King Elijah

13

Chapter 13 | FBI Agent

"Happy Monday everybody, now wake up." The whole class settles into their seats as Mr.Ballader prepares to start our lesson.

I'm sat in my regular seat next to Lily, and I hate it. Over the last couple of days, I've gotten closer to her and I now remember why we hadn't become friends earlier. This might sound stupid and it might be mean but I don't care anymore. This girl is so annoying I cannot deal with her anymore. She's been talking about the guys sitting at the table behind us and is basically in love with them. They're all she talks about, I just cannot anymore.

I'm glad I'm in psychology because when I have a mental breakdown everyone in this damn classroom will be able to pin it on her.

"Today we will be diving into what is called Naturalistic Observation. I am not a teacher who is going to make you read a textbook and memorize, I am a teacher who likes to teach you hands on. So let's get started."

I pull out my phone from my back pocket and start typing away to the one person I have no doubt can help. I don't know how but I know he can.

Me: Help. Me. I am going to have a mental breakdown if I have to sit next to her one more minute.

I turn around to see where Elijah and Vinnie are sitting, coincidently two of the three 'hot guys' Lily is pinning over. They're sitting at one of the three seater tables, the middle seat occupied by one of Elijah's friends whom I don't know the name of. He has dirty blonde hair, blue eyes and a tattoo of a willow tree on the back of his left shoulder.

"Help me." I mouth to him.

He chuckles and averts his attention back to the board. That bastard. He knows how annoying she is, I spent at least a good ten minutes ranting about her to him just the other day.

Me: Elijah Peral, I swear to god you better help me or I will tell her you have a crush on her.

I turn back around as he reads the text, he stares at me with wide eyes. I stare at him right back narrowing my eyes; try me, little boy.

"Fine." He mouths back. The annoyance on his face tells me my message has been properly conveyed.

I turn back around to face the teacher. If I miss too much of this lesson I'm going to be royally screwed. "Does anyone know what Naturalistic Observation is? Well if you don't let me explain. It's the observing and recording of behavior in a natural environment in an unobtrusive manner or "lowkey" as your generation says."

A couple of kids in the class snicker but he continues on, "You can learn a lot from this, one of these things is how one trait or behavior is related to another, how they correlate. But you have to remember, correlation is not causation. This will only tell you what people do not why."

"Mr.Ballader,"

I look behind me and see the guy with the willow tattoo raising his hand. The teacher reverts his attention to him, "I just got new contacts so I can't really see that well. Is it okay if I switch seats with Alora?"

The teacher sighs and nods his head. I get up from my seat collecting my things as the mystery guy, and my new savior does the same. "You owe me." He whispers as he passes by me.

"Thank you," I whisper back. I put my stuff down and take a seat in between Elijah and Vinnie.

"Happy?" Elijah says leaning back in his chair.

I smile, "Very."

Mr.Ballader goes on with the lesson explaining how you can never make conclusions based on correlations and how there are always other factors affecting the situation. He taught us how to successfully conduct the study to get the best possible results. Basically what we're doing is secretly studying another person to try and find out one of the possible reason they are the way they are.

"You will compile a 'file' of some sorts on the person. Take the data and study it. Do not let the person find out you are studying them. This is randomly generated so no two people will get each other. Make a line and come to get your file."

We do as we're told, the whole class getting up from their seat to get our assigned person. "You like the idea of this?" I ask Elijah who's standing directly behind me.

He and Vinnie, who's standing next to him, share a look. Elijah is better at concealing emotions on his face which is practically blank, but if the look on Vinnie's face is anything to go by, they don't like it at all.

"Well I like it, it's like I'm an FBI agent. I always wanted to be an FBI agent."

Elijah smirks and pats my head, his almost half a foot towering over me putting my head at just above his chest, "Sure you do Bambi."

My mouth drops open, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means you would probably run at first sight of a gun," Vinnie says.

I cross my arms over my chest, "You guys underestimate me."

Vinnie and Elijah share another look between the two of them, this one of amusement. "I'm serious you guys."

Elijah raises an eyebrow, "I'll hold you to that."

"Do it," I uncross my arms and walk up to the teacher's desk, it being my turn. He hands me a manila folder with a stack of papers inside of it. I walk back over to my seat and open up the folder, one of the personality tests inside the name 'Elijah Peral' written inside.

Okay, I'm like ninety-nine percent sure the world is playing a trick on me now.

I sigh and place the folder in my bag, this is going to be a hard couple of weeks. Elijah walks back to his seat, looking at the contents of the folder a grin on his face. "I love this project."

Following him is Vinnie, a satisfied smile on his face, "This is going to be a breeze."

"Let's see about that."

Just then the bell rings marking the end of the period.

"You ready for gym?" Vinnie says as I collect the rest of my things packing them into my bag.

I sling the bag over my shoulder and start to walk out of the class, Vinnie and Elijah shortly behind, "Not really. I am so not in the mood to do laps."

"No one is. Even the meathead jocks hate it." Elijah says glaring at one of those so-called meathead jocks. The jock doesn't even dare to glare back, just muttering under his breath. I wonder what happened there.

I sigh, "Don't you guys ever get tired of the monotony. I mean, I've been going to this school for four years and all four years I have done nothing out of the usual. I just follow the same routine every day."

"Then do something about it. Break the pattern." Elijah says, stopping us in the middle of the hallway.

The confused look on Vinnie's face matches mine until it turns into a smirk, "You know, I hate it when you guys do that thing."

"What thing?"

"The thing where you guys have a whole conversation in your heads with each other without saying anything." The two boys look at each other eyebrows furrowed in until it hits them and they both nod their heads, "Stop it!"

They two boys laugh, "Are we going to do something or not?" I ask, already tired of them.

Mischevious smiles appear on their faces, "Let's go shake it up then."

-:-

Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter!

Sorry, the chapter was cut short but I have something very special in store for you guys next chapter in honor of hitting 1K reads.

Question for the chapter: What do you think is going to happen between Brendan and Alora? Comment your thoughts.