Claire Edwards took her seat in the third row of her Biology class, right in the center of the room so that she got the most optimal view of the lesson. She sat down and flipped open her textbook to page thirty-four as the note on the front board instructed her to do.
She had just begun reading when a shadow fell over her shoulder and she felt someone's presence hovering above her.
"I didn't know you were in this class too Claire."
Claire looked up and saw Kaylie smiling down at her.
"Oh, Kaylie, what are you doing here?" She asked.
Kaylie swung her hip to the side to accommodate the weight of her books, "The first Biology class I was placed in didn't work out, and so I got put in here. At least now I have someone I know in my class." She said happily.
Claire let out a questionable laugh, as though she wasn't sure whether she was happy or sad. There was something off about Kaylie that Claire simply couldn't put her finger on, and trying to figure it out had been weighing heavily on Claire's mind lately.
Claire pointed to the seat next to her, "You can sit there if you'd like."
"Thanks Claire." Kaylie beamed, and glided into the desk beside Claire.
Mrs. Cohen flew into the room, covering the space between the door and the front board in three long strides.
"I hope everyone did their homework last night," She said bitterly. Then she went around the room slapping a yellow sheet down on each student's desk, "Because I've decided to double the point value, and any work not completed will be marked as a zero." A few groans came from the back of the room and Mrs. Cohen continued, "Don't thank me yet, you're also going to be taking a pop quiz."
Now the whole class howled in protest. Mrs. Cohen held up her hand sternly and silence fell over the room. "If anyone has any objection to taking the quiz, they can feel free to come and discuss it with me in detention this afternoon." When no one spoke she smirked, "Good, you all have three minutes to answer the questions I've handed to you, starting now."
Claire, having known the material like the back of her hand, finished the quiz with over a minute to spare. She casually peered over at Kaylie who seemed to be working peacefully, but upon closer inspection, Claire could see that she was gripping her pencil so tightly that her knuckles turned white and her hands shook slightly.
"Pencils down." Mrs. Cohen commanded. She snatched up everyone's papers, pausing only when she got to Kaylie who was still frantically scribbling her answers. Mrs. Cohen cleared her throat deliberately louder than normal, but Kaylie ignored her.
Irritated, Mrs. Cohen spat, "I know you may be new to this class, but when I say pencil's down I expect you to do so."
Kaylie reluctantly stopped writing and allowed the teacher to collect her work. Claire kept a close watch on her for the rest of the period, but nothing out of the ordinary happened. If anything, she could say that Kaylie was being strangely quiet, she had barely lifted her head once.
"So who can tell me what causes mutations in a person's DNA?" Asked Mrs. Cohen.
Kaylie's head shot up and her hand soared into the air. "It's because of a person heredity."
Mrs. Cohen shook her head, "It's a contributing factor, but it's not the main cause I was looking for."
"Oh..." Kaylie whispered.
Claire saw Kaylie's left foot twitch and her nails dig into the side of her notebook. Her eyes became glassy and wet as her hand crawled up in the air once more. "Can I go to the bathroom?" She asked so quietly that her voice was hardly auditable.
Mrs. Cohen nodded at her and she darted out of the room.
Claire's jaw shifted, contemplating on what she should do. She grabbed Kaylie's notebook and examined where her nails had dug through nearly ten pages. Her decision finally became clear to her and she stood up, "I have to use the bathroom too. It can't wait."
Mrs. Cohen gave her a look of deep disapproval but simply stated, "Make it fast."
Claire walked swiftly through the hall, hesitating when she arrived in front of the bathroom door. She didn't need to be inside to hear the sound of something shatter. The way it echoed through the empty hallway was like a gunshot and Claire briefly considered turning around. But she couldn't bring herself to go back so cautiously, she pushed open the door.
Every faucet in the room was running at full blast and the mirror that covered the length of the wall had been smashed in the middle. Kaylie was pacing back and forth quickly, rubbing her wrist and mumbling, "I got it wrong. How could I do that? How could I get the answer wrong? Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!" Her mascara ran down her face along with along with a river of tears. She didn't notice Claire until she heard the door shut behind her and she jumped back in surprise. "Oh my god, Claire!" Kaylie cried, wiping her face with the back of her sleeve. "I...I...I didn't break the mirror Claire, I swear. It was broken before I got here! I didn't do it!"
Claire started, not knowing what to say.
Kaylie ran over to her frenzied with fear, "You can't tell Eli about this Claire, okay?" She pleaded, "He can't find out about this! He just can't! I got a little upset, that's all, he doesn't need to know! You can't tell him, please! Promise me you won't say anything! Promise!"
Claire backed away, a million thoughts were going through her mind at once, but as she looked into Kaylie's tearstained eyes, she found herself saying, "Okay...I promise..."
A/N: I haven't taken biology yet so don't hate me for not getting my facts right, but feel free to comment on anything else. Oh, and there will be more Eli in the next chapter, sadly he didn't get to make an appearance in this one.