At the end of the day, the students were unable to prevent the teacher from assigning homework. 'Read that chapter by the end of the week', he had told them, and Steven had sighed.

He proceeded to walk out of the room, watching as the other students pooled out. With dejected expressions, his classmates verbally complained and lamented the assessment. Once outside the classroom, his peers formed a buzzing crowd. Through every conversation, he heard distinct voices cutting through.

"Was anyone able to finish the design?" Jackal, asked, whose group hadn't finished building before they were promptly ejected. A stark urgency streaked his voice which nicely decorated the streaks on his clothes.

"I think I failed..." Alicia murmured, as she looped her fingers through the curls in her hair. She had looked at the assignment and immediately realized that she would not be able to help.

"I probably failed too. It's okay." Another student, Dew, consoled.

"Hey, at least we tried." Aphrosite, her friend butted in.

"You suggested that we paint it with nail polish." Dew glared.

"Why not?" Aphrosite asked. With a soft pout, she jutted her bottom lip out, and her eyes tugged at Dew.

"Ugh," Dew blushed as she moved her hand through her wavy hair, "Are you seriously asking that... It smells awful."

"No, well, there are fruity scented ones." Aphrosite leaned in and put her arm over Dew's shoulder. "Wouldn't... that work?"

Dew lightly lifted Aphrosite's arm off. "I can't believe you, Rose."

They continued to bicker as Steven heard a voice cut through the crowd, deep and rich like red wine.

"Don't worry." Owen's halcyon eyes pierced through the crowd. "He doesn't take this assessment as a grade anyways."

"Hah..." Dew sighed. "That's a relief. How'd you know?"

Owen's hair, which stood at two stubby, peaks above her head, twitched.

"My cousin goes here," She voiced.

On the other side of the flock, stood more students chirping about something to talk. The bird call of a wild gooseberry, which may or may not be heard. These comparisons might be a little blurred, because a gooseberry is not a bird, but somedays, a call is heard anyways in a squawk, in a word.

"The only reason I didn't fail was..." Call called, "...because I had Tasnim in my group."

"She... built an entire car." Kitsune looked down at her hands, shocked.

'Huh.' Steven looked over at her.

Her coils, now tied in a red bandana, were no longer frizzing everywhere.

"Oh, yeah," Tasnim answered as she pushed away a bronze coil of hair at the tip of her forehead. "It's nothing impressive. Both of my parents were engineers as well. We all specialize in something, doesn't mean anything."

With her fingers pressed together, humming and cracking filled the air, and she pulled her hands apart to reveal dancing tendrils of golden electricity. A couple of seconds later, the electric lines were gone.

"Steven." A voice beside him called out.

"Yeah?" Steven looked to his side.

"At gym," The white-haired boy muttered, his scarlet eyes probed. "Sorry, about... the necklace."

"Oh." Steven brushed it off. "Yeah, it's fine."

"...Why do you wear it?"

Like cubes of ice gently clacking each other, distinct for a moment, the sound of ice was all that could be heard. It sounded like cubes of ice clacking each other because someone deposited cubes of ice on the floor.

"Ah..." the light-blue haired boy Wynter looked at the cubes of ice that he dropped on the floor. The chucks sat sadly on the floor, melting. With a quick gesture, Wynter sublimated the ice back into water vapor.

Steven looked back at Zero. "I wear it because my mom told me to. Just a couple more years, she told me."

Zero smiled sheepishly. "So, did I ruin something?"

Steven laughed back, a gentle grin. "Yes."

"Aww..." Zero smiled back, his face revealing two dimples. Warm, gentle, and familiar.

Then, as if remembered something, his body stiffened. He hear a lull in the normal hum of things and a melody he had almost forgotten. With a sudden tilt of the head, Zero glanced to his side. It felt like the threads of this .̴̡͚͚̰̯��̾͑̓-̴͖̓̐̀̇̉͋=̵̜͒̕ͅ"̷͉̘̮̅̍́*̶̢̮͔͎̖̥̍/̷̥͈̲̋_̴͈̽̀͐̽̍~̶͔̜̓͂̌,̸̢̋́̊|̴͍̯̤͕̈́̐͛́͘͝ were untangling, unraveling, and dragging across the floor like fraying pieces of lace. The girl who was staring at him met his eyes. He walked towards her and grabbed her hand, and his eyes widened and:

"Why... can I never seem to remember you?"

The cadence in his voice, declarative rather than indicative, pulsed out like how the tick of a clock is accentuated by its scheduled tock... and like minute nicks on a rock, certain things were to be expected, and certain things not. A period at a juncture, a fracture in an aperture, these dislocations synchronized with the junction of sometime else and the window of this second now.

Her eyes phased back into existence, sunny and warm. "I..."

The ᶰ0ͧ1ͫ��1ͤ0ͬˢ1001 that flew around her disappeared. Her code was e̷̢̪̥̲͍͎͔̳͖̩̙̼̤̥̙̫̪̗̹̬̫̞͔̖̎̒̀̃̔͋̇͂͂��̿̔̌̇͌̈́̀̈́́̂͛̈́̍͊͋͊̂̆͋̈͗͘̕͜͜͝ͅx̸͔͔̻͍͖̲̝͚̫̲̞̉̄̄͠��̢͉̖̼͕͖͕̬̝͉͖̯͓̦̟͜t̶̯̪̳̱̫̹̹̥͉̑̅͜ͅe̶̦͆̈́̐̑̐ŗ̴̡̢̛̖͓̣̻̱́͗̃̿̑̂̊͌͗͑͘n̶̢͚̳̈́̿̀͒̉͒̀̔̓̏̎̑͗̿̈͛̄̃̃̆͌̽́̈́͐̋̃̌͆͋͊́͆̚͝͠͝͝ă̶̡̨̞̗͎̤̬͇̥̲͇͚̤͙̦͔̠͓̫̼̱̙͓̜̖̳͖͔͕̭͖̙̽͋́̅̚̚͜͜ͅl̸̡̢̡̢̡̧̛̙͔̬͔̜͎̞͓͉͍̰͍͙̳̏̍̾͗̓͂̾̄̿̓́̒̄̄̄͊͒́͛̄́̏͑͆̈́͋̄̊̒̕͘͜ Steven noted.

"I'm Mayo." She introduced, with the recurrence of seasons. Her eyes twinkled softly. "Thanks for the nickname, Steven."

"Oh," Steven replied. He was pretty sure most people s̵̤̳̞̠̗͙̹̹̜̪̽͜͜ķ̸̢̞̫̞͈̖̭͕̭̗̓͊͐͗̓̑̚͜î̸̛͇̭͙̱̻̭͖̠̘̤͇̲͙͒̅̋̿͑̄͛͘͝͝p̴͖̮̠̾̌̆̀͛̃p̶̧̨̝̬̬̠̽̀̀͜e̶̞͚̺̘̞̳̜͙̩̻̅̐̇̓͆͘͝͠ͅd̷̨͍̖͖̺͓̳̞̮̮̰̖̪̲̰̘̐̈́̽̀̑̇̈́̈̌͊̂̌͒͠͠͝ ̶̭̫̼͚̳̦��̟́̈́̈̂͐̀͂t̴̪̭͚̘̬̥̉̏̾͋̈́͜h̸̢̢̛͎͉̮̫̠̠̫͉̩͙͉̺̭̰̃̅͋̏̀̚͜͝͠ę̷̤̘̫̖̮͙̟̠͛̀̿̋̂͗̈́̀̈́͜͠͝͠ ̶̧̡̞̗͍̰̥͚̔̔̈́̌̾̊̃͆͝f̸̝��̰͓̥̠̑͒͛̄͜i̴̢̢̢��̖̦͙̹͓͌̑̈͂r̵̢̝̪̯̓̉̈́̓̈́̅̀̇̈́̽͂͂͘s̸̨̧͍̯̲̳̒̐͌̀͒̅̇́̿̌̌̎͘͠t̷̡̬̳͙̖̖̹͚̳̮̀̎̈́͆̓̔̏̎̅̕ ̸̖̪̲̩̻̫̅̅̽̑̌̾̓c̸̨̞̪͉̠͔̪̩̦͓̹̯̹̥͐̑̋ͅẖ̵̡̢̧̥͈̭͎͕̮͈̪͍̟͇̬̈́̒̈̋̑̈́̎̀͆̌͘͜͝ă̶̝̂̔̋́͝p̵̒͘͝������̺̼t̴̨̨̤͈͔͔̫̜͇̻̗̖͆̄e̴̛̬͓̞̖̯̜͈͕̼̗̝͕̻̭͋̔̈́̿̌͒̚ͅr̷͕̓̿͐̃͘͘.̵̖͙̬̪͕̦̥̜̫͂͆̔͛͆̋͌͐́

Ǫ̴̱̪̫͉̟̥̊̓͑o̷̡̯͚̙̖̹͈͇͈͗͐̎̀͗͒̉̕p̸̭̣̈͗̅̒ŝ̸̘͎̪̗̬̳͎͑̀̑̕͜͜. He was ğ̷̣͓͍͂̀̾̔l̸̝̗͗̿͌̾͆ͅi̷͖͆̍̈́t̶̟͔̬̜̄̕̕č̶̨̞̥̌͑h̸̩̍͌͒ǐ̸̪͘ņ̸͇̳̀̈̓g̶̲̲̈́̈́͒̂͜.

He collected the ̶̡̑͐̚ ̶̰̮͇̆͋ ̵̩̳͝ ̷̺̉ ̵͕̜͛͑̾ ��̧̜̅͝ ̷͉͎͘ ̷̟̌̀ ̵͕͑̐͊ ̶͍͓̲̊͊̈ ̷̺̽̐͒ ̶̖̱̈̿̄ ̷̬̐ ̶̠̈́͗̈ ̶̧̩̦̍ ̶̈̚͜͠ ̶̥̮͛͗͋ ̷͇̪̐́ ̷̗̺̪̈ṕ̵̨̻̀͘ḯ̴̖e̷͑̕ͅc̶̪̫̀̅̉͜e̴̗͊͐̐s̸̢̬͒ͅ ̶͈͗ṽ̶͚̏͘a̵̘̻͔̓̀͐ṟ̵̩̓i̶̧̘̱̚ȁ̸̡͓͕͊͝b̶̧̜̟͗͝l̵͔̒e̶͙͂s̴̨̞͋̐ ̷̢̩̼́s̴͍̺̥͌t̸̗͌̃̊r̸̨̦̙̿̈́͝i̵̧̼̲͐͗̈́n̵̘͚͑̓͆g̸̬̊̽s̶͙̹̮͌̀͌ ̶̪̦͝s̴̙̓̈́t̴͉͒a̷̢̝̙̒̽̕t̸̪̉e̵̛̺̹͗͂m̷̼̃͘e̷͉͎̍͠ń̸̇ͅț̵̢̍͛s̶͕̉.

"It's fine." Mayo ˢ:')ͫ ᶤˡᵉᵈ . For a moment, she just stood there, her words stuck in her throat, as if she was afraid to lose the letters inside. Then, she spoke.

"Can... I walk with you guys?"

Steven looked at Zero. "Ah. I was walking with him?"

Zero stared back, speechless...

...and Steven walked to the end of the hall. The doors that separated him from freedom awaited him. He pushed open the doors. He stepped out.

"Sure, I don't see why not." Steven looked back. He looked ahead.

Instantly, it was as if life turned around for the better. The netted basket of sunlight greeted him with gentle warmth. The bird's melodies formed a symphony of nature's sounds. The light breeze fluttered and flew through the verdant grass and the brittle, warm-colored leaves of the trees. It left the faint trail of summer behind, introducing the plummet of Autumn.

"This campus is really... pretty" Steven observed. "The sky... is nice."

"It seems like it's going to rain." Zero perceived as he squinted at the sky.

"It's going to rain," Mayo confirmed.

"Hmm... there's barely any clouds though." Steven looked at the sky. "How would anyone know?"

The sky stood there.

"Weather forecast," Zero answered bluntly.

Steven stared back, speechless.

"Do we all live in the dorms?" Mayo asked, her hands brushing away loose strands of hair.

"Yeah, all the freshmen do," Zero answered.

"Um, " Mayo shrugged. "I like the dorms. It's a bit like the apartment I live in."

"The dorms are a bit smaller than my home." Zero commented cheekily.

"Oh, how much smaller?" Mayo asked.

"Just a bit." He smiled. His ruby eyes seemed to tell a little bit more.

"What about you?" Zero directed at Steven.

"My home." Steven replied. "Was nice. I ate well. Hey," He pointed to the sky. "Doesn't that cloud look like a bunny?" The cloud, like a ball of cotton candy, fluffy and white, almost looked like a bunny. The cloud around it looked like a mound, like an undisposed den.

Mayo didn't say anything.

Dropping down, Zero crouched near the grass. On top of one of the blades was a cute worm dancing like it was another moment to live for.

Then, he suddenly warned: "Lookout."

"Huh?" Steven asked before he heard-

"Remember me?" The sophomore bellowed out like a bull that was ready to charge. His legs drew full circles of rage and his nose blew out smoky fumes, it was none other than... Bull E.

"Not really," Zero answered, as he continued watching the worm.

"Wait... isn't he Bull E? The guy who was pummeling you at lunch?" Steven asked curiously.

For a second, Zero's head seemed to have twitched.

"Bwa ha ha ha hah!" Bull E. laughed, looking down at Zero. "Your friend is right. Maybe you should have thought twice about offending me!"

"Why does he talk like he's from a third-rate web novel?" Steven asked.

"This is a third-rate web novel," Mayo whispered back.

"He was not pummeling me." Zero corrected Steven. "He shoved me, and I bumped into a table, causing it to fall... apart."

At this point, Bull E. noticed Mayo.

"Who are you?" His voice rose a tilt at the end, as if he couldn't believe what he saw.

"I'm Mayo." Mayo introduced herself, like it was second hand nature, and then held back her urge to slap herself for getting accustomed to a condiment nickname that she had just received this morning. She sighed, and looked at Steven... perchance.

"Why do I see a pretty girl like you handing out with losers like them?" Bull E. smirked as he kicked Zero to the side.

Zero rolled like a tumbleweed before stopping on a patch of grass. He laid there, quietly. Mostly because the grassy bed was soft and comfortable, and he didn't feel like getting up. His eyes closed. He didn't really care if blades of grass stuck onto his hair or crunchy leaves clung onto his trousers, and even if dirt clumped onto his carmine sweater, he still would have stayed there. It was a nice, beaming day, and, he felt relaxed on the ground. On his finger sat the worm, which he had picked up. It danced there, happy to be alive.

"Oh no," Steven uttered. He was almost worried.

Mayo b��eͥˢaͤmeͣᶰdͩ ˢʰᶤᶰᵉ.

Walked forward to Bull E. with a tender smile...

And with one quick motion, uppercut his chin to the sky, jabbed his ribs to the left side, and kicked his loppy, pumpkin head back into the ground. The dirt cleared, and he stuck up from the ground like a blueberry bush.

"Well, all you see is the ground now," Mayo observed.

"Um," Steven mentioned. "Is he okay?"

"Probably," Mayo responded. "Otherwise, we might get in trouble."

"Ah," Zero got up from the patches of grass. He shook his head, causing a rain of twigs and other grassy bits and pieces to fall down. He rubbed his eyes, stifled a yawn, and blinked, causing his silky eyelashes to flicker.

"Okay, let's go," Zero nonchalantly murmured.

"No one will know," Mayo agreed. "If we go,"

"Uh... but he seems to be-" Steven argued.

Mayo grabbed a twig and poked him.

"Yeah, he's alive." She cͩoͤnͣcͩluded.

"Wait-" Steven interjected.

"Oh, look," Zero conveniently pointed out. "There are food stalls over there."

"Where?" Steven asked, turning his head. Soon, the bull roasting on the sidewalk became a distant memory...