As I'm writing this chapter, it's Christmas Eve 2020. Christmas Day is in 2 minutes. I'm not that sober. Let's write this special chapter 10 months in advance.

Happy Second Anniversary to this story!

Year Three: The (Lab) Report

Sci-Tech Practical Laboratory - 11:59 AM

To everyone's surprise, Prof Nine was supplying the class. As they waited for him to start, knowing that they won't be discussing practical uses for holographic technology in the field, they sit and chat amongst themselves. James stands with Prof Nine at the front since he has no idea what this course is and what to do, and everyone knows James wouldn't be helpful. The class was on the edge of their seats, seeing what they'll talk about, and got more excited when James headed to his seat with a smile and Prof Nine shushed everyone.

"Thank me later," James whispers to Daniel and Keith as he sits between them.

"Alright, class," Prof Nine says to the class as he types on the computer, "we'll be starting this class with a Ted Talk."

Murmurs spread throughout the class as the video loads on the screen for everyone. Suddenly, it erupts into cheers when Emily Stark appears on the screen. Prof Nine shushes them, grinning as he starts playing Emily Stark's Ted Talk on artificial intelligence. James whistles the loudest amongst the screams as he smacks Keith's and Daniel's back.

Daniel, keeping quiet, smiles to himself as he sees his fiancée on the projector screen. He remembers when Emily told him she was making one since her university for next year suggested it if she wants to get her express Ph.D. with them. So, in true Emily Stark fashion, she wore her best outfit and made a Ted Talk for them for the end of the week. When it was posted online, it went viral and he remembers Sci-Tech losing their minds over it. He would hear it through the walls and in the common room. It was everywhere.

That woman up there is his fiancée and he can't believe it.

Daniel glances to the side as Emily starts talking and sees Naomi staring at him. His face grows red and he hopes Naomi doesn't connect the dots but why would she? Instead, she's smiling at him.

"Sorry…" Naomi whispers, leaning over to him. "You look like you love her deeper than a famous public figure and I think that's beautiful."

Daniel clears his throat as he nods, his face burning as he slouches in his seat.

-o-

Once Emily Stark's Ted Talk ended and the applause died down, Prof Nine found the lesson plan and saw there was a lab assigned for the rest of the class.

"Assigned partners," Prof Nine announces and the class groans in misery.

"Don't worry," James whispers to his friends. "I handled that since I found the lesson plan for him. I got you."

"Alright," Prof Nine states as he starts reading the list. "Banner and Pym. Keith and Naomi."

James grins as Keith looks at him in pure shock. He shakes his head rapidly over James nodding in encouragement. They look over at Naomi who seems unfazed as she scribbles in a notebook.

"She hates it," Keith says. "She hates me."

"She probably wasn't listening," Daniel reasons.

"Yes, I was," Naomi says before looking up from her notebook and smiling at them.

Keith shrivels in his seat, hiding behind Daniel.

-o-

They've moved to lab stations, now equipped with materials they need and wearing their lab coats and safety goggles. They were working on their experiment, Daniel and Naomi taking control of their respective groups as Keith kept his distance and James looked like he was paying attention.

"You know, you could do stuff too," Naomi tells Keith, handing him the directions.

"Uh," Keith hesitates. He didn't want to get in her way and make her uncomfortable so he just stood there. Now, he feels useless.

Before either of them could say anything, everyone turns to a sudden scream coming from, of course, James' lab table.

"Ow!" James yells at Daniel, holding his hand against his chest. "Why the fuck was that so hot?"

"Because it's a Bunsen burner and we turned it on!" Daniel yells back. How he managed to keep his cool with James for his whole life is a question nobody could answer.

Before James could argue, Prof Nine runs over with a fire extinguisher and douses James in it. James yelps as Daniel laughs, recording this and the class just stares in shock.

Keith scoffs, not surprised by anything happening. "I've heard of a Bunsen burner but not a dunce-n burner."

Naomi looks up at him and smiles before looking back at James now covered in white foam. Keith, having caught her smile, takes that smile as a personal victory.

"Okay," Prof Nine states once the fire extinguisher is empty, "class dismissed but submit your reports online by midnight tonight."

-o-

"You're an idiot," Daniel states as he, James, and Keith leave class together.

"Are you kidding me?" James says, now foam-free. "I saved the awkwardness in there and now I can get Angela to dote on me."

"It wasn't awkward," Keith says since he knows James was referring to him.

"It hurt less getting burned."

"Angela will call you an idiot too," Daniel says to him. "She can dote on you after we write the lab report."

James groans. "I was getting there. Forget about the report for a second. Keith made Naomi laugh with a stupid pun that almost killed me. Speaking of, Keith, get Naomi so we can work on the report together. All four of us to save you from being mute. It's due at midnight."

"What?" Keith asks. "You want me to go talk to her?"

"Yeah," James states, "what's the big deal?"

Keith blinks. "Have you been paying attention to anything?"

"Yeah."

James shoves Keith in Naomi's direction. She was leaning against the wall beside a corkboard littered with posters and announcement flyers. Naomi glances up and pushes her glasses up her nose as she smiles at Keith. If anything, it seemed like she was waiting for him to pass by so they could talk about the lab report due tonight, or more specifically, in a couple of hours.

"Say something," James mutters, standing a few feet nearby with Daniel.

Keith turns back. "I lost my groove after the stupid pun."

"Naomi," Daniel calls, getting this conversation started since he wants to leave, "wanna meet with us later and work on the report? The four of us?"

Naomi nods. "Sure. I could do after 8 if that works?"

The three boys look at each other and nod. It gives James a chance to clean up from getting sprayed on with a fire extinguisher.

"Darwin Library?" Naomi asks.

"If that's where you'd like," Keith says.

"Yeah, that's why I offered it." She smiles at them. "I'll see you then."

Naomi walks away and James stands next to Keith, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"We have a lot of work to do," James says, "and I'm not talking about that stupid report."

"I don't need your or Daniel's help," Keith says. "I never did."

James scoffs, grinning brightly. "He's engaged to a goddess and I have a girl who could do way better than me. We know what we're doing."

-o-

Darwin Library - 20:12 PM

Daniel, James, and Keith sit at a table with their computers and books out, ready to start working on the report that's due in a little under four hours. Plenty of time. Some of their classmates were sitting nearby working on the same reports. All they were waiting for was Naomi. They could text her and see if she forgot or if she was running late, but they didn't have her number or any of her social media handles. They could look it up but that seemed creepy. It didn't help that Keith seemed restless, and turning his head towards the main doors in case she'd walk in.

"Why don't we switch seats so you'd be facing the door and see her walk in?" Daniel suggests.

"I see you changed your shirt," James says, noticing that Keith wasn't wearing a graphic tee but a turtleneck. "Is that a date shirt? Didn't think you had one of those."

"Shut up," Keith says.

"Remember, the libraries have a no-necking rule for private study rooms. Angela and I learned that in freshman year."

Keith rolls his eyes. "What if Naomi's not coming? It's already 8:20 and she said 8!"

"She'll come for the report," Daniel says, not looking up from his laptop.

"Or maybe she's dead in a ditch."

James scoffs that point. "There's a difference between fashionably late and MIA. Maybe she wanted to look nice for you."

"I highly doubt that and as if she needed to try."

"Try what?" Naomi asks as she takes a seat next to Keith.

The table is silent as Naomi puts down her hot coffee and takes off her jacket. As she goes through her bag to take out her computer, notebook, and glasses, Daniel and James make incomprehensible and incoherent hand signals to tell Keith to talk to her. How did they get girlfriends?

"Uh -" Keith cleverly starts.

"So, you guys doing your field tests soon?" Naomi asks as she wipes off her glasses.

"I got out of it because of asthma," Keith says proudly.

"I'm also in Operations," James says. "That program is a field test that I can't escape."

"I'm trying to find a way out of it," Daniel says sharply.

Naomi nods. "Ah, I was just curious since I'm delaying mine till next year in case any of you wanted to do the same."

Daniel closes his laptop. "Shit, what did you tell them?"

"Oh, I was at Camp SHIELD this year and said I was traumatized. They didn't ask any more questions."

"You're welcome," James says proudly. He knew that the earthquake he caused certainly left some people shaken.

Keith looks at her. "You were at Camp? Were you a counsellor?"

Naomi shakes her head, smiling gratefully. "No, my SO wanted me to handle clerical stuff. It was really lame. Anyways, let's get started on this report, shall we?"

-o-

"What's your last name?" Keith asks once they've properly started working on the report.

Naomi glances at him and scrunches her brows in the centre. "What?"

Keith clears his throat. "For the report."

Naomi pauses. "Oh, it's Malliga. Naomi Malliga." She spells it out for him and he types it. "You know, you could use the internet instead of asking me. Look up the class list or even had me type it myself since we're on the same doc."

"Where's the fun in that?"

Naomi grins as she goes back to the report. Keith glances at James and Daniel who are back at making the weird plane motions with their hands that, for some odd reason, don't draw Naomi's attention. Keith could almost directly ask them what they're trying to say and she wouldn't notice.

Instead of texting since that would draw too much attention and they couldn't risk it, Daniel scribbles it on a sheet in his notepad and passes it to Keith. He could barely make out the illegible handwriting.

Ask about her class rank. You did say she was on the murder board.

"So, uh, Naomi," Keith says as she makes a sound indicating she's listening, "what's your class rank?"

Naomi looks up and sips her coffee. They're all in the top ten so discussing their ranks wasn't a big issue. "Oh, it's not a competition."

"So, higher than me. Got it."

She laughs a little. "Fifth."

"Told you. Seventh."

"Third," James adds.

"Fucking first," Daniel grumbles. "Have any of you come to a conclusion for this lab?" Silence. "We're scientists. We shouldn't be defeated by this stupid university-level lab report. We have three PhDs as a table. If we think hard enough, a solution will present itself."

As university and academic law, Sci-Tech kids are allowed to have 50% of their papers derived from other sources, which is a fancy way to say plagiarized since they're science papers. They require background research and literature review to prove arguments. It made life easier except for Daniel and James whose papers always get flagged for exceeding their limit since their last names would match past papers and journal articles written by their parents or even if their parents' research were mentioned in other works.

"I could make a works-cited for us," Naomi suggests. "We're sharing sources anyways so it'll make it easier. It's my favourite part of a paper…" Her face drops a little. "Oh my god, I literally said that."

Keith scoffs, masking a grin. "Nerd."

Naomi mockingly frowns at him. "This might be the caffeine and impending delirium talking, but any of you would buy this nerd flowers."

-o-

After working against the clock, they finally managed to submit their reports before midnight. Once they were in and they got the submission receipts, they closed their laptops and sat back in their chairs, slouching and relaxing. The ambiance in the library was calmer since it was past midnight. People in here were cramming for papers due in the morning or studying late with others.

"How much do you think we'll get flagged?" James asks, lying on the table on top of his sweater vest that he bunched up to make into a pillow. His voice is muffled as he faces Daniel.

"At least 80%," Daniel responds.

Naomi sits up in her seat, putting down the empty coffee cup she was holding since she was chewing on the lid's spout. "Okay, this might be the caffeine making me drowsy but I'm really, really sorry about how we first crossed paths in your dorm. Or at the Boiler Room, I guess. Anyways, I'm not like that. Ever. It was a first and only time thing. I was homeschooled until the Academy so the most socializing I've ever really had were those stupid events at the park or when summer came so we'd learn to be less nerdy and more social. I hated them. Those aren't excuses and I don't know why I'm even sharing that information but thanks for taking care of me. I know you didn't do anything bad and that's not naive of me. I just trust you."

Daniel and James look at Naomi in shock, not expecting to hear those words. It's not like they needed them but it was a sentimental gesture.

"You don't have to apologize," Keith says although it wasn't his dorm.

"I'm Canadian, try and stop me," Naomi says, making Keith speechless as well. She starts putting her things back into her bag. "Anyways, it's late so I should be going."

"Let us walk you back!"

Naomi hesitates. She looks at the three of them who are nodding. "Uh, actually, yes. It's dark and creepy and I don't want to be alone."

"You're at Curie, right?" Daniel asks as they all start packing. Curie was the Sci-Tech girls' dorm building.

"Suttner, actually," she corrects. She smiles seeing their confused faces. "I'm bridging in Sci-Tech and Communications. Suttner is the Communications' girls' residence building in case you didn't know."

-o-

It was a brisk walk through campus. The grounds were mostly empty minus some students loitering around or coming out from the various party zones on campus. At least they had the lampposts lighting the area. Naomi had to lead them to Suttner since the boys haven't explored Communications territory since they've never had a reason to do so. Naomi was walking a few steps ahead of Keith who was in front of Daniel and James, who kept on encouraging Keith to walk beside her and talk to her since he didn't think she'd want it.

"Well, this is me," Naomi says, stopping in front of the main doors of Suttner building. "Thanks for walking me back."

"Anytime," James says.

"Thanks for the works cited page," Daniel adds.

Naomi smiles, dimples forming before she looks at Keith. "You know, you're not bad to be around. None of you are. I don't know why I said that aloud."

"You haven't known me long enough," Keith responds way too quickly.

"So cynical," Naomi opens the door. "Anyways, I'll see you three in class."

They exchange goodnights and Keith exhales in relief once the door is shut and they see Naomi get into the elevator.

"I'm gonna die alone," Keith groans.

"That went great," James states. "We should do that again."

"No," Keith says as Daniel mutters, "oh god."

You haven't had the college experience until you've been up with someone at ungodly hours doing a paper due that morning or night. I've been up since 4 AM at the latest on Skype doing a group paper and it was due at 9:30 AM.

By the way, we'll be back to weekly updates starting next Wednesday.