oidos sordos a corazones cierdos.

Love is a Drug

On that Monday, Aurora sat at her desk with Marina, waiting for Samuel to walk in. Since Saturday, the girl had been distant with her and Samuel. Aurora had finally sat her down, but she said she didn't want to talk about it. She agreed to sit down with the girl and listen to music together. He walks in and places a button down on the table. Aurora takes her headphones off, seeing Marina look up and walk away. She misses the way Samuel looks after her.

"Press the button." Aurora smiles up at the boy, admirably.

"What's that?" She asks, making him shake his head, playfully.

"It's a time machine. Press it," She purses her lips, resisting the urge to laugh as she presses the button. "We're going back in time now. To the moment where we were talking at the party. But this time, I'm not a drunk fool that throws up on you. Instead, I'll tell you how pretty you look tonight, which you did. And then, you'll hug me and forgive me for doing something so unattractive and disgusting of me,"Aurora is truly taken aback. This had to be one of the sweetest things anyone had done for her. She looks up at him, taking his hand. "I hope you'll forgive me now. And if not, I'll do whatever it takes to have you forget that happened." Aurora lets out a giggle.

"I did mean it when I said I didn't mind it. But, I forgive you because this is truly so sweet." He laughs, a feeling of relief passing through him.

"Good, because this was a doorbell I used for science class that never worked." She giggles, the two of them liking each other more and more.

—

Martin handed out tests that he graded. When he got to Aurora, he smiled at her, handing her the paper. She had gotten a 9/10. She nodded, impressed with herself. She looks over at Samuel, who got an 8. The two high-five each other, before looking at Nadia who got a 10. The girl was definitely intelligent.

"This exam deserves a 10." Lu says, making Aurora turn around and look at Lu's paper. She got a 9.

"Well, so did one of your classmates', and you know that here we grade on a curve, so...I'm sorry." He says, walking back to his desk. Nadia looked confused.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Didn't they explain this to you? I'll show you," He draws a curved line on the board, looking back at Nadia. "This curve maps human intelligence. On one end, is a minority with low intellectual ability. On the other, there's a minority which is extremely intelligent. And the majority falls here in the middle. Let's assume the class is a sample of society. There's one with a ten, and one with a zero. The rest are here. They can never be two tens or two zeros."

"So, the grades are assigned before the exam?" Nadia asks, trying to understand.

"That's right. If you're in the lower 20%, you fail even if you did well." He says, making Christian let out a scoff.

"Damn, that's why I always flunk these."

"Isn't that a bit unfair?" Samuel asks, making Aurora agree with him.

"Guys, this prepares you for life. Out there, if you're in the lowest 20%, you don't get anything. And on the podium, there can't be two people. If you have any complaints, come to my office hours." He says, mainly directed to Lu, as her hand shot up. The bell rings, dismissing the class.

—

"It's a benefit cocktail party. Some 100 guests gorging themselves on seafood and champagne, because they're super worried about world hunger,"Aurora tells Samuel, making them both laugh. She sat on a bay window with him at school, telling him about the party that evening. "And then, with the funds they raise, they buy cans of chickpeas for the poor. I'm only going because my father's making me and my brother go." She says, looking down.