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"These are just one of the few characteristics of the various classes under the Phylum Arthropoda. One distinctive feature that appeared to be consistent was their high degree of cephalization"
Miss Cassy roamed round the class scanning everyone's desks instinctively to confirm they were listening. She went back to the board, feeling satisfied
"If you did your homework on this topic, you will know what it means. So may I ask what does cephalization mean?, Miss Cassy directed her question to the class
Miss Cassy scanned around the classroom waiting for many students to put up their hands in the air, but she didn't get that.
"Surely, at least an individual of Netherlands Academy can answer this question, right?
Irene also scanned the classroom and was surprised that no one else had their hand up.
No response
She glanced around the class and sighed. "Janice please help us out here"
Janice shot up from her seat, to answer the question.
"Cephalization is an evolutionary trend in which the sense organs as well as neural parts become centralized at one part of an organism. In other words, it means having a definite and dinstinct head.
"Very good, Janice", Miss Cassy smiled at her, feeling satisfied. Janice nodded and returned to her seat.
"Biology should also be regarded as.....
"An important science as well" , The class echoed loudly in a monotonous tone. It was obvious that they knew it, but held no shred of enthusiasm either for Biology or the topic.
All the while Irene was fiddling with her pencil still hoping that Mr. Neil will spill any information he had. Every second was important to Irene. The faster she knew, the better. Every day that goes by, just brings the eclipse closer.
As if it was right on cue, the bell rang signalling the end.
"For the rest of you, I know you are familiar with this topic, take it very seriously".
On that note, the students walked out for their other classes. Irene packed her things and was getting ready to leave like the rest, when Miss Cassy called her back
"Irene, may I have word please", She stopped her. Irene walked over to her side, not having the slightest clue of what she wanted. "Alex please come over here too". Miss Cassy gestured Alex to come over. Alex was just as confused as Irene, nevertheless he walked towards them.
"I'll catch you guys later in the hallway"
"Ohh, Alex's in trouble", Janice teased, while the others chuckled. Alex just rolled his eyes at her snarky remark.
With that Jason and the girls just left the class.
"Alex this is Irene a new student here", Miss Cassy reintroduced Irene to Alex since he was absent when she first arrived.
"I figured and what does it have to do with me", he demanded
"I wanted someone to show Irene the ropes, especially in her studies. What better person to do that, other than our star student", Miss Cassy said with her familiar smile
Alex just stared at Miss Cassy blankly, without uttering any words immediately. He, unfortunately was the only Alex in this class, so she was definitely referring to him. He tried to gather the right words to say
"Don't I...."
Miss Cassy cut him off immediately
"You most definitely don't have a say in this"
She knew her student was going to try to wriggle his way out of this
"You are going to help Irene catch up with her academic work and you will be rewarded with extra credits for doing this"
He sighed in defeat. There was no escape from this.The only thing that held less than a portion of motivation was the extra credits and nothing else.
"Just for the extra credits", he made it clear to Miss Cassy.
***
Alex and Irene were making their way through the hallway in silence. He had one of his airpods in the whole time. Alex wouldn't have been the one to strike up a conversation, neither would have Irene. Despite their different personalities, they were both similar. The people around them were whispering and giving her weird glances. She was no genius to put together that they were talking about her Irene was with Jason a few days back and now she was with another boy. Irene shrugged it off as she wasn't bothered. Compared to what she faced at the agency, this couldn't count as child's play. Eventually, Alex broke the silence by handing her a notebook
"Here"
"What for??
Without flipping through the pages, Irene asked
"How did you make it into this school without knowing what a book is used for?", he queried with a frustrated expression
Irene just responded in a calm voice
"Ohh, I'm sorry. It's just that a few seconds ago, a guy whom I have never spoken to, JUST ALL OF A SUDDEN handed me a book and didn't have the brain to specify what to use it for"
Alex rolled his eyes and smirked.
"Hmm, Maybe you're smart after all"
Irene just forced a smile through, while she wandered to her thoughts
"Easy, Irene, murder is still a crime"
Suddenly, he stopped walking, bending directly to my level. His face was just inches away as he gazed into my eyes.
"What? Am I a star just begging to be gazed at?, I rolled my eyes at him
"That book is your tutor basically", he pointed to the book I held
I flipped through the book casually. It was filled with detailed notes, sketches and jottings of various subjects. it almost looked like a summary of every subject.
"We're free in the afternoon, meet me in the library", with that he left to the other side without another word.
As I opened my locker, I heard the students in the hallway muttering. Majority of the students were glued to their phones. They had different expressions, happy, satisfied, sad, some were even on the verge of tears. Without a doubt, this was normal, but today's own felt off.
****
"Really, I've said it before and I'll say it again.Your enthusiasm for school still beats me"
"I guess it's just passion.Once passion has been ignited, it burns brighter than all odds"
"Well said Gia. But I still think the urge to sleep and relax burns the brightest in me"
Gia nudged him a little bit with her elbow chuckling
"Heyy don't say that"
~PING
Gia's phone buzzed~ a notification popped up. All the while, Felix had Gia's bag slung around his shoulder, so she won't be stressed. While Gia was carrying a pile of homework to their teacher. Gia reached out for her phone, while struggling to carry the papers as well. When she succeeded, what she saw on her phone made her bright smile fades. Felix noticed this. His expression swiftly transitioned into a worried one
"Gia... What's wrong?"
Gia just handed him the phone to see for himself
"Just in"
From Kaielle to Kai and Giselle
"Teen superstar actress and actor, Giselle Chambers and Kai Emmens end their relationship of over a year.
Reasons are not known to the public.....
His eyes scan through the news, the sight of each word doesn't leave a change in his expression. Felix doesn't bother scroll down. Gia calmly reaches over for her phone and asked if he was okay
"Well yeah, Is there a reason I should?", He asked casually
"You??Giselle?, You guys were practically in love with each other"
"We were, soo??
Felix replied trying to ask Giselle what the matter was
"You're supposed to be displaying so many emotions at once. Anger, relief, joy and frustration. They all should be hovering around your mind right now"
Felix just looked at her with a confused expression. He gently squeezed the little skin between his brows and yawned
"Let's not do this today, Gia. I'm heading over to the library, I'm really tired"
He left with her bag off to the direction of the library. Gia stood dumbfounded for a while as she watched him go. She eventually shrugged it off, walking over to the office to drop the assignments.
****
IRENE'S P.O.V
Eventually, I got to the washroom, with the help of a random girl carrying loads of assignments. I glanced around and my eyes landed on the big mirror above the sink. My reflection stared back at me, like a mimic waiting patiently for the next move.
"A true reflection of ourselves", I blurted out unknowingly huh?
I walked closer to the mirror, my fingers gently grazing through its sparkling surface. If only the mirror could reveal the identity of the paranom to me. I sighed. The washroom door opened and I was brought back to reality. I pulled my fingers back and walked out of there, not bothering to check who had entered.
**BELL RINGS
This day has been totally uneventful for me and I'm not even one step closer to finding the identity. Mr. Neil's behavior suggests he is hiding something, I hope. It is safe to assume that he knows more than he is letting off. I sighed , just when I think I'm actually one step ahead, I am brought two more steps backward. My phone pinged loudly. I saw the text was from Alex. I had previously given him my number
"I'm at the library, don't make me wait extra credit", he texted with an eye roll emoji
I wasn't surprised, just met him, but I didn't expect him to be any nicer
"Where exactly in the library are you waiting?", I typed
He wasn't online then, but as I sent the text, he responded immediately
"Walk down from the door, then turn left, walk down again make a right turn at the corner after the shelf. I'm the only one there, it should be easy for you to find me, except.....
I went offline and put my phone on sleep, without reading his last few words.
Finally after a long walk round the school, I got to the entrance of the central library. The sliding doors squeaked a little as my palm gently pushed it. The library was practically empty, I could count the number of students here. I passed the librarian at his desk. The books were stacked properly on the well furnished golden shelves. After admiring the books for a while, I decided to take a weird looking book that caught my attention. As I turned left, I started feeling a little bit light headed, I shrugged it off immediately and continued walking. Walking down, the aisle of shelves, my body also felt weak and I bumped into a nearby shelf.
"Ohh... C'mon", I said in between gasps dreading what the thought of what was happening to me. Still grabbing on to a part of the shelf, with my head bowed on my elbow, I mustered the strength to get up. I continued walking, still trying my best to ignore it. However it wasn't making it easy for me. Suddenly, I felt a heavy weight pushing down on my chest, followed by a painful ripping sensation. I crashed in a seat nearby, frantically rummaging through my bag to find my medicine.
Of all the times for my medicine to disappear
I couldn't breathe and the ripping sensation in my chest intensified. I clenched my chest, while looking for the medicine. My vision started becoming blurry, I immediately tipped my bag over on the floor that was when the medicine container finally revealed itself. Hurriedly I popped one into my mouth as everything around me went dark
ALEX'S P.O.V
Extra credit is late", I sighed as I checked the time on my phone. I had been sitting here for almost an hour now. I just realized it, when my music stopped. My airpods had died. I slowly pulled the book away from my face and got up, thinking she had gotten lost in the library. I didn't have to go round the library when I spotted her auburn hair, she was the only one there. She was surprisingly very close to where I was. I walked through the aisle and saw her face down on the table. Her things were scattered all over the floor and so was her bag. Though I hadn't much attention to her. I noticed her skin tone was slightly paler in comparison to this morning. I looked back to her items of scattered things. I crouched down and something caught my attention. A small bottle filled with pills