≠ Two
"So when one phosphate is separated from the molecule, it goes from ATP back to ADP."
Levia squints, scribbling down her answer. "Okay…"
"Because it's adenosine tri-phosphate, then one is removed, making it adenosine di-phosphate. Does that make sense?"
Her nose scrunches up for a fraction of a second and she throws her head back. "Ohhhh."
Dib grins. "You get it?"
"Yes," the girl intones excitedly. Her eyes gleam and she gives him a delighted look. "That's why the ATP is the larger one and ADP is the smaller. I get it!"
"Isn't it crazy?" The man plops down beside her, his white teeth flashing as he gazes at the teenager. "Life is so complex. Our cells are going through these processes all the time that we can hardly wrap our heads around. It's just unbelievable."
"It really is." She nods sheepishly, her bangs fluffing over her eyes. "I wish we didn't learn it all so fast. You don't really have time to think things through before you have to move on to something else." Her delicate fingers rest on the cover of her workbook after she closes it. He watches her stare self-consciously at her lap and smiles.
"You're smarter than you give yourself credit for, kid."
"Thanks." Levia bites her lip. She slides her completed homework onto the coffee table and folds her hands over her knees. "Mom knows all this stuff, but I'm almost embarrassed to ask her. I don't like her knowing that I'm still learning things that are so … so basic, I guess."
When the slim, spectacle-clad man is silent, the girl glances up to find him watching her in fascination.
"You know," he says finally, "you might just be weirder than me."
The blonde lasts all of two seconds before bursting into laughter.