Namine counted the ticks from the clock. It was impossible to do her work. Riku was all she could think about. His voice captivated her. It sent chills down her spine. He made her feel safe inside. She felt relaxed in his presence. The teacher's voice was a drone in her ears as she thought about how she could spend time with him outside of school. Maybe she could walk him home, help him with his homework, or even stay at school to show him around even more. Finally the bell rang and Namine speeded towards his Physics class. He was there waiting for her.

Riku was amazed at how beautiful she looked walking down the crowded hallway. It was like he was in a cheesy movie. He liked the way her hair bounced and flowed as she came up to him. "Ready to take me to Chemistry?"

"Chemistry? Who's your teacher?" Namine was too scared to jump to conclusions.

"Ms. Fakkiri, do you not know where the class is?"

"Oh, I know where the class is. That is my second period class as well." Namine couldn't believe she was right. This was great. She could sit next to him and smell his cologne all class.

"That's cool. We can sit together. If you don't mind of course," Riku said in one breath.

"I would love to sit with you," Namine turned to her right. "Okay, we go this way."

Riku thought about holding her hand again but was too scared. It was too soon for him to know how she felt. But he did walk closer to her than earlier.

Namine was wondering what she could say to him to get him to want to hang out that afternoon. She didn't know what he liked to do in his spare time so she was a little lost on the topic. After casually asking a few questions she learned that he loved to hang out at the beach, wakeboarding was his thing, and he couldn't live without music.

"Why do you ask? Is there a beach around here? Is the ocean far?" Riku asked like an excited child. He could feel more at home if he could do things like he's used to.

"Well, not the ocean. But there is a nice lake about twenty minutes from the school. It's a quiet place that I like to go to after school to draw."

"Are you going today?" Riku hoped he didn't sound to eager as Namine looked into his eyes.

"Maybe, it depends on how much homework I have. If it is only in one or two classes then I will," Namine took a deep breath. "Would you like to go with me? If your family is ok with it and you don't have something to do."

"We talked last night and said that if I met someone who wanted to hang out, that all I had to do was call them and make sure that they know the other person. And I would love to see this lake. It would make me feel less homesick. Let's talk about it after school." He was sad to end the conversation, but they had just walked into the classroom. He picked out two seats in the middle of the class and they both sat down.

As the bell rang, the teacher walked in and shut the door behind her. She was an older woman with a smile on her face and appeared to be a fun loving woman. "Today is the first day of the second semester. Who here feels like learning something?" No one raised their hand. "Ha! Too bad, kids. Life doesn't care what you feel like doing. It will do what it wants and you have to deal with it. My name is Ms. Fakkiri. If you don't feel like being here, then leave." Three students got up. "But if you do you will be counted truant." The students sat down. "See? Life doesn't care. That was just an extra lesson, free of charge and had nothing to do with Chemistry. So let's get to that. If you look to my right you will see a door. That door is the chemistry lab. Please don't be idiots and try to steal chemicals and think that you can make rocket fuel. It will either kill you or not work period. Moving on, make up work is only good for points if you turn it in the day after you return."

Riku then stopped paying as much attention to her and began to write Namine a note on a sheet of paper. He liked the way this teacher was and hoped Namine did too. He was also hoping that he wouldn't have too much homework after school so he could hang out with her. Halfway through the note the teacher came by.

"What is your name, son?" Ms. Fakkiri asked.

"Riku, mam."

"And I see that you are writing," she took the paper off the desk and read it quietly. "Well I am very pleased to know that you like my teaching method, but that will mean nothing if you don't pay attention to it." She placed the paper back on the desk. "I'm just guessing that you were going to give it to Namine?" Riku nodded his head. "Ok, thank you for being honest. For that I will not give you detention. Now, do you want to participate in a little experiment with me?"

"Sure, is it a chemistry experiment?" Riku asked.

"Of course, boy. This is a chemistry class after all. You go over to my desk and bring me both cups of liquid." Riku did as told. "If you mix dangerous chemicals together you will get an explosion." She poured a packet of powder into both cups. "As you see, nothing happened." She took the cups from Riku. "But when I do this, it becomes a different story." She poured one cup's liquid into the other. The cup started to foam. She then walked over to a sink in the corner and placed the cup in the middle. The cup and its mixture then started to steam. "When you mix dangerous chemicals sometimes you get an explosion, sometimes you only get this. For the rest of the class I want you all to write a paper over what you just saw and what you learned. That is all you have to do and if you do not finish simply do it for homework."

With thirty minutes left, Riku and Namine got busy on the paper. When the bell finally rang they each had wrote on the front and back. As they left the class they handed the papers to Ms. Fakkiri. She nodded and they left the room.

It was lunchtime. School was almost over for the day. Throughout lunch they subtly flirted back and forth. Anyone watching could have thought they were a couple. Namine would play with Riku's hair, then he would tickle her. The two were having fun teasing each other when the bell for third period rang.

"Guess it's time to go. I have Algebra II next."

"Ok. That's just down the hall." She was sad to leave him but maybe it was good that they didn't get burned out on each other so soon.

The next few classes flew by for Riku. He really couldn't remember anything that he had learned. He was excited to see the lake. It was almost all he could think about. When school was out he found a pay phone to call his family to make sure it was ok to hang out. Riku was anxious to go when they gave their consent. He and Namine walked mostly in silence the whole way. It was a comfortable silence. It was a silence where they were each reflecting on things and sorting it all out in their minds.

When they finally reached the lake Riku was amazed at the sight. The water was a beautiful shade of blue and the green lustrous trees added to the beauty of it all. Only a few boats were out on the water. He looked around and saw four different beaches. Each one had its own look to it. The sand looked so inviting to him. He walked over to a pavilion to take off his socks and shoes and to put down his books. He then walked to the nearest sandbar. The sand on his bare feet felt like heaven. It reminded him of walking around after wakeboarding all day. After a few minutes he realized that he had left Namine at the pavilion. He turned around and called out to her, but she wasn't there.