Disclaimer: I own nothing. No, really.
Author's Note: Woot! Thanks again, guys! I'm so glad y'all like it. I really hope I don't disappoint any of you...so please tell me if it starts getting crummy. Thanks, and enjoy! Oh, and I hope you guys liked the cereal descriptions in the last chapter. They were so fun to write. Hehe...killing cereal.
Chapter 4: Broken Backpacks
8:15 brought most of the college students flocking to campus for 8:30 classes. Those lucky few who didn't have class until later were still asleep, though that group did not include Peter and Patty. The two were trying to elbow through separate crowds to get to their classes. After a few minutes, each one was getting frustrated. So it was a strange turn of fate that the next people they would elbow would be each other. Patty stumbled into the back of a short blonde senior, while Peter stumbled forward into her. The two blinked, and Peter drew back sharply. "Sorry." He looked around, not even noticing that Patty was the girl he had spoken with the day before. If he had taken more than an eighth of a second to look at her, he would have recognized the hair and eyes since she was the only student at the university who looked like that. But Peter was not paying attention, and Patty was not in a mood to know people, and she didn't recognize Peter at all. The two merely grunted apologies and elbowed through the crowds once more, like their encounter had never happened.
Ten minutes later, a tired and somewhat sore Patty stumbled into the lecture hall where her class was about to start in five minutes. Too tired to take her favored spots in the back, she found the closest empty seat and plopped down in it. She set her backpack beside her on the left, and unzippered it so she could grab some paper and a pen. But the bag wouldn't be agreeable this morning, and tipped over on its right side, so all the contents spilled out. She bit her tongue to keep from swearing, and bent over her right side to grab the pencils and other objects that were rolling away under the person's chair next to her.
Peter heard a backpack fall, and turned to his left and leaned over to help pick the contents up. He had meant to help, and ended up coming face-to-face with Patty. He pulled back sheepishly. "Sorry." But then he stopped. He had seen those eyes and that hair before. "Hey...I met you before, didn't I?" He sat up straight and turned towards her, fingers to his lips in thought. "Hmmm...where have I seen you..."
Meanwhile, Patty was struggling to pick up the lost contents of her backpack, and after a few moments succeeded in the task. She then set the bag up straight and pulled out several white-lined sheets of paper and a black pen. Her eyes slid over to Peter, who was still racking his brain for when he met her. "Erm...hello?" She was fully puzzled now, and just a bit frustrated.
"Oh." He looked squarely at her. "Oh! Now I remember!"
Patty arched an eyebrow. "Remember...?"
"We met each other yesterday. You had dropped your books."
Patty blinked, but then it registered. "Oh, yeah. The pull-me-out- of-a-crowd guy. Yup, now I remember it."
Peter wasn't sure if her comment was supposed to be a compliment, insult, or just a comment. But he didn't think about it. "Strange how we'd end up sitting next to each other in a class of..." He looked around at the hordes of students buzzing about and sitting down in the large lecture hall. "Oh...two hundred?" He grinned goofily, and whipped out a few sheets of paper and a blue pen.
Patty laughed lightly. Her laugh was very thin, and sounded like it hadn't been used in a long time, so it was marred by cracks and little strains that were soon swallowed up by the noise of the lecture hall. "Yes, strange indeed." She then looked about the hall to see for herself, and was astounded by what her eyes perceived. After data was collected, the young woman sat straight in her chair and wrote her name, the date, and the class name on the top of her paper.
Now that was odd. Few students started setting their notes up before the professor got in. But following a small surge of spider sense, Peter did the same. Sure enough, the bald professor strode in seconds later. As the man began setting up his own notes and drank a sip of water from the glass he had carried in, Peter looked briefly towards Patty. Had she known the professor was going to come in, or was that just some behavior that she had been imprinted with since grade school? Well, the professor had already started talking, and everybody else was busy taking notes and setting up their papers. So Peter turned to his paper and began scribbling down notes about genetic variances. He smirked to himself. He knew a good bit about genetic variances already. What with that mutant spider and whatnot. The young man nodded. Yes. Genetic variances were also called mutations. Just as the professor stated, he wrote it down.
Patty chewed her lip. Were the experiments changing her genetic makeup? Was she really being twisted into something no longer human? Could it be possibly that she was being warped beyond her parents' gene pool? A disguised answer came when her lip was chewed through, and a drop of blood fell on her notes. Just as that happened, Patty touched the thin fingers of her left hand to her lips. There were no cuts; her lip was perfectly fine. Patty sighed. Humans didn't heal on a dime. She was different. She had been made different. She was a lab-created freak with no real purpose. But all that would change someday. Patty was determined to make something of these extra abilities she had been given. Not that the young woman knew what she was going to do, but she knew she was going to do something.
Well, the lecture dragged on. After the second hour, the professor announced a ten-minute break. Since this was the first meeting of the class, the professor wanted to give them a complete overview, along with his opinions on every single facet of this class. And that took a long time.
At the mention of a break, students leapt to their feet and fled the room to raid the snack and soda machines. It was 10:30, late enough to start cramming your body with junk food and soda. Patty shook her head slowly at the ruckus made to leave, and just stayed put. It was still too early to move when it wasn't completely necessary.
Peter leaned back in his chair, stretching his back, and put his arms over his head to stretch them as well. He was getting pent up sitting around for so long, even though he didn't mind it. But his muscles starting pleading for a swing around New York. He grinned. Spiderman would come out to play later.
The two collage students looked to each other simultaneously. Peter was the first to speak. "What do you think of the lecture so far?"
Patty nodded, as if her insecure thoughts were trying to cloud her tongue. "It's interesting."
"Yeah. I love the sciences."
Patty's upper lip curled. She had been injected with science until she thought she was going to throw up blue. But she couldn't tell anybody else that. She merely nodded aloofly. "Science is very interesting. But I prefer history. It always repeats itself."
Peter laughed. "Well, that's a secure subject."
Patty's eyes widened, and she brought her left arm into her chest as if clutching it. "Yes...yes it is."
Before Peter could question her, the professor cleared his throat. "Okay. Now that the break's over, we can continue." Students filtered into the hall, and many groans were heard. Peter shrugged and turned to his notes, and Patty to hers.
Two more hours dragged on and filled the room with the scratching of pens, tiny whispers, and bored daydreams. But finally the professor cleared his throat for the last time that day, and shuffled his notes. "Well, thank you all for being so attentive. I'll see you next class.
Author's Note: Woot! Thanks again, guys! I'm so glad y'all like it. I really hope I don't disappoint any of you...so please tell me if it starts getting crummy. Thanks, and enjoy! Oh, and I hope you guys liked the cereal descriptions in the last chapter. They were so fun to write. Hehe...killing cereal.
Chapter 4: Broken Backpacks
8:15 brought most of the college students flocking to campus for 8:30 classes. Those lucky few who didn't have class until later were still asleep, though that group did not include Peter and Patty. The two were trying to elbow through separate crowds to get to their classes. After a few minutes, each one was getting frustrated. So it was a strange turn of fate that the next people they would elbow would be each other. Patty stumbled into the back of a short blonde senior, while Peter stumbled forward into her. The two blinked, and Peter drew back sharply. "Sorry." He looked around, not even noticing that Patty was the girl he had spoken with the day before. If he had taken more than an eighth of a second to look at her, he would have recognized the hair and eyes since she was the only student at the university who looked like that. But Peter was not paying attention, and Patty was not in a mood to know people, and she didn't recognize Peter at all. The two merely grunted apologies and elbowed through the crowds once more, like their encounter had never happened.
Ten minutes later, a tired and somewhat sore Patty stumbled into the lecture hall where her class was about to start in five minutes. Too tired to take her favored spots in the back, she found the closest empty seat and plopped down in it. She set her backpack beside her on the left, and unzippered it so she could grab some paper and a pen. But the bag wouldn't be agreeable this morning, and tipped over on its right side, so all the contents spilled out. She bit her tongue to keep from swearing, and bent over her right side to grab the pencils and other objects that were rolling away under the person's chair next to her.
Peter heard a backpack fall, and turned to his left and leaned over to help pick the contents up. He had meant to help, and ended up coming face-to-face with Patty. He pulled back sheepishly. "Sorry." But then he stopped. He had seen those eyes and that hair before. "Hey...I met you before, didn't I?" He sat up straight and turned towards her, fingers to his lips in thought. "Hmmm...where have I seen you..."
Meanwhile, Patty was struggling to pick up the lost contents of her backpack, and after a few moments succeeded in the task. She then set the bag up straight and pulled out several white-lined sheets of paper and a black pen. Her eyes slid over to Peter, who was still racking his brain for when he met her. "Erm...hello?" She was fully puzzled now, and just a bit frustrated.
"Oh." He looked squarely at her. "Oh! Now I remember!"
Patty arched an eyebrow. "Remember...?"
"We met each other yesterday. You had dropped your books."
Patty blinked, but then it registered. "Oh, yeah. The pull-me-out- of-a-crowd guy. Yup, now I remember it."
Peter wasn't sure if her comment was supposed to be a compliment, insult, or just a comment. But he didn't think about it. "Strange how we'd end up sitting next to each other in a class of..." He looked around at the hordes of students buzzing about and sitting down in the large lecture hall. "Oh...two hundred?" He grinned goofily, and whipped out a few sheets of paper and a blue pen.
Patty laughed lightly. Her laugh was very thin, and sounded like it hadn't been used in a long time, so it was marred by cracks and little strains that were soon swallowed up by the noise of the lecture hall. "Yes, strange indeed." She then looked about the hall to see for herself, and was astounded by what her eyes perceived. After data was collected, the young woman sat straight in her chair and wrote her name, the date, and the class name on the top of her paper.
Now that was odd. Few students started setting their notes up before the professor got in. But following a small surge of spider sense, Peter did the same. Sure enough, the bald professor strode in seconds later. As the man began setting up his own notes and drank a sip of water from the glass he had carried in, Peter looked briefly towards Patty. Had she known the professor was going to come in, or was that just some behavior that she had been imprinted with since grade school? Well, the professor had already started talking, and everybody else was busy taking notes and setting up their papers. So Peter turned to his paper and began scribbling down notes about genetic variances. He smirked to himself. He knew a good bit about genetic variances already. What with that mutant spider and whatnot. The young man nodded. Yes. Genetic variances were also called mutations. Just as the professor stated, he wrote it down.
Patty chewed her lip. Were the experiments changing her genetic makeup? Was she really being twisted into something no longer human? Could it be possibly that she was being warped beyond her parents' gene pool? A disguised answer came when her lip was chewed through, and a drop of blood fell on her notes. Just as that happened, Patty touched the thin fingers of her left hand to her lips. There were no cuts; her lip was perfectly fine. Patty sighed. Humans didn't heal on a dime. She was different. She had been made different. She was a lab-created freak with no real purpose. But all that would change someday. Patty was determined to make something of these extra abilities she had been given. Not that the young woman knew what she was going to do, but she knew she was going to do something.
Well, the lecture dragged on. After the second hour, the professor announced a ten-minute break. Since this was the first meeting of the class, the professor wanted to give them a complete overview, along with his opinions on every single facet of this class. And that took a long time.
At the mention of a break, students leapt to their feet and fled the room to raid the snack and soda machines. It was 10:30, late enough to start cramming your body with junk food and soda. Patty shook her head slowly at the ruckus made to leave, and just stayed put. It was still too early to move when it wasn't completely necessary.
Peter leaned back in his chair, stretching his back, and put his arms over his head to stretch them as well. He was getting pent up sitting around for so long, even though he didn't mind it. But his muscles starting pleading for a swing around New York. He grinned. Spiderman would come out to play later.
The two collage students looked to each other simultaneously. Peter was the first to speak. "What do you think of the lecture so far?"
Patty nodded, as if her insecure thoughts were trying to cloud her tongue. "It's interesting."
"Yeah. I love the sciences."
Patty's upper lip curled. She had been injected with science until she thought she was going to throw up blue. But she couldn't tell anybody else that. She merely nodded aloofly. "Science is very interesting. But I prefer history. It always repeats itself."
Peter laughed. "Well, that's a secure subject."
Patty's eyes widened, and she brought her left arm into her chest as if clutching it. "Yes...yes it is."
Before Peter could question her, the professor cleared his throat. "Okay. Now that the break's over, we can continue." Students filtered into the hall, and many groans were heard. Peter shrugged and turned to his notes, and Patty to hers.
Two more hours dragged on and filled the room with the scratching of pens, tiny whispers, and bored daydreams. But finally the professor cleared his throat for the last time that day, and shuffled his notes. "Well, thank you all for being so attentive. I'll see you next class.