Chapter Two : New Friends
1489 Words
As you all know, today is the first day of the school's second semester. So we'll just revise what you guys did previously in the last semester. So who would like to tell me the meaning of 'diffusion' in biological terms?" Mr Dickens, the Biology teacher asked.
"Yes, you." He said, pointing to a boy with sand-coloured hair who sat at the back of the class.
"Me?" The boy asked, shocked.
"Yes, you. What's your name?"
"Mi....ke, Mike Jordans." He said, looking nervous.
"So, Mike, what's diffusion?"
"D-Di-ffu-sion i-is the uhm, process of uhm...." Mike stuttered.
"Yes, we're waiting."
"Sir, I can't seem to remember it." He blurted out.
"Is it that you don't remember it or you're afraid to say it or just don't even know it. Which is it?"
"I don't know..... afraid."
"Sit down. I often wonder how you guys manage to get into the next grade. Yes, you sitting by the wall, just besides the second window. What's your name?"
"Ella Palmer, sir."
"Ella, define diffusion?"
"Diffusion can be said to be the process by which molecules or ions of a substance move from a region of higher concentration to a region of lower concentration until they are evenly distributed."
"Simply brilliant!" Mr Dickens exclaimed.
"Wow! She's intelligent. What's the big deal? She's still a freaking nerd." A voice from the back of the class said.
Ella went red from embarrassment.
"Do sit down, Ella." Mr Dickens said in a huff. Turning to face the class, he then asked in a cold tone. "Who was that?"
Instantly, the entire class became as silent as a graveyard could be.
"I repeat, who was that?" He asked again.
The class, if it were possible, became even more silent to the extent that some students took to holding their breaths.
"If I count up to five and no one comes out to own up to his crime, all the boys present will wait after school for detention." Mr Dickens said as he began to count. "One."
No one made a sound. It would have been possible to hear the sound of a pin if it had dropped.
"Two."
Still nothing.
Mr Dickens was quickly becoming frustrated and was trying all that was humanly possible to keep his cool.
"Three."
"Excuse me, sir." said a short, fat boy.
"Yes, you. I remember something of your name. Matt something."
"It's Woods, sir. Matt Woods."
"Matt, what is it or perhaps do you know who said it?
Matt glanced back and saw a hunky jock who mouthed at him saying, "You are so dead."
"It was Ralph De...." Matt said, timidly.
"It was who? Speak up." Mr Dickens replied.
"Sir, it was Ralph Dexter." Matt blurted out in a rush.
Immediately, Mr Dickens glared at Ralph who was smiling, then turned back to Matt.
"What took you so long to tell the truth?"
"Not....thing sir."
"At the end of school, you will join Mister Dexter in detention."
"But sir...." Matt started.
"No buts." Mr Dickens said in a tone that left no room for arguments.
"Now, sit down. So, who can...." He began to speak before he spotted Max by the door of the Lab. "And , who might you be?"
"I'm Max Tigers, the new student."
There were some sounds coming from the girls in the Lab which stopped the moment they felt the heat of Mr Dickens' glare on them.
Turning back to Max, he said, "Where are you coming from? By the way, were you not taught manners at home?"
Max frowned. "I'm coming from the Principal's office and I'm sorry," before he thoughtfully added, "Sir."
"Sorry for yourself. Well, Mister Tigers," Mr Dickens said, glancing at his wristwatch. "You're twenty minutes late for my class."
"Sorry, sir."
"I never fell down."
Max thought, Well, good for you.
"You will write an essay on Haemolysis and Plasmolysis as your reward for coming late to my class. It must be up to forty line and over five hundred words. Am I clear?" Mr Dickens added.
"Yes, sir."
"Now, have your seat "
Max muttered under his breath. "Finally."
"What was that?"
"Nothing, sir. Thank you, sir." Max said awkwardly as he sat by an empty seat by the window.
Mr Dickens continued to teach for the next twenty five minutes until the Bell was rung for the next class. Students in the Biology Lab dispersed to their various homerooms. Max chose a seat that was among the first row vertically in order to ensure easy movement.
Having checked his timetable which he had copied from the notice board, Max discovered that he was free for the next two periods. He brought out his headphones, placed it across his head and then plugged it to his iPhone. Soon, he was listening to "Car's outside" by James Arthur. Getting lost in the song, he didn't notice when a boy and a girl approached him.
"Hi." They said.
But Max didn't hear or see them; he had closed his eyes and was tapping his pencil to the beat of the song.
"I don't think he heard us." The girl said.
"I'll try again, Max!" The boy replied, this time a bit louder.
Hey, I think I heard someone call my name, Max thought.
Sighting the two people who was standing in front of him on opening his eyes, he took off his headphones and asked."Excuse me, did you just call me?"
"Yeah! We did. Sorry if we're disturbing you." The boy said.
"No! No!! Not at all. I was just engrossed in the song I was listening to." Max replied.
"Which one?" The girl asked, curious.
"Love by Ke....." Max said before the girl cut in.
"Kendrick Lamar, right?" She exclaimed.
"Yeah, that's the one." Max said, amused.
"Have you heard of 'Dusk till Dawn' ?" The boy asked.
"Yeah, it's great." Max said.
"What of the new song Nicki Minaj did with that Nigerian, Davido, what's the name?" The girl asked.
"Holy Ground. The song's cool was a tad too slow." Max said.
"Yeah but it's pretty good." The boy added defensively in support of the song.
"What about 'Freaky Friday'?" Max asked.
"Omigosh! Chris Brown and Lil Dicky really killed it." The girl gushed.
"I guess it's nice." The boy said.
"Whoa! Nice? Just nice?" Max asked, shocked.
"I like the lyrics but the video is a bit too....uhm, exposive. If my mom ever caught me watching the music video, she would think that I was watching porn." The boy said.
"Well, I think it's awesome." Max replied.
"Good for you." The boy said.
"Well, what of Drake's new album?" The girl broke in, not liking the tone of her friend's voice.
"It's mind-blowing." The boy said.
"Especially 'In my feelings'. It's way cool." Max replied.
"You guys got my vote on that one." The girl added.
"Since we get along pretty well, I would like for our relationship with each other to be more than that of classmates, friends if possible." Max said.
"Totally!" The girl replied in return.
"Sure." The boy added.
"So, can I get to know your names now?" Max asked.
"Geez! We totally forgot." The boy replied.
"Sorry, our bad." The girl put in.
"Well, apology accepted. As the Imperial Ruler and Overlord of Bluebell High, though it's hardly a domain, I pardon you my humble servants of all your sins." Max said as they all burst into laughter.
"Jake Hills, Your Grace."
"Megan Storm, at your service, My Liege."
"And as you all know, I'm Max Tigers the Magnificent." Max said, flexing his muscles which led them into another fit of laughter.
"So what do we talk about?" Megan asked.
"What about fav food, movies, colours, songs, actors, well stuff like that?" Jake asked in return.
"How about we follow it in that order?" Max said.
"Okay." Megan replied as Jake shrugged in acquiescence.
"I'll go first." Jake said. "I love spaghetti, meatballs, and of course sauce and when I say sauce, I mean chilli hot peppery sauce."
"Chilli hot? You've got to be kidding me. Don't you know that they're quite synonymous?" Max asked.
"Chilli? No way!" Megan said.
"Nah, just joking. But you guys get what I mean." Jake replied, grinning from ear to ear.
"Phew!" Max sighed.
"I like noodles. All kind of noodles, whether fried, steamed, instant and even Chinese noodles." Megan said.
"Sounds yummy. Well, I'm not really into food but I love sandwiches with any kind of fillings. Make it with either egg, beef, chicken, fish or even veggies and I'm okay." Max replied.
"Aaargh! You boys are just like my twin older brothers, Adrien and Aiden. They are meat devourers." Megan exclaimed.
"We both love the meat." Jake said."All boys do, don't we, Max?"
"Sure, we certainly do." Max answered with a wolfy grin on his face as they all burst into laughter for the third time.
- Writer
