Misconceptions: Asexuality

Misconception: Asexuals are broken.

"Jesus loves you and has a wonderful plan for you in life: HELL"

"Heterosexuals only"

"States restricting teachers and staff from talking about LGBT issues in schools:

Agbrabah

Charmington

Cinderellasburg

Neverland 

Notre Dame"

Her personal favorite was the words etched into her door sometime last night with red pen. The words "Asexuals are broken" were scratched diagonally up the door, which she appreciated because that person had to have gone through a lot of effort to both find out was asexuality is and plan their idea of revenge so carefully so that it was late enough and they were quiet enough to avoid getting a fireball to the face. 

"Sweetie, the only broken thing about me is my sleep schedule," Evie says to herself as the passes the signs with relative ease, remembering that she hasn't gone to sleep before 2 am for the last 5 nights. She's burning the candles at both ends, as Carlos would say, but there was simply too much work to do. (Students could only have two things after all. Work or social life, work or sleep, or social life and sleep, which is something she didn't recommend.) She could work on her time-management skills later on.

Evie walks through into the cafeteria, picking out an apple, napkin, and a glass of water to serve as her breakfast before setting her bookbag down on the seat and she setting up her space around the VK table on the outside of campus. She sets a college-bound notebook on the table along with her Organic Chemistry book on the table with a thump before starting her homework. The tourney game this week (Auradon High vs. Neverland ) would start at 11 am along with some scheduled dress appointments, making her finish her work day around 4:30pm. She needed to start her homework before this time, at least. 

Writing her name, Professor's name, class, date, and the words "Homework 1: Bonds" at the top of a blank notebook paper, she begins the multiple choice questions at a slow pace. 

"1. Which of the following compounds would have the highest boiling point? Explain your reasoning.

a.CH3CH2CH2CH3

b.CH3NH2

c.CH3OH

d.CH2F2"

She quickly pens the letter "C" into her notebook (after writing down the number she was on, of course) and begins to write down her response underneath.

Methanol  (CH3OH) has the highest boiling point because it has the highest amount of available hydrogen bonds. The hydrogen and oxygen bonds are more electronegative than the hydrogen and nitrogen bonds. The fluorine bonds in D are not - 

Her process of thought is interrupted by the jostling of the table, as Ben goes to sit down in front of her. His eyes are wide with guilt as the buttons from his suit scrape against the wood of the table, making her wince slightly as he lets the seat take on his weight. Although the interruption was slightly unwelcome (as her extra credit homework was due at midnight and she had barely started), the poor boy seemed more distressed than ever so she mummers a greeting to him before plucking the apple from its place besides her and beginning to eat.

He would start talking soon enough.

"Hey, I just wanted to apologize for all the - "

"Ben," she said shortly, already knowing where he was going with this.

"anti-LGBT sentiment. I guess I just thought that everyone would be okay with this and I didn't think there was "

"Ben," she tried once more as she watched the King of Auradon be exchanged for a teenage boy in front of her very eyes.

"-  a possibility that celebrating the diversity of the students here could instead be putting you or anyone else in - "

"BEN," she shouted, shocking him into silence as she laughed at the shocked expression on his face. She smiled as she offered her free hand out to him, intertwining their fingers together before continuing to speak.

"Are you ready to listen now?" she told him, leaning into his space slightly with a crooked smile. At his nod in response, she released his fingers and leaned back into the seat, taking a look around the campus as she started to speak.

"This," she said, gesturing to the various signs littering the castle grounds, "is not your fault. This is a result of the disrupting centuries of different cultures and the decisions people make for themselves. It's going to take time for people to relearn everything they've been taught. Some people won't want to change their ways and that's something I, along with a lot of other people, are going to have to make peace with,"

Ben opened his mouth to speak, only to be shut down the look on Evie's face. She takes another bite of her apple as she tries to find the words she needs to say.

"So, you need to stop taking the blame for things you cannot control," she finishes, turning the apple in her hand as she stares at him, "It doesn't do you any favors." 

And that was the end of it. 

She smiles at him before setting her apple back upon her napkin and picking her pen back up, rolling the writing utensil through her fingers a couple of times before turning her attention back to the problems. Ben just sat there for a moment in silence, trying to figure out what just happened, before chuckling in amusement, reaching into his work bag, and pulling out a selection of papers. He spreads one or two out on the table in front of him and presses them into the table with the rest of his sheets, trying to keep them from flying away with the morning wind. Occasionally,  he would sign the paper with the fancy blue pen he kept in his breast pocket.  

He seemed more at ease with the situation when he left for his match an hour later, notifying her by tapping his fingers a little ways in front of her and giving her a smile before pressing his hands flat against the table and he easing himself up to his feet. She gave him a little wave in response before taking her phone out of her purse to check the time, not bothering to watch him leave. Though if she had, she would have seen him pick up one of the signs on his way out and discard it in the nearest recycling bin.

The time was 10:30. So, she should probably start heading to the match too before all the seats around the stadium were gone. 

Sending off a quick text to Mal, telling her to save her a seat (the girl more likely than not walked the boys to the locker room before taking a seat on the home-side of the field) as she swung herself out of the seat in front of her and began to pack her things delicately into her bag. The extra-credit homework was placed diligently in the front of her blue folder labeled "Chemistry" in bold print along with the Stoichiometry homework she was working on currently, deciding to work on it further once she got to the field and during half-time. Setting the bag between her shoulder blades, she grabs the small purse she had brought along with the core of the apple, wrapped delicately in the napkin. The water bottle was set on the side of her book bag for later use as she threw the core and napkin away in the nearest trashcan before heading off to the field. 

-----

I saw this dialogue somewhere and thought I would use it to create this piece here. I hope that's okay.

I used the following site for the organic chemistry questions and answers:

https://chemistry.boisestate.edu/richardbanks/organic/mc/vol1/mcquestions317a.htm

- Diana