Genesis II

            Genesis walked through the school hallway avoiding the confused and somewhat shocked faces of her peers. She knew that they weren't looking at her, rather, they were gawking at the stone-faced boy waking a few paces behind her. His gloomy saunter contrasted starkly from her prim and proper gait.

            He was no different from the Jongin everyone knew in grade school, perhaps the only difference was that he was a bit taller, and his jaw, sharper.

            Her eyes slightly squinted in concern at every double take directed at them. Usually she enjoyed being in the limelight, but now she wanted nothing more but to dissapear into the small enclosure of her locker. To her chagrin, he followed her there too. 

            "Do you know where your locker is?" She half whispered because everyone seemed to be interested in the odd couple. He shook his head no a bit pathetically.

            "I don't have a locker yet. I think I have to go to the main office"

            Genesis nodded her head, and continued to nod her head in thought as if trying to understand the situation. The school wasn't even ready for him yet. If there was a tornado coming towards campus she was sure the administration wouldn't be ready for that either.

            What was he supposed to do all day, follow her around? She gathered her first period books and shut her locker door behind her hoping that would announce to everyone staring to leave them alone.

            "Follow me" she mumbled, feeling a growing irritation at the looks other students were giving her.

            Didn't they have better things to do besides hang out in the hallways and stare at them. Like go to class, maybe? They were in a school after all.

            She walked adeptly through the hall. Although she was designated an official tour guide for the underclassmen, she didn't stop to explain the significance of the historical moldings on the wall.

            The only other person in the office was a bespectacled boy thumbing a bit too intently through school supply catalog. It was one of the many left generously for parents to look through while they waited to be called into the principal's office.

            Genesis signed Jongin's name for him on the sign in sheet. She opened to speak but was instead silenced by the secretary putting a finger to her lips. She seemed to be busy marking up a newspaper crossword puzzle.

            Genesis released an impatient huff sitting back in the stiff couch and crossing her arms across her chest. Jongin sat quietly staring down his hands in his lap, either that or he was sleeping, she couldn't really tell.

            The secretary eyed the two of them on the couch and and pressed a button on the enamel colored desk phone.

            "Kim and Copeland" said the lady before returning to her puzzle. The door adjacent to her desk opened and a lady with reddish bobbed hair poked her head out.

            "Come on in" she glanced guiltily at the boy in glasses who had been in the room beforehand, "Kyungsoo it'll be just a minute, I have to talk to these folks first."

            Kyungsoo nodded and returned to his magazine avoiding any eye contact with anyone.

            The principal smiled before disappearing behind the doorframe. Genesis stood up and lightly touched Jongin's shoulder. He sat up, blinking blearily at her as if he just realized where he was. 

            "She called us." Genesis prodded him in the shoulder and entered the room ahead of him.

            The principal's office was rather spacious but still kept the same brick and forest green color scheme as the main office. Genesis plopped down on the couch dropping her purse on the seat next to her. Jongin chose to take the seat in front of her desk.

            Her nameplate that read "Principal Brink" was covered by a few stray papers on a very messy desk.

            "I just wanted you to know that you are so brave for coming to school today. I know it's not easy" She nodded getting out from behind her desk and walking across to Jongin. The look in her eyes was almost parental. She came to his side, squeezing his shoulders, leaning into him slightly for a hug. 

            "Genesis" she directed her attention to the girl on the couch and crouched to give her a small hug as well. She cleared , obviously feeing a bit emotional. "We've adjusted your classes and will waive some credits for some time with a special counselor."

            She looked to Genesis. "Don't worry about a thing it's all free you won't have to pay a dime." Genesis nodded and looked at Jongin who was now glancing through sheets in a manila file folder given to him.

            "We revised your schedule from last year, we can push you up a grade so you won't have to retake classes, but you'll have to take the finals for the classes you didn't finish. Take as long as you need."

            She handed Genesis a copy of his schedule. They shared homeroom and two other classes. The rest of the time was Jongin's counseling sessions. "I've notified all of Jongin's teachers. If you could show him to his classes that would be best." 

            The buxom lady got up to impart another hug before ushering them out. After Genesis explained that Jongin would need a locker she said to use the lost and found locker in the main office in the mean time. It was bright red and bigger than the lockers in the hallway; Genesis was almost jealous of him.

            "We missed homeroom but you can follow me to the next one."

            Now that they were already late there was no need to rush. In order to get to science, they would have to cut through the arbortorium. Which was more like a glorified sunroom. Jongin grimaced at the word "Science", clearly not looking forward to class.

            "What?" She asked curiousily, catching the look "Not your thing?"

            Jongin shook his head. "Not really. It's more of my Dad's thing"

            Genesis blanched; well, as much as her skin tone allowed.

            "Oh" she quickened her pace, mentally kicking herself for eliciting an awkward conversation about his family yet again.

            The last thing she'd heard about his dad was that he was taken into custody a few days ago after the police had found him sitting in his countryside estate listening to classical music. Talk about creepy.

            Her father had refrained from turning on the TV despite the fact that cold cases on nightly television were his guilty pleasure. He was an ex-cop and he lived vicariously through TV detectives despite the fact that he was always criticizing them for being 'too unrealistic'. What must it have been like to grow up in that sort of household? Her curiousity would likely get the best of her.

            Genesis shuddered a bit as if the air around her had just turned cold. The arboretem was climate controlled but she wasn't sure if it was the cold that was making her shiver or the aura around Jongin. 

            She was relieved to see Melanie in class in their usual seat. She scurried to the middle of the class where they shared a lab table, leaving Jongin to stand in front of the class a bit awkwardly. 

            "It seems we have an uneven number of students now" Professor Turley said apologetically, more to Jongin than the class.

            He didn't have a seat. What ever happened to Principal Brink notifying the teachers before hand? Why was their school so utterly unprepared for everything?

            Melanie is busily scribbling anagrams in her notebook that start with D and O. 

            "Are you still on that?" Melanie never seemed to ever give on on anything.

            "I have to figure it out. We both do, the choir depends on it"

            "Don't lump me in with you, the choir is perfectly fine thank you very much. Ever heard of curiosity killed the cat?" 

            "I'm not a cat person"

            "Chanyeol, would you please fetch Jongin a seat?" he asked him because he's the closest to the door in the back of the class. Chanyeol never sat up front in science class. He got up with a long scrape of his seat, leaving to return a minute later with a stool in hand. 

            "Thank you Mr. Park. You can place the seat up here next to Genesis and Melanie"

            Chanyeol hesistated before obliging his request. He walked, more like ambled over with the chair in tow. Genesis could only describe Chanyeol's walk as an amble. It was as if that were the only pace that his incredibly long and bowed out legs could allow. 

            She felt a sharp tug at her hair and turned around to give him a glare but he was already halfway back to his seat.

            "I don't think we had a chance to meet officially" Melanie stuck out a hand across the table. "But I do remember you back at the church. Loni says you're a genius."

            "I don't know about that." Jongin smiled. The first smile of the day.

            Genesis had to admit that he looked better when he smiled. The way his eyes scrunched up at the corners, and the wrinkle at the bridge of his nose. Not to mention the dimple in his cheek. He was attractive and not just because of his looks. He was positively magnetic. Ok, maybe science class was getting to her.

            "Well, I agree with Loni, whoever can name all the right notes in an extremely dissonant chord is a genius in my book. Speaking of books I forgot mine."

            Genesis rolled her eyes and brought our her textbook. Jongin leaned closer to look at the book, so close that Genesis felt a brush of his hair on her arm. She sat a frozen until something hit her in the back of her head. She had a good idea of who it was. Charming. 

            She turned around again and glared at Chanyeol who only sneered back at her.

            "Something wrong?" Jongin followed her gaze at Chanyeol.

            "Nothing!" She said quickly to assure him. "It's a consensual hate-hate relationship" She added with sickeningly sweet sarcasm, which garned a wierd look from both of her tablemates.

            "I wouldn't even call that a relationship" Melanie joked.

        Science class had gone without a hitch. Jongin was pretty good with calculations despite not being a "science person". They had finished the lab assignment a whole thirty  minutes before everyone else thanks to him.

            Genesis and Melanie grinned at each other, following Jongin out of the room. Now they had an almost two hour lunch period to themselves. 

            Melanie clapped Jongin on the back a little. "Now I have time to finish that history essay. Thanks man. Hey you think you could help me out with that too?" She grinned. "Tell me everything you know about the Spanish Inquisition."

            Genesis smiled at him goodnaturedly as she opened the double doors leading out of the science building and into the front courtyard. 

            "He's not an encyclopedia, Mel" 

            Suddenly blinding light flashed followed by a hurricane of camera shutters. Before them was a crowd of reporters with camera's raised high above their heads, competing with one another to get the shot.

            KIM JONGIN MAY WE HAVE A WORD?

            A woman shoves another reporter aside to get to Jongin, jutting a microphone near his face. Genesis flinched for him.

            WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY ABOUT YOUR FATHER'S ARREST?

            Another reporter shouts.

            WILL YOU STAND ON TRIAL AGAINST YOUR FATHER?

            KIM JONGIN? KIM JONGIN!

            At this pont Genesis can't discern any more sentences; everything seems jumbled now and she'd been shoved outside of the fold.

            Genesis was surrounded by reporters and lights; she couldn't find Mel anywhere she was lost in the crowd. Too many camera flashes. She covered her eyes fromt he lights and saw Jongin struggling to move past the crowd, hands covering his ears with his eyes squeezed shut.

            If he could see the sound of a single voice, what exactly could he see in a crowd of one hundred? Genesis had to get him out of there.