Chapter 5 – Topic of Discussion

Death the Kid

On my way into lecture I ran into Soul, and he seemed curious at my sudden presence. "I thought you planned to stay in bed for the day." He asked, eyeing me curiously.

I couldn't help but sigh. "I couldn't sleep anymore." I really didn't feel like discussing my morning in the infirmary any further, and he seemed to pick up on that.

He opened the door and then passed it to me. "We're really late. We're probably going to end up in your father's office for this."

For some reason his words passed over me.

"Where's your cousin?" I asked, trying to appear nonchalant.

Soul was already several steps ahead of me, but turned and looked over his left shoulder. If he noticed my anxiety at asking, he didn't mention it. "She went to check in. She'll probably be here shortly." He continued walked and took a seat in the row next to Maka, who started an immediate discussion about his late arrival.

I realized it was between lectures, but Professor Stein was already sitting at the teachers' desk shuffling papers already for the next session. His presence signaled that it was at least third hour. I approached him, feeling sheepish at my late arrival. "I apologize for being late this morning. Something unexpected happened."

Stein looked up at me from his work. His stitched face seemed fazed by my presence at his lecture. "I'm actually surprised you're here. I heard you had a concussion and were supposed to stay in the infirmary for the day."

I shifted my weight and stuffed my hands in my pants pockets. "I couldn't relax enough to stay there. And I feel well enough to sit in class. There's no real reason for me to stay in bed."

I realized I was making up excuses for coming to class and felt foolish.

Stein looked up and took note of the fact that my head was still wrapped. "Fine, but if I notice any unusual behavior, or you're feeling ill you're going back."

"That's fine." I stated flatly.

Then it hit me.

"How did you find out?" I asked, eyeing him.

Stein blinked. "What do you mean?" He looked back at the desk and rearranged his papers into a different order. "I'm pretty sure most of the school knows about this morning's incident."

I stared at him incredulously, and I felt my eyes narrow. "You're not serious, are you?"

He continued to look at his work. "Turn around and look at the lecture hall."

I did as he instructed and then realized that I was in fact a topic of discussion. Many of the students, most of whom I didn't know by name, appeared to be discussing me. Most looked at me and then began a discussion with their neighbors. Some looked and giggled. I noticed that the only people who didn't were those I counted among my friends.

"Take a seat so I can get started." Stein commented flatly.

I turned and walked up to the third aisle. Instead of bothering to climb over the people already in the row, I climbed over the back of the bench. I took an open space between Liz and Soul. Liz scowled at me like, I had done something terrible, and I tried to ignore her gaze. When I did, she flipped her blond hair over her shoulder and began a discussion with Patty. I folded my arms across my chest and tried to make it look like I wasn't bothered by the discussions and looks.

I was failing miserably at it, apparently.

Soul turned to me, confused. "You sure you're feeling up to being here? You're white as a sheet."

I wasn't going to mince words on his question. "I don't care for being a topic of discussion for people I don't know." I stated harshly.

He sat back in his seat and folded his arms behind his head. "If it was me, I would have stayed in bed. Claimed headaches, or something."

I could hear Maka tell him that was because he was lazy, but I wasn't listening particularly well. I was waiting to see the source of this whole problem.