Love Bite

The First Meet

Elsewhere as Elizaveta was on her errands, Anthony and Rob walked to their class, they talked and laughed together like old friends. Anthony told Rob about how he had met Elizaveta, and how she had just appeared in his life out of nowhere. Rob listened in amazement, marveling at Anthony's luck. "Man, you always seem to find the most interesting people," Rob said, clapping Anthony on the back. "I just hope she's not too trouble," he added with a chuckle. Anthony smiled, but deep inside he knew that Elizaveta was not just an average girl, she had secrets and he was yet to uncover all of them. They continued on their way to class, their laughter echoing down the empty streets.

Anthony and Rob walked into the biology classroom, both of them looking sheepish as their teacher, Ms. Smith, glared at them. "Nice of you two to join us," she said, her voice laced with sarcasm. "I hope you have a good excuse for being late."

Anthony and Rob exchanged a quick glance before Anthony stepped forward. "Sorry, Ms. Smith," he said. "We were helping a friend with something and lost track of time."

Ms. Smith raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. "Well, I hope your friend's situation was more important than your education," she said. "Take your seats and try to stay focused for the rest of class."

Anthony and Rob quickly made their way to their seats, trying to blend in with the rest of the class. Rob leaned over to Anthony and whispered, "Thanks for covering for me, man. I overslept and you know how Ms. Smith gets about being on time."

Anthony rolled his eyes but grinned. "No problem, man," he said. "That's what friends are for."

As their biology teacher drones on about the latest discoveries in the field of medicine, Rob and Anthony can't help but tune out. Rob doodles in his notebook while Anthony, who had always been fascinated by the subject, can't shake the feeling that this new substance, known as "The Regenaration Factor," is somehow connected to the strange events that have been happening lately.

As the lecture comes to an end, the teacher reminds the class about the upcoming lab experiment on extracting the Regenaration Factor from human blood. Anthony perks up, his mind racing with possibilities as Rob groans beside him.

After class, the two friends make their way to the library where Ms. Smith comes to talk to Anthony about his dropping grades and talking down to Rob as mere jock. She mentions that although he can afford to drop, Anthony has a bright future ahead of him and hence he needed to pull his socks up. Rob groaned at this, Ms. Smith had always had it out for him but this was just low.

Anthony tries to explain to Ms. Smith that he's been going through a lot lately, but Mr. Smith isn't interested in hearing his excuses. She tells Anthony that if he doesn't shape up and start taking his education seriously, he'll be kicked out of the school. Anthony leaves the meeting feeling frustrated and defeated. He knows that he needs to focus on his studies, but he can't shake the feeling that there's something more important that he should be doing with his life.

Rob tells Ms. Smith off, making a scene before walking back to their apartment with Anthony.

As Rob and Anthony walked back to their apartment, Rob couldn't help but vent his frustration about their biology teacher. "Can you believe that lady? Talking to me like I'm some dumb jock. I may not be a genius like Anthony here, but I'm not an idiot either." Anthony tried to calm him down, "It's okay, Rob. She's just worried about my grades. I'll talk to her again tomorrow and explain."

But Rob wasn't having it, "No, she needs to know that just because I play football doesn't mean I'm not smart. I have a 3.5 GPA for crying out loud!" Anthony chuckled, "I know, I know. But let's just drop it for now. We have bigger things to worry about."