The Alloys of the Blend

Chapter 4

Joining their other classmates, the bulk of them already seated and ready for the chemistry lecture, Evie and her friends made their presence known. Per usual, of course. Chatting, their voices carrying with volume, they took their seats in the back of the room, plopping their bags on the floor. The rest of the class looked back at their peers, before returning their stares at their notebooks and restarting their quiet conversations.

Doug was one of those students who looked over, catching Evie's eye contact. She gave him a small and short smile before her hair whipped around and she engaged in Jay and Carlos' antics.

"My students," Mrs. Hobbs said, a few minutes after the clock struck twelve. She walked through the room to her desk in the front and set down her bag. "I apologize for my tardiness. I met with my colleagues we have concluded—to many of your benefits—that we will add another assignment to the semester. Before you get riled up, hear me out." She flicked on the projector in the room and sat in the swivel chair.

"It is a group project on one of the periodic table elements. The table is something everyone in this class should be familiar with. You'll pick your group and will do a report on that element. Think of this as a timely extra credit opportunity to bump your grade up, okay? It's worth 85 points. I'll pass out the assignment after the lecture and I'll take questions at the end."

The class was still silent, a few students searching for group members while the instructor's PowerPoint loaded and she got around to taking attendance. In the back of the room, Evie took out her phone and looked through the grade book. Currently her grade stood at a C-, just a solid 72%. Up from the D- she had for the most part of the semester, she knew this project would either make or break her grade. While some of her friends were at the table diagonal from her, deciding who to work with, Evie's thoughts landed on Doug. He was her tutor, he had helped her to bump her grade up, so he likely could help propel her grade.

"Hey, whatcha thinking about?" Mal asked her friend who was staring at the blank white wall in front of her.

"Oh, just my grade. If I can manage to get an A or B on this project, I could actually maintain a passing grade in this class," Evie said, catching Jay and Carlos' attention.

"You mean Evie could get a passing grade... in chemistry?!" Jay teased, receiving a slap on his forearm from Evie. With a glare, she returned her attention to her phone.

"Yes. If I manage to get a good score, it might actually skyrocket my total points," she further explained, Carlos taking out his fancy calculator. Jay scoffed at his friend, who out of all of them, was the only one who actually owned a calculator.

"Yeah, she's right. You have 288 points out of 400. Since it's worth 85 and you get an A or even a B, you'll be at a solid C."

"Did you actually need to do the math?" Jay laughed, Carlos throwing a scrap piece of paper his way. It almost hit Mal, the girl grabbing it and unraveling it to make an airplane to send Jay's way. Their antics caught Mrs. Hobbs' attention, the four quickly piping down.

Once the lecture was over, the instructor released the students to get started. While most students goofed off after finding their groups, Evie kept her eye on Doug to see if he was planning to work with someone.

"Why don't you ask your tutor?" Mal asked, her eyes following Evie's. Evie turned to her friend, unsure of what they were going to think. She didn't want to pretend like he was so intolerable, but she also didn't want anyone to think that they were close or even friends for that matter.

"M, I will. I'm just trying to think of the best way to inform him that it would benefit me to work with him," Evie explained, her words coming out much harsher than she thought. She didn't want to admit that she cared even a smidge for his feelings, she just needed the grade. That was it. That's where their association with one another began.