The Boy in Blue

Chapter 6

"Genetics pertains to humans and all other organisms. So, for example, there is human genetics, mouse genetics-"

The sound of the teacher droning on in the background, and the rough sound of pens scribbling could be heard as the class furiously took notes down from the lecture. Eden ignored the two people sitting on either side of her, Nikita and Hong leaning in and comparing answers, dramatically whisper-squealing amongst themselves when the answers they wrote down were different.

"Can y'all please shut up and sit down? My pencil case is about to fall off the desk because of you."

Eden sighed as the two continued comparing, leaning back completely on her chair. She glanced a look over to her left. Lucas's head was tilted to the left, supported by his arm as he wrote with his right. She watched as he casually took notes, glancing over at his phone occasionally.

She felt like a creep, but it was better than tuning in to the duo currently taking over her desk space.

Lucas stopped writing, twirling his pen with his hand. Eden watched it in fascination, the pen seeming to dance in his hands. It was simple, but he made it look awesome. He spun it a few times, looking at the board, and then glanced at Hong's belongings next to him. Eden smiled as he snatched Hong's neglected worksheet and wrote on it, doodling on the animals that were pictured.

"Hong! Give it back! Noo that does not mean scribble on my pencil case!!

At that point, Nikita literally sprung from her chair and mini tackled Hong, snatching her pencil case back and launching Hong's belongings to outer space. There was a shocked glance from the class before laughter erupted, Mrs Green not looking pleased as Hong scrambled to pick up his stuff. She watched as Hong sent visible threats to Nik, laughing to herself. Biology was always fun?

Eden snuck a peek at Lucas, who was smiling at the spectacle before him. She didn't know what it was about him, but she could literally stare at him forever. He ran a hand through his hair, pitch dark and silky in the light. She marvelled at how soft it looked. She touched a strand of her hair, frowning internally. Her thick, frizzy hair could never.

She glanced back at her notes, adding more to them from the board. She had missed a little while she was obsessively staring. She internally scolded herself, vowing that it wouldn't happen again. She had to work on getting her grades up, not on a guy. That happened to be the prettiest thing she'd ever seen. And the funniest. He seemed to like practical jokes almost as much as she did, especially when it came to Hong.

Eden opened her laptop, thinking it would fare better for everyone if she took notes digitally instead. As she waited for her page to load, she played with the puffy kitty stickers that were stuck on the corner of her laptop keyboard. Hong had given them to her once, after he found an entire pack of them on the floor near his locker. She smiled as she remembered how they both had squealed from how cute they were, Hong decorating everything he had with them.

A particular yellow kitty smiled back at her from its place.

Lucas had once taken a few of the stickers and placed them on Hong's bluetooth mouse's censor. Eden had watched it all unfold, Hong's confused face still an icon in her mind.

She zoned back into her task, keys clacking as she typed. It wasn't easy with Nikita and Hong literally still at each other's throats but she could manage.

Hong reached his arm across her table, snatching Nikita's pencil case once again.

Yea no she couldn't manage.

She leaned back and slumped on her chair, frowning. She picked up her pen and attempted to twirl it like Lucas had, her frown deepening as it clumsily loitered past her hand and onto the desk.

She snuck a look back to her left, looking at the boy scribbling on Hong's page. He rested his head on his right hand again, his cheek adorably being squished.

Then time stopped. Lighting clashed.

It took only a small movement of his head to turn to his right, look her directly in her eyes.

The pen she was fidgeting with froze in her hand.

It was like electricity, the way he stared her down. The air conditioner made a loud noise as it turned on again, and Eden looked away. She tucked her chair closer to the table, slumping down on the table furiously.

She could still feel his gaze.

She attempted to spin the pen with her fingers in the limited class time they had remaining, trying to limit the fire in her face. It wasn't like anyone would see through her complexion, but her face was in flames. She didn't know particularly why she was so flustered, it wasn't like he was the love of her life.

But there was something about the way he-

The bell rang in her ears, disrupting her failed pen twirling attempts and her internal monologue. She packed up her belongings, still frazzled from the 3 second eye contact. It wasn't like her at all, why was she so...so weird today?

She looked towards his seat, finding it empty. All she caught was the last of his hair going out the door, Hong chasing behind.

She pushed in Hongs and Lucas's chairs to their desks, walking out the door of the J1 science labs.