Hange Zoe Short Story Collection

Line Without a Hook (Part 3)

"I can feel all my bones coming back and I'm craving motion. Mama never really learns how to live by herself..."

The rain washed away the intricate chalk drawing on the sidewalk, causing Hange to frown. The rain pelted around them and (Y/N), soaking them to the bone. The drawing that had been wiped away had been one of the human digestive system. The two kids were learning about bodily systems in the fifth grade, and Hange had attempted to teach (Y/N) the difficult process through a game that they had made up—anatomy hopscotch. It wasn't going very well.

"That took me an hour to draw," Hange said sadly, not thrown off by the rain that soaked their shirt.

"It's okay," (Y/N) reassured, tugging at Hange's sleeve to try to force them inside. "The longer you stay out here, the more likely you'll get sick, come on!"

"But how am I supposed to teach you, if my lesson isn't working out," Hange sighed. "I'm sorry, (Y/N). You should just ask the teacher for a tutor or something, I can't help you."

"You've helped me a lot already," (Y/N) stated, firmly resting a hand on Hange's shoulders. "If it wasn't for you, I would have failed my last test too. You're a great helper. Thank you."

"Really?" Hange looked up, their brown eyes almost unreadable behind their glasses. Thunder rumbled overhead and instead of flinching; they smiled a little.

"Yeah! Now let's go inside, okay? You can teach me this lesson some other time," (Y/N) insisted. "I'll make you some hot cocoa. And then we can watch a movie!"

"I promise to teach you again soon," Hange said, determined. "I won't let you fail, (Y/N). We'll make it to high school, together."

"You're being so dramatic," (Y/N) laughed. "Let's get to middle school first, okay? Then we'll go through high school and college together."

Before she knew it, an entire month passed by. To her astonishment and luck, Nanaba hadn't remembered anything about the dare she had given (Y/N). Besides the bonfire, everything had gone back to normal. Since there were no movies to shoot currently, (Y/N)'s life resembled that of a bored and stressed teenager's. She was slightly grateful for that—dealing with the excess paparazzi around the time a new movie of hers was released was exhausting. Sometimes, she appreciated the peace and quiet.

"How do we already have so much work?" (Y/N) mumbled, her eyes going over her huge to-do list. "We've only been in school for one month!"

Petra, her biology partner, smiled. "That's how college classes are, you know? They cover six chapters within four weeks. This is good practice."

"Yeah, I know, but this is high school, not college, shouldn't this stuff be easier?" (Y/N) frowned as she looked over her advanced biology worksheet. This is what she got for trying to delay taking the difficult course—she was failing, and school wasn't even halfway over yet. At this rate, there was no way she'd be able to graduate on time.

The bell rang, signifying the end of lab. Petra hurriedly shoved all of her materials in her backpack, ready to head home and do whatever it was that she wanted. (Y/N), on the other hand, took her time. She was tired—both mentally and physically. Whoever created the school system was stupid. For starters, who wanted to learn trigonometry at eight in the morning? And the amount of homework she received? What was it all for?

"(Y/N)," Mr. Shadis, the biology teacher, called. "I need to have a word with you."

(Y/N) stiffened, staring up at his terrifying face. That didn't sound good. Was it because she was failing? She had failed the last two quizzes, but she was sure she was ready for the next one...she was doing great in all of her classes, it was just stupid biology that threw her in for a loop. Osmosis, the glycolic cycle, mitosis...she couldn't differentiate between any of them.