Survival Of The Fittest

Oh, he was reading Suicide Squad; it was alright. Although it couldn't hold a candle to Secret Six, something it was obviously trying to imitate. It was just average, which was both a compliment and criticism. Compared to some of DC's line-up it was fine but put it up there with the best of their current crop and it paled in comparison.

Unfortunately getting the answer to her question meant that Kimiko had to go back to paying attention to Mrs Brown, who was busy giving a drier lecture than the Saharan Desert. There was only so long Kimiko could stand to listen about triangles and how to figure out their angles. It didn't look like there was long left in the class though. That was good, lunch was next and Kimiko could go and meet up with some of her friends and chill out.

All she had to do was make it through the final few minutes. Her mind started to wonder, thinking ahead to when the next new releases were coming out and if there was anything in them she was interested in. If she had her dates right the new issue of Saga was supposed to be out either this week or the next. That would be one she needed to pick up. Saga was always good quality; it reminded her that she'd have to check when the next issue of East of West was coming out. That was something to do during lunch or when she got home.

She glanced up at the clock. There was still time left in the class. Kimiko sighed; it even like time was trying to keep her stuck in a world of sides and angles.

Alice looked up from her seat, just as the boy who'd thrown the piece of paper at her walked by. "Oh, uh..." she said quietly as he requested the notes from her. She wasn't sure how to respond; after all, he'd kinda thrown a thing at her, and that didn't seem like the kind of behavior she should reward. Still, if he was asking politely, she might as well.

"Okay." She whispered back as he moved away, dropping a piece of paper on her desk in the meantime. Picking it up, she looked over the note, which was apparently intended for her. Alice wasn't used to getting notes in class. Reading it over, Alice smiled. He wasn't so bad, then. It was certainly sweet of him to apologize.

Returning the note to her backpack, Alice made sure to take detailed notes for the rest of the period with a smile.

((Alice Baker continued in Laws of Motion))

The bell rang, and every muscle in Jerry's body turned to jello.

Slumping as liquid-like as he possibly could at his desk, Jerry breathed a sigh of relief, lazily watching classmate after classmate file out the door. "Hey, Kim," he called out. No sense in risking a jab at her real name and butchering it. "Why didn't you just whisper it back to me? Like, y'know, what I was talking to you about earlier? Would've been a helluva lot easier than passing a note."

Since the noise in the classroom had picked up so much with the end of the period, Jerry didn't bother so much with keeping things hush-hush. Heck, even if Mrs. Brown did overhear by some miracle, wasn't much she could do now, was there? Not catching them after the fact.

"Actually you never really talk much, do you?" He asked, hands tucked behind his head. "What gives? Why you so damn quiet?"

Finally the bell rang granting Kimiko her freedom for Mrs Brown's class, something she was extremely grateful for. The amount she valued her lunch was far greater because of the class. Trigonometry would do that to you. It really made Kimiko appreciate people who actually enjoyed math, because they would have to deal with stuff like that all the time if they picked it as a degree. She inwardly shivered at the thought. It sounded horrific.

She was packing her things and preparing to make her way out when she heard Jerry call out. It took her a second to realise that he was talking to her. It was surprising; they never really spoke at all. She stopped and moved forward to where he was sitting. He had slumped almost all the way down his chair like some sort of melting person.

Oh. He was asking her why she hadn't spoken to get his attention and why she never talked much. Ohhhhh. That was awkward. Kimiko was caught off-guard by the fact Jerry apparently wasn't aware she was mute. She had thought it was common knowledge among her classmates. After all she was probably the only mute person in the entire grade. It was kind of embarrassing to be openly questioned about it again. She'd already been through it once when she'd first got to high school. To have to explain herself to a classmate in their senior year wasn't pleasant.

She held up her index finger in a way that said 'one sec' as she rooted through her pocket for her iPhone. She unlocked it with a quick slide of her finger and pressed the button for the notes widget. She'd moved it onto the dock for easy access; it was a necessity for her in terms of communication. Quickly tapping in the words Kimiko turned the screen round to face Jerry when she was done.

I'm mute. Physical injury.

Jerry read the words on the screen... and his expression faulted.

Oh. Jesus fuck. Mute, like, on a TV screen mute.

Now it all made sense. That was the good news. The bad was now he felt even more foolish than when class was in session. Shit, he couldn't even look Kim in the eyes, given how horribly he assumed he must have offended her. She probably would have shouted at him angrily. Y'know, if she could. Which she couldn't. Because she was mute. Like she just fucking said.

"Uh, uh right! Sorry, slipped my mind a sec!" Jerry lied. "You know, just kidding and whatever. We should talk co- ... we should discuss comics sometime. Yeah. That'd be cool."

Don't look at her. Put your stuff in the bag. Don't check a mirror to see how red your face is.

Abort.

Abort.

Abort.

He hightailed it out of the room like a deer in the fall. He left so quickly that he even forgot Suicide Squad, having fallen underneath his seat.

((Jerry Fury, continued onward and upward in Laws of Motion! Hoo ha!))

Jerry wasn't very convincing. The fact he was tripping over his words and trying hard not to look at her was a giveaway that he was lying. That and he practically ran out of the room. It was all kind of obvious.

Kimiko would have told him it was alright but all of her forms of communication required him to look at her. She felt slightly bad because Jerry was clearly taking his misstep hard. He was gone though so she couldn't assure him that it was only a little bit awkward. It was strange, almost like a trip back in time when people didn't know her. When she was the new kid from Asia who couldn't speak. People had been curious at first and she'd been a novelty. That was a long time ago though.

Soon she would be leaving high school and almost everyone she knew behind and heading off to college...where she guessed she'd have to go through the whole introduction process again. That would be interesting. As Kimiko went to leave she noticed that Jerry had dropped his copy of Suicide Squad. She picked it up and quickly flicked through the pages, it would be fine for some fun reading. She tucked it safely in her bag. Jerry could have it back next lesson.

((Kimiko Kao continued in Cruising and Perusing))