DEVIATE X / / AN UNORDINARY FANFICTION

XIII.

"Did you hear about Seraphina?"

"No, what happened?"

"She was expelled!"

"What?! No way! How could—"

"Excuse me...." I interjected lazily, suppressing an incoming yawn derived from my lack of morning energy, "Do you mind not blocking the door?"

The clot of students jumped as their eyes landed on me, instantaneously parting from the congested door way to my English class before offering a string of sympathetic apologies.

"A-ah, Delta! I'm sorry—!"

I wormed my way down the line of desks before falling into my assigned seat. It was ridiculous how quick news spread around like a summer wildfire; despite the fact that Seraphina and I had a private conversation a couple of days ago, students that had no personal relations with her were already informed of her expulsion.

And although it was a private affair, there was only one person in the vicinity who knew we were talking: Elaine.

I felt the lingering stare of her nervous eyes fixated on the back of my head, scrutinizing my unorthodox, lazy posture. I turned my head slightly, letting the glossy curtain of navy strands fall over my chair as I locked my gaze onto hers, letting my eyes glint a soft red before evoking a series of skittish mannerisms from her.

She and I both knew who was responsible for this.

"Good morning, Delta!"

The familiar, warm cheery expression resonated in the morning air like a soft serenade. Lulled and enticed by the welcoming voice, I looked up to greet John's helmet head.

"Hey, John." I replied back, smiling at him softly.

A warm flush swarmed his cheeks as he got settled into his seat, keeping his eyes trained away from Seraphina's empty desk. Before I could mention the elephant in the room, the abrasive screech of the morning bell signaled that class was beginning.

"Good morning class. Since we've spent nearly two months thoroughly going through the required material for the AP test, I thought it'd be somewhat cliche to give you a multiple choice test for your quarter exam." The professor began. "In this case, i'll be assigning groups of two for a project to replace your quarter exam."

A steady stream of murmurs arose from the class, exchanging hopeful glances between fellow peers they wanted to be partners with. John's eyes met mine hopefully, holding up tightly crossed fingers before the class quieted down.

"This project will be centered around nineteenth century literature." He said, passing out sheets of paper regarding the specifics of the project, ignoring the groans from various students. "You will not only summarize the key points of each project, but you will explain how it is applicable to our society and day to day life."

I let the paper slip through my fingers before it skimmed the desk, as I watched the Professor maneuver his way to the front of the classroom.

"With that being said," he said, shuffling the remaining stack of papers, "I recommend you choose your novel wisely. Choosing a book such as The Social War would not be wise, unless you can justify how a science fiction utopia that takes place in 1873 is relevant to today's society. Now, for the pairings....."

I let the pairings in my head slip by, piqued by who my potential partner was. The Professor stopped speaking momentarily before meeting my eyes, pausing to look at his list of previously assigned pairings.

"Since Seraphina is unable to do this assignment, she requested me to have you replace her as John's partner." He informed me.

A soft, tentative quiver of murmurs arose again as all eyes in the classroom targeted John and I. As expected, his face became beet red at the subtle glares directed towards him.

"....Unless....you have some objections?" The Professor added at my lack of response.

I averted my eyes down to my desk, unmoving my clasped hands away from my face.

"I don't mind." I replied.

"Excellent. Now that we have our partners, you may work for the rest of this period to brainstorm and outline. Please note that this final project will not be graded lightly; I will be giving you a month to read the book in its entirety, learn and plan out talking points, and formulate an elaborate answer to my prompt. So I expect quality work from each and every one of you." The Prof said in a stern tone. "Now, get to work."

My eyes skimmed the contents of the project guidelines as I formulated a general idea for the assignment. I absentmindedly let my thumb run over the back of my fingers as I marked up and underlined important information, adding minor side notes and scribbling out unwanted ideas......

"Um....Earth to Delta?"

I let a secondary idea slip past me as I met John's incredulous yet somewhat unsettled expression. I couldn't tell if he was going to cry or laugh at me.

"....What?" I replied dubiously as he looked at my heavily marked paper.

"Watching your concentrated expression is very adorable, but it's not going to help me contribute. After all, this is a group project." He said with a somewhat playful, tantalizing glint in his eye.

"S-sorry...." I replied as sudden warmth rushed to my cheeks, trying to refocus my thoughts. "I have an idea about our book. It's called The Secret Garden. It's a book I've read a million times when I was a kid, so I know the in and outs of it, which can give us more time to plan and finish early." I explained, circling the title I scrawled out on my paper.

"Well, you're kinda put a disadvantage, since your partner is pretty bad at deciphering nineteenth century English." John admitted sheepishly.

"Don't worry about it. It's classified as a children's book, so it shouldn't be too hard to decipher. And luckily for you, your partner's an old English book nerd." I quipped in an uncharacteristically animated tone.

"....Was that a joke, Delta?" He teased with a raise brow, a smirk playing on his lips.

I panned over him with a sudden expression devoid of emotion, suddenly focusing on my paper.

".......Nevermind. I'll let you figure out how to read the book yourself." I replied brusquely.

"Nooo i'm just joking!" John said, shaking me a little. "Okay, okay, i'll stop messing around. Just tell me what you have in mind."

We spent the rest of our AP Language class writing and discussing a general outline of what to do for the next couple of weeks, with John furiously scrawling a couple of pointers and notes on the back of his guideline sheet. Before we knew it, the bell rang in time for nutrition as students hastily bustled out of the classroom.

"Ow....my hand hurts..." He complained, gently rubbing his palm. "And my brain too. We haven't even started the project and you already have a whole outline with enough content to create three paragraphs."

Before I could reply, I felt my phone impatiently buzz in my pocket. I took it out, perplexed at the timing before scanning the text.

"Sorry, I have to go." I said in a brisk voice. "I'll catch you later."

Before he could wave me off, I shouldered my way towards the entrance of the school, with no personal regard for manners or patience to reach the designated area. I covered my eyes against the glaring sun, before adjusting to the sight in front of me.

A shiny, jet black luxury car waited at the very front gate, with the back door opened expectantly for me held by a pair of black fingerless gloves.

"Dane....?" I asked as I approached my close friend and family advisor. "What's wrong?"

His dull crimson eyes shifted down to meet mine with a familiar professional expression hidden under a black cap, covering his mane of silver hair. As usual, his facial expression was devoid of any intense emotion, his eyes slightly obscured by silver strands. Even though he was the same age as Irel, he had a very large dynamic contrast in personality to him.

"Miss Rose asked that you were to be pulled out of class early." He informed me.

"Why? Is she okay?" I felt a sudden bile rise in my throat as I attempted to smooth out my voice.

"She's fine, but.... she requested for you because Irel seems to be in a certain distress." :;