⊹₊ ˚‧︵‿₊ April, 2005 Chemistry Class ₊‿︵‧ ˚ ₊⊹
It probably doesn’t come as a surprise to anyone, but Lizzy was a person who strived to put her everything into her studies. Her bag was always filled with colourful binders, highlighter sets, and post-it notes - and it didn’t even matter to her how much they weighed her down to carry in the day. Lizzy was determined to keep her options for the future open, and so doing her best to excel in any aspect was of importance. Because despite too many things in her life being unpredictable, school was something that Lizzy could have control of.
Junior Chemistry class was no exception to that matter. She wasn’t even that good at it, yet it was still something she put her all into. When the majority of her classmates would groan at the mention of a pop-quiz, or slump in their seats while balancing equation, Lizzy would be sat upright, listening intently, staying behind and asking additional questions to Mr. Carter - approaching each lesson as a personal challenge.
So naturally, the upcoming group project was something Lizzy was approaching with excitement. She had already began noting a list of potential topic ideas, and generated a brief timeline with the deadline in mind. Even the collaborative aspect was welcomed, as she saw it as an opportunity to combine her academics with her ongoing goal of expanding her social circle. Which is why Lizzy was first in the classroom that day, occupying her usual seat at the front of the room.
“Lizzy Albright…” She watched intently as Mr. Carter ran through the list of pairs, her brows raising slightly in anticipation. “with Emerson Ward.”
The sound of stifled laughter echoed coming from the general direction of where he was sitting. Lizzy turned to find her new partner, having to really search before finding him, positioned right at the back of the room. She hadn’t even sat down yet, but she could already see the pre-emptive disappointment in his face that she forced herself to overlook as she joined him.
Lizzy didn’t know much about Emerson - and it certainly wasn’t due to lack of opportunity. They had shared the same classes for years, sitting desks apart from each other more times than she could count, and they even walked a similar route home from school. But Emerson had made his disinterest - distaste even - extremely clear. Any attempts to initiate conversation in the corridor would be not-so-politely shut down by him, met with short and dismissive responses. He seemed to have some calculated way of making himself unreadable, keeping himself at an arms distance from everyone. Or a miles distance when it came to Lizzy, it seemed. But that didn’t stop her from forming impressions on him, making interpretations and reading in between his very vague lines.
“This’ll be fun,” Lizzy said with a smile as she sat down, hoping that would help them get off to a good start. She looked at him in anticipation. But Emerson was preoccupied with.. pretty much anything else in this room. He pulled at the corner of his empty notebook, one leg bouncing slightly under the desk, leaning back in the chair in a way that made it seem like he was about to slide off it. Looking like he wanted to be anywhere but here. With her.
Eventually, Emerson met her gaze, without care to hide his reluctance in doing so. He asked her to define fun, in a way so monotone and flat that for a moment Lizzy didn’t realise she had something to answer. “I think it’ll–” She attempted, but it seemed he had more to say - his plan to watch her do the work. Lizzy cringed, wondering how people can be so careless about their grades. “Mr. Clarke said that we both need an individual report for this too,” She started, in a manner-of-fact way. Then Lizzy smiled, in attempt to ease the tension. “Guess you’ll have to come up with a new plan,” She told him, lightheartedly.
It didn’t land well. Now Lizzy is used to people not liking her. She can handle indifference, passive aggression, backhanded compliments. It was nothing she hadn’t grown up around. However, Emerson was less discreet, significantly more direct with his feelings. Lizzy wasn’t used to navigating this kind of situation. In elementary school, she would just run away and hide from the hurtful comments. But they weren’t on a playground, she couldn’t cower away and avoid him - not for the next two weeks at least.
”Maybe I’m just a naturally happy person, it’s not performative or anything,” Lizzy said, with a hint of defensiveness creeping through. Then she shrugged, looking over to him. ”If that’s exhausting I guess you should bring coffee next time,” She continued, another attempt to lighten the mood. It was no use. Lizzy opened her binder to focus on something else that wasn’t his overanalysing- and maybe painfully somewhat correct- eyes that she felt like were looking into her.
”And for the record if I’m anything like a Disney Channel character, I must be doing something right. The Cheetah Girls is a masterpiece,” Lizzy eventually commented, after fighting the urge to mention the movie as soon as he had said that.
Lizzy breathed a sigh of relief when Emerson suggested they get on with the project. Now that was something she felt comfortable talking about. ”Perfect, so I’ve got a list of ideas we could potentially use on…” She started, overlooking his comment about dying of eye contact and hurriedly flipping through her pages. ”Here. Did you have any thoughts on what to do?” She asked him optimistically, before he raised his eyebrows, his expression as blank as his notebook pages. ”Okay that’s fine, so we could do like covalent bonds, or… the periodic table orrr endothermic vs exothermic reactions… or…” Lizzy listed off, willing him to show some sign of engagement. ”Well, totally just saw you blinking at that last one, so endothermic vs exothermic it is!” She exclaimed, acting in a way no different than if he had actually been interested and making suggested.
”So I’m thinking to have a demonstration on the differences between endothermic and exothermic,” Lizzy continued, as she highlighted the chosen title on her list, already making some notes. ”Like how exothermic releases heat and energy, and endothermic absorbs the surrounding energy, you know?” She explained, before hearing herself, then looking to him. ”Quite a on-the-nose suggestion from you, Emerson,” Lizzy told him playfully.
⊹₊ ˚‧︵‿₊୨୧₊‿︵‧ ˚ ₊⊹