Him

TWO

"Failure isn't an option."

*

Strolling through the drama filled corridors of her new school, Althea found herself in front of her first class for the morning, Biology.

She had hoped that there would be no one in her class but to her dismay, there was.

A lone man by himself, stuffed up in his hoodie with the cords tied over his mouth. He looked as if he had been in here for a while because his focus was solely on the board before him.

Deciding not the bother the poor soul, Althea sat in the desk almost close to the window, loving the feeling of looking at nature in its glorious element.

For a whole 30 minutes, the two students said nothing to each other but by the time the dark girl opened her mouth, she was shushed by the movement of feet into the classroom.

Followed by the incoming students was an older man, wrapped in an aura of maturity and self awareness. It was almost.....suffocating.

He was a Caucasian man with maroon hair and his green irises were shielded by his transparent glasses. There were a few grey hairs that lined his beard that almost reached his collarbone.

He rested his briefcase on his desk and turned to the students of his class, silently demanding that all eyes be focused on him.

Taking a quick glance at every single human in the room, the professor started to begin his speech, "Good morning everyone. My name is Professor Hunter and I am your teacher for Biology 240."

That earned some cheers from the students. She looked in her peripheral vision to see if the quiet guy had a change in his demeanour but he still had the same expression on his face.

Professor Hunter raised his hand up to silence the students so he could continue talking, "This school year is going to be rough for all of you. I do not tend to take things lightly when it comes to my work nor should you. Mount Invel University only produces the best and brightest minds the world has seen and we are still producing them today," he then picked up his hand board and a pen and pointed around the room, "You all are the future of this great institution and I hope to see you all succeed in your endeavours."

At the conclusion of his speech, he was met with a rousing round of applause from everyone, including the dark woman. He was surely going to be an interesting teacher in the upcoming months but for now, she had to be on his good side to pass this class.

*

"And with that segment, I want a full written report on Homeostasis and that is due on Wednesday, first thing when you walk into this classroom," Professor Hunter was then met with the screeches of chairs moving from the students, "Good day to all of you," he concluded as he finally sat down in his chair.

Althea intentionally packed her things slowly to be the last one in the classroom but she wasn't the only one with the same idea.

The same guy who she met in the classroom all alone this morning was doing the same thing as her and making his way towards the Professor.

The ebony girl slung her backpack over her shoulders and made her way to the teacher's desk just as the quiet guy did.

"You did well today Mr. Drakos. You're on your way to passing my class if you keep up this attitude," Professor Hunter stated while shaking the man's hand.

Althea had to admit it. The guy was a genius. Everyone question Mr. Hunter dished out to the class, he knew every answer to and he was efficient at it. She could only recall answering one question today.

Setting his sights on her, the professor voiced, "Ms. Coleman, do you need anything?"

The woman nodded her head and showed him her quarry of the homework assignment.

"You stated that our topic is Homeostasis but what exactly must be included in our essay?" Althea questioned to her teacher, suddenly sparking an interest in the quiet guy besides her.

"I've been wondering that too Mr. Hunter," Drakos said as he got out his pen and paper.

The old Professor could only smile at the two before him, "There was a reason I did not give details for this essay. I wanted to see which student would be the one to come to me asking for guidance. Well, I got two to ask."

"So, basically, this was a test?" Drakos asked, standing up a bit straighter than before.

Mr. Hunter nodded his head and began to give them the specifics in what they needed.

"I want three well written paragraphs on Temperature in the body, three paragraphs on Negative Feedback in the brain and three paragraphs on Positive feedback in the brain. Extra points will be earned if you include diabetes," Mr. Hunter finished as he sat back down in his chair, "I assume that is all."

Both students before him nodded their heads and made their way through the tall mahogany doors.

Professor Hunter could feel the competitiveness between the two. Mr. Drakos was indeed well versed in this subject and Ms. Coleman had a lot to catch up him on but for their other subjects, well, he had to check in with their teachers.