Game Theory × NH

015 | phosphorus

× Mercury

Friday.

I had made it through the first two days of class and I was nearly finished with the third. I was running late for Environmental Science and it didn't help that I was also lost. On Wednesday after Psychology I went around the building to find my other science class so I wouldn't be lost on Friday.

Something happened between then and now because I didn't know how long I have been wondering the science building trying to find room fourteen. It was a little after two in the afternoon and class had been going on for five minutes now. I was already joining the class late; I really didn't want to miss any more time.

Sighing, about to give up and just go back to the dorm, I turned the corner and ran into someone.

"I'm sorry," I said, grabbing onto my books before they fell from my hands.

"You should be," they said, and I looked up to see blue eyes staring back at me. I almost laughed; of course it would be Niall of all people.

Stepping away from him, I looked him up and down with a playful grin on my lips. "Oh my god, you're a science geek."

He was wearing an unbuttoned long, white collared coat with the sleeves rolled up, revealing a black shirt underneath. Safety glasses were placed on top of his blonde hair and pens stuck out of the pocked of his lab coat. The whole outfit looked really good on him, actually. It was kind of hot.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, ignoring my observation. "I thought you had a class."

"I do," I said a little sheepishly. I disregard the fact that he had memorized my schedule. "I just..."

Niall grinned at me, almost mockingly. "You're lost, yeah?"

"I'm supposed to be in Environmental Science. Room fourteen."

"I'll show you," he said and turned around in the direction I was going in before he rudely interrupted me. "That room is hidden, it's not where it should be located if you were going by the room numbers. It's an old building and the setup of the place is shitty."

I knew that, of course. I already found the room on Wednesday, but just couldn't today. The building was old. The outside was brick, but the walls on the inside were white with some cracks here and there. The floor was marble and the ceilings were arched high above our heads. It looked almost like a cathedral.

Following Niall, I watched as the lab coat flew behind him. Was he in Chemistry? I took that in High School and hated it. I was supposed to memorize the periodic table; the teacher even had a song and funny little rhyming words to help, but it did nothing for me. I ended up failing that test. I was amazed I even passed the class.

"Out of curiosity," Niall suddenly said, looking over his shoulder at me. "Are you by any chance related to Freddie Mercury?"

"Yeah, he was my uncle," I told him.

Niall stopped in his tracks and spun on his heels, looking at me with wide eyes. "Really?"

"No!" I explained loudly. "If I had a penny every time someone asked that question, I'd be able to buy Freddie Mercury... If, you know, the AIDS didn't happen."

"It's a reasonable inquiry to wonder if you're related," Niall defended. "And if you happen to have been, I might be able to tolerate you. But since you're not, that's off the table."