Cipher

Chapter 23: Thirteen

Cipher almost felt guilty about how relieved he was when Matt didn't show up for biology. Almost.

It was nice to be able to speak with Cindy and Joslyn without his interference and snide, even malicious, comments. They were doing simple group work and getting time to catch up on any assignments for the class; it was more of a free day than anything. The three of them quickly completed the worksheet and brought out other assignments to work on.

The problem for Cipher was he currently had no other assignments to work on.

"Aren't you going to get some work done?" Cindy asked. He saw that she was honestly curious as to why he wasn't working on anything.

"You don't have anything to work on do you?" Joslyn cut in before he could answer.

"Yes," Cipher answered, messing with his pencil so he wouldn't have to look at either of them.

A small smile tugged at her lips as she shook her head. Cindy seemed genuinely impressed.

"Really? I wish I could get everything done that quickly."

Cipher shrugged, "It is a matter of time. I have quite a bit of time to devote to getting things done while the world is sleeping."

"And you use that time to do school work." Cindy spoke as if it was unheard of.

"Yes," he stated matter-of-factly. "It is one of the reasons I am here. My main objectives are to successfully attend school and to socialize with humans while doing so."

"You're getting sciency and formal again," Joslyn commented, no judgment, simply letting him know.

He inclined his head in acknowledgement. He turned back to Cindy, "What else would I do to fill the extra hours I have?"

Cindy blinked, surprise sparking at the edges, like she didn't expect him to direct a question at her. "Well, I guess I would probably watch more movies and shows, honestly."

"I do that sometimes. Though sometimes I run into age restrictions, which is irritating."

"First off, what are you trying to watch that is age restricted?" Cindy asked, really not sure where this was going. "And second, you can fudge your birthday a little. I mean we're practically adults. We'll be graduating in less than a year."

"Cipher," Joslyn brought his attention over to her, she looked as if she were testing a theory. "When are you turning eighteen?"

Cipher's brows pinched as both he and Cindy looked at her curiously.

"Approximately?" he asked, receiving a nod from her. "About five years."

Cindy almost choked beside him and Joslyn's eyebrows shot up. She seemed to be expecting a strange answer from him, but not that far.

"You're thirteen?"

Cipher looked to Cindy, tilting his head, "Yes." Then he paused considering why they had asked about his eighteenth year. "Eighteen is the age of majority for most human societies, is it not?"

"It is," Joslyn answered him simply before Cindy quickly started talking.

"But you look our age!" she exclaimed, trying to keep it down as the rest of the class was still working on assignments or having their own quiet conversations.

"Students at this level of schooling are usually age seventeen or eighteen, correct?"

Both girls nodded.

"From what I understand, human and Aeolian biological clocks do not align with each other." he placed an elbow on the lab table, resting his chin on his fist. "I may only be thirteen years, as time is counted on this planet, but I am at a similar stage of development as others in this class." he explained patiently. "We are all somewhere around late adolescence; past our growth spurts, but not quite fully adult yet."

He was almost amused by their reactions, especially Cindy's. Her aura seemed to be equal measures surprise, curiosity, and disbelief.

"I think I need a minute," she stated, returning to her work, but he could see she wasn't really thinking about what was on the paper in front of her.

He turned toward Joslyn, "you are not particularly surprised?"

She slowly shrugged, as if still thinking about it. "I figured you wouldn't be exactly the same as us, but I will admit, I did not expect you to be thirteen." she shook her head. "By Earth standards, anyway." she added.

He made a noise of agreement. "It was strange when I learned the average age of the humans that would be attending the same classes. Once met Isaac, though, it made sense. He seemed to be my age, even if he technically was not."

"I guess that would seem weird."

Cipher shrugged.

Joking smile crossed her lips, "I guess we'll have a head start on the Aeolian section whenever we finally get to it."

Cipher had to hold back a light chuckle as he heard Cindy quietly mutter to herself, still in disbelief.

"Thirteen."

***Author's Note***

I just wanted to mention that I have added a bit to Chapter 7 as of 7/30/20 It's not much, just a paragraph. It will only matter a little bit in the future.

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