Lesbian Academy (Girlxgirl, Lesbian)

Chapter 51. Impasse?

Chapter51. Impasse?

With all the action in the Academy, what with the competition, our personal problems, and the threat of the Druids, it had almost slipped my mind how fun it was to sit back in the classroom to learn. When danger was always breathing down my neck, and my friends were playing tug of war with my feelings, it was a breath of fresh air to listen to the professor with Jade and Candice beside me. All of us in the room had a transparent screen dangling a few inches from the table, ready to jot down notes.

The professor, a slim woman who embodied a scientist book character in every way with her appearance down to her lab coat and her unkempt hair, looked at each of our faces with challenge in her eyes. "What kind of person gets excited over numbers and letters?" she asked. "Anyone?" Candice's hand was first to raise in the air. "Ms. Ford," the professor called.

Candice remained on her seat. "Is it a lunatic?" The class laughed. "I'm kidding. I'm kidding," she said. "It's a Chemist, studying the science of nerd." More laughter. "Thank you," she said, hi-fiving her seatmate. "I aim to please."

The professor didn't look mad. Instead, she nodded, as if also agreeing with Candice, a smile on her face. "As we all say in the lab, it takes a special kind of crazy to appreciate this science. To us, the uppercase and lowercase letters, added with numbers are called elements. To most of you, it's a social media password."

Candice stood up and clapped slowly. "Proud of you, professor. Your jokes are very. . . Reaction inducing."

"Sit down, Ms. Ford," the professor said with a dismissive wave. "Anyway, Chemistry doesn't always have to be boring. The periodic table might be a chore to memorize for some, especially those who do not share the same interest, but the results are very rewarding. That being said, I'd like to take a break from the usual lecture to give you a fun demonstration." There was a knock on the door. "You may enter," the professor said, pulling up her own transparent screen.

The person who came in was Alya, wearing goggles and a lab coat. She wasn't our classmate in Chem. I saw Candice and Jade giving me the look, which I chose to ignore. "My lab assistant, a fellow student of yours, will handle the demonstration part while I explain how and why the chemical reaction can occur," professor continued. The lights of the room dimmed automatically. Because most of the Academy, with the exception of the dorm rooms, were heavily submerged in VR technology, almost all things could be controlled with the computer.

I watched Alya in the corner of my eyes as she went to the middle of the room to the professor, silent and focused, like she didn't care about the audience. My stomach felt hollow. I've seen her less and less in the span of weeks, and it made me feel bad. I knew I should hate her. Should want to take revenge for how she and El ditched me in the competition and all ways possible. Embarrassing me even. Somehow, seeing her here, I didn't feel a sliver of lividness. Though I did want to do something. But what?

"We're entering my demonstration lab," the professor said, breaking through my thoughts. The next time I blinked, the classroom setting has changed, and we were seated as an audience in a simple laboratory room with white clinical walls and equipments. The wooden table in the middle where Alya and the professor were standing next to was replaced with a longer lab workbench. On it were test tubes, petri dish, beakers, and similar materials. I wasn't the only one unsurprised by this.

The professor wore her glasses and turned to Alya. "For our first experiment," she said. "If you please." Alya nodded and took a silver-gray soft looking material, placing it on top of a stone plate. "Light it up," the professor instructed. Alya obliged, igniting the material. For a moment, nothing happened, until the flames started spreading and the material changed from a dull color to mesmerizing hues that reminded me of a fireworks display.