Chapter 5
The exam
Today was a good day. Korra was in a great mood. Exam week was over and she got to spend the weekend getting some much earned sleep. She met Asami in the quad and walked with her to their morning chemistry class with a skip in her step.
"I think I did well on that exam, Asami!" The Southerner chirped as the sun shined. It was a rather warm day for being halfway through the semester. The older woman smiled in response and yawned. While Korra had spent her weekend sleeping, the engineer was busy working on a project. She couldn't help but enjoy the Water Tribe girl's energy, though. They took their usual seats in class. Much to the brunette's delight, the bulky man, as well as most of the class, had returned to a normal sitting arrangement far away from the front.
Dr. Sentai walked in with a stack of papers in his arm. "Your exams have been graded. I'm sure you will get the grades you've deserved." Asami thought she noticed a glare from the professor coming their way, but she dismissed it. He handed out the exams, one by one, starting with the almost-empty first row. He handed the raven her test face down and stopped when he reached Korra. She looked at him with hopeful eyes. He scowled in return and walked past her to distribute the rest of the exams.
Korra glanced at Asami and she shrugged in response. When Korra motioned to ask the instructor for her exam, the engineer shook her head. The Southerner waited for the professor to return. He had one test left in his hand.
It has to be mine! She remained eager. He put up a crooked smile and walked to his desk, papers still to his side.
"You were late to the exam," Sentai began, "so the exam will be late to you."
Korra frowned and Asami's fists clenched. This is ridiculous. The porcelain woman was ready to raise her hand in protest, but the Water Tribe girl put a palm on her forearm to stop her. Those peridot eyes were angry. She sighed and folded her arms over her chest to contain her frustration. He's such an ass.
The professor went through the lesson with occasional glowers at Korra. She was much too busy taking notes to notice, but it didn't slip past Asami. She perceived everything: it was in her nature.
Class had finally finished. Students began filing out, some even shooting Korra similar looks to Sentai's. She either didn't see them or didn't care, the engineer noted. She waited by Korra's side at the professor's desk. He didn't say a word and waved at Asami to leave. She obliged, but not before sending him her own scowl. He remained unfazed as she shut the door much harder than necessary. She walked down the hallway, her boots swift but silent, as she made her way to lab. He's such an ass.
(-)
Korra showed up fifteen minutes late. She walked over to Asami and unpacked her draw without a sound. All of the energy she had was gone. The Southerner scanned the procedure and joined in for the next step. She wasn't much help, though; her hands wouldn't stop quivering.
Asami pulled the Water Tribe palms away from the beakers. "Korra, what happened?" She tried to see those blue eyes but the younger woman prevented the connection.
"Korra, you're late. I don't appreciate tardiness." The professor stood before them.
The engineer didn't realize she was still holding Korra's hands until she felt them shake even more. She gave them a squeeze. "She's not feeling well, sir." The sweaty strands of hair stuck to the tan forehead next to her helped fuel her lie. "She's been coming down with something for a few days." The instructor eyed Asami, then Korra. He put a hand on the younger woman's makeshift shawl, her distress as clear as their glassware. Her original solution to the "you can't wear sleeveless shirts to lab" was to wear her parka to class. The raven soon learned that this was the only article of clothing Korra had with actual sleeves, so the engineer fashioned a shoulder cover for her tops to protect her exposed skin.
"Why don't you go get some water?" He ushered Korra out of the room and returned to a nervous Asami. Before he could say anything, another student called him over with a hood full of smoke. He rushed over and the older woman continued the experiment, her eyes more on the door than her flasks.
The Southerner returned a bit less sweaty and a bit more at ease. She still avoided those green eyes and fumbled with the glassware.
"Korra, let me do this. Can you record the data for me?"
She surrendered the beakers without a word and started scribbling the numbers and notes Asami gave out. Much to their luck, her trembling didn't affect her script. They had made a substantial amount of acetylsalicylic acid crystals by the end of their procedure. The engineer turned in their result for analysis and left Korra to clean the equipment. She figured the younger woman needed something mindless to do to help her unwind.
They walked to lunch together in silence. Korra stopped shaking, but her eyes were glued to the floor and her head was hung low.
"What do you want for lunch? My treat."
She shook her head; she had no appetite.
Asami put her hands on Korra's now-bare shoulders, trying to see those blue irises again.
Nothing.
"Do you want to go for a walk instead? Where there aren't as many people?"
She nodded. The engineer led them out of the Dining Center and into an empty staircase. She sat on the bottom step and motioned for Korra to follow. She lowered herself beside the older woman and rested her head on her knees. Asami put her arm around her back and pulled her closer.
"What happened?"
"I… I failed."
Her eyes were wide with shock. "You failed?" Tears swelled behind Korra's lids but she forced them away. Asami tightened her grip. "How could you fail?"
"Because I'm fucking stupid."
"You're not stupid, Korra. What did Sentai say?"
"He handed me my test, smirked, and told me to get the hell out of his room."
Asami's nails dug into the younger woman. She winced at the pain. The engineer rose with fiery eyes but tan hands held her in place so she couldn't storm out.
"Don't, Asami. There's nothing you can do."
"He's setting you up. He's being biased. Let me see your exam." She spoke with a ferocity that demanded submission.
The Water Tribe girl fished her test out of her bag and avoided Asami's pupils again. She slumped against the stairs and stared at her feet.
"Korra, there's no way you should have failed this exam – "
"But I did."
Asami gave Korra a look that the younger woman couldn't see; she didn't like being interrupted when she was angry. "Yes, you made some mistakes. But there's no way you should have lost enough points to be a failure. This question was done right and he still took points off!" She looked down to her defeated friend on the steps. "Why aren't you upset about this? Why aren't you outraged?"
"I am!" Korra was eye to eye with the engineer, the stair below her giving her the needed height boost. "I am pissed. I'm upset. I'm sad. I'm fucking disappointed in myself. And I've been trying to hold this all in because I didn't want to lose my shit in front of the whole damn college!" Her hands were shaking and there was fire in her blue eyes. She snatched her exam from Asami's hands and exploded out of the stairwell.
The raven felt instant guilt for yelling at Korra as the door slammed shut. She grabbed her black bag from the steps and followed her. Once outside the exit, she scanned the area.
Korra was nowhere to be found.