Moments

Thank Yous

Summary: Sana Bakkoush, biology partner. And friend.

***

Sana and Isak are sitting at their desk. It's about ten minutes before class starts, and she's double-checking her answers on her part of their assignment. Isak...is not, apparently.

SANA: [watching Isak as he drifts off into la-la land] Thinking about Even?

ISAK: [snaps out of his reverie] Hmm?

SANA: [grins] It's sweet.

ISAK: [blushing] Shut up. Did you finish your part?

SANA: [shifts her notebook toward him] Nice deflection, and yes. Of course I did.

ISAK: Should we check each other's work?

SANA: Sure. [they swap notebooks]

ISAK: [reading] "Recent research suggests that humans subconsciously look for mates with dissimilar MHC genes, which are involved in the immune system. Diversity in these genes better prepares our bodies to defend against a wider variety of infectious microorganisms." Should we offer the definition of MHC in the text?

SANA: [shrugs] If you want, but I don't think it's necessary.

ISAK: [nodding] Okay. This is good, by the way. What source did you use? I hope it was reputable, you know how Nipples gets.

SANA: [deadpan] I used Wikipedia.

ISAK: [eyes wide] Sana! You can't be serious. Do you know how unreliable that thing is? It's not something you can-

SANA: Isak. Relax. I used the Fisher Journal. If you'd looked at the footnotes, you would have known that.

ISAK: [glancing at said footnotes] Right. Sorry.

SANA: [watching him as he reads] Uh, Isak?

ISAK: [still reading] Hmm?

SANA: Did you always know?

ISAK: [turns to her] Did I always know...?

SANA: That you...were, um...that you were attracted to...

ISAK: [ears turning a bright red, he clears his throat and moves closer] I kinda figured it out around year nine, though I didn't want it to be true.

SANA: Why not?

ISAK: [gives her the are you kidding look]

SANA: Ah. [nods] But...people don't really care about that stuff anymore.

ISAK: Really? Because I'm pretty sure they do. There are protests against people like me, laws meant to keep us from doing the things that everyone else gets to do. People make jokes about people like me. Fuck, I used to be one of those people.

SANA: But why? If you knew...what you were, why did you do that?

ISAK: [shrugs] Deflecting, I guess. I figured if I told the joke about someone else, they wouldn't suspect me. Or something, I dunno. I was an asshole.

SANA: [snorts] Was?

ISAK: [eye roll] Whatever. I can be, I know.

SANA: You have your moments, but...I'm proud of you.

ISAK: [brows lifting] Of me? For what?

SANA: For being true to who you are. For being with Even, for going for it with him. I like him.

ISAK: [smiles] I like him too.

SANA: [returns his smile] You more than like him.

ISAK: [has to look away but smiles, nodding]