Artemis Fowl looked in distaste around him. There were several
students milling around in all directions, giving him strange stares. They
all wore the same uniform, the girls a short maroon skirt and a white
blouse, and the men, blue slacks and polo. It gave the strange illusion in
this place of the people being completely faceless, their bodies the same
as everyone else around them.
Then Artemis looked down on his own body. It was clad in the same degrading blue slacks. He was holding a back pack filled with new notebooks and a couple of pens. Faye was cradling one arm lovingly, and Migi was tentatively following beside him at a safe distance. In his mind, Artemis remembered the deal.
FLASHBACK
"Okay, what do I have to do then?"
"We're going to bring you to our school?"
"You're school? What the heck do you want me to do there? Sit around and listen to the teacher?"
"No. Faye wants to show you around."
"For what?" Artemis had looked away. He just didn't get the point. So what if he was going to go to their school and mingle with them? What did they want?
"Er. don't argue with me here, I'm not so sure of this myself. The point is, Faye needs to show you off. She sort of wants to prove that she isn't crazy. See, when she told our classmates and physics teacher that she was going to bring you to life, they laughed their heads off. So. she just has to do this showing off before you go. Oh, and she's going to take a whole lot of pictures."
Artemis had been skeptical. "That's dumb. Won't people just say that I'm a kid who looks like Artemis but isn't? And I don't blame your peers for laughing their heads off. It IS a pretty stupid idea in the first place."
Migi had turned red. "Idiot! Don't argue with Faye! She seems a little knocked around in the head, but she's really the smartest among us all! This time, maybe she DID go too far.I'm really sorry you have to be involved in this, Artemis."
Artemis had shrugged. "Okay, whatever. So, what, am I going to go to your school in a pair of faded shorts and a really large shirt?"
Migi had called in Faye then through a walkie-talkie. Faye was more attuned about what they were supposed to do. After all, Faye was the one who had thought the whole thing up in the first place. Faye had entered the dirt room, and the two had stood high and mighty before Artemis. Artemis, his pride not allowing him to just stay still, had stood up and met their gaze. He had crossed his arms in the same manner. They were all unfazed by the other.
"We're going to take you shopping," Faye said. "But the thing is, we need something to make sure that you really don't try to go off escaping."
"Like what? All I took with me was a fluffy towel that I had been wearing."
"That's just it. I want you to give us something."
"Eh?" Artemis had looked at them strangely. "I'm telling you! I don't have anything that might be used as an exchange or anything! At least, not with me right now."
Migi gave a sideways look at Faye. "He IS right, you know," she whispered.
Faye shook off that comment.
"Don't be ridiculous. Fine, then I'm going to make you sign a contract."
"You mean a piece of paper? Do you really think that will make me stick around? IF I try to leave?"
"Then I also want your promise. You know you can't break your promises."
Artemis looked away, annoyed. She must have known. A few years back, in another one of LEPrechaun units' Holly's attempt to bring him down, she had been able to cast a spell that would force him to keep his promises. But. that was in his old world, and he was certain that this was some where else. Would leprechaun powers still have a hold of him in this place?
Still, he didn't want to try his luck. Back where he came from, when he would try to breal a promise, pain spread through his head and he would be knocked back, unconscious. Afterwards, he would have difficulty breathing for a long time. Each traumatic experience got worse, so he really would have preferred not to do anything.
He was waiting for the right time. You see, he had the exact time and date of the spell. It had been cast on a December 14, 2000, when he was fifteen years old. And unfortunately, for those fairies, their spells lasted for a maximum of two years, except for the very greatest. So in other words, all he had to do was wait for December 14, and then he would be able to break his promised and try to escape. Fairies weren't allowed to cast the same spell twice on the same target, to prevent hazing.
But.as of now, he was trapped. It was November 3, 2002. All he had to do was wait out a month or so. It wasn't usually like him to think about waiting things out, but that was when he was in familiar territory. Now, he was chained to a pipe by two GIRLS, in some faded clothes in a dirt room.
"Well?" Faye's voice brought Artemis out of his reverie.
"How did you know about that?" Artemis asked, suspicious.
"Oh, I know a whole lot of things about you," Faye said in a nonchalant voice.
"Now here." Faye gestured to Migi. Migi whipped out a piece of paper and a pen. She gave him a sort of apologetic look that said: 'I' sorry I'm part of this.'
Artemis was allowed to read it.
'I, ARTEMIS FOWL, WILL NOT ATTEMPT TO ESCAPE OR TO TRY TO TAKE OVER THIS HOUSE IN WHICH I AM STANDING IN AS I SIGN THIS BLESSED PIECE OF PAPER, UNLESS ONE OF THE TWO WILL ALLOW ME TO GO AWAY AHEAD OF THE AGREED TIME. MEANWHILE, I WILL NOT TRY TO CHOKE OR HURT FAYE PENETRANTE AND MIGI LIM AS I AM UNDER THEIR CARE. I AM A SLAVE (Artemis' eyebrows went up), AND IT WOULD NOT BE WISE FOR ME TO PULL ANYTHING 'FUNNY'. AGAIN, I WILL REMAIN UNDER FAYE AND MIGI'S INSTRUCTION.'
Artemis looked up at Faye, his eyes slit. "Wait a minute," he said. "I want you to add: 'I will not try to escape until I see that my two captors are not willing to fulfill their part of their promises.'"
Faye huffed, but she took the paper. Hastily, she added it. "There," she said, her tone of voice satisfied. "At least you'll know that we wont be trying to lock you up in here until you're twenty one years old."
Artemis reluctantly signed the piece of paper. Then Faye made him repeat the words out loud, punctuating the end with an 'I promise'.
When that was over, the two girls brightened up, their smiles wide.
"Okay!" Migi said. "Let's go shopping! Come on, Artemis, I'm going to have to remove those restraints."
END OF FLASHBACK
Now, Artemis kept glancing around subtly with keen eyes. Just because he had promised that he wouldn't try to escape, it didn't mean that he wouldn't try to find out about where he wa or what he would do when the time did come.
"So where's World History?" Artemis asked Faye, glancing at his list of subjects. Faye let go of his arm and instead pointed out some directions.
"You go right there and then keep walking until you see a door that says I-3," she said. "You have the same class with Migi, so I'm going to leave the two of you alone. I'll see you in English literature."
Faye gave a sudden stop as she entered a classroom that had been right beside her the moment she had uttered those words. Migi took Faye's place.
"Having fun yet?" Migi asked dryly. Artemis said nothing. It wasn't his personality to talk so much, and now that it was established that he wasn't being kidnapped for ransom or anything, he had slipped back into his old personality.
Migi led him to the classroom. Artemis couldn't help but compare the size with the classroom he had had in London. This Japanese high school classroom, as he learned it was, was filled with twenty-seven students. In London, the highest number was eighteen. They had come in late for the class.
"Oh, Migi Lim," the teacher greeted pleasantly. He was a nicely built man in his early twenties, seemingly straight out of college. "Are we running a little late today? Who is this, a friend of yours?"
Artemis busied himself by studying the teacher. A moment later he realized that Migi, who had always been quick to answer back any comment, was sort of silent. He stole a look at her, and noticed that she had turned red, but she had nodded. When she opened her mouth, her voice was choked.
"Yes, Mr. Tess." Migi cleared her throat and regained her composure. The blotches in her cheeks disappeared. "He enrolled yesterday. His name is Artemis Fowl."
"Artemis Fowl." Mr. Tess murmured thoughtfully. Then he sort of laughed and said: "Now I know why the name sounds so familiar! Isn't that the same name of that small boy in the book Artemis Fowl?"
::The book.Artemis Fowl?:: Artemis looked at Migi questioningly. Migi looked pale. Artemis had a sudden burst of light.
:: Is that book where those two bimbos got information about me?::
Artemis looked at the teacher. He knew that he was going to be in suspicion because of what he was about to ask, but he went ahead anyway.
"Is that book, Artemis Fowl.Does it, by any chance, talk about a guy with black hair and blue eyes?"
The history teacher smiled pleasantly.
"Well," he began. "It doesn't deal with a GUY, exactly, it deals with some adolescent kid who kidnaps an elf, and he tries to stop time and-"
"THANK YOU!" Migi burst in. she cut in front of Artemis, after figuring out what the sneak had done. "Thank you, Mr. Tess, but that's really enough. Right, Artemis?"
She turned her head around and gave him a slight smile. A forced one. Artemis said: "Yeah, that was enough. Thank you, sir."
Mr. Tess looked a little confused, but then he ran a hand through his hair.
"Oh.alright, where will you sit, Artemis? That seat next to Ms. Lim is occupied. Why don't you sit there next to Cammie Tindrea?"
He was pointing out a seat in the middle of the classroom, an empty desk on the right of a really pretty girl. On his other side, was a pale guy with dark brown hair.
Artemis took the seat. A few seats to his left, directly in the front row, was Migi. She was listening intently to whatever the history teacher had to say. Artemis hid his amusement. The class itself was actually quite boring, but Migi seemed to be drinking it all in.
::she's actually infatuated with the history teacher,:: Artemis thought. ::I feel sorry for Mr. Tess.::
The bell rang after forty minutes. Everyone seemed all too eager to get up. All at once, they were clamoring and they were flowing out of the classroom. Artemis stayed in his seat, bored, until Migi made her way towards him. He looked up at her.
"You're lessons are so behind. I learned that when I was in junior high."
Migi ignored him.
"You're next class is Chemistry. Oh, crap, my schedule is different from yours. I have PE, and I can't be late for PE. Madam will kill me. I don't think Faye has PE until tomorrow. Quick, ask someone around here."
Migi glanced around, but there were no more students anymore, aside from Karren, who was taking her time gathering up her things slowly, and the class jock, who had fallen asleep at the back. Mr. Tess was erasing the blackboard.
"I cant show you to the chemistry lab!" Migi hissed. "Do you know what happened to the last time I was late for PE? Madam made me do push-ups in front of the whole class-alone!"
Artemis showed no reacting. He picked up his still empty notebook and started to walk out of the classroom. Migi stared after him.
"Wait-" she said. She turned and looked around frantically, then her eyes rested on Karren, who had slung her book bag over her shoulder and was waiting patiently for Migi to move so that she could pass. Migi did move.
"Hey Kara," Migi said in a stage whisper. "Can you catch up with Artemis and make sure that he doesn't attract too much attention around here? Please! I know we don't really talk to each other that often, but this is really important! You don't know what havoc he could reap if he were to be left alone to analyze every single jolly student here!"
Migi was starting to ramble. Kara gave her a curious expression, then smiled.
"Sure," she said, then exited. Migi was about to hurry out when the voice of her history professor came into her mind. Inwardly, her heart melted, but she struggled to keep her face impassive, even if she knew that she would fail. She had always been so terrible at hiding her emotions.
"Yes, Mr. Tess?" she asked as she approached him. She was unaware of the time.
"That guy, Artemis Fowl," said the young teacher, "you seem to care for him a whole lot, looking out for him like you do. An old friend of yours?"
Migi scuffed the ground with her school shoes. She sighed.
"You can say that he's the friend of my best friend, so basically, I have to watch out for him or he's going to get my best friend into lots of trouble."
Mr. Tess nodded. "Oh."
He glanced at his watch. "Go on. I think you're late for your next subject. It was PE, wasn't it?"
Migi looked at her own wristwatch and groaned. She was late by ten minutes.
SCHOOL HALLWAY, ARTEMIS BEFORE CHEMISTRY CLASS
"Hey, wait up!"
Artemis had been walking by himself, not minding the admiring stares of the girls around him or the annoyed looks of the guys. When a hand was laid on his shoulder, Artemis gave a start, and looked behind him. It was Karren, the girl who sat beside him in History class.
"Migi told me to watch where you were going," Kara explained. "I'm Kara. Don't worry, my next class is also Chemistry."
Artemis looked away from her, but fell beside her steps, following her lead.
"That book.Artemis Fowl, have you read it, too?" he asked.
Kara looked up at him. "Yeah. I mean, lots of people have gotten around to reading it. It's such a strange coincidence that your names match, isn't it?"
Artemis nodded.
"Hey, are you mute or something? You hardly talk."
"Can I borrow that book, Artemis Fowl?"
"Huh? Oh, sure."
Ever ready, she unzipped her book bag and took out a ragged copy of the book. Artemis took one look at it, and then he read the back. The moment he finished reading the first sentence, his eyes had grown wide. He opened the book and scanned the pages.then incomprehension washed over him.
How could this author have known so much about what he had accomplished when he was twelve years old? How could the author have captured every single private moment and emotion, emotions that even Juliet hadn't known about?
Kara made a turn. "Here it is."
She opened the door for him. "Return that book before this Friday, all right? I need it for a book report."
They had been late for the subject, but the teacher didn't seem to have noticed. She just adjusted her glasses and looked at the pair who had walked in.
"Ms. Tindrea. Is that the new student I was informed about? Since everyone has been assigned to their partners already, then the two of you should be together."
Kara took her desk in the second row and Artemis took an empty one near the back.
"You're going to be performing a project," The teacher announced. "It will involve the compressing of air to make it into a liquid. This class will do the partner by pair, they will devise a simple machine that will compress a gas. For further instructions, look into the yellow book, page three hundred thirty five. Okay. Meet with your assigned partner now."
Artemis hadn't been listening. He was busy reading the first pages of the book. He was brought to the reality only when Kara tapped on his desk. She had dragged a chair to where he sat.
"So what do you want us to do?" Kara asked him. Artemis glanced at the page number and set the book aside. He shrugged.
"What do you think we should do?"
"I don't know. Think."
Artemis looked around. There were a bunch of girls staring at him and smiling. He asked one randomly: "Hey, can you give me and my partner here an idea of what to make for this project?"
A burst of replies sounded. Artemis turned to Kara, his face passive and uncaring.
"Take those ideas down," he said pleasantly. "Those are the ideas for our project."
She was already taking down the ideas as they came. When the chorus stopped and the girls were apparently waiting for Artemis to say something else, Kara piped up:
"You must be proud of yourself. Or feeling smug, then."
Artemis opened the book again.
"What goes on in that head of yours, anyway?" Kara put a hand in the book, where he was reading, forcing him to look up at her. Her dark brown eyes were bright.
"You're smug, aren't you?"
Artemis looked lazily back down at the book and nudged the pages out of the hand. She was wrong. He wasn't smug, as she so charmingly put it. He was simply indifferent. He didn't really care what she said or what the girls were saying.
Meanwhile, Kara Tindrea continued to look at his down turned face. So she was wrong. His reaction told her that. She went to her second option. If he wasn't smug, then he was indifferent. She smiled to herself. It was so rare when she could find a person to figure out. But this guy seemed to be easy enough. Oh well, he was easy, but it would be a new person to figure out.
"Then you don't care about what people think," Kara said. Artemis didn't seem to have heard. The small involuntary bob of his head told Kara that she was right. "You think that you look so cool with your attitude, but to me you look stupid."
From her view, she couldn't see Artemis' grin. He knew people like her.
He spoke and looked up, his piercing eyes ort of surprising Kara with their depth.
"Let me tell you something. I know you're trying to figure me out, and to tell you the truth, you were actually right. I AM indifferent. But that's as far as you'll get. I'm not a jigsaw puzzle to put together, or a math equation. Here, let me tell you something about yourself and why you never have anyone to go with. Do you really want to know why? You make them feel like puzzles, when they aren't. you think you're a deep thinker because you can tell why people act the way you do. Or you think you know. You cant accept it if you're predictions are wrong. You annoy people with your strange questions, and you think you're so mysterious. Heh."
There. Artemis took a deep breath. Kara was expressionless, just simply staring at him. Then she started to laugh. He was wrong in some parts, but correct in other parts, and she had to give him credit for that.
"Then here's what I think about you. You don't talk because you find it a chore to so. You don't want to waste your saliva because you think it's tiring. You don't try to talk to other people unless necessary because you think that it contributes to your personality. You think that you look like you can survive with out talking to other people. But the truth is, you DO care about what people think, you just never admit it."
She gave him a smile. A sweet one. Artemis smiled back. He knew what her smile meant. It meant that the description that he had given her of herself had been only partially correct, and it had restored her self esteem that nobody could figure her out. And Kara knew what his smile meant as well. She had been partially correct.
Kara came up with an idea.
"Let's have contest," she said. "Let's pick a person to figure out!" she was a bubbly person.
Artemis sighed. It wasn't his style t o figure people out. It was a tiring task, boring, since they were all the same. Then he came up with an idea of his own.
"Yeah," he said, acting interested. "I've got the right person in mind."
"Okay. Who?"
"Do you know Faye Penetrante?"
"That physics whiz? Yeah, of course. Why?"
"Here. If you can figure out her weaknesses, and how to get your way with her, then I'll tell you about me."
Artemis was smart more smart than anyone his age, with more experience on human nature than a psychiatrist. And he had figured out the poor Karren Tindrea. She was just a girl who tried to figure out others to try to adapt a personality for herself. She was going through a personality crisis. If she had really been that great with people, then she would have noticed right away that he, Artemis Fowl was using her to learn about someone else, feeding her bait.
Artemis leaned backwards. He was feeling more at home, now that he knew that his touch with human nature was still intact.
END CHAPTER TWO
Then Artemis looked down on his own body. It was clad in the same degrading blue slacks. He was holding a back pack filled with new notebooks and a couple of pens. Faye was cradling one arm lovingly, and Migi was tentatively following beside him at a safe distance. In his mind, Artemis remembered the deal.
FLASHBACK
"Okay, what do I have to do then?"
"We're going to bring you to our school?"
"You're school? What the heck do you want me to do there? Sit around and listen to the teacher?"
"No. Faye wants to show you around."
"For what?" Artemis had looked away. He just didn't get the point. So what if he was going to go to their school and mingle with them? What did they want?
"Er. don't argue with me here, I'm not so sure of this myself. The point is, Faye needs to show you off. She sort of wants to prove that she isn't crazy. See, when she told our classmates and physics teacher that she was going to bring you to life, they laughed their heads off. So. she just has to do this showing off before you go. Oh, and she's going to take a whole lot of pictures."
Artemis had been skeptical. "That's dumb. Won't people just say that I'm a kid who looks like Artemis but isn't? And I don't blame your peers for laughing their heads off. It IS a pretty stupid idea in the first place."
Migi had turned red. "Idiot! Don't argue with Faye! She seems a little knocked around in the head, but she's really the smartest among us all! This time, maybe she DID go too far.I'm really sorry you have to be involved in this, Artemis."
Artemis had shrugged. "Okay, whatever. So, what, am I going to go to your school in a pair of faded shorts and a really large shirt?"
Migi had called in Faye then through a walkie-talkie. Faye was more attuned about what they were supposed to do. After all, Faye was the one who had thought the whole thing up in the first place. Faye had entered the dirt room, and the two had stood high and mighty before Artemis. Artemis, his pride not allowing him to just stay still, had stood up and met their gaze. He had crossed his arms in the same manner. They were all unfazed by the other.
"We're going to take you shopping," Faye said. "But the thing is, we need something to make sure that you really don't try to go off escaping."
"Like what? All I took with me was a fluffy towel that I had been wearing."
"That's just it. I want you to give us something."
"Eh?" Artemis had looked at them strangely. "I'm telling you! I don't have anything that might be used as an exchange or anything! At least, not with me right now."
Migi gave a sideways look at Faye. "He IS right, you know," she whispered.
Faye shook off that comment.
"Don't be ridiculous. Fine, then I'm going to make you sign a contract."
"You mean a piece of paper? Do you really think that will make me stick around? IF I try to leave?"
"Then I also want your promise. You know you can't break your promises."
Artemis looked away, annoyed. She must have known. A few years back, in another one of LEPrechaun units' Holly's attempt to bring him down, she had been able to cast a spell that would force him to keep his promises. But. that was in his old world, and he was certain that this was some where else. Would leprechaun powers still have a hold of him in this place?
Still, he didn't want to try his luck. Back where he came from, when he would try to breal a promise, pain spread through his head and he would be knocked back, unconscious. Afterwards, he would have difficulty breathing for a long time. Each traumatic experience got worse, so he really would have preferred not to do anything.
He was waiting for the right time. You see, he had the exact time and date of the spell. It had been cast on a December 14, 2000, when he was fifteen years old. And unfortunately, for those fairies, their spells lasted for a maximum of two years, except for the very greatest. So in other words, all he had to do was wait for December 14, and then he would be able to break his promised and try to escape. Fairies weren't allowed to cast the same spell twice on the same target, to prevent hazing.
But.as of now, he was trapped. It was November 3, 2002. All he had to do was wait out a month or so. It wasn't usually like him to think about waiting things out, but that was when he was in familiar territory. Now, he was chained to a pipe by two GIRLS, in some faded clothes in a dirt room.
"Well?" Faye's voice brought Artemis out of his reverie.
"How did you know about that?" Artemis asked, suspicious.
"Oh, I know a whole lot of things about you," Faye said in a nonchalant voice.
"Now here." Faye gestured to Migi. Migi whipped out a piece of paper and a pen. She gave him a sort of apologetic look that said: 'I' sorry I'm part of this.'
Artemis was allowed to read it.
'I, ARTEMIS FOWL, WILL NOT ATTEMPT TO ESCAPE OR TO TRY TO TAKE OVER THIS HOUSE IN WHICH I AM STANDING IN AS I SIGN THIS BLESSED PIECE OF PAPER, UNLESS ONE OF THE TWO WILL ALLOW ME TO GO AWAY AHEAD OF THE AGREED TIME. MEANWHILE, I WILL NOT TRY TO CHOKE OR HURT FAYE PENETRANTE AND MIGI LIM AS I AM UNDER THEIR CARE. I AM A SLAVE (Artemis' eyebrows went up), AND IT WOULD NOT BE WISE FOR ME TO PULL ANYTHING 'FUNNY'. AGAIN, I WILL REMAIN UNDER FAYE AND MIGI'S INSTRUCTION.'
Artemis looked up at Faye, his eyes slit. "Wait a minute," he said. "I want you to add: 'I will not try to escape until I see that my two captors are not willing to fulfill their part of their promises.'"
Faye huffed, but she took the paper. Hastily, she added it. "There," she said, her tone of voice satisfied. "At least you'll know that we wont be trying to lock you up in here until you're twenty one years old."
Artemis reluctantly signed the piece of paper. Then Faye made him repeat the words out loud, punctuating the end with an 'I promise'.
When that was over, the two girls brightened up, their smiles wide.
"Okay!" Migi said. "Let's go shopping! Come on, Artemis, I'm going to have to remove those restraints."
END OF FLASHBACK
Now, Artemis kept glancing around subtly with keen eyes. Just because he had promised that he wouldn't try to escape, it didn't mean that he wouldn't try to find out about where he wa or what he would do when the time did come.
"So where's World History?" Artemis asked Faye, glancing at his list of subjects. Faye let go of his arm and instead pointed out some directions.
"You go right there and then keep walking until you see a door that says I-3," she said. "You have the same class with Migi, so I'm going to leave the two of you alone. I'll see you in English literature."
Faye gave a sudden stop as she entered a classroom that had been right beside her the moment she had uttered those words. Migi took Faye's place.
"Having fun yet?" Migi asked dryly. Artemis said nothing. It wasn't his personality to talk so much, and now that it was established that he wasn't being kidnapped for ransom or anything, he had slipped back into his old personality.
Migi led him to the classroom. Artemis couldn't help but compare the size with the classroom he had had in London. This Japanese high school classroom, as he learned it was, was filled with twenty-seven students. In London, the highest number was eighteen. They had come in late for the class.
"Oh, Migi Lim," the teacher greeted pleasantly. He was a nicely built man in his early twenties, seemingly straight out of college. "Are we running a little late today? Who is this, a friend of yours?"
Artemis busied himself by studying the teacher. A moment later he realized that Migi, who had always been quick to answer back any comment, was sort of silent. He stole a look at her, and noticed that she had turned red, but she had nodded. When she opened her mouth, her voice was choked.
"Yes, Mr. Tess." Migi cleared her throat and regained her composure. The blotches in her cheeks disappeared. "He enrolled yesterday. His name is Artemis Fowl."
"Artemis Fowl." Mr. Tess murmured thoughtfully. Then he sort of laughed and said: "Now I know why the name sounds so familiar! Isn't that the same name of that small boy in the book Artemis Fowl?"
::The book.Artemis Fowl?:: Artemis looked at Migi questioningly. Migi looked pale. Artemis had a sudden burst of light.
:: Is that book where those two bimbos got information about me?::
Artemis looked at the teacher. He knew that he was going to be in suspicion because of what he was about to ask, but he went ahead anyway.
"Is that book, Artemis Fowl.Does it, by any chance, talk about a guy with black hair and blue eyes?"
The history teacher smiled pleasantly.
"Well," he began. "It doesn't deal with a GUY, exactly, it deals with some adolescent kid who kidnaps an elf, and he tries to stop time and-"
"THANK YOU!" Migi burst in. she cut in front of Artemis, after figuring out what the sneak had done. "Thank you, Mr. Tess, but that's really enough. Right, Artemis?"
She turned her head around and gave him a slight smile. A forced one. Artemis said: "Yeah, that was enough. Thank you, sir."
Mr. Tess looked a little confused, but then he ran a hand through his hair.
"Oh.alright, where will you sit, Artemis? That seat next to Ms. Lim is occupied. Why don't you sit there next to Cammie Tindrea?"
He was pointing out a seat in the middle of the classroom, an empty desk on the right of a really pretty girl. On his other side, was a pale guy with dark brown hair.
Artemis took the seat. A few seats to his left, directly in the front row, was Migi. She was listening intently to whatever the history teacher had to say. Artemis hid his amusement. The class itself was actually quite boring, but Migi seemed to be drinking it all in.
::she's actually infatuated with the history teacher,:: Artemis thought. ::I feel sorry for Mr. Tess.::
The bell rang after forty minutes. Everyone seemed all too eager to get up. All at once, they were clamoring and they were flowing out of the classroom. Artemis stayed in his seat, bored, until Migi made her way towards him. He looked up at her.
"You're lessons are so behind. I learned that when I was in junior high."
Migi ignored him.
"You're next class is Chemistry. Oh, crap, my schedule is different from yours. I have PE, and I can't be late for PE. Madam will kill me. I don't think Faye has PE until tomorrow. Quick, ask someone around here."
Migi glanced around, but there were no more students anymore, aside from Karren, who was taking her time gathering up her things slowly, and the class jock, who had fallen asleep at the back. Mr. Tess was erasing the blackboard.
"I cant show you to the chemistry lab!" Migi hissed. "Do you know what happened to the last time I was late for PE? Madam made me do push-ups in front of the whole class-alone!"
Artemis showed no reacting. He picked up his still empty notebook and started to walk out of the classroom. Migi stared after him.
"Wait-" she said. She turned and looked around frantically, then her eyes rested on Karren, who had slung her book bag over her shoulder and was waiting patiently for Migi to move so that she could pass. Migi did move.
"Hey Kara," Migi said in a stage whisper. "Can you catch up with Artemis and make sure that he doesn't attract too much attention around here? Please! I know we don't really talk to each other that often, but this is really important! You don't know what havoc he could reap if he were to be left alone to analyze every single jolly student here!"
Migi was starting to ramble. Kara gave her a curious expression, then smiled.
"Sure," she said, then exited. Migi was about to hurry out when the voice of her history professor came into her mind. Inwardly, her heart melted, but she struggled to keep her face impassive, even if she knew that she would fail. She had always been so terrible at hiding her emotions.
"Yes, Mr. Tess?" she asked as she approached him. She was unaware of the time.
"That guy, Artemis Fowl," said the young teacher, "you seem to care for him a whole lot, looking out for him like you do. An old friend of yours?"
Migi scuffed the ground with her school shoes. She sighed.
"You can say that he's the friend of my best friend, so basically, I have to watch out for him or he's going to get my best friend into lots of trouble."
Mr. Tess nodded. "Oh."
He glanced at his watch. "Go on. I think you're late for your next subject. It was PE, wasn't it?"
Migi looked at her own wristwatch and groaned. She was late by ten minutes.
SCHOOL HALLWAY, ARTEMIS BEFORE CHEMISTRY CLASS
"Hey, wait up!"
Artemis had been walking by himself, not minding the admiring stares of the girls around him or the annoyed looks of the guys. When a hand was laid on his shoulder, Artemis gave a start, and looked behind him. It was Karren, the girl who sat beside him in History class.
"Migi told me to watch where you were going," Kara explained. "I'm Kara. Don't worry, my next class is also Chemistry."
Artemis looked away from her, but fell beside her steps, following her lead.
"That book.Artemis Fowl, have you read it, too?" he asked.
Kara looked up at him. "Yeah. I mean, lots of people have gotten around to reading it. It's such a strange coincidence that your names match, isn't it?"
Artemis nodded.
"Hey, are you mute or something? You hardly talk."
"Can I borrow that book, Artemis Fowl?"
"Huh? Oh, sure."
Ever ready, she unzipped her book bag and took out a ragged copy of the book. Artemis took one look at it, and then he read the back. The moment he finished reading the first sentence, his eyes had grown wide. He opened the book and scanned the pages.then incomprehension washed over him.
How could this author have known so much about what he had accomplished when he was twelve years old? How could the author have captured every single private moment and emotion, emotions that even Juliet hadn't known about?
Kara made a turn. "Here it is."
She opened the door for him. "Return that book before this Friday, all right? I need it for a book report."
They had been late for the subject, but the teacher didn't seem to have noticed. She just adjusted her glasses and looked at the pair who had walked in.
"Ms. Tindrea. Is that the new student I was informed about? Since everyone has been assigned to their partners already, then the two of you should be together."
Kara took her desk in the second row and Artemis took an empty one near the back.
"You're going to be performing a project," The teacher announced. "It will involve the compressing of air to make it into a liquid. This class will do the partner by pair, they will devise a simple machine that will compress a gas. For further instructions, look into the yellow book, page three hundred thirty five. Okay. Meet with your assigned partner now."
Artemis hadn't been listening. He was busy reading the first pages of the book. He was brought to the reality only when Kara tapped on his desk. She had dragged a chair to where he sat.
"So what do you want us to do?" Kara asked him. Artemis glanced at the page number and set the book aside. He shrugged.
"What do you think we should do?"
"I don't know. Think."
Artemis looked around. There were a bunch of girls staring at him and smiling. He asked one randomly: "Hey, can you give me and my partner here an idea of what to make for this project?"
A burst of replies sounded. Artemis turned to Kara, his face passive and uncaring.
"Take those ideas down," he said pleasantly. "Those are the ideas for our project."
She was already taking down the ideas as they came. When the chorus stopped and the girls were apparently waiting for Artemis to say something else, Kara piped up:
"You must be proud of yourself. Or feeling smug, then."
Artemis opened the book again.
"What goes on in that head of yours, anyway?" Kara put a hand in the book, where he was reading, forcing him to look up at her. Her dark brown eyes were bright.
"You're smug, aren't you?"
Artemis looked lazily back down at the book and nudged the pages out of the hand. She was wrong. He wasn't smug, as she so charmingly put it. He was simply indifferent. He didn't really care what she said or what the girls were saying.
Meanwhile, Kara Tindrea continued to look at his down turned face. So she was wrong. His reaction told her that. She went to her second option. If he wasn't smug, then he was indifferent. She smiled to herself. It was so rare when she could find a person to figure out. But this guy seemed to be easy enough. Oh well, he was easy, but it would be a new person to figure out.
"Then you don't care about what people think," Kara said. Artemis didn't seem to have heard. The small involuntary bob of his head told Kara that she was right. "You think that you look so cool with your attitude, but to me you look stupid."
From her view, she couldn't see Artemis' grin. He knew people like her.
He spoke and looked up, his piercing eyes ort of surprising Kara with their depth.
"Let me tell you something. I know you're trying to figure me out, and to tell you the truth, you were actually right. I AM indifferent. But that's as far as you'll get. I'm not a jigsaw puzzle to put together, or a math equation. Here, let me tell you something about yourself and why you never have anyone to go with. Do you really want to know why? You make them feel like puzzles, when they aren't. you think you're a deep thinker because you can tell why people act the way you do. Or you think you know. You cant accept it if you're predictions are wrong. You annoy people with your strange questions, and you think you're so mysterious. Heh."
There. Artemis took a deep breath. Kara was expressionless, just simply staring at him. Then she started to laugh. He was wrong in some parts, but correct in other parts, and she had to give him credit for that.
"Then here's what I think about you. You don't talk because you find it a chore to so. You don't want to waste your saliva because you think it's tiring. You don't try to talk to other people unless necessary because you think that it contributes to your personality. You think that you look like you can survive with out talking to other people. But the truth is, you DO care about what people think, you just never admit it."
She gave him a smile. A sweet one. Artemis smiled back. He knew what her smile meant. It meant that the description that he had given her of herself had been only partially correct, and it had restored her self esteem that nobody could figure her out. And Kara knew what his smile meant as well. She had been partially correct.
Kara came up with an idea.
"Let's have contest," she said. "Let's pick a person to figure out!" she was a bubbly person.
Artemis sighed. It wasn't his style t o figure people out. It was a tiring task, boring, since they were all the same. Then he came up with an idea of his own.
"Yeah," he said, acting interested. "I've got the right person in mind."
"Okay. Who?"
"Do you know Faye Penetrante?"
"That physics whiz? Yeah, of course. Why?"
"Here. If you can figure out her weaknesses, and how to get your way with her, then I'll tell you about me."
Artemis was smart more smart than anyone his age, with more experience on human nature than a psychiatrist. And he had figured out the poor Karren Tindrea. She was just a girl who tried to figure out others to try to adapt a personality for herself. She was going through a personality crisis. If she had really been that great with people, then she would have noticed right away that he, Artemis Fowl was using her to learn about someone else, feeding her bait.
Artemis leaned backwards. He was feeling more at home, now that he knew that his touch with human nature was still intact.
END CHAPTER TWO