4 : BlindSighted
Wednesday morning: half-way through the week, really cold, and the morning that Scilius decided to make a move. He came into Schrodinger's class shivering throughout his whole body. he had a coat on, but the misty breeze bled right through. However, a sharp wave of warmth ran through his body when he saw Elliot and - for some reason at the same time - Cecil walk into the class. Elliot took her seat next to Scilius.
"Hi."
"Hey."
Cecil didn't say much, but sat behind them both and focused on his book. Scilius took advantage of Cecil's lack of attention.
"Elliot." He whispered.
"Yeah," she was busy doodling in a notebook, not paying very much attention to Schrodinger's lecture.
"You have a - I mean, like," Scilius lost himself in his own words, before adjusting. "So, do you have a boyfriend."
Elliot dropped her pencil, and looked around, very startled. No other furs had heard what he said, not even Cecil. Elliot seemed to be relieved by this.
"No," she said still wearily, "I don't."
Scilius thought that this might have been great news, but at the same time, heard the fear in her voice.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to-"
"It's fine," she said lightly, as she looked at herself. It almost seemed like she was trying to find the hidden object in a magic eye puzzle. "But..."
"What?" Scilius said, eager to see her smile again.
"Nothing."
Scilius couldn't help but feel as if he had struck a nerve. He thought she had been acting much more pensively for the next three periods, especially around Cecil. She hadn't been rubbing shoulders with him as he walked anymore, and didn't lean in close to talk to him. _Is that a good thing? _
"Oh, Scilius, we're not hanging out in the courtyard today." She had started a few minutes before lunch started.
"Why not?"
"Elliot said it's too cold." Cecil said cooly.
"It is very much too cold." She said.
"Not really."
"So," she looked at Scilius, "We're going to the second staircase by the computer lab."
"The one on like, the other side of the school?"
"Yeah, it's a lot warmer."
"Alright."
Scilius wasn't going to argue. It was miserably cold, and it looked like it might be that way until spring.
When the bell rang, he saw Elliot rush out the door, dragging Cecil with her, which made him feel a little bit left out.
I have to piss anyway. He was going to head straight for the staircase, but took a detour to the men's restroom right next to it. When he was washing his claws, he heard whispers coming from a stall.
"I don't think you should."
"But I think he'd be up for it." Wait, Elliot? In the men's restroom?
"What if he isn't." That's Cecil, definitely.
"But he asked me, why else would he?"
"Friendly conversation?"
"He asked if I had a _boy-_friend." What does that mean?
"Okay, but you just met him, two days ago."
"But I like him."
Scilius didn't hear either of them speak for a while.
"Fine," Cecil finally said, and Scilius darted out the bathroom when he heard the stall start to unlock.
Scilius felt good, great even. Elliot liked him. Cecil and all of his rudeness was off in a distant land. Elliot liked him. No more fear or confusion. He didn't have to guess anymore. Elliot like him.
"Hey Scilly," Elliot waved to the lizard with Cecil at her side.
"Hey y'all," he said a little too eagerly.
"I got the packet done." She threw it to him while she sat.
Scilius wasn't as eager, he had only managed to tackle three of the problems, after using a camera to magnify it. It was a difficult and tedious process for him.
"I don't need help," he said, almost not believing himself.
"I'm just going to help you read, you can write, right?"
He looked at his rashy claws. "Sort of."
"I'll just tell the problems to you."
Cecil hadn't said anything so far, until Scilius saw - at least he thought that he did - Elliot nudge him in the arm.
"I have to go get a book from the library." Cecil said lazily before leaving.
Good riddance.
Elliot read Scilius a problem, and Scilius filled entire pages with large characters before returning the answer to Elliot, who would write it down for him.
"I hate Matrices." He said once.
"I love 'em. I hate problems with sequences."
"Those are easy."
Scilius managed to finish all but the last page of the packet with her help, leaving only the word problems to finish.
"I definitely can't read those."
"Lunch is about to end."
"By any chance can you call me after school today?"
"No," she said flatly.
"Oh," Scilius felt a little dejected. Harsh much?
"I don't have your number, Scilly."
"Oh, yeah, here."
He wrote down a number in excessively large script.
"Can you receive texts?"
"I can... but as of right now -"
"Yeah, after your skins clear."
Scilius was buried within his bed, with a packet, pencil, and cellphone within claw's reach, waiting for her to call. I'm desperate. He tried to distract himself with a program about Darwin's Voyage of the Beatle, but lost focus easily. When's she going to call?
His old model of a smart phone started buzzing, not just once, which would mean a text, but repeatedly. That's her.
"Hey," he said. He heard her tell him something that sounded like mush mushy. "Glad you called." Too obvious.
"Glad I did. You ready?"
"Yeah," he grabbed a pencil.
"So... the boat travels seven miles per hour, and the current of the river is three."
"That's what I got."
"Not supposed to say that."
"Whoops. Sorry Scilly."
"Whatever."
Scilius accidentally created a silence, which Elliot broke with a question about his hobbies.
"Ummm, T-V and games."
"That's it? What kind of T-V?"
"Science channel."
She pretended to cough, and Scilius heard her mumble "Dork."
"Okay, what do you watch?"
"Cartoons!"
"Wow..."
"They're awesome."
"Sure..."
"They are!"
Scilius heard her go one about some show that he heard about, but had thought was a little below him. He relished in her voice. His boring old room was much less bland now. Then he got surprised by a question.
"Are you doing anything tomorrow?"
"School?"
"After that."
"No," he looked at his skin."
"Can I come over?" Come over?
"Sure, but..." He wasn't sure if his mom would like a sudden guest. _Or maybe she would. _
"But what?" Scilius coudln't think of any thing to tell her.
"Nothing. Yeah, you can come over." I hope mom says yes.
"Awesome, do you walk home?"
"Yeah."
"I'll follow you, well, I have to go."
Scilius heard a few voices, one of which he thought might have sounded like Cecil's.
"Okay, have a good night."
"You too!"
He put his phone down and curled back under a few blankets, the heater under his bed still warming. It just occured to him. She's coming over tomorrow. His tail danced under his blanket. She likes me.