Visible Ghosts

24

"Hello Sang." Kota smiles at me as he slips in the chair next to me. He's not running late to class today and his black glasses frame his green eyes that study me curiously. "How is your day going?"

"Just another Tuesday." I smile back, Kota seems quiet, but his presence feels easy, like a calm in the storm, the lighthouse in a safe harbor. Something about him makes me lose the guard I usually keep up, some of the tension fades away from my shoulders when he doesn't push the conversation further.

We sit in companiable silence as the room slowly fills with our peers. Like my biochem class, this class isn't too large either, although this room is spaced out much better. The classroom consists of large black topped tables similar to what you'd find in a laboratory. Each table has two chairs, allowing for our class size of 16 to fill over half of the seats. Jade is sitting in the very back chatting with another girl whom I've already forgotten the name of. Some of the other kids who trail in offer Kota and I soft head nods in acknowledgment but otherwise keep to themselves.

It isn't long before Sean literally bounces through the doorway and into the front of the class.

"Hello, my lovely students, wonderful Tuesday, isn't it?" Murmurs of agreement sound from the students, disarmed from their usual grumpiness by the smooth doctor's charm. "Who's ready to dive headfirst into the human body?" He continues with a grin.

Luckily for me, Sean continues to lecture on some of the basics of the human body, most of which I had learned from working at the hospital. I had taken general anatomy classes to get my nursing degree, but this is a specialized course for autoimmune diseases. While I find it interesting to see how the human body functions under straining and unusual circumstances, I'm not thrilled to learn about it in the classroom without any hands-on experience.

Sean pauses the lecture for a moment, taking the time to scan over all of us. He purses his lips, his blonde curls falling into his eyes. After gazing at each of us, he snaps his fingers. "I know what will liven this room up." He crones, "We're going to play a little game for the rest of class. Everyone is going to need a partner." He says with a little too much enthusiasm, he really should understand that college students despise group work, whether it's in class or for homework, having to depend on someone else for a grade is the bane of most student's existence.

I feel Kota shift in his seat to face me, without turning in his direction I can tell his green eyes, so like my own, are watching me.

"Do you want to be partners?" He finally questions.

"Yeah, that works." I agree, pushing my chair off to the side so I can swing my legs around to face him. "What do you think Doc is going to make us do?"

"Who knows, I think I know Dr. Green pretty well sometimes, but he sometimes still manages to throw me for a loop." Kota scrunches his nose at the thought, as if not having a predetermined idea or plan in place causes his discomfort.

"Okay, does everyone have a partner?" Sean asks from the front of the room. Murmurs of agreement ring throughout the room. "Great. Now I'm going to give you a description of a body part, a function, or a condition. You and your partner will need to work together and write down what you think is correct. The students will the most correct answers will get a bonus point on the next homework." He smiles as if this is the best idea ever. And I won't lie, extra credit never hurt anyone, it gives us incentive to try.

"I hope you're ready to win." I grin at Kota. I may be a little competitive.

A smile slowly makes its way across his face, a gleam appearing behind his glasses. It seems like Kota might be a little competitive too. "Let's do it." He says enthusiastically, scooting his chair a tad closer to mine.