Mitosis

Chapter 1

>Five months later<

The bell rang, loud and harsh and all together very unappealing. Evelyn put her binder and notebook away, slinging her backpack over her shoulder and following the horde of students into the hallway. Mentally she went over a list of her homework. First she would do a last review of her English essay, using the time to also grab a snack to eat. Then she would work on her physics worksheet and then do the second half of her math packet-

Her train of thought came to an abrupt halt when she spotted Keith waiting for her at the corner of the hall like he always did. She didn't know why it surprised her every day, it was basically their routine, but she smiled when she saw his ridiculously cute grin.

"How was math?" He asked, walking up to her.

"It was actually really good, we started some more advanced trigonometry today, and Ms. Weathermen finally decided to teach us the equations behind sine, cosine and tangent."

"Ah uh." Keith said, sounding unexcited.

Evelyn smiled, stepping down the staircase. "You have a tennis match tomorrow, don't you?" She asked, moving to a topic she knew he liked better. Sure enough, his face lit up at once.

"Yeah, it'll be a home game around noon." He said.

"I don't even need to go to know you'll do great." Evelyn said, "But of course I'll be there just to bask in the glory of your victory." Keith smiled and ducked his head in his cutely, awkward way.

They made it to the front doors and stepped into the spring air. Evelyn breathed in deeply, loving the combination of warm air accompanied by a cool breeze. "I am going to get really use to this." She said.

"Perfect." Keith commented.

Evelyn glanced at Keith as they walked down the road. "How about we go to your house today? I want to get started on my homework as soon as I can."

"Sure." Keith said, raising his eyebrows. "But how come you can take a break from homework for a little bit, even on a Friday?"

Evelyn shrugged. "How can I relax if I have things I need to do?"

"Procrastination is a really good option." Keith suggested.

Evelyn snorted, making Keith laugh. He tilted his head, looking at her, his blue eyes looking thoughtful.

"Evelyn?" He asked. "I know this is a classic question, but what are you going to do out of high school? I've been dating you for four months and I still haven't figured out what you love most. Do you want to be a some type of scientist? Mathematician? Doctor?"

Evelyn sighed. "I really don't know. That's one thing I don't have a plan for."

Keith gave her a reassuring smile. "You could really do almost anything with ease. Look at your grades! Completely perfect."

Evelyn shook her head. They walked around the corner to his street as she considered how to word her reply. "It's not that simple. It's easy to do what they want you to, turn in the paper, or memorize something for the test."

"Hm." Keith said, disbelieving. "Not that easy."

"Okay, well," Evelyn said, "It's not bad if you put all your effort into it, but it doesn't mean you're good at it, just good at giving back what they gave you."

"Isn't that what a real job is?" Keith asked, stepping onto his driveway.

"I don't know, I just don't feel adequate." Evelyn said, following.

"I think you're probably the most adequate person I know." Keith said, unlocking the door.

"Thank you." Evelyn said, stepping into the front hallway. She took off her shoes, hung her backpack on a hook and pulled out her books. She entered the kitchen and set her work on the table, sorting through it.