Chapter 12: A Fresh Start
It was the first day back after Que's incident on Friday. She didn't usually enjoy Mondays, but she aimed for today to be different. She had set up her weekly check ins for after lunch Tuesday with Storm and tea Friday evening with the Professor. On Friday, he gave her two objectives. One, she need to start participating a little more with her groups in her various classes, and two, eat lunch with a peer at least one day this week.
She walked into history class prepped with her notes on the Ming dynasty. They were working on projects that represented the culture and society of their era, and were supposed to pick partners today. Que decided she would try and ask the girl with long reddish blonde hair that sat adjacent to her. What was her name though? She didn't want to wait and be the last picked like before.
When it was time, Que turned to the girl.
"Hallelujah!" Que thought. The girl's name was Tracy and was conveniently plastered numerous times on every inch of her binder. How had she missed that before? This chick sat by her everyday since… well Que actually had no idea when she started sitting there. It didn't matter. Que knew her name and now she just had to say something to her! Que felt extremely anxious though. What was she supposed to say? Hi? Hello? Want to be partners? How about that sunshine today?
"Want to be partners?" Que spluttered out.
Tracy turned to Que, surprised and quite hesitant.
"Uh… sure," Tracy replied. She looked a bit bewildered, but she agreed to be Que's partner and that's all that mattered.
Que had Googled what to do when you first meet someone. She just wanted to make sure she did it right, even though she wasn't really just meeting her. She found that it was best to get to know them by asking questions. Thus, Que launched into twenty questions with Tracy.
She found out that the blue eyed girl was originally from Ireland. Tracy and her mother had immigrated to upstate New York with her mother's brother after her father passed away. She was quite a character and seemed to enjoy talking about herself. Que kept it simple and continuously asked her various questions about her likes and dislikes. Que didn't have to do a whole lot of talking herself. They actually had a few things in common, like their distaste for asparagus and plaid.
Biology was a bit more difficult. She hadn't talked Hank into letting her cut class for lab time. She already had a lab partner for three weeks. Her partner was a burly boy probably about 17. He was actually quite terrible at biology, and Que had already attempted to push him off prior. In the whole class period she managed to say good morning and lend him her plant guide. He had no interest in interacting with Que whatsoever, and she had the feeling the first three weeks of her cold shoulder was responsible.
Finally, it was time for literature and this was the class she had been dreading. She hadn't seen Aasir all weekend and didn't know what to expect. She wrung her hands as she walked to class and some sparks actually erupted a couple of times. She'd definitely need to get a handle on that prior to walking in.
When Que walked into class, she noticed that Aasir wasn't sitting in their usual spot. She spotted him a moment later across the classroom. She was actually a little early today, so there were plenty of vacant seats around him to pick from. As she slid in the spot nearest him, she saw him stiffen. The Professor wasn't there yet, so that gave her a great opportunity to chat.
"Hey, Aasir. I… um…" she trailed off. She had no idea what to say. She had beat the shit out him. How does one come back from that?
He cut in "Look Que, let's just try to make it through this book, and then I don't want to work with you again. Okay?"
She was taken aback some by his sharp tone, but she should not have expected any less. Most of the marks left by the fight were fading or gone. He still had a small cut above his left eyebrow and some bruising around his nose.
"Aasir, I am really sorry. Let me make it up to you, please. I shouldn't have been so rude, and I definitely shouldn't have picked a fight," she said hurriedly.
"You're right you shouldn't have," he replied.
Before Que could say anymore the Professor came in. He immediately saw the tension between them and raised an eyebrow at her. She gave a slight shrug, and he let it go.
As they were released to work with their partners, Que whispered "I'm going to really try and make this right. I am."
He pursed his lips and gave her a wary look, but then continued to read. She did keep her word though. When it came time for the pair to actually discuss the chapters, Que really tried to think about the book and answer questions.
Though Aasir didn't show it, he was impressed. He knew about how she whizzed through most of her other classes, and she genuinely seemed to struggle in here. Her answers were labored and lacked depth, but there was definitely more there than the past three weeks.
By the end of class, Que was exhausted. Who knew trying to be with people was so tiresome? She thought she would be able to knock out lunch with a buddy on the first day, but she needed this time to recoup. She decided that it would have to be a lunch in the tree day after all.
A month later, Que had managed to almost make friends with Tracy, and Luis, her bio partner, was quite amiable now. He really wasn't as dull as she first thought. Turns out, all he needed were some strategies and someone to study with. He passed the test they'd taken that morning with a high B. She still hadn't eaten lunch with anyone, but that may just have to be something she'd work on again next week or maybe the week after. She couldn't win it all.
It was almost time for literature. The one class and classmate she had yet to make much headway in. Aasir was still quite passive towards her, even with her best efforts in cleaning the X-Jet and trying to understand and contribute to their discussions on The Giver. Stupid book, she thought.
"So, Jonas was assigned to be the Receiver of Memory because he can see beyond. What do you think that means?" Aasir asked her.
"Well, maybe he will be like a history scribe or something," Que said.
"I don't know. The old man said it would hurt. Plus, there is only one in the entire community, and he lives completely separate. It's like his job is more of a secret. I don't think writing down the town's history would be painful, and there may be some secrets, but all of it would be a bit much. I wonder how he will receive it?" Aasir pondered.
"There was also something about how tens years prior the apprentice Receiver failed and that was painful for the people," Que offered.
"That is true too. There is something really off about this community though. I know they have the 'feeling sharing time,' but it seems more geared toward ridding themselves of feelings instead of working through them. They seem... void of emotion," Aasir said.
"Really? Hmm, maybe they could give us some tips," Que laughed.
Aasir gave her his 'Really?' look that she had become accustomed to.
"We could always look ahead," she suggested.
He rolled his eyes, but continued "You know emotions help us to relate to one another on a deeper level. When we lack them… I am not sure how to describe it. Psychopath is going a bit far, but we can't empathize with each other or have an in depth relationship," Aasir said contemplatively.
"Emotions make us vulnerable," Que quipped.
"Vulnerability allows us to connect," Aasir said seriously before gazing off.
Que could tell his thoughts were going further in his head. She interrupted his reviery. "You have a wonderful way of making everything I say sound really ignorant."
He looked up and gave her a small smile, the first one she think she'd ever seen on his face. "No, you do that well enough by yourself."
He laughed and continued "You are not doing as terribly as you think, but most of the time you take everything for face value."
"Alright everyone, seeing that it is a beautiful Friday, I am going to let you all out a little early. You're discussions on The Giver have become much more in depth. Nice job. Top marks for today. Class dismissed," the Professor spoke in.
"Wow, that's great! I'm starved," Que said to Aasir as she packed her things.
Aasir turned to her "Me too. You did a good job today Que. Hey, look I apologize for the things I said to you that day. Rude or not, I should have never of said them. Also, I forgive you. So, are we cool?"
Que's stomach was in knots. This was totally unexpected. "I um… yes! Thanks man!" she stammered.
"You want to get some lunch? I know you usually eat with the squirrels, but if you'd like some company today…" he trailed off rubbing his neck as they walked to the door.
"Yeah, sure. I mean squirrels are great lunch buddies, but they are not wonderful conversationalists," Que replied.
"Who you or the squirrels?" Aasir joked. They laughed and continued chatting as they walked out.
Their exchange did not go unnoticed by the Professor, who was still sitting across the classroom, a slight smile playing at his lips.