Undercover

More Than It Comes To The Eye

Nate and Bina were very attentive to the lecture, him following carefully the professor, her taking as many notes as her hand can handle.

From time to time Nate peeped at Bina's papers either to evaluate the hard work or to catch up with a non-trivial explanation.

Once the lecture was over, they both went to Open Space to grab a cup of coffee each.

Having just sat down by a table, they both got an email informing their first assignment was out and was due to in a week.

"Here it starts", Bina joked. "Usually the first two weeks are very empty, but then it suddenly starts to pour and hardens exponentially."

Nate chucked at her analysis and nodded.

"So do we start now?" He asked.

Bina was contented with his enagement to the process, and nodded in approval.

They started by going over the material and lecture notes, as they have been doing in the past weeks but now with Nate already trained for that, and attended to the homework immediately after.

Unexpectedly, they finished the assignment relatively fast together, and Bina was positively surprised by Nate.

"Good job!" Bina complimented with a soft smile and patted Nate's shoulder.

"Thank you, that's really something I haven't done since my first semester here." Nate replied watching Bina as if he was seeking for her reaction .

The latter wasn't about to come, as Bina simply packed her belongings and sat back comfortably at the chair, scrolling the feeds of her social networks through her phone, checking for any flash news or updates.

Nate hesitated, turning his head away and back in search of the proper words to start the conversation with. Probably not acknowledging it, he desperately needed to share his frustration with the only person who is a full accomplice to his new academic survival progress.

While Nate was still within the inner fight with his self, Bina shot the deal in the air naturally.

"Nate, what did you want to tall about earlier?" Bina gave him a look of compassion. "I mean, you don't have to, only if you want."

Nate let out a faint laugh of relief. "Yes, I do," he replied, "thanks for the concern."

It took a breath or two for him to spit it out.

"I am, in fact, worried about my studies. I was given many chances, but now it's really past the limit. So... Yeah."

"Nate, don't worry," Bina once again patted him. "You seem to be good at what you are doing, it looks like you simply weren't putting enough effort to that."

"I am afraid I won't do that this time as well." He held his forehead in his palms, leaning of the table.

"We've got this, okay? You have my help now. Hmm?"

"Thanks..."

They both stayed in the same position statically, Nate burries in this hands, Bina patting him from the side, a situation that could be comically portrayed if it wasn't with the gloomy context of Nate's story.

"My father already knows about it," Nate raised his upper part from the nest it was buried in, "and I also broke up with my girlfriend this weekend."

"...Wow."

Bina widened her eyes and stuck with the expression for a while.

"Yeah, I am just sharing. everything at once. Sorry to bother you with that."

"No, that's okay. Just... Well, I know it's sad, but please try to focus on other things."

"Honestly, I feel relieved with the breakup."

Bina struck him a poker face.

"It wasn't... That kind of relationship." He tried to clarify.

"I am not the one to judge..." Bina utterred and looked away.

In a perfect timing, Danny sent her a message. She picked up her phone again, smiling, and eagerly replied.

"Oh, somebody here has the opposite experience?" Nate put on a sarcastic smile.

Bina felt a little uneasy with his comment. Her smile dulled a bit and a hint of frustration was seen on her expression.

"Sorry, didn't mean to be rude." He added.

"No, that's Danny, my best friend. He is like a brother to me."

"Best friend? A man? Is he gay or something?" Nate chuckled.

Bina smiled at his response, shaking her head and saying, "No, he's not gay... Well, I don't know, he used to date girls, but now he sleeps mainly with men, so can't tell. But anyway, he's a best friend, yes."

"Woah, no, there are no such things as best friends between adults with the same s****l orientation"

"In my case there are." Bina answered impatiently, looking down at her crossed palms.

Nate got the clue of the low self esteem reflection, and stopped the inappropriate inquiry.

"So how do you know each other?" he asked to cut the air that suddenly thickened.

"From highschool. Adjacent desks in the same place for three years in a row."

That guy was definitely into her, Nate reflected to himself.

"We often go out for a beer and a snack", she added.

Their conversation might have been taken a deeper turn if at the very moment it wasn't interrupted by Benjamin, who had just walked in to Open Space and spotted the above average height Nate. He went towards them taking out his lunch and naturally putting it on their table.

"Hey there old and new faces!" He exclaimed.

"Hi buddy," Nate stood up to share an iconic fistbump with Benjamin and quickly got back to his sit. "What's up?"

Benjamin muttled somethings about his last class and his previous workout, not forgetting to spill the latest gossips in acronyms and code names.

There was a great chemistry between these boys. At first glance one may think they are the very same person with different looks, the stereotype of the men who play with women, party to exhastion and pamper their looks. But when trying to grasp the details of each, it's apparent that Nate is more serious, restrained and self contained. He usually won't give a hand or cooperate with schemes nor will he pass on a rumor actively. Life lessons taught to always avoid being the bad fuss maker.

While the men conversed, Bina carefully collected her equipment and put it back in her bag. Although trying to avoid attention, she did not notice that Benjamin was communicating with Nate using awkward glances and expressions of what the hell and you are actually serious, pausing each time Bina could catch them.

At last, Bina packed her laptop, leaning down to her bag that was laying on the floor, protruding backwards her bottom in the process.

This accidental sudden gesture brought Benjamin to pose an astounded countenance, widened eyes and agape, immediately being noticed by Nate, who questionably turned his head to take a proper glance from a closer perspective without knowing what to expect.

Nate stroke a similar reaction only of his contained nature, with widened eyes, and immediately looked away back to Benjamin keeping his expression.

Long as it sounds, this experience took only about five seconds, but was enough for a good evaluation for the testosterones in the space.

"I'll get going, bye!" Bina waved to Nate as soon as she turned back and together with her also the men's gazes. Nate waved her back silent, and they both followed her to see her leaving the zone.

"That glute." Benjamin said with a serious and hungry tone. "That was a glute."

"That was definitely a glute." Nate approved, trying to digest the discovery.

"Does she work out?" Benjamin asked intrigued.

Confused, Nate shrugged his shoulders saying, "No idea."

"Dude, you are meeting each other almost every day for... How long is it? And you don't know the glute?"

"Funny, Ben, funny..." Nate pretended to take the important criticism to his consideration.

Since Nate had no reason to stay in the place anymore for the day, he offered Benjamin to go outside and continue their catch up there.

On their way outside, Nate noticed a view that would never catch his eyes before: The same girl with the simple tight jeans and loose sweatshirt whose curly hair was tied up in a boring bun, who slowly saves his semester, sitting curled up inside a decorative sitting booth next to the glass wall of the building with a notebook and a pencil.

Benjamin noticed the lingering of his friend, and tried to concentrate on the same spot to see what took his attention.

"Weird." He commented. "She could have just stayed there if she wasn't actually leaving."

I feel bad for her.

Having this thought coming to his mind, Nate picked his phone and texted Bina.

Are you okay?

He saw Bina picking up her phone without special change in her mood. It took her a while to answer.

Yes, why?

You suddenly left to another place. I hope it wasn't something we did.

Bina sighed and looked around to see if Nate was anywhere around to notice her, which was about the same time he left her sight with Benjamin, still looking at his phone waiting for a reply.

"Nate raise your eyes, what's wrong with you?"

"Nothing."

Nate was about to put his phone in his pocket as he felt a small vibration and immediately checked it again.

I just didn't want to interrupt you two. Tomorrow at 10:00?

Nate smiled lightly and confirmed the date.

Benjamin raised a brow to the sight and surprisingly didn't comment. When Nate remembered his friend is watching him, he erased his smile and utterred, "I am saving my semester."

Not planning to finish his sessions that early, Nate set a spontaneous basketball game with his team, as a warmup before the evening training.

As for Bina, half an hour of sketching could do well, but in most cases she feels low in self esteem she prefers to work out. What can be better than pampering your body when you feel it low?

And so she did.

Bina went to the gym and had her routine.

Althought she physically looks fragile and clumsy, she actually likes the most in her workouts to lift weights and stretch.

This wasn't always the Bina we know today, though. A few years ago, in highschool, while struggling in everyday active tasks and having it hard to maintain her weight, she decided to start a new lifestyle. The opening line for this lifestyle, which also remained her moto up to this day, was "If I'm not pretty, I'll at least be kickass".

After an hour of hard work, Bina turned towards the exit of the complex, where she met Nate and his teammates after their warmup.

She raised a hand to say hello, seeking for Nate's attention. But Nate, who obviously noticed her, turned his head back to his friends and ignored her.