Professor Robert Callaghan was surprised to see a group of students already making themselves comfortable in the lab when he walked in, gabbing and exchanging numbers like they were old friends. He couldn't help but notice it was the same group he had seen in the audience at the orientation ceremony the other day. At least, he thought it was. In his middle agedness- if that was even a term- he found himself second-guessing a lot of things nowadays. Clapping his hands idly, he caught their attention, the blond girl nudging a boy with a teal beanie to look up from whatever he was doing (whilst wearing a mascot suit, no less.)
"Well, uh, it's nice seeing some new faces here," he greeted them with a slight nod, and some of them replied with small "hello's" or a simple salute. The other girl- the one with purple streaks in her hair- was blowing bubblegum just as she had at the opening ceremony, looking as bored as ever.
"Sir, when will we be starting to build the robots?" piped up one of the young men, and Robert slicked his hair back as he pondered the question, jumping as he met his eyes.
It was the young man he had stolen a glance at as he walked onstage and delivered his speech, he knew. He was wearing the same black baseball cap to hide the same messy black hair. His almond shaped brown eyes glittered with wonder and admiration as he waited for an answer, politely clasping his hands on the table in front of him. As he looked at him, the light seemed to glorify his presence, and Robert tugged a bit at his collar, undoing the top button as his breath came in haggard gasps.
Either he was getting older by the minute or this kid was having some sort of….. effect on him.
"And you are…?" he trailed off, waiting for a name.
"Oh, right! Tadashi Hamada, sir, pleasure to meet you!" he replied quickly, half-standing as he went to shake the professor's hand. Robert was surprised by his strong grip, his wrist twitching slightly as their hands met. Tadashi's skin was as smooth as a finely cultivated pearl, a pillow for his rough, callous decorated fingers with cracked skin and a few liver spots here and there. Once Tadashi pulled away, Robert let his hand linger before letting it fall momentarily at his side.
"Well, Mr. Hamada," he cleared his throat, acutely aware of the heat left on his hand, Tadashi's fingers having left a ghostly presence on his skin, "You can get started anytime you like-"
"Great!" the student exclaimed, jumping out of his chair, "You know, I've had this idea that I think could really help people, and I want to get started on it as soon as possible. Of course, I'll have to bring in the blueprints from home, but-" The blond girl, Robert noticed out of the corner of his eye, chuckled to herself as Tadashi rambled, having begun playing around with some of the equipment- a hacksaw, a few test-tubes, and a rather large piece of scrap vinyl.
"You already have blueprints….?" Robert asked awkwardly, feeling the heat rise to his face. Never before had he met a student so prepared for class, no so enthusiastic. Tadashi ignored his question, picking up the vinyl and holding it up against his face, scrutinizing the others as if he were a detective staring through a magnifying glass, one eye squeezed shut. The professor's gaze darted automatically to Tadashi's lips, how his tongue stuck out slightly between his teeth as he observed them, turning the vinyl over in his hands. They looked incredibly soft….
What the hell? Robert scolded himself, shaking his head, He's a student, you shouldn't be thinking such things… Shaking his head, he pushed the thought away, nearly shivering at the fact he had thought of something so absolutely vile. Tadashi's voice pulled him back to reality:
"I'm gonna need a lot of vinyl, sir," he stated, "Probably about a good pound or three of it." Robert opened his mouth to say something, surprised when the blond girl spoke up herself. Robert turned to look at her as she spoke.
"Is vinyl even measured in pounds, Tadashi?" she pointed out, pushing a pair of large hot pink glasses up the bridge of her nose. Tadashi shrugged.
"You know, I'm not even sure, but I guess I'll figure it out later, huh?" was tadashi's nonchalant reply, tucking the scrap under his arm. Whistling to himself, he added, "But I' definitely going to try to start as soon as possible. Who knows how long this will take?"
They watched as Tadashi began digging through other buckets of material lying around, gasping and squealing with excitement as he found wires and broken pieces of metal, nuts and bolts just lying around. It was almost like seeing a hobo dumpster diving for dinner, marveling at each piece of food he would find that was even remotely edible.
As Robert watched him, he had decided that this Tadashi Hamada was one to watch. If he had such a reaction to the boy again, then something was definitely up.
Hopefully it wouldn't hinder his position as a teacher, but he knew, as he filled the others in on the curriculum, that only time could tell.