~Tai~

I was staring straight ahead at the board, trying not to fall asleep as Mr. Rivera droned on about whatever physics thing we were supposed to be learning right now.

I wasn't paying attention, but that was alright.

I never paid attention.

How did I end up in an AP Physics class with B's and C's in most classes that weren't AP?

I don't know, so don't ask me.

Cough cough, smartypants parents, cough cough, expect me to be the same, cough cough.

What? I didn't say anything. You need to check your ears, go to a doctor or something...

...God.

I gave up and put my head on the desk, closing my eyes as I drifted off. No need to pay attention while the class was happening, I could get some C-Tier to catch me up later in two minutes. Why would I pay attention to the boring teacher?

Who do you think I am? Someone smart?

How dare you. I feel personally offended.

               "Alright, now I've got a group project for you guys to complete in a month." The class held its breath, most students looking around for their friends to ask. Me? I was a little busy face planting into the desk to worry about frantically mouth to my friends that we wanted to pair up. "And before you ask, I have already assigned partners." The entire glass groaned in symphony, everyone hated it when teachers did this, purposely making our lives more miserable.

Ugh. That sucks, but to be expected of a stingy old man- I mean respected and well-known teacher.

               "I hate Mr. Rivera sometimes," my friend Braylen said, shaking his head, "we're sixteen years old, we don't need a teacher to pick our partners."

               "You got a problem? Tell him that." I raised my eyebrow at him, as he snorted.

               "Please. I want to live 'till my next class." Braylen replied, tapping his pencil against the desk.

               "Speaking of next class, you got it with Kiarah right?" I asked, turning my head to face him.

               "Yeah, why?" He furrowed his brow.

               "She dropped her binder outside my door room last time she came over. She seemed stressed out, something about Blaine not eating right-"

               "Mr. Nouren and Mr. Winebrook, please refrain from talking in my class. Now, I will be reading off the names of the groups." Mr. Rivera remarked sharply, glancing down at his papers. Because using a computer would be absurd, of course. He reeked of 'I'm smarter than all of you', and it didn't help that his ability was super-hearing; he thought he understood all of us teens so well. God that man was stodgy and intolerable, maybe I would get him back one day, a little prank would be sufficient. Maybe I would walk in with a piercing, scare him halfway to death.

               "Please, please, please," I whispered, "let me end up with one of my friends."

               "Teiya and Amine, Deane and Klyo, Tai and Quinley, Valen and Avaline..." I sighed and turned to Braylen, who was still waiting for his name to be called.

               "Farewell, good sir, "I tipped my non-existent hat dramatically, "I hope to see you soon."

               "Oh, shut up."

I turned around to Mr. Rivera to ask who the heck Quinley was when somebody tapped me on the shoulder.

               "Hello?" I asked, turning around. A girl with crystal blue eyes and the skin of a ghost tapped her foot expectantly on the floor. She radiated an intimidating vibe from her, and I felt a sudden urge to back away.

               "Are you Tai?" Her gloved hands flashed as she spoke, although her mouth seemed robotic in its movements. There was something off about her voice, but I couldn't put my finger on it.

               "U-Um, yeah. And you are...?" I trailed off, trying not to laugh as I tilted my head lower and lower to look her in the eye.

               "I'm your partner for this project." There it was again, her hands. This time she didn't even open her mouth. Was she a ventriloquist or something?

               "Oh, okay, then. What's your name?" I put my hands in my pockets nervously, trying to refrain from fidgeting. She seemed like the kind of girl to ruthlessly call me out on it.

Kind of like a black-haired purple-eyed friend of mine who had MAULED me before a CLASS because she is saltier than a SALTINE CRACKER.

Ahem.

Sorry.

               "Quinley. Now, how do you want to split this up?" She pressed the bridge of her pastel pink glasses towards her nose, shuffling through a few different books while she waited for a response. She was kind of cute in the way that you'd call a baby kitten cute. But one of those stingy baby kittens, the ones that look at you like you're not even worth the scum on the bottom of their paws.

               "I don't know, I wasn't paying attention," I replied, stretching my arms out. Quinley sighed and pulled on her gloves, a nervous habit, I guess. "What's up with your gloves?" I asked, poking her hand. She slapped my hand away, glaring at me, and gestured to her mouth.

               "I'm mute. I sign with ASL, the gloves interpret it, and it transmutes to a voice box that basically talks for me. You might as well know if we're going to be working on a project together." My eyes might as well have popped out of my head. I hadn't ever heard of anyone using I glanced at the clock, five minutes until the next period.

               "Oh, that's cool!" I exclaimed. Now it was her turn to look surprised,

               "Thanks, I guess, now, we have two options, and you can choose." She held up one finger for a split second, "One, I complete the project by myself, and we both walk away with an A+. Or two, you do half, and then I'll check it over and fix everything, and we hopefully get the same grade. Which one do you want, although option two is more of a headache for everyone?" Quinley finished and started tapping her foot on the floor expectantly.

               "Um, option two, I guess. I don't want you to feel like you have to do everything..." I trailed off as the bell rang, and I saw Braylen and Zoë approaching my desk.

               "Tai, I don't think you seem to understand the situation here." Quinley crossed her arms defiantly, "We're getting an A on this project, how much of a headache you want to make it is up to you. I'll meet up with you on Friday in the library, and I'll piece the two parts together. Until then, don't contact me because it won't be done." She turned and walked out of the room, leaving me confused.

               "Wait!" I exclaimed, watching as she turned around. I don't know why I yelled out, but now I was stuck. Oh, crap. "U-um," I ruffled my hair as I always did when I was nervous, and she swivelled her head, the glow from the window shining onto her long, black hair, "what's our next class...?"

               "I'm not in any of your other classes."

               "Right. Of course, I got it. Bye then."

               "Bye." She walked out, and I turned to the sound of snickering.

               "Tai, you with the short queen?" I rolled my eyes and turned back at the door,

               "Short queen my ass, she's like three feet tall. A dwarf is more like it." Zoë remarked, walking over to see what the commotion was all about.

               "Come on, Zo-Zo, that's a little much. She's not that short."

              "We should have Orion and her face back to back, the battle of the midgets," Braylen suggested, laughing hysterically along with Zoë. I sighed and stared at the doorway, thinking about our conversation. Did she know who I was? Was she new maybe? It didn't add up, not at all. Those gloves were whack, and I still didn't really get how they worked. But that was okay, I got the feeling I was one of the only people who had kept that opinion to myself.

I was meeting with her on Friday, which was two days from now. I could wait, and then I'd have some answers.

Quinley, huh,

This project was going to be fun.

~Quinley~

This project was going to be a headache and a half.