Chapter 21

The day was long and somewhat dull for Ed. The highlight of his day had to be the highly anticipated sixth period alchemy class. He and Kaylen walked into the enormous alchemy lab and took a seat in the middle of the room. The new Professor Lore stood in the front of the room, smiling.

"Good afternoon, students," he said after the bell rang. "My name is Professor Lore, and I'll be your new alchemy teacher." His face held a look of friendliness, a certian look you didn't see on many alchemists' faces anymore. Ed found himself smiling along with the professor; he was excited to finally be studying alchemy again. Kaylen sat back in her seat, somewhat bored by the atmosphere. She just couldn't get into alchemy like Ed, or even like Iann used to. One could say that when it came to alchemy, she was still dry on the beach while Ed was at the bottom of the ocean. "This is Alchemy I, so I guess we should start with the basics. There's a textbook under your chair; please take it out and turn to page 3." With these words, the students loudly retrieved their books.

"This stuff is so easy, Kaylen," Ed whispered as Kaylen opened her book. Kaylen looked at him with eyes that begged to differ. The first class was very basic—the laws of equivalency and conservation of mass were introduced. The bell rang just as Professor Lore was about to explain the transmutation circle.

"My, I need to stop ranting," Professor Lore said, shutting the book on his desk. "We'll continue tomorrow." Ed and Kaylen left the room slowly, waiting for the aisle to clear. They walked outside to find Celeste and Amie there waiting on them.

"Did you like it?" Amie asked Kaylen as she and Ed approached them.

"I almost fell asleep," Kaylen mumbled.

"It is sort of boring at the begining," Amie agreed. They began walking towards the dorms slowly when Celeste spoke up.

"I think I'll go to the library," she said quietly. Amie turned to her, smiling.

"I was expecting that," she said as Kaylen laughed. "Go on. We'll see you later." Celeste waved goodbye to the others and walked toward the library. Ed, Kaylen, and Amie continued their journey to the dorms. Amie turned to Kaylen. "Where shall we congregate then?"

"How about your room?" Kaylen asked. "Mine's still a mess." Ed looked at her, confused. He knew that the room was clean, but he hoped that this was Kaylen's reward for him. He could go back to the room and be a guy again if Kaylen's friends weren't there. The girls stopped at Amie and Celeste's room, number 605, which was convienently placed next to Kaylen's, while Ed continued on to 606. He stepped inside and locked the door behind him quickly. With a sigh of relief, Ed pulled a rubber band from his wrist and tied his hair back. He then changed into a pair of ripped jeans and a black t-shirt. He stared at his bed silently, and instead of lying down on it, he went to Kaylen's bed and lay down on it instead. He turned over on his stomach and pressed his face into the pillow.

Everything smells like her... he thought, shutting his eyes. He looked across the room to see the documents and the clue sitting on the desk. Reluctantly, he got up and went to the desk. What the hell does this mean? he wondered, staring at the clue. The sun bearing down on Ed made him warmer, and he took off his shirt and threw it across the room. Let light be your guide...

(Just a note, the pookie thing is an inside joke between me and the girl who I made Amie for. Repeat: They are not lesbians in any way, shape, or form!)

"I just don't get it, Pookie," Kaylen said, throwing her pencil on the floor. She and Amie were studying alchemy next door, and Kaylen was getting angry. Amie shook her head and pointed at the book.

"Look, just copy the circle down," Amie said, aggrivated. "This is so simple! Why can't you get this? You're a smart girl..." Kaylen shook her head and looked down.

"It bugs me so much... I just can't get alchemy," she replied, sketching the circle in pencil on a sheet of paper. Suddenly, Celeste walked into the room with a stack of books in her arms.

"Hey Kay, can I have your room key?" she asked, setting the books down on her desk. "I still have a book from last year in your room." Kaylen, still angry from alchemy, threw her keyring to Celeste.

"It's the gold one," she said, sighing as she stared down at the circle she had drawn.

"Thanks," Celeste said as she walked to the door. She exited the room, and a minute had passed before Kaylen looked up immediately.

Edward! she yelled internally before getting up and bolting out the door.

Ed was still sitting at the desk, pouring over the poem, when he heard a key turning in the lock. Happily, he turned around as the door opened slowly. "Kaylen, why're you back so soon?" he asked, but to his horror, Kaylen wasn't the girl in the doorway. A wide-eyed Celeste stared back at him, her mouth hanging open.

"Ah..." escaped her lips before Ed dashed toward the bathroom. Seconds afterwards, Kaylen came to the door, panting.

"Celeste," she gasped, turning Celeste towards her. Celeste looked at her, her eyes still wide with shock.

"But she—but he—but there—" she said loudly, pointing wildly into the room.

"What the hell?" Amie said, holding Celeste by the shoulders.

Celeste gasped for air before saying, "S-she... is a HE."