The Bracelet
1: Bellow
Biological Science is what I decided to major in. Who majors in that? Only a fool is who. Anyways, I got to one of my classes, the very first day of school… it was well short of perfect.
“Class, this is the first day of school for many of you. From here on out, you will be working. Let’s begin.” With no formal introduction or beginning, Dr. Bellow jumped right into curricular studies.
From the moment Chris stepped into the class, he felt an awkward vibe. It was almost as if the class room itself was a living organism. He almost felt as if he reached out hard enough, he could touch the organism. Maybe affect it in some way, change it. All he knew was that the feeling made his skin crawl. Another odd event was the fact that, as the students milled into the room, Dr. Bellow had his eyes locked on him for longer then the other students. A fact he only kept as a side thought. Right now, all Chris was focused on was passing the class.
“As you all know, Atomic means ‘of or pertaining to the atoms.’ Atomic Studies is simply the study of the atoms, or the second smallest unit of mass. Why would somebody want to study atoms? You tell me, you’re in here. Mr. Shaw, why are you in this class?”
The shock of hearing Dr. Bellow call his name – his name of the 48 students in the class – caused him to take a few seconds before responding, “Sir, I’m in here because my major says it’s required.”
“Well, one of the things you will learn in this class is that, Atomic Studies is a foundation to many professions, including Chemises, Physicist, Rocket Scientist, Nuclear Physicist, just to name a few. You will learn the properties and behavioral patterns of different classifications of atoms. Learning their behaviors will allow you to predict their reaction in many different situations, thus avoiding mishap when mixing or transporting atomic material…”
He sounded like a smart man, Dr. Bellow, but the shock from his question numbed Chris’ head. He was in a trance, the professors’ voice in the background. Before he knew it, the girl sitting next to him was snapping her fingers in his face. He realized the class was emptying and he was the only idiot still sitting there. It’s a shame he missed all of the professors speech, but at least class was over and he could get back to sleep, his next class wasn’t for another three hours. As he left the room though, he was struck by a sudden feeling of longing, emptiness. He was tempted to turn back into the room, but he just kept on walking. Dr. Bellow was really starting to freak him out.
