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[5] Science and Struggles

The next few days were rough for me. Fury seemed to be piling on more work for me to do. All of it seemed to be science and math, two of what I think are the most useless things on this planet. I am not good at science, so my pencils often ended up in several pieces, catching on fire, being frozen, or being encased in solid rock. One day, I stormed over to Fury, and tapped his shoulder. Sure, he was in the middle of a meeting, but when I want answers, I get them immediately.

"Hey, Nick. What's with the extra homework? Can't you see I'm struggling enough, and that I don't need more stress in my life?" I asked, quite loudly. Perhaps it was louder than I meant it to be, but I didn't care at this point.

"Ms. Coulson, it is all necessary, since you don't go to school. You need to be caught up." Fury said dryly. I rolled my eyes and scoffed.

"Then why not help me yourself? I obviously don't understand the damn material!" I cried in frustration. I was feeling like an idiot, but I didn't care. I need help with this, and no one was here to help me. I felt tears of anger prick my eyes, and I hastily wiped them away. 

"I could help you out." I heard Bruce's soft voice say. I turned to face him, and he gave me a small smile.

"Fine. Ms. Coulson, go with Dr. Banner, and don't interrupt another meeting." Fury demanded. I smirked, knowing that I had won. Bruce mockingly held out his hand for me, which I jokingly took.

"And for the record, Director Fury, my name is Cynthia, not Ms. Coulson." I said, my cold tone resurfacing. Bruce pulled me away from the scene quickly, and dragged me to my room. I kicked the door open in a huff, and we both entered.

"So, what's giving you trouble?" Bruce asked. I turned to face him, and then I rubbed my face.

"All of it! I swear my head will explode if I have to find the answer to one more physics question!" I replied. My bracelet was glowing brightly, a warning for me to calm down. I just couldn't, though. I don't have any special ways of calming myself down, all I can do is throw things or set them on fire. And I didn't want to set anything on fire in my room. I happen to like my stuff.

"Hey hey hey. Calm down. Show me one of these problems." Bruce said calmly. I groaned and fished a problem out of the pile of crumpled up papers. He smoothed out the paper when I gave it to him, and he put on his glasses. I flopped on my bed, and closed my eyes. I hated science work.

"This is easy." Bruce chuckled.

"Easy for you maybe..." I grumbled. I was so fed up with work, and Fury.

"No, just look." Bruce said, taking a pencil and showing me the work on a fresh sheet of paper. I watched him as he worked out everything quickly. How he understands everything is beyond me. His pencil moved quickly across the paper, and I stared in amazement.

"Now, you try." He said, holding the pencil out to me. I looked at his work, and my brain just exploded. 

"Uh uh. No way. I can't do that! You're a super genius, and I'm just an idiot." I mumbled the last part. Bruce stared at me and shook his head.

"You aren't an idiot. Here, I'll guide you." He said, placing the pencil in my hand. He then took my hand and moved it in the same way along the paper.

"So, you take the terminal velocity and apply Newton's First Law. And there's your answer." He said, letting go of my hand. He had just guided my hand over a series of numbers and confusing signs. I sighed and he smiled a little.

"Now, try it yourself. I looked over every problem, and they're all the same." He said. I nodded, and my work began.

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"Done!" I said, tired but happily. Bruce smiled, and checked over my work. 

"Nice job, it's all right." He checked it over, and I jumped up and down with relief and happiness.

"Thank you so much Bruce! You're a lifesaver!" I laughed. He looked up at me and I hugged him quickly. I was free from my work, and I wanted to thank him in another way, not just a verbal way. I pulled away from him and started cleaning up the crumpled up wads of paper and snapped pencils. Bruce stood up and quickly left my room, and I felt uneasy. Did I make him feel uncomfortable? I hope not. I might've just ruined a friendship that never had time to grow. I sighed, and blew some hair out of my face from my happy dance. This kind of stuff always happens, which is why I've never had any friends in grade school. As I was cleaning, pain shot through my stomach. It felt sharp, like someone sliced my gut with a knife. I fell to my knees, groaning, on the verge of tears. Then, I ended up puking my guts out into a conveniently placed garbage can which held the broken bits of pencils. At this point, I really was crying, because the pain wouldn't go away. Several voices started playing in my head, all babbling, all speaking nonsense. It made my head want to split open, and I screamed. The voices were getting louder and louder, and the pain intensified. I shrieked, and the door whooshed open.

"Cynthia?! Cynthia!" Bruce yelled. I couldn't respond, the pain was too much. I writhed in pain, my hands on my head.

"M...M...Make it s....s....stop!" I shrieked again. More footsteps approached, and I felt someone pick up my small frame. My vision failed me, and all voices left.