I slipped into the lecture hall. I beat the professor again. I usually did. But today we'd finally find out who had the high score on the biology exam. Well, I knew who had the high score, but I wanted everyone else to know, too.

"Morning Rin."

"Hey Kanami." She was the one girl I would consider a friend. Even though she liked to tease me, I knew it was a joke. At least, I was pretty sure it was.

"Look at you, here early, studying. This is why you don't have a boyfriend or a social life. Get a hobby."

"Gee, Nami. You've got such helpful advice." The professor walked into the double doors and pinned the grades up on the bulletin board.

"We both know you want to see the scores." She flipped her brown hair into a ponytail and pulled out a compact.

"It's not that big of a deal," I lied.

"Let me touch up my mascara and we'll look. I'm dreading it," she replied, not missing a beat as she slicked on bright pink lip-gloss. "I thought you had a blue test like me, but you had the green one. I copied a bunch of the wrong answers."

"You could have studied with me."

She rolled her eyes and sighed disgustedly. If I had done that, I would have had a line of mascara all down my face. "The rugby team had a party that night. I wasn't going to miss another one."

"Which one did you end up sleeping with?"

She grinned. I swear, she looked like a Cheshire cat. "One?"

"You really are enjoying the college experience, aren't you?"

Kanami brushed some eyeshadow onto her fingers and painted her eyelids. The pink matched her lip-gloss. And her shoes. And her bag. It seemed she had a theme going on. "Come with me next time. I'll do your makeup and no one will recognize the bio-nerd."

How could I tell her that when I wasn't studying, I was trying not to get killed in my own home? Or that I was stealing art, money, artifacts or whatever else my mom wanted. Especially now that my father was out on business. "Yeah, next time."

She snapped the compact closed and stood up. "Let's face the music."

A group of students gathered around the bulletin board as they entered, creating a human logjam. My heart raced as we stepped closer. It was the same thrill I got when dodging underneath a laser grid. Wow, I really am a nerd…

"Do you think a 64 will pass?"

I started reading the scores from the bottom up. I had already passed Nami's, and figured that she would probably get a C. Most of the scores seemed to be in the sixties. I still hadn't seen my name.

"No surprise, Rinny dear. You're at the top."

My eyes skipped to the top score, but it wasn't me. I had a 98. Top score: 100%. "Who the hell is Shuichi Minamino?"

"That would be me. A pleasure to meet your acquaintance." I turned to see a tall red-head leaning in next to Kanami. I suppose red-head might not even be the right way to describe him. Minamino's hair was a vibrant, red. It had to be a dye job. The locks fell around his face and down his back. I was surprised at how youthful his face was, and so pretty. Almost feminine. And I hate to say it, but he had gorgeous green eyes.

"Nice to meet you," I managed to grunt out.

"Rin, you have the second best score in a class of 300. Be happy with that."

"Yes, Nami. But I worked and studied so hard. I thought I was going to get the top grade for sure." I turned to Shuichi. "What's your secret? I heard that no one ever gets a perfect score on Doc Pettibone's tests."

He smirked, the grin not reaching those beautiful eyes. "Just luck I suppose. I made a few educated guesses on some of the multiple choice questions."

"Luck?" I frowned, trying to figure this guy out. "One of these days, I'd really like to know your study technique, Minamino."

"Perhaps," he nodded. He turned away, his long hair flicking past, leaving a scent of vanilla and pine. I wonder what soap he uses.

"Rin, please try to get the same test as me next time. I can't afford to fail this class. My mother will disown me."

I had grabbed the same test as her, but switched it with a sleight of hand trick before I sat down. Kanami was as close to a friend that I had here, but I didn't want her getting better grades from copying my hard work. "I'll try."

"We'll go over the test at the end of class today, folks. For now, I want you to take a look at the monitor. I've got a few little critters I want you to take a look at." Doc Pettibone pointed out some daphnia on the screen and I took my seat. Nami squeezed into the chair next to me.

I knew enough about aquatic microscopic organisms, so I took a minute to search for Minamino. He was a farther down from me, and a row ahead. I squinted, looking at how he took notes, but couldn't make anything out. I'll get you on the next one.

…

Studying for the plant physiology midterm exhausted me. I nearly fell asleep in the library going over the differences between photosystem I and photosystem II. But I had it memorized now.

My cell phone jingled. Mom. "What's up?"

"Where are you?" She sounded serious.

"The library. Studying."

"I'm picking you up. We need to move out on our plan now."

"I thought we were going at midnight."

I could hear the sounds of traffic through her end. "I'll be there in ten minutes and I'll brief you in the car."

"Okay, bye." She had already hung up. The library was practically deserted. I had found an open space on the third floor no one seemed to know about. It was a little creepy being in the huge building alone, but I knew how to get out of jams better than anyone. I wasn't afraid.

I gathered my books and my ipod and threw them into my bag. Something felt off. I felt eyes on me. "Who's there?" I whipped around, searching the stacks for who was with me in the room. Nothing. "I'm getting paranoid. The jitters."

Still, I fingered the pocketknife I always kept with me. Ready to draw it across the shoulders or stomach of an assailant. Can't be too careful.

I walked through the stacks and down to the second floor. The stairs to the exit were on the opposite side, so I trekked through the stacks of history references. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed someone studying.

How had I never noticed that bright red hair in class before? "Late night?"

Shuichi turned, and seemed surprised to see me. Sort of. It was almost as though he didn't expect me to speak to him. "Rin-San. Good to see you."

"You, too, Minamino-San." I would rather not see him at all, considering that I wanted to be top of my class, but that would be rude to say aloud. "Are those your aquatic entomology notes? May I see them?"

"These? Oh, no. They happen to be my Greek history notes."

"Really?" I peeked over his shoulder to look at style, but couldn't read anything. The symbols looked familiar. I saw a drawing of a temple with what looked like kanji, probably not related to the notes. "Are you taking them in Greek?"

"Yes, actually. I find it helps me to understand the culture more by writing in the native tongue."

Holy hell in a helicopter. I was screwed. There's no way I could ever beat a guy how just knows Greek. He was in an entirely different league than I was. It sucks, but that humbled me pretty quickly. "I'm impressed."

I checked my phone. I still had ten minutes before my mom would pick me up. "I just enjoy languages," he smiled.

"And science."

"Indeed."

I searched his eyes. They seemed so open and deep. I felt like I could trust him, at least as a study partner. "Listen, it pains me to ask, but would you study with me? I want to get better."

He scratched his chin. "Perhaps."

Anger flared up in the pit of my stomach. "Listen, if you don't want to partner up with me, just say so."

I took off, refusing to enjoy the woodsy smell around him."

…

My mom pulled up in front of the library, her tires grazing the curb. "Get in!" She opened my door from the inside and I climbed in. I barely had time to close the door before she took off.

"Mom! Let me put my seatbelt on. I don't want to go through the windshield if you crash."

She ignored me. "Your supplies are in the back." She looked me up and down as I held on for dear life. "Put on the jacket and try to tuck your hair into the hat."

I threw my bag in the back and grabbed the dark blue jacket. My tool bag was ready for me underneath. The light jacket fit snugly to my body. I would have to start wearing this more often. It showed off my curves.

"And put some of this kohl on." She tossed a stick of makeup at me.

"Why are we in such a hurry?"

"The entrance to Spirit World is going to close soon. I wonder if they caught wind to what we're doing."

"So, what are we stealing from there? Is it like, some kind of costume store or something?"

"I'll be stealing it. I need you to disarm the gate, watch the entrance and clear a path on the way out."

That was new. "When did you decide this change of plans? I always go in and steal the goods."

"This is too important to risk. We have to get this artifact."

Something was off. Mom was too jumpy. It made me nervous. I was never nervous before a job. "Why is this so important?"

She glanced at me before making a sharp turn. "If we don't get this artifact…" She trailed off, and I looked around, expecting to see police lights. Mom was definitely going over the speed limit.

I saw an entrance gate shimmering in the darkness in front of us. The bronze slats stood ten feet tall, and a strange design marked the opening. Sort of like an "E" with a backwards "E" following it. Something seemed strange, like it was out of place here. Almost otherworldly.

"Why do we need to go in here again? It gives me the creeps."

"If we don't get that artifact, your father will die."