On Mute

Chapter 16: When You Goof

                 "Ms. McFaul?" I was sitting in the back of the Chemistry lab snapping my gum when I heard my name called out by the teacher. I looked up from the beakers and test tubes that surrounded me.

                 "Yes?" Sir motioned his hand to the side, I followed the guiding hand unto a sitting Marc. Huh?

                 "Mr. Alders shall be your semester's lab partner."I noticed I stayed silent, causing him to look up at me from his clip board, I blinked. Marc was going to be my lab partner; this was going to be interesting? "Do you have any objections McFaul?" I didn't know why but it felt like everyone's eyes were upon me. I stared around in my peripheral vision... oh look at that... the feeling was correct. "No, not at all." Marc looked over at me, and I smiled reassuringly. What an awkward way to start first period?

                  You see, last night was a little... weird. Looking at Marc now seemed hard to do, I have been in Biology for three years and I know enough about the human anatomy to know that opening up and exposing the brain is a very dangerous thing.

                 "Here." I looked up to find Marc, and in his hands was an assignment. "We should find a station." I nodded.

~X~

                 Watching the solution turn from clear to a thick bright yellow I sighed, leaning back in my chair. I still did not know how to react to what Marc told me, last night was the worst. Marc made sharpening the pencils last forever, and by the time he finished the 6B the sun was pretty much down. So with a few words shared we called it a night.

                 "Here, you keep these."

                 "But they are your pencils?"

                 "I sharpened them for you to use, take them."

                 "That's a good idea... how WILL I sharpen them?"

                 "Well, if you want... just come over sometime and I'll show you..."

                 I pondered for a moment, mumbling to myself.

                 "What did you say, I didn't catch it?" I looked up from my observation sheet; Marc seemed jumpy like he was eager to hear my voice. Well... you get what I mean?

                 "I..." Should I say it, it will open old wounds? But I can't lie to those big black Irises. ARGGG! "I said I miss my pencil sharpener." He blinked, his head lifting from his cupped hand.

                 "You will get it back soon, just three more weeks." Somehow I must have broken the ice for the tension between us seemed to have vanished without further recognition.

                 "It will be a long three weeks." I moaned, I saw something glint in the corner of my eye and Marc inched closer to conceal his carving knife.    

                 "If you have the pencils on you I can show you how to sharpen them now?"

                 "I actually forgot them at home." For the first time in my life... real smooth Abby.

                 "Well here," he grabbed his normal 2HB pencil from the bench. "You can practice with this." I took the two instruments in hand and stared at them, clueless. "Alright, first of all you should never cut towards yourself, so rearrange the sharp end away from you."Whoops. I turned the blade around. "OK, now lean it against the end of the pencil, and when you slice remember to curve it out at the end, and make sure your fingers are never near the blade or you might_." I squeaked, covering my mouth with my hand to silence my scream; I stared in shock at the oozing crimson.