[asdfasdf] (Story One)

Dissection

(A.N I told you! XD)

I listened intently to his lengthy explanation on how to dissect the dogfish shark, paying strict attention to him as to receive a perfect score. "You may work solo or in a group. Two extra credit points if you can expose the brain. Five extra credit points if you can take the brain out. Ten extra credit points if you can take out the brain in such a way that it won't be damaged in anyway whatsoever. If you take on this challenge, please remember that a severed spinal cord or optic nerve will result in five extra credit points instead on the full ten. On my mark, get ready to dissect. Remember that the brain is not the main priority like the other organs are. You have one hour and fifteen minutes. Go." I rushed over to the supply table to grab dissection sets for both Micah and I. In these timed trials, there weren't enough tools for everyone. Back in Primidiatriba they told us it was to build a steely resolve to forward yourself when you can as well as self reliance. I don't abide by those rules. I mean, I still compete against the others students for a pack so I'm not automatically eliminated, but I also look out for Micah because he isn't as quick in the physical sense. He does better in the medical simulations with cures.

I ran back to our makeshift table, as we always work together in this class. "A lot of people chose to go solo on this one," I observed, staring into the crowd.

"I wonder why. This is one of the bigger dissections as well."

"Well it's not our problem. Come on we have to start!" We began flipping over the shark just as several of the later teams and soloists were eliminated. I ignored the sharp whistling and their muffled protested escorts out of the room. Micah, of course, was not so easily able to ignore them and instead blanched at the sharp sound. As we worked he whispered, "Do you ever wish that they wouldn't eliminate anyone? Everyone gets their own supplies, and when they don't have enough, they share? That the entire class isn't pitted against each other trying to get the top spot?"

I snorted, "Really? Maybe. But that won't happen. Ever. Just deal with reality and the current situation before pondering the future or whatever." He glanced away, hurt. "Hey, at least we're both in school, right? Maybe after we graduate you can become part of the Consul and change that. If you do, you can say 'I told you so' for the rest of your life, eh?" I stared at him expectantly, my hands having long memorized the patterns needed to dissect the shark. He hesitated and, for a second, I thought I could see a glimmer of hopelessness and sadness reflected in his eyes. Whatever it was, he shook it off and replied, "Yeah, yeah. Sure. As if you would graduate. I'm gonna be the one graduating and you're gonna be stuck here forever~" I grinned and looked back down at my work while marking the diagram. Being a trashy artist helped, as they normally didn't judge you on your pictures. If they couldn't tell what was what, they simply just focused on whether the labeled parts were in the general area they were supposed to be in.

Currently, the heart and circulatory system were exposed. I added to my sketch of the open shark, making sure to differentiate between the exterior and interior of the shark on my pad. I felt eyes boring into the back of my neck, so I inconspicuously glanced back only to see that Blonde had effectively moved from next to Micah to behind me. Probably to copy my notes and the procedure step by step. I murmured to Micah, "Spice at 6:00. Stealing notes and procedures. Should I confront."

"Um, yah. Do you seriously want her to pass thanks to cheating."

"Nope."

"Thought so. Go yell- wait no nevermind we're gonna get kicked out that way- go expose her."

"Aye aye, Captain." I turned around in my seat as leisurely as possible. "So, how's the lab going?"

She quickly averted her eyes from my paper and pretended to look over her diagram. "Um, fine. Just fine!"

"Oh, my bad! I thought you needed help, Cinnamon. It looked like you were trying to plagiarize our work. Are you sure you don't need help? Because you really seem to need it" I said this all in mock sweetness, loud enough for the Supervisors to hear. They glared in her direction, causing her to pick up her items and move across the room. I settled back into my seat. "Well how about that?"

"Pretty good." In the times it took for me to scare Cinnamon off, Micah was able to mark the rest of the needed organs, logging even the stomach and intestine contents. "Thanks"

"No prob." We started on our work on the brain, seeing as we had enough time to finish. I glanced at the giant digital clock glowing red at the end of the classroom. It was currently on stopwatch mode, displaying the glittering numerical form of thirty. "Thirty minutes left, Micah. We have to work fast."

"Yah, yah. Got'cha. Don't you think I look at the clock as well?"

"Not really?"

"Well then, you just got yourself some new information then."

"Such sass! Whatever shall I do now?" I mocked a faint like a Victorian woman. He grinned at me for a split second before returning to the shark. I was helping too, but only in holding the skin flaps apart enough so he could see and eventually slice the flaps off. "Alright Kaede, you can let go now," said Micah.

"Um yes. I have totally not let go before you said that because you were done cutting. I am also blind because I could not see that you finished cutting."

"Quiet." I grabbed a scalpel and forceps and began to help Micah massage the brain out of the skull. Every so often, I would glance around to check and see if anyone was spying, but for some reason, they were all crushed against one side of the wall, doing their stuff there. I shrugged it off, and returned back to the shark. We barely managed to take the brain out without damaging anything, thanks to the sudden alert of "Fifteen minutes left" over the PA shocking Micah into almost severing the wrong nerves. BLEEP! BLEEP! We put down our tools just as the ending alarm sounded.

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IDEK at this point... oh hey 1111 words... nOiCe. Hope you're enjoying this traaaaaaaaash! STAY TOASTY MY- *mouth gets covered* *words come out muffled* broskis!