“You… dyed your hair?”10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdlWBnO7MfH
Yes, I dyed my hair. Your point, Selena?
“The brown highlights actually look nice with the blonde,” Thalia remarked, casually. “But somehow, you’re reliving being fifteen all over again. Four years too late.”
“Oh, shut up, grandma. You’re just jealous because you’ll be the first to hit 20.” I teased.
“She is right though. After being locked up in the university 18 years, you’re just living through 18 years’ worth of experiences now.” Selena shrugged, combing her own long black hair.
“…Point stands,”
All summer, I had been at work. After Lead’s time travel idea didn’t work out, I saw it as an opportunity to type out my final theories about the algorithm. While I couldn’t get too many observations in, it made sense why not. The whole thing only lasted a week or two. Unfortunately, I had no conclusion.
Meanwhile Selena, who had just finished combing her hair, was now braiding it into an elaborate style which I never could do if I tried. While Thalia’s short, dense brown hair was the same as ever. Impossible to do anything much with except secure in place with a headband. She had no intentions of growing it or styling it any other way.
The air was thick with the kind of anticipation that precedes a storm, or in this case, the arrival of an unexpected visitor. The knock on the door was abrupt, a quick beat against the quiet hum of the dormitory life. Selena, ever the quicker of the two of us, darted to the door with a grace that belied her eagerness.
“Excuse me, is this room 129?”
The boy at the threshold, a stranger yet oddly familiar, seemed to clutch his suitcase as if it were a lifeline in a sea of uncertainty. His question, innocent and tinged with a traveler’s anxiety, hung in the air for a moment too long, a smile creeping up on the corner of his lip.
“No, this is room 138. A triple room. In the girls’ dorm.” Selena deadpanned jokingly, but she couldn’t keep a straight face for long. “So I advise you leave ASAP before I turn your phone case into—”
Before she could say the last words, both she and the boy burst into laughter immediately. Thalia and I exchanged a knowing glance as we watched the two of them laugh uncontrollably.
“Man, that was good!” the boy declared, his laughter just barely subsiding.
“I did not see that coming, Gallus!” Selena replied. “That is smart.”
The laughter slowly faded as Selena and Gallus caught their breath, their eyes locking in a moment of silent communication. The playful banter had dissolved the barriers between them, leaving a palpable tension in the air.
Gallus took a step closer, his gaze never leaving Selena’s. “You know, I’ve always admired your quick wit,” he said softly, the humor in his voice replaced by something more sincere.
Selena’s cheeks flushed a shade deeper, her usual confidence momentarily faltering. “And I’ve always admired your ability to keep up with me,” she replied, her voice barely above a whisper.
The distance between them closed as if drawn by an invisible force, their laughter now a distant memory. Gallus reached out, gently tucking a stray lock of hair behind Selena’s ear. She closed her eyes, leaning into his touch.
Without another word, Selena leaned in, and their lips met in a kiss. I shook my head, hovering up in the air a few centimeters, when suddenly, my eyebrows furrowed when I noticed Gallus do something odd with his hand. He was counting down 5 seconds with his fingers, and when the count was over, he slowly pulled away, nervousness getting the better of him.
“Something wrong, Aurelia?” Thalia asked.
“Nah, just Gallus being Gallus.” I shrugged, as I watched him gulp down one of his francium pills and take a huge sip of water to wash it down. “You know how he is about the you-know-what.”
As the quiet settled back into the room, I couldn’t help but feel a twinge of concern for Gallus. His condition, always a whisper away from chaos, seemed to be a constant shadow looming over us. Yet, there he was, trying to live a moment most of us take for granted.
Thalia, sensing the shift in mood, steered the conversation towards lighter shores. “So, Aurelia, when are you going to show us this new algorithm of yours? I’m curious to see if it can calculate the odds of Gallus here turning into a puddle during our next chemistry quiz.”
Gallus chuckled, the tension in his shoulders easing. “Hey, as long as it doesn’t predict me exploding, I’m all for it.”
I smiled, appreciating Thalia’s attempt to keep things upbeat. “Well, it’s still a work in progress, but I think I’m onto something. It’s not just about predicting outcomes; it’s about understanding the variables that define us.”
Selena asked, “What’s it about? You only told Thalia! Unfair…”
“Gallus’s francium stuff. It’s way more complicated than a compatibility score.” I answered.
Gallus cringed as he heard the word. “I hope it helps. The pills work, but… I’m still worried, not gonna lie.”
Selena smiled at him reassuringly, and gave him a tight squeeze. “Don’t worry, everything’s gonna be okay. Trust me, we’ll get through it.”
Selena’s reassurance seemed to work its magic, as Gallus’s shoulders relaxed, and a small, grateful smile appeared on his face. “Thanks, Selena. I guess I just need to keep taking it one day at a time.”
Thalia nodded in agreement. “That’s the spirit. And hey, if Aurelia’s algorithm can help us understand your powers better, that’s a win in my book.”
I glanced at the laptop on my desk, its screen filled with lines of code and mathematical formulas. “It’s more than just an algorithm,” I said thoughtfully. “It’s a predictive model that takes into account the unique properties of each element and how they interact with francium. If I can perfect it, we might be able to prevent any… unexpected reactions.”
Gallus raised an eyebrow. “Like me accidentally blowing up a lab?”
“Exactly,” I replied with a chuckle. “But let’s not test that theory just yet.”
The conversation drifted to other topics, from the upcoming Elemental Ball to the latest gossip about the professors. But as we talked and laughed, I couldn’t shake the feeling that we were on the brink of something significant. Gallus’s powers, my algorithm, the elemental storm—it all felt interconnected, like pieces of a puzzle waiting to be solved.
And as the sun began to set outside, casting a warm glow through the window, I knew that whatever challenges lay ahead, we would face them together. Because that’s what friends do—they stick together through thick and thin, through chaos and calm.
With a renewed sense of determination, I turned back to my laptop. The code wasn’t going to write itself, and I had a feeling that we were going to need every bit of help we could get.
“Alright, team,” I announced, my fingers poised over the keyboard. “Let’s crack this elemental code and make some history.”
ns 18.68.41.140da2
