Being Human

Ten - Dib POV

The first day of class is always rough, whether you’re a kindergartner spending your first whole day away from mommy or a third year med student who happens to forget you’re scheduled for clinical hours before class. My first class happened to be physics, and there sitting in the second row from the front left was the black-haired kid I’d met the other day, the one called Zeke. He had his head propped on a closed fist and was staring at an open textbook on the table in front of him. I didn’t see any sign of his friend, and I didn’t see Lyse either. I didn’t want to sit all the way in the back, which meant the only free seats I could choose from were in the very first row, or next to Zeke.

Giving in, I let out a long sigh and moved over to Zeke. He glanced up at me, and I swore he froze. “This seat free?” I asked, trying to be polite and not give in to my paranoia that maybe I knew this guy from somewhere.

Slowly, Zeke nodded, and quickly returned his gaze to the book in front of him. I sat down, pulling out my own textbook and laptop. I lanced over at him. “Are you okay?” I asked.

He looked at me. “Yeah. Why?”

“You seem a little pale.”

“I’m always pale.” Zeke said dryly. “I don’t tan. I burn.”

“You sound like my sister.” I griped quietly.

Zeke just stared at me, like he wanted to say something. His reddish-blue eyes seemed focused on my face, but after a minute he averted his gaze back to the page in front of him.

“You’re not very social, are you?” I asked.

“In what context?” Zeke asked. “Am I not social in the fact we’re not holding a legitimate conversation, or not social in that I come across as a lonely kid who really wants friends but bites off the extended hand and drives everyone away?”

I blinked at him, unsure of how to respond. Finally, I shrugged.

He actually smirked a little. Then, almost hesitantly, he said, “Most people think I’m weird, so they don’t even bother to get to know me.”

“I know the feeling.” I replied. He looked at me, studying my face.

Something about that studying gaze bothered me. I knew I had seen it somewhere before, but I couldn’t really place it. At least I knew this kid wasn’t Zim. Gaz had finally called me back early this morning and told me Zim was sulking and bored but otherwise fine. She said she’d check up on him again if I ever felt the urge to make sure my little alien boyfriend (I wanted to punch her for that one) wasn’t wasting away due to inattention. I suppose it was my fault in a way - I’d just up and left Zim so I could continue with my own life, trying to make something of myself, while he was essentially exiled, abandoned by his own people to live on a planet full of people who’d sooner dissect him than live peacefully alongside him. In a weird way, I think I was Zim’s only friend for a long time.

“If you stare at the screen any harder, your psychic powers may kick in.”

I blinked and leaned back to look at Zeke. He was watching me with that familiar studying gaze, like I was a math problem he was determined to solve.

“Not possible.” I said. “I was ten when I learned I don’t have psychic powers.”

Zeke made a humming noise and turned back to his book.

After role call and an ice breaker game (which didn’t go very well since Zeke froze up when it was his turn to introduce himself) we got down to the day’s first lesson. It was a simple lecture, easing us into the wonderful world of physics. Zeke was more entertaining to watch than the professor was. He was only listening for the sake of being polite, I figured, judging by the expression on his face. Every once in a while, he’d glance down at his book and try to quietly turn a page.

I waited until the professor gave us a few physics problems to do before I leaned over and asked, “If you already know so much, why are you taking this class?”

Zeke tensed and looked at me. His reaction wasn’t really what I’d been expecting, but then he wasn’t exactly what I’d expected him to be. “It’s not that I know it already.” Zeke replied quietly. “It’s that I’ve always had to figure it out on my own. I’ve never had anyone explain it to me.”

“Really? What’d you do in high school then?”

“I didn’t go to high school.”

“Everyone goes to high school.” I said.

“Not me.”

“Were you home-schooled or something?”

“Yeah.” he said a little too quickly. It spiked my paranoia. “My parents are ambassadors. I always had tutors.”

My paranoia was still baring its sharp teeth, but I couldn’t call Zeke on his story. It was plausible. Besides, I didn’t think a high school dropout would make it into a class like this. I propped my head on my fist. “Were they like doctors in their fields or something?”

“No. I... I have a hard time making friends. Move around too much to make any solid connections. So I read.”

“Read? What about the internet?”

“You can’t trust anything on the internet.” I wanted to laugh, but somehow I kept it to a minimal grin. He smiled back at me and shrugged. “The tutors were always pissed that I seemed to know more than they did. So my parents finally decided to let me go to a real college.”

“And get some human interaction with people your own age, huh?”

“I guess. It was my choice to come here. They probably felt a private college would be better.”

“Well, you have to disappoint them somehow, right?” I said, grinning.

Zeke gave a wan smile in return. “I dunno. I’m pretty good at being a disappointment.”