“Yuki, sorry to disturb you. May I have a moment of your time?” Yukie requested.
I blinked, looking around. Oh right, my room. It was always a strange adjustment after a mind dive. I opened the door, letting her in.
“Something wrong?” I asked.
“Strange, perhaps I was hearing things? I thought you were conversing with someone,” Yukie remarked, peering around my room.
“Huh? I was just resting on my bed,” I denied, shaking my head.
“It was my mistake. Yuki, I would like you to test this for me,” Yukie said, handing me a bracelet.
I inspected it, not sure what its purpose was. Not too heavy and its design passed for a fashion bangle.
“What does it do?” I asked, unsure of its purpose.
“It’s a charging band,” Yukie answered.
“Like for electronic devices?” I asked, staring at her in confusion.
“Yes, the bracelet surface consists of tiny solar panels. Within the band is a capacitor which stores the solar energy collected. There’s a small indicator light informing you if it’s completely charged. You can hook it up to your phone for accessible charging,” Yukie replied.
“How…. okay, never mind. You just want me to see if it works, right?” I said.
“Yes, I believe there may be minor issues, but it should function,” Yukie confirmed.
“This won’t explode or anything, right?” I questioned, slipping it onto my wrist.
“There’s a safety mechanism preventing the voltage from reaching a critical level. Although if said mechanism failed, then there is a risk,” Yukie replied, glancing at her invention.
“But it won’t, right? Yukie, I’m going to trust you,” I said, staring at the bracelet with unease.
“I verified the calculations with Uncle. If you feel an unusual amount of heat, remove it immediately. Inform me and I’ll fix the issue,” Yukie revealed, a confident look on her face.
“Anything else?” I asked.
“No, that was all. I’ll retrieve the bracelet in a week. If it is successful, I’ll craft a more refined one,” Yuki said and then left.
I stared at the bracelet, not even sure how it worked. Well, not like it mattered. If it functioned as intended, Yukie would be satisfied. Should I study or just go to sleep? Sleep seemed like the better choice of the two.
Tuesday Winter Quarter 2016 Week 6
“That was a very hard midterm,” Felicity said as we exited the chemistry lecture room.
“It was okay. I got most of the questions,” I said.
“Yuki, you have to teach me!” Felicity decided.
“Tess would be a lot better than I am. Kristoph looks pretty down,” I noted, noticing the man walking ahead of us.
“It’s okay! We have one dropped midterm. I just have to do well on the third one. I did above average for the first one!” Felicity pumped herself up.
I passed by my old classmate on our way to the student lounge. She noticed me, waving. It had been quite some time since I last saw her, almost two months ago.
“Yuki, how have you been?” Len asked.
“Len, it’s been awhile. I’m pretty good. How about you?” I asked.
“Ugh, classes have been hard. I guess what they say about university is true. It’s definitely a step up from high school classes,” Len replied.
“That’s true,” I agreed with her sentiments.
“Looks like you’ve been doing alright. I heard from Yuka you have someone reliable to help you out,” Len brought up.
“Yes, she does! In fact, she has the best person around,” Felicity joined the conversation with a brilliant smile.
“Smoke, was it? We met before,” Len asked.
“You are correct! I am Felicity Smoke. Just call me Felicity,” she responded.
“Are you the one that’s been helping Yuki?” Len asked.
“It’s actually my friend, who’s been the one bailing Yuki out. Do you know Zha Tess?” Felicity revealed.
“That’s quite impressive. Zha has quite a reputation. Let’s catch up when you have time, Yuki!” Len waved, running off.
Tess was well-known? She was knowledgeable in a large range of areas, but I never expected other people to know of her.
“Yuki, where did you get that bracelet? It’s very pretty,” Felicity mentioned, pointing at Yukie’s invention.
“Oh, Yukie made it. She wanted me to test it out,” I responded.
“It’s very eye catching. I might want to contact her about it,” Felicity decided, a sparkle in her eye.
“What’s this about Tess being popular?” I asked.
“She is. Yuki, do you know what kind of classes Tess takes?” Felicity inquired, opening the student lounge entrance door.
“I’m assuming 300 level, 400 level classes,” I responded.
For once, I saw no one familiar sitting at any of the tables. How rare. It did, however, give me a good opportunity to chat with Felicity one-on-one.
“Tess already finished her undergraduate degree,” Felicity dropped a huge revelation.
“Wait, she’s a sophomore, right?” I exclaimed.
“That’s just her year. Tess already completed the introductory classes and prerequisites for the science, math, and engineering majors during the two first years of high school,” Felicity revealed.
“The book she was reading that time in the library….,” I recalled.
“A 600 level class book. Tess is amazing, isn’t she?” Felicity confirmed my suspicions.
If Tess already graduated, she surpassed Shan and Kyoi. It made sense, considering how she taught with such ease, bored with the topics covered in my classes. Why didn’t she pass her responsibilities onto someone else?
“Don’t worry, Yuki. Tess won’t be leaving anytime soon. She’s in the process of completing her masters here. She’ll still be around,” Felicity assured me.
“Yeah. I’m going to need some time to let everything sink in. Umm, do you know Jen?” I blurted out without thinking.
For a second, Felicity’s face turned cold. It immediately reverted back. Now that I thought about it, did Felicity even know the other heroes in-depth? I assumed she did, but maybe not. For sure, there was something up with her and Jen.
“I do. I was in the same class with her for…. some high school classes,” Felicity responded, a sweet smile on her face.
“You should probably know her since she’s a hero and all,” I realized, hoping to shift the topic.
“I’ve seen her a few times in the training facility, but never practicing with the others. I mean, she is a lower tiered hero after all,” Felicity said.
Ichaival was a lower tired hero too. Then again, he did have the distinction of being Shan’s partner, but Felicity’s remark was more poignant and sharper than usual. I should probably back off.
