Sylvester turned to Joyce.

"Where?"

"Er... ah... can we go library? Because we can research there. And there's air-con..." She went on, giving many good points about library.

"School or outside?" Joyce did not understand why Sylvester was so cool, in any way.

"School library would be more conveninent but outside one would be better 'cos there will be more information..."

They eventually settled on the latter.

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On the way Sylvester suddenly popped a question.

"Do you want me to get some guys to do this thing?" Then he shut up when he saw Joyce's innocent eyes. He could not stand that kind of look. That was one of his biggest weakness.

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Soon both of them got to work. Or rather, Joyce got to work. While Sylvester went to order food.

Cheese cake. Strawberry short cake. Apple pie. Chicken puff. A whole lot of swiss rolls. Many varieties.

Sylvester was busy deciding what to buy when he saw Joyce's reflection in the display window.

She was carrying a huge pile of books and heading towards the table. His eyes followed her and he saw her wiping her sweat with her hand. She was sweating in an air-conditioned room. Either the air conditioner spoilt or she was having a hard time carrying the books. Apparently the room was cold.

Sylvester suddenly felt a tinge of guilt. It was really not right for him to enjoy his food while watching Joyce working hard.

He paid for two chichen pies and 2 cups of cappucino before going back to the table.

By then Joyce had placed tons of books on the table. She started without Sylvester. Seeing Joyce flipping through the pages, Sylvester took a book and began imitating Joyce's actions.

Trees.

Birds.

Ponds.

Habitats.

Destruction.

Pollution.

Environment.

Sylvester studied the contents page and then closed it without taking another look. He had to admit that he was really not into biology. To him, studying animals and mountains were like killing. He was into inventing stuff. Practical was what interest him. Theory was a 'no-no' for him. If not for Ms. Cho, he would not have taken up biology at all.

"Land..." Joyce was mumbling and taking down notes as well. Sylvester, on the other hand, took a big bite of the chicken pie he bought.

"Eat the chicken pie. It's fantastic." Sylvester said.

Joyce looked up from the books, pushed her glasses and smiled. "Thanks." She took a sip of the cappucino and nibbled the crispy part of the chicken pie. A complete contrast to Sylvester.

Hours passed by. They still had not finish their research. Not to say the real work. Sylvester never knew project work could take such a long time.

Joyce was getiing pissed off. Sylvester was not doing anything to help her!

Time passed.

It was evening. The sky was getting dark. Sylvester's stomach grumbled and he went off to buy some food again. Joyce could not take it anymore. She collapsed on the table after copying the information on her notepad.

When Sylvester came back, Joyce had already fallen asleep on the table. At that time Joyce had taken off her glasses. Sylvester stared at her angelic face. She looked pretty without her glasses. Sylvester did not realise that his face was getting close to hers. Till someone nearby sneezed. Sylvester immediately held his head back. He almost choked on the cheese stick he was eating. "What was I thinking? Stupid!" He thought.

Then Joyce shuffled a little before opening her eyes. Sylvester was pretending to read a science book, upside down.

"It's late already. Go home now..." Sylvester spoke.

Joyce rubbed her eyes and put on her glasses. "Thanks for you treat."

Then she thought she was hallucinating. Because she saw Sylvester smiled!!

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-yiNghAn-

7.12.04

11.13 PM