She gulped, turned around to see Josef's disgusted face. He was still with a girl.
"Eish like I want to pair with you" she muttered to herself, and turned her face away.
"Excuse me?" Josef said, attracting all eyes to him. "Did I tell you that I'm looking for who to pair with?"
"No, but you need a partner, Josef "
"Even if I do, not her..." the girl roaming her hands on his chest giggled.
Valentine sighed. "Even to the lecturer, does he even respect his parents?"
"Look, don't try that next time, okay? I don't want a partner" he said to the lecturer.
Valentine turned to the lecturer to see what his reaction would be, and surprisingly "Sorry, Josef " he apologized!
"Damn, did he just apologize for this rude shit?" Valentine grumbled.
"Please find someone" the lecturer said with a slight shoulder lift.
"Unbelievable" she snarled. "Uh partner... partner... partner..." she kept reciting, perking her digits on the table. And glancing around.
"I don't have a partner either..." a chilly and comforting voice came from behind. She turned her face around to meet the face of the girl who was bullied by Josef .
"Can I sit?"
"Sure"
She sat down on Patty's seat, with an expressionless face. Valentine was happy to have found a partner.
"Can we start?"
Valentine was still staring at her with a smile. She noticed, and brought back her attention. "Shall we?"
"Oh yes yes" she sighed, pulling the bag up.
"No, no take it easy. If you don't, you will spoil many things before you even get to use it. These apparatus are to be handled with care. Please take your gloves"
"Gloves?" The lecturer didn't say anything about gloves, but a look at everyone else showed that she was right. "Oh. Um, where are the gloves?"
"The desk..." she said, bringing out the items in the bag and setting it on the table.
"There's nothing here"
She placed her hand beneath the desk, and another compartment drew out.
"Wow!" Valentine exclaimed. "How did you do that?"
"Oh. There's a button under." She brought out two pairs of gloves and gave her a pair.
Valentine carried some items from the bag to the desk which almost fell down because there wasn't enough space.
"No, please don't do that. There's another row. Press the button on your side"
Valentine pressed a button, and another desk row emerged, whipping out two feet and setting itself. She was amazed. "Wow, is everything here automatic?"
"Mostly. Now there's enough space."
Valentine was impressed by everything, including the slim girl.
"She's so cool and intelligent," she muttered.
"Did you say something?"
"Oh no, nothing" she smiled.
"Okay" she concentrated on the practical.
"My name's Valentine, how about you?"
She looked at Valentine for a little while before saying something, as if she was contemplating on telling her or not. "My name is Lina Medina"
"Nice to meet you, Lina" Valentine cheerfully said.
"Me too. I'm Italian by the way"
"Oh. I noticed." Valentine replied.
"Are you not?"
"Am I not what?"
She stared at her for a moment as questions ran along her face.
"Nothing, nevermind. You have Greek tongue, so I guess you are."
"Oh" she concluded. Even though she didn't really understand what Lina said.
"Remember don't put too many solutions, let your chemical mixtures be moderate. And put on your googles if you have to" the lecturer said.
"You have twenty-five minutes to report your experiments. Time starts now."
Everyone got to it, mind, soul and eyes fixed at the practical like they had been preparing for it, except Valentine. She was taken away by surprise- she didn't know that they could be so serious.
"These students are funny... they didn't care about the theory but all hands are on the practical like their life depended on it." She continued looking at everyone else, failing to pay attention to what Lina was doing. But her ears and mouth weren't hooked up as well.
"Well, everyone wants to make their parents proud. Or they would be punished or something. Is just a make up to the scores that they have lost. This is only a remedy to their disease.
Before, not everyone cared about school work. They misbehaved in class, so it got to the school's academic board. So this is how they made it, after a PTA meeting.
After classes like this, the lecturer takes note of participants, and their works, and give possible scores if he has to. Every parent get's a copy of their ward's performance.
You don't want a college like this to lose its value because it's only for the rich. But overall, it is a great school, and her graduates are regarded all over Europe.
Is a big plus, whether you came out with first class or the lower, you are surely going to get a job in a big company. Just the name of the school in your resume settles everything, talk about reputation. And you know, you can't expect everyone to actually behave well, in every twelve there must be a Judas"
All the time she was talking, the practical had her undivided attention, but what got Valentine most was that she ...
"Wow... you talk too much" Valentine commented.
"What? Um I'm sorry. Nevermind, I was just trying to-"
"No, it's okay. I mean, you don't look like someone who likes to talk at all"
"Oh, about that"
"And you don't smile either..." Valentine shrugged, looking at the experiment before her. Lina had been doing it all, and all she had contributed was keeping the ears listening, and the mouths talking.
Lina didn't reply again, so Valentine just shut up until the time was up.
"Okay ladies and gentlemen, that's it. Leave your results at the table" he hit a button which made a loud beep.
They all stopped. "Write your names on a paper and clip it on the table" he instructed.
A few minutes was used to do that, and little by little, they started departing the lecture hall.
"Thanks for being my partner, Lina. And I'm glad to know you" Valentine said, as Lina started getting ready to leave.
"The pleasure is mine" she replied and took her bag.
"Um wait for me"
"Not necessary, but okay" she concluded.
They both got away from the desk, heading to the exit door.
"Make way!" A voice yelled from the back. They all made way as the four devil doves started coming out, with the big bad boy in their middle.
Valentine and Lina steered away from them, but Josef's eyes caught Valentine.
"Stop" he halted them, and turned to Valentine.
"What's the matter, boss?" One of them asked.
"Hey, Nicholas..."
"Yes, that's her"
Valentine looked at him, he was the guy that came to partner with Patty. He was Patty's boyfriend. Everyone, including her, wondered what she had done.
Josef started walking toward her, and she stepped back with each step from him.
"So you are the bitch that said I'm rude? Huh?"