"What are the three major colours in the eye's cones?" He repeated. You mentally rolled your eyes.
"Red, green, and blue." You replied, flicking off some pencil shavings on your history homework. You had texted Mark to let him know that you were ready for questions if he needed any, but he didn't seem to get your message - or at least hadn't looked at it.
"Thanks." He clicked on his computer's pad, allowing him to record the correct answer.
"You're taking an awfully long time with this pre-test.." You mentioned, not really expecting a good reply.
"I told you that I wasn't good with school." Alvin answered, confirming your suspicions.
"But like, this is taking it a bit too far." You said, "What was your GPA when you graduated high school?"
".. 3.9..." He replied sheepishly. You looked up at him, concerned.
"Mine was a 3.4. And you're telling me that you need this much help? You must think I'm an idiot." You boldly stated, freezing Alvin in his tracks.
"Well, I-"
"Alvin, why am I here?" You asked, putting down your pencil and paper to stare him down.
"I... I just really enjoy your company.." He admitted, squeezing the side of his computer.
You took the liberty to move your position and get closer to him, wanting to see his true reaction in his eyes.
"Alvin, I'm usually not forward like this, but it kind of hurts me that you're not being completely honest with me." You said, chin in your hand.
"I told you the truth." He promised in return, his eyes full of sincerity, but with a hint of hesitation.
You gazed at him for a bit longer before positioning yourself where you originally were and continuing to work on your history. Alvin let out a mental sigh of relief before typing on his computer again, answering several of the questions on the site.
"You may think you're sneaky, but I'll find out what you're hiding eventually." You commented, biting the pencil eraser as you gave the boy a challenging, playful stare.
He looked up at you, his gaze filled with fear. You laughed at his reaction before continuing to work.
Once he saw that your attention seemed to be elsewhere, he let out the breath he had been holding in and continued to type, but twice as fast.
"I like a challenge." You said, a smirk playing on your lips as he looked over at you, a worried gaze in his eyes.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It says: 'What President was in office during the Korean War?'
You flipped through your papers, searching for the question Mark had texted you about.
As of this moment, you were back in your home. You stayed with Jack for a while, but after your suspicions, he became very anxious and almost refused to speak. So, you thanked him for his company, and told him that you would be leaving his dorm. He seemed hesitant to let you leave, but after all, what was he going to do about it?
You landed on page 8, which held the question. You looked at it for a while before texting Mark back.
*Harry Truman was the president initially, but then Eisenhower was elected in 1952 and he ended what Truman started.*
You set your phone back down on your bed, struggling with several other questions, mostly relating to the Manhattan Project. Granted, you could look up all of the answers, but something told you that you should see what you knew first.
You frowned at one of the questions and decided to ask Mark. You quickly texted again.
*On page 6, it says: 'Who worked on the Atomic Bomb for the Manhattan Project during WWII?' Was it Albert Einstein?*
You waited several moments before he replied back.
Yes and no. Albert Einstein was a German Jew and escaped to America before he could be transported into a concentration camp. He told Franklin Roosevelt about Hitler's plan to unleash a nuclear bomb, and suggested that America beat them to the punch. He told them how it was made, but they didn't trust him. He was still German after all. So, Robert Oppenheimer worked on it with advice from Einstein.
*Well, that definitely makes sense. Did you actually know that off of the top of your head?*
*You could say that I respect both Einstein and Oppenheimer, so yes.*
You paused before replying. It boggled your mind that he knew so much about it, if he was really being honest.
I have to say: I'm impressed. *What exactly are you going to college for?* You asked, noting that you had never asked him.
*Biomedical Engineering.*
*Oh, so you're a genius basically.*
*I wouldn't say that.*
You laughed at his humble, kind demeanor. You could definitely see him becoming a successful engineer, but it's just interesting to see that he was getting tutored by a music major.
*So, do you want to FaceTime? It's a little difficult to talk to you over text.*
There was about a three minute pause before he decided to answer back. He really didn't want to get into it, but you seemed to be too smart - or frankly, too stubborn - to back down. So, he answered back as vague as he could, hoping that you wouldn't ask too many questions. He didn't want to lie, but this was something that he had to keep hidden, whether he wanted to or not. He had to be the mediator. He had to keep his distance - for your safety and his.
*I'm sorry, but my WiFi isn't very strong where I live.* He simply replied. You scrunched up your nose before texting him back.
You seem to get my messages okay, and you reply fairly quick. So, what your saying doesn't convince me,
He sighed, making himself comfortable on his bed as he glared at his history packet.
'I could keep this a secret from you if I never saw you.' He said to himself, tapping impatiently on his homework with his pencil.
Of course, he really wanted to make something with his life: Go to college, become an engineer, have a family. But with his current state, those things could never happen.
With anger and loneliness both coursing through his veins, he sent you back a text.
*Look, I'm really sorry for how I've been acting. The biggest reason for my isolation is because one of my good friend's committed suicide a few weeks ago. I've been super depressed and whatnot, so I'm already struggling with that on top of my freshman year. I would love to hang out with you, but I just can't right now.*
What he said wasn't exactly false. His friend, Daniel, had committed suicide recently, but that was only the beginning. He knew that you seemed to have compassion, evident to when you stood up to those girls harassing him, but he still had to be careful. One slip up could cause a catastrophe.
I am so sorry. I had no idea... I'll help you with whatever I can. Just please come to me if you need anything. Friends help each other out. Keep that in mind for me, okay? Let me know if you ever need anything. Are there any other problems that you're stuck on?
Mark smiled at your kindness before texting you back.
*I really appreciate that, but I feel like I just want to be left alone right now. I promise I'll let you know if I need anything.*
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Although Mark seemed genuine the day before, you worried for his mental being. Was he truly wanting to be by himself, or what is an internal cry for help? There was no way of truly telling unless you asked him. But as of right now, you had no right to do so.
There wasn't history class that day, but when you got to psychology, you expressed your concern to Alvin. He seemed to look very thoughtful about it, and also concerned, but he told you that you should just leave him alone for now.
But was that really justice for him? You didn't know him - or Alvin - that well, but you had made such a wonderful relationship with them. On top of that, you didn't want to be blamed for Mark's behavior by Amy or any of her crew.
You quickly finished psychology class and practically ran out of the building, not wanting to talk to an awkward Alvin.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You felt weird coming into your apartment, but your mother calling your home phone soon after you arrived changed that.
"Hello?" You greeted, a smile on your face.
"Hey sweetie! How's college going?" She asked, an excited tone in her voice.
"It's going pretty good. I haven't got much homework, but I've made friends pretty quickly." You told her.
"I'm so proud of you. Your father and I both." She bragged, making you smile, "So, I heard something about friends?"
"Yeah. Their names are Alvin and Mark. Alvin did my college tour, and turns out that we have the same psychology class. He's super funny and loud - a deep contrast from me."
"What about Mark?" Your mom asked, sounding curious.
In that moment, you heard a familiar shout ring out, causing you to shoot your head towards that direction. After a couple of moments, you reminded yourself that your neighbor supposedly did this all the time.
"Who was that?" Your mom asked on the other line. You sighed and plopped down on your small couch.
"Some crazy neighbor." You replied, not wanting to explain everything.
"Okay, well, keep going." She ushered.
"Anyways, Mark seems like a very nice guy and is super intelligent with big goals, but he recently told me about his friend had committed suicide. He told me that he would rather be on his lonesome and deal with it alone. Should I let him?" You asked.
"No one should ever go through something alone." Your mother simply replied, "No one deserves that loneliness."
You smiled at her answer.
"Yeah. That's what I figured. I love you so much, mom. Give dad my love too." You requested of her.
"Of course I will, sweetie. Take care of yourself. I know you're busy. Good night!"
"Good night, mom."
You hung up the phone, set it back on its charger, and headed to your bedroom, your history packet on your mind.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After about a half hour of really good progress, you decided to take a break and grab a bite to eat. You were almost done with it anyhow.
You walked out into the kitchen, wearing a pair of pajama pants and a tank top. You went to the fridge and grabbed a chilled apple - your never liked them room temperature - and took a bite out of it. You leaned up against the counter top and swallowed your piece. You began to take another bite before a loud, shrilling shriek pierced you ears. You bit down on it hard, your body reacting to the scare. The teeth that grew dully painful made you agitated, not helping your current emotion.
'I am sick and tired of this stupid neighbor.'
You tossed your apple onto the counter and stomped towards your door. You gripped the doorknob tightly and threw the door open, the sunlight welcome to your eyes.
You marched over to apartment 5D and banged on the door with all of your might, shaking the sides of the frame.
"Listen here! If you don't shut your mouth and stop freaking me out by screaming at all hours of the day, I'm going to call the police!" You threatened. Even with your serious demand, you gained no response. No satisfied, you banged on the door again.
"I know you're in there! You can't ignore me forever!" You yelled, feeling your outer edges breaking, "What gives you the right to scream your head off?! I can't move! If I could, I would. Now open up!"
Still, no response was given.
"I am going to lose my ever loving mind! Either you open up, or I'm kicking down the door-"
The door swung open suddenly, disorienting you, but you soon focused a hateful glare onto the person living there, but it quickly faltered.
Before you stood a semi-Korean, short-statured, handsome young man. His brown, fearful eyes stared back at you, never faltering. You could see his forehead stained with sweat, and his heavy panting from experiencing only God knows what. You hung your mouth open as you stared harder at him, your mind boggled with his familiarity.
"Mark?!"