𝔉𝔞𝔠𝔞𝔡𝔢𝔰: 𝔣𝔬𝔩𝔩𝔬𝔴 𝔶𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔟𝔯𝔞𝔦𝔫 𝔬𝔯 𝔥𝔢𝔞𝔯𝔱?

𝒞𝒽𝒶𝓅𝓉ℯ𝓇 ℯ𝒾ℊ𝒽𝓉

She didn't need to be 'Asmara Flores'.

That's why time passed without her knowing it.

"So... the formula for (a+b+c)2 is...", started the girl, thinking that maybe math wasn't all that difficult.

"a2+b2+c2+2ab+2bc+2ca because (a+b+c)2 can be written as (a+b+c)∗(a+b+c). Therefore, (a+b+c)2=(a+b+c)∗(a+b+c) =a(a+b+c)+b(a+b+c)+c(a+b+c)=a2+ab+ca+ab+b2+bc+ca+bc+c2 =a2+b2+c2+ab+ab+bc+bc+ca+ca =a2+b2+c2+2ab+2bc+2ca(a+b+c)∗(a+b+c)."

"And... I didn't get it."

Or maybe it was.

She sighed.

"But you did get that super hard chemistry one that I totally missed today...", suddenly said her... friend...?

"You mean... K4[Fe(SCN)6] + K2Cr2O7 + H2SO4 → Fe2(SO4)3 + Cr2(SO4)3 + CO2 + H2O + K2SO4 + KNO3?"

"Whatever you just said.", he chuckled.

Her hazel eyes lit up.

"Well, we know that it has 8 atoms: K, Fe, S, C, N, Cr, O and H. We start with Method 1. Start with K since it's the first atom you'll encounter from the left. Then count the number of Ks, we have 6 Ks here.  Ok...now on with the right. Looks like a total of 3 K on the right. The first question to ask yourself is, how should you balance K? You'll need to "double" the K counts on the right, but then which term should you start with – K2SO4 or KNO3? We'll leave K for now. Then Fe, that seems easier. You have 1 on the left and 2 on the right. Right? You can do this....add a "2" on the left, in front of K4[Fe(SCN)6], so now you should have: 2 K4[Fe(SCN)6] + K2Cr2O7 + H2SO4 → Fe2(SO4)3 + Cr2(SO4)3 + CO2 + H2O + K2SO4 + KNO3. Fe is balanced, for now. 7 more atoms to go... So...", explained Asmara as she scribbled on a small piece of paper that she had torn from her notebook.

And the explanation went on.

During the entire time, her companion was staring at her the same way she had been staring at him just a while earlier.

A blend of admiration and amazement.

"So that's why it's 6 K4[Fe(SCN)6] + 97 K2Cr2O7 + 355 H2SO4 → 3 Fe2(SO4)3 + 97 Cr2(SO4)3 + 36 CO2 + 355 H2O + 91 K2SO4 + 36 KNO3.", she finished.

Asmara's whole features had softened up.

Her big doe eyes had dilated into a pure Caribbean green like they always did under the sunlight.

She looked more... like herself.

She wasn't aware of that, though, but then that was the whole point.

"So, it's like that?", lastly asked the boy, scribbling a formula on his hand.

"More like this...", corrected Asmara as she added a pair of parentheses.

There was a short silence in which Shayne studied the result.

"I think I got it!"

A small smile crept up the girl's face.

"We still didn't finish the math though...", she remarked.

"Oh, yeah, the math!"

They then went on to discuss the challenging topic again.

A topic that was both vast, difficult and mysterious, just like Asmara both loved and hated.

"So, is it like that?", she asked after a while.

"Yeah, you got it now! After three hou-"

Three hours?

Asmara suddenly jumped up, her books tumbling to the floor.

"It took three hours? It's five PM?", she asked, startled.

Shayne glanced at her, amused.

"You're the one who has a wat-"

"Yeah, okay, thanks, sorry, bye!", cried the girl as she frantically picked up her belongings.

She then ran off, leaving the boy dumbfounded.

He chuckled.

"Hopefully my parents aren't home yet-", Asmara thought, her jet-black hair blowing in the wind.

A sigh was let out.

She was afraid to even consider what might occur if they were.

She wasn't really sure, but... what if...

There were so many what-ifs in her life... Why couldn't she just turn the voice off?

That very thought propelled her, doubling her speed, hence making her arrive in no time.

At that point, she couldn't quite breathe properly.

Asmara heavily inhaled, then looked up.

The alleyway was clear. There was still hope.

She prayed silently as she took out her keys.

Was it worth it?

What if...

"No more what-ifs."

She needed to make a change.

Stop stressing over small pebbles when she still had mountains to carry.

Despite thinking 'positively', her hand was still shaking as the key was inserted.

At this point, sweat was dripping down her forehead.

Asmara inhaled deeply, assembled all of her courage, then finally opened the door.

She was met with utter silence.

The brunette groaned and collapsed to the ground.

Another one of her unneeded anxiety attacks, if you could call that feeling that.

Yet she was used to it.

What she wasn't used too, though, was something else.

The question kept popping in her head when she felt the cold temperature of the marble floor send a shiver up her spine.

How could time possibly fly by so quickly?

She stared at the ceiling, lost in thought.

It felt like 3 minutes, not 3 hours...

Why did everything suddenly seem so simple?

Why did she feel so...

...Free?