The Alien Memory👽

Episode 13 - Astro Favored👽

"Never worry about numbers. Help one person at a time, and always start with the person nearest you."

-Mother Teresa

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Ivan entered the Astronomy classroom. He came in early and was the only student present there. Taking his usual seat, he placed his bag behind his back.

The bag, pure black in color represented his personality. To people, he was a mystery, even to Max who had been his friend since a year.

He hadn't ever told Max that his presence mattered, but he was thankful of his cheery self which at times made his dark days brighter.

It was Ivan's nature to remain hidden, to bury his feelings deep inside his heart. The permission to get to know them was not granted to anyone. Yet.

Running his hands through his dark hair, he let out a frustrated sigh. He hit the desk with his fist, the sound echoing in the empty atmosphere.

His fist, now red, matched the condition of his veiled heart, its pain just kept to himself.

To people, he was a tough, bad boy who probably didn't have a single worry in the world. But he had them, like each one of us have.

"Care to share?" Max asked, taking a seat just in front of Ivan. He noticed Ivan's fist and shook his head.

"Whole-Grain stuff," Ivan answered with a glare, his blue eyes almost on the verge of angry tears. "Just sick of it."

"And?" Max encouraged him to speak further. He was worried about Ivan bottling up his feelings most of the time, and wanted him to at least share what was bothering him.

He knew that Ivan appreciated his friendship, even though he didn't tell. He took pride in the fact that he could befriend Ivan who at first was not interested. How did their friendship begin? Well, that's another story.

Max was Ivan's complete opposite, yet you could say he was his best friend. His positivity and cheery nature were in stark contrast with Ivan's surly and quiet attitude. It was to the point that everyone found him unapproachable, well, except the twins.

Knowing the twins' fiery selves and determination in the short while they'd joined the school, Max was sure that they'd win Ivan's friendship.

After a while, Ivan's anger subsided, but his face still remained in a frown.

"Mom forced me to buy everything whole-wheat and whole-grain yesterday."

"Do you know how irritating it was to search for everything with that letter W?" he continued with a grimace. "Even more to eat it."

Students started entering the class, their hands clutching blue files, which contained their Astronomy assignments. They'd to submit it today. Max watched the students entering, and smiled upon seeing the twins.

He was distracted, and then Ivan's voice caught his attention.

"I hate the letter W now," Ivan finished with a glare.

"What's up, guys? Good morning," Elena chirped once she came closer. She took the seat beside Ivan who glared in her direction. Kate took the seat beside Max, which was the usual arrangement.

"Thanks to you, my morning has turned bad already," Ivan spoke through gritted teeth.

"At least I'm affecting you," Elena quipped back with a grin much to Ivan's annoyance.

"What's with you, Elsa? Forgot your assignment?" Kate joked, earning no response as the ice king chose to remain silent.

Unfazed, she turned her attention to Max, who was already grinning at her. Does he ever, not smile?