The next two days passed in a blur. The group spent their time relaxing and helping Alithea adjust to her new surroundings. They showed her around the campus, introduced her to some of their friends, and got her a guest room to stay in.
As she was returning home from her vacation, Aurelia found herself increasingly preoccupied. Lead’s confession had stirred up a whirlwind of emotions within her. She was flattered, confused, and most of all, overwhelmed. She had always seen Lead as a friend, and the sudden shift in dynamics left her feeling uncertain.
Aurelia found herself in a state of constant contemplation. She began to analyze her feelings for Lead, trying to quantify them, as if emotions could be measured and compared. She thought about their shared interests, their compatibility, and the chemistry between them.
She started to list down the factors that could determine compatibility. She considered their shared experiences, their mutual respect, and their understanding of each other. She thought about their differences too, wondering if they were complementary or conflicting.
She pondered, “If I were to assign a value to each factor, could I calculate compatibility? If I were to rate our shared experiences as ‘x’, mutual respect as ‘y’, and understanding as ‘z’, could I find a formula that would give me an answer?”
She scribbled on a piece of paper, that the factors are x, y and z. Now what?
Compatibility= f (x,y,z)
She stared at it for a moment, and wrote something in.
(x+y+z) / 3
Taking all three factors as equally important in ratio, could she calculate it? But how was she supposed to do get the values of x, y and z? Should she do it herself on a scale of 1-100? Should she ask the boys for their ratings? And where do the differences come in? Should they be subtracted from the final average? She wished she had paid attention to her Mathematics minor for once.
Aurelia continued her contemplation. She decided to assign values to ‘x’, ‘y’, and ‘z’ on a scale of 1-100 based on her own feelings and perceptions. She thought about their shared experiences, mutual respect, and understanding, and assigned them values.
She then considered the differences. She realized that differences aren’t necessarily bad. They could bring balance and diversity to a relationship. But they could also lead to conflicts. So, she decided to assign a value to the differences as well, but this time, the higher the value, the more conflicting the differences.
[(x+y+z) / 3] - differences
It was done. This was the formula.
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A few days passed. Aurelia had almost completely forgotten about the formula, but the dilemma was still an itch, one she didn’t want to scratch. But she had to. The pull was too strong. She was in the common room, her mind a whirl of thoughts, when Alithea walked in. Alithea looked a bit flustered, her brows furrowed in confusion. She held a map of the campus in her hands, clearly trying to make sense of it.
“Hey, Aurelia,” Alithea started, her voice hesitant. “I hate to bother you, but I’m trying to find the library. I thought I had the directions memorized, but I seem to have gotten turned around.”
Aurelia looked up, grateful for the distraction. She put aside her contemplation and focused on helping Alithea. She took the map from Alithea, studied it for a moment, and then pointed out the route to the library.
As they talked and laughed about the confusing campus layout, Aurelia felt a sense of relief. It was good to focus on something else, even if just for a little while. But in the back of her mind, the formula and her feelings for Lead remained, waiting to be addressed.
“Hey, everything okay?” Alithea asked. “You seem distracted.”
“No, nothing.” Aurelia shrugged. “I’m perfectly fine,”
“Okay,” Alithea replied, a small smile on her face. “But that’s the nervous face I make when I feel a radon sneeze coming on which could potentially kill you…”
Aurelia let out a sigh. “Okay, you caught me. I have this formula for compatibility I need to break my head about, but don’t want to.”
Alithea looked at Aurelia, her eyes filled with curiosity. “A formula for compatibility? That sounds interesting. Can I help?” she asked, her voice filled with genuine concern and interest.
Aurelia hesitated for a moment, then nodded. She explained the formula to Alithea, who listened attentively.
Alithea gave Aurelia a sympathetic look. “Aurelia,” she began, her voice soft and understanding, “I think you’re trying to quantify something that’s completely qualitative. Compatibility isn’t just about shared experiences or mutual respect. It’s about how you feel when you’re with the person. It’s about the connection you share, the comfort you feel in their presence. Your head doesn’t decide these things, your heart does.”
Just as Alithea finished, Selena walked into the room. She had overheard the last part of their conversation and couldn’t help but chime in. “Yeah, but the heart’s busy pumping blood. The head has to substitute sometimes,” she said, grinning.
“Oh, that’s too bad,” Alithea replied, shaking her head. “And when will it be done, may I ask?” she asked, trying her best not to laugh.
Selena chuckled, “Well, if we’re going by Aurelia’s logic, we might need a formula for that too.”
Alithea joined in the laughter, “Oh, absolutely! Let’s see… If we take the number of times Aurelia overthinks as ‘a’, the number of times she ignores her feelings as ‘b’, and the number of times she tries to use logic to understand emotions as ‘c’, we might be able to calculate when her heart will be done pumping blood and ready to take over!”
The laughter continued as Alithea and Selena playfully teased Aurelia. Alithea, with a twinkle in her eyes, said, “Aurelia, you’re the only person I know who would try to solve emotional dilemmas with mathematical formulas. But remember, emotions are not equations. They’re more like abstract art, beautiful in their complexity and subjectivity.”
Selena chimed in, “Exactly! And besides, if we were to calculate the readiness of your heart based on how much you overthink, ignore your feelings, and try to use logic, I’m afraid we might end up with a negative number!”
“Sorry, my heart can’t come to the phone right now,” Aurelia said, in a robotic voice. “Why? Oh, ‘cause it’s dead!”
“But then, wouldn’t you be dead too?” Alithea asked, cocking her head, prompting Selena to laugh even louder.
Selena, still laughing, took a deep breath and turned to Alithea. “Okay, so that was a reference to a song called ‘Look What You Made Me Do’ by Taylor Swift. It came out in 2017, so it’s a bit after your time,” she explained. “The line ‘Sorry, the old Taylor can’t come to the phone right now. Why? Oh, ‘cause she’s dead!’ is one of the most iconic lines from the song.”
Alithea looked intrigued. “Oh, I see. I’ll have to catch up on all these cultural references. It seems like a lot has changed since 1999.”
“Definitely,” Selena agreed. “But don’t worry, we’ll help you catch up. And who knows, maybe you’ll end up teaching us a thing or two as well.”
“I wonder how all my old classmates must be doing. They’re probably in their forties, already settled down.” Alithea mused, her thoughts drifting back to her past.
Selena, catching on to the seriousness of Alithea’s tone, quickly pulled out her phone. “You know what, Alithea? I think Gallus might have something that could help us understand your past better,” she said, typing out a quick message to Gallus. “Hey Gallus, do you still have Alithea’s diary? We think it might help her remember some things. If you do, just bring it right over.”
As Selena sent the message, she turned back to Alithea. “Gallus kept all your belongings safe after the incident. At least, the ones that were in the lab. Maybe your diary could give us some insights into your past, and who knows, it might even contain some secrets that could help us understand what happened.”
Alithea looked surprised but nodded, “That sounds like a good idea. I used to write everything in my diary. It might help fill in the gaps to what they told me happened a few months back.”
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As Gallus finished reading, he looked up at Alithea. “Huh… you knew the risks,” he said quietly. “You know the responsibility we all hold. We need to remember that as we continue our studies. We can’t afford to forget.”
“Could you tell us more about the orb?” Lead asked. “I meant to ask earlier, but I was kinda scared, not gonna lie.”
“It’s okay,” she replied with a smile. “And as for the orb, after the explosion in the lab, my roommate and I were terrified. We both thought I would be hunted down or something… so she trapped me in a bubble.”
“How did she trap you in there for 25 years, though? Hydrogen and oxygen combination?” Nickolas asked, piqued with curiosity. “Because that’s the only way I know bubbles can be created using our powers.”
“Diamond reinforced,” Alithea answered. “She has carbon powers too. A proper organic compound,”
“But then how did we all have no idea?”
Alithea took a deep breath and explained everything she knew. Her situation was indeed unique. The diamond-reinforced bubble she was trapped in was not just a physical barrier, but also a temporal one. It created a stasis field that slowed down time within the bubble. To Alithea, it felt like only a few moments had passed, but in reality, 25 years had gone by in the outside world.
As for how she survived without food or water, the stasis field also put her body into a state of suspended animation. This meant that her body didn’t need any sustenance as all her bodily functions were essentially paused. This was similar to how some animals hibernate, slowing down their metabolism to conserve energy.
As for why no one knew about this, she herself had no idea why. It’s likely that the incident was kept under wraps due to its unusual and potentially dangerous nature. The university authorities might have decided to keep it a secret to prevent panic or misuse of this information. Additionally, the lab where the incident occurred was sealed off and declared off-limits, further helping to keep Alithea’s situation a secret.
It’s also possible that over the years, the knowledge about the incident was lost or forgotten, especially if there were efforts to cover it up. 25 years is a long time, and many of the people who were originally involved had moved on or retired. As a result, Alithea’s predicament remained unknown until she was finally discovered and released from the bubble.
“My bubble was trapped in this diary,” Alithea continued. “Once you opened it and read, I was freed, but still in the bubble. The day you opened the diary was also the day the storm really struck, wasn’t it?”
Gallus nodded, having felt the effects of this for himself. “Yeah… also, I forgot my pills that day. That may be a cause, too.”
“But what about the storm?” Aurelia asked. She had been quiet the whole time, keeping her thoughts to herself. “How did that happen? Did you create it?”
“The storm was always around,” Lead explained. “It was my pet project to research on all through high school, because it was never a threat back then. One day, in ninth grade, I noticed a really photographic moment during a thunderstorm, which I never knew was the storm we faced and neutralized now. I froze time to suspend the moment, but something seemed off about the storms. Since then, all the thunderstorms I’ve ever experienced were part of the major storm. When I realized that it was going to be a threat, I froze time again, but it’s only temporary… so I let Thalia in on it soon after the ball ended. You all countered it because of Gallus’ radioactivity.”
“Why did you never tell us this?” asked Selena, eyes widening in fear.
“Because I barely knew you all. I didn’t know whether or not I could trust you,” he answered, nervously. “I’m sorry,”
“Well, the important thing is that we neutralized it,” Aurelia replied, placing an encouraging hand on his shoulder, causing his cheeks to color up slightly. “Alithea, are there any other failed experiments which may have led to the storm?”
Alithea paused, considering Aurelia’s question. “Not that I’m aware of,” she replied. “The storm was a natural phenomenon, I think, albeit a dangerous one. My powers, as far as I know, didn’t contribute to its formation. But it’s possible that the energy released during the lab explosion could have intensified it.”
Aurelia nodded, her mind still working on the puzzle. “We need to be prepared for any other potential threats. We can’t afford to be caught off guard again.”
The group agreed, and they spent the rest of the day discussing their powers, their responsibilities, and the potential dangers they could face. They also made plans to help Alithea catch up on the years she had missed, starting with a crash course on all things 2000s and beyond.
【teacher quote:
"(Sigh) Ok, write down notes. Zinc + HCl gives...- Billy, sit up straight!"
I glance at my friend as my pen hovers over the book. I mouth the words as I pretend to write her instruction to Billy on my paper and crack a small smile. As did the rest of the class.
She does this all the time, she'll be sayin something then in between start scolding someone. My chem teacher.
Disclaimer: idk anyone called Billy】
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