise seemed to snap Naru out of his trance. "So that conclusion that's due on Monday, do you want to work on it over the weekend?"
"I suppose we have no choice, here, this is my address. Sunday at noon." He muttered, writing down an address on a slip of paper and handing it to her.
"Oh, um, okay." Em took the paper and shoved it in her pocket without looking at it. "I'll see you then I guess."