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Tuesday, July 2, 2024.
The first day of official college had arrived. Armed with books, pens and instructions from the lecture he had received from Dean Vanadium, Gallus was ready to ace the day. His major was Hardware Engineering, a passion of his since third grade, when he first saw an interesting robot in a museum. He had compiled his list of Top 10 worst things that could happen, including being called on, bullied for having only two powers and not three, etc. The worst one was a tie between ‘bumping into a girl as if it’s a romance movie’ and ‘powers glitching’.
Gallus adjusted his backpack, the weight of textbooks and anticipation settling on his shoulders. Math class awaited—a realm where numbers jumped over the equal-to sign like electrons, and equations were as abundant as hydrogen. He followed the stream of students toward the Mathematics Building, his roommate, Nickolas Allen, a boy with the powers of nickel and aluminum walking beside him. The two never talked all that much, and when they did talk it was about ground rules on the room, but neither had made any other friends, so they decided to walk to class together.
The classroom smelled of whiteboard ink and paper. Dr. Xeno Aurelius stood at the front, his presence both imposing and magnetic. Gallus had heard rumors—the enigmatic mathematics professor who preferred equations to small talk. His powers—subtle like a trace element—were a mystery. Very few students knew that he once taught elemental manipulation, once upon a time. Some said he could calculate the square root of a number while brewing tea.
“Welcome, students” Dr. Aurelius began, his voice as monotone as ever. “I am Dr. Xeno Aurelius, your guide through the labyrinth of numbers. Today, we’ll be doing quadratic equations, which I’m sure you have done since ninth grade.”
Dr. Aurelius continued, writing equations on the chalkboard. Gallus squinted, trying to decipher the symbols. The room hummed with mathematical energy. Selena sat in the front row; her notebook filled with math notes, and the occasional doodle here and there. Sometimes it was a pencil-shaded sphere, other times it was an eye, or a star. She glanced back, her platinum gaze meeting Gallus’s. He wondered what equations lay hidden behind those eyes sometimes. The first time he had seen her was when they were first moving into their dorms, and Gallus accidentally entered Room 129 of the girls’ dorm instead of the boys’.
He didn’t care whether she threatened to turn his phone’s metallic case into aluminum foil that day. He didn’t care about his deduction on the day of the blackout that she was best friends with Aurelia Oxide, the teacher’s daughter and the girl he envied the most. He didn’t care about the fact that somehow, he just felt odd somehow around her. Maybe it was the fact that he feared for his phone case. Maybe it was her steely platinum gaze. Maybe it was the fact that he wasn’t a fan of people to begin with. Maybe he just had to focus on Math.
Gallus lost himself in the rhythm of numbers. Algebraic groups, prime factorization, and imaginary roots—weaving patterns that connected the mundane to the cosmic. Nothing made sense to him, unless he decided to properly use his brain for once. But at 8:30 in the morning, one cannot expect him to calculate basic times tables, let alone solve a quadratic equation.
As the lecture ended, Gallus felt a strange sensation. His head throbbed, and his vision blurred. He shook his head, trying to clear the fog that seemed to have descended. He looked around, noticing that the room had nearly emptied, save for Nickolas’ still voice, trying desperately to wake him, Aurelia and Selena, watching the scene, confused. He must have dozed off. He stood up, his legs feeling oddly weak. He stumbled, catching himself on the edge of the desk.
Suddenly, the lights flickered. Gallus froze, his heart pounding. The dean’s words echoed through his mind. “Radioactivity… Alithea Radon… luminescence…” He shook his head, dismissing the thought. He was not radioactive. He only had two elements - gallium and silicon. But then, why did he feel so strange?
He decided to head back to his dorm room, hoping that a good rest would make him feel better. As he walked down the hallway, assisted by his roommate, the lights continued to flicker, casting eerie shadows on the walls. He quickened his pace, a sense of unease creeping over him.
Nickolas’ voice kept fading more and more into the background, as his vision kept blurring. “What happened, man? Do you… fever? Let’s just get to the room…”
Back in his room, he collapsed onto his bed, his body feeling heavy. He closed his eyes, hoping to sleep off the strange sensation. But sleep seemed miles away. His mind was filled with thoughts of radioactivity and power glitches. He remembered Alithea’s story and shuddered. Could something like that happen to him?
Suddenly, his room plunged into darkness. The power had gone out. Gallus sat up, his heart pounding. He reached out, trying to summon his powers and fix the mess. But nothing happened. His powers were glitching again. This had happened to him a number of times since childhood, but the only theories the doctors had was that he was yet to learn how to completely control his powers, or that he was stressed about something, which clouded his powers. He tried to get up at least, but he just felt too weak.
“Hang on, I’ll go ask if…… heal you?” he heard the voice beside him say, faintly. Then his eyes shut tightly, as he dozed off to sleep.
When he woke up, the lights were back on. The first thing he saw was the fan above his head, spinning rapidly. He stretched his limbs and tried to get up, but surprisingly, he could. It was rather effortless, though he did still have a bit of tiredness.
When he awoke, he saw Nickolas looking at him, a look of concern on his face. He nudged the girl standing beside him, who looked at him, in slight shock. ‘Wait – a girl?’ he asked himself. He blinked again and cleared up his vision. This was no ordinary girl. It was the platinum-eyed girl from Math class. The girl who threatened him a week prior.
Selena Platina.
“Oh, good. You’re awake!” she exclaimed, a small smile on her face.
“Y-yeah… I’m awake, but… what happened?”
“You missed the whole of your first hardware engineering class.” another feminine voice said. Gallus glanced up to the door and saw a blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl come inside. “Can you believe there’s no boy with healing powers around here? Nickolas had to come all the way to the girls’ dorm to find someone who could make you feel better. Someone being me…”
“Huh…” Gallus responded.
“I’m Aurelia, by the way. Aurelia Oxide. That’s Selena.”
“We’ve met,” she replied, her gaze steady. “I was the one who threatened to turn your phone case into aluminum foil.”
“Yeah, I know. Nice to meet you, Aurelia,” he replied, a forced smile on his face.
“What happened back there, Ari?” Selena asked her friend. “He seemed fine during class.”
“I don’t know,” Aurelia replied. “I can only heal, not diagnose.”
“But I may have a theory…” Nickolas replied. “I think you just have a fever, and…” he paused, whispering into his ear, “you might like Selena,”
“What? That’s impossible!” he whisper-shouted.
“That’s why your powers glitched. Duh!”
“Shut up, Nickel…” he grumbled. Even though he couldn’t deny that his friend was probably right.
“Aurelia,” Nickolas called. “While you’re still here… I have a doubt with Math, and need to talk to the professor. Can you show me where his office is?”
“Sure,” she chirped, and led him out.
As the room cleared, leaving only Selena and Gallus, an awkward silence settled between them. The air seemed to hum with unspoken questions and lingering tension. Selena perched on the edge of the bed, her platinum eyes studying him.
“So,” she began, her voice softer than before, “you’re the silicon kid who can fix tech. Impressive.”
Gallus shifted, feeling the weight of her gaze. “Yeah, I guess. It’s not as flashy as oxygen or gold, though.”
She chuckled. “True. But practical. Silicon is the backbone of technology—computers, phones, everything. You’re like a modern-day wizard.”
He smirked. “Wizard? I prefer ‘engineer.’”
“Fair enough.” Selena’s fingers traced patterns on her jeans. “You know, I didn’t really mean to threaten you with the whole aluminum foil thing. I mean, I did, but… uh… it’s just… my powers can be unpredictable.”
“Unpredictable?” Gallus leaned back against the pillows. “What’s your element?”
“Platinum,” she said. “Rare, like the metal itself. I can manipulate metals. Liquefy them, turn them into different allotropes, even one metal to another. But sometimes it gets away from me.”
“And that’s why you’re here?” he asked. “To learn control?”
She nodded. “Among other things. Elemental University isn’t just about powers. It’s about understanding ourselves, our limits.”
Gallus studied her, and opened his mouth nervously, to speak. “And what are your limits, Selena?”
Her gaze flickered. “I don’t know yet. But I’m determined to find out.”
He sensed vulnerability beneath her confident facade. “Why did you guys help me? Healing me, I mean.”
Selena hesitated. “Because you looked lost. And because…” She trailed off, her cheeks flushing.
“Because?” Gallus prompted.
“Because you were desperate, in a way. I was genuinely worried, and still kind of am. After the incident with Alithea I heard about, I’ve just been a lot more cautious.”
“Huh… makes sense.”
“Can I tell you something?”
Gallus’ eyes widened. “Yeah, what is it?”
“Don’t tell Ari I told you, but… the professor that day was her dad. Our Mathematics professor.”
Gallus leaned in, intrigued. “Her dad? Dr. Aurelius? As in Dr. ‘Minus to the other side is plus?’” he asked, quoting his infamous line.
Selena nodded. “Yep. He used to teach elemental manipulation. Had three powers, just like most of us. But after that incident in his class—the one with Alithea—he lost his passion for elemental manipulation, and his nitrogen power. Now he’s all about teaching Math. His remaining powers? Xenon and gold.”
“Huh,” Gallus muttered. “I had no idea.”
“Secrets, right?” Selena’s eyes sparkled. “But enough about that. Let’s get going. Lunchtime awaits, and I’m starving.”
He felt his arm suddenly be grasped, as she prompted him to get up. His face flushed a bright pink, and he let go nervously. He didn’t know why he’d let go. He quite liked it. But as they stepped out of the room, Gallus wondered about the mysteries that swirled around Elemental University. And perhaps, just perhaps, he’d find answers—and more—alongside Selena Platina.
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