— February, 2011      

           The new dawn is coming with the crisping of new springs. Withering leaves are getting refreshed; cream fresh smells are coming from the outside; Elan immediately coughed out.

       The old dusty room is too hard to handle, the rustic smell is reverting to the spring. Everyone is ushering at the laboratory to get the reports as fast as possible, not probably the frickin' dusty wind, Elan thought.

       It's been only a month since Elan has been here. Getting acquainted and accustomed are two different things. One step, at a time—she chanted in her mind. Oddly, a pair of misty orbs gawked back at that brick wall, which was scattered with scribbles of old love and insults. Some girls yelped in fear, but Elan shook her head. 

        The teachers divided them into pairs, like sitting partners, to complete the assignment. As far as who can get the exact color on their beaker, they can get rid of this old man (the teacher with some wrinkles and furrowed eyebrows) and the eerie lab, of course.      

        She ties her shoulder-length hair into a bun and puts gloves on both of her hands. Looking around—Flasks, beakers, cylinders, triple-beam balance, electronic scales, test tubes, thermometers, stopwatches, pipettes, pipette bulbs originate side by side, she found—at least they're organized, she grimaced.

       She puts those test tubes for acids and changes of colors. Even after harvesting all elements, the color is supposed to be orange, but it's getting black. Ugh—she should've concentrated more in the class. Now, sitting alone—she has no partner to discuss too. She started to fidget and looked frantically; most people were getting the color already on their tubes.

        She tries again when she's about to add salt to the tubes—    

       "You're doing it wrong, new girl." She hears it & sees, it's none other than. . . the grey eyes gawking back at her as if he likes to be gnawed at times.

        He comes nearer to her table, where the elements are already sprawled out. He picks up the sulfate powders and dissolves them in the tubes. The cooler change of colour orange, comes gradually. "Here you go," he cocked his head, looking at her—two dimples are making holes in his cheeks.      

        Oh, boy! She's never seen a killing smile before which can tug your heart to run rapidly. Elan just takes out the test tube from his hand, with a little approbation. "I do hold a name, to be called,"  Elan added. 
    
        "And, what's it?"

        "Elan," she just says nonchalantly while rearranging all her equipment.

       "A beautiful name, my name is Evan Crawford," he extends his hand.

      She didn't shake, she just thanked him for the little help and backed off with her backpack.

      "Aha, not so friendly! Hey, aren't you the new girl who has moved in recently?" Evan asks her while keeping up with her movements. She hums in response. His energetic vibe is contagious.

       The duo later starts talking to each other occasionally in the classes. Orange flames, fluorescent, burst in the vast sky. The fresh, mellow scents were about to change if they knew what was coming for them.

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