Negative -Girls: To Live And Die - Chapter 15

We begin to read question number one, finally.

I think I’ve seen this question somewhere around my past life when I’m still in middle school. The subject was John. But now It is: Bob’s hand touches a heated kettle, and instantly pulls his hand away. State what process is this and how does it happen?

“Bob seems to be a careless person,” I comment.

“Agree, and old fashioned too,” Shizuka says, “who uses kettle nowadays?”

A bit too distracted there but, “all right, now we’ll what you answer.”

She doesn’t show a bit of her embarrassing side, her foxy smile is enough to façade every feeling she could have. She’s like that woman sitting on a poker table with smoke and a red dress.

But her answer is like a girl saying her period is shitting blood and blames the vegetables. Her answer to this science question is: The process is the work-from-our-little-helper. Do you know we have our little helper, invisible to our naked eyes? That little friend of ours helps anything, like John who had accidentally touched a hot kettle, which could lead to burning his skin. Our little helper almost immediately pull his hand away, getting no appreciation, but as long his human remains alive, it could live in another day.

I pull the paper down, peeking at the girl so confident in her answer, so confident in her imagination to be a reality. “Right first–”

“Am right, aren’t I?”

“No. Your first mistake is how you answer. It did not ask you to answer as if an essay. Just state like, what’s the first number, one.”

Shizuka appears to give a thought.

“You’re right, I think the part ‘invisible to our naked eyes’ is very unnecessary.”

I shake my head, “not what I meant. But anyway, second mistake. Let’s talk about the process. I don’t think anyone even you thought of the word: the-work-from-our-little-helper is a biology term. It’s just ridiculously long.”

“Why not?” Shizuka says, “biology likes to complicate thing, so complicating the word I did.”

I shrug, “you can have your own opinion I guess.”

I continue, putting the paper on the table and rotate it upside down for me. Shizuka reads back her answer from the distance.

“Third mistake, even if this little helper exists, how can it reacts so fast and pulls Bob’s hand instantly? I don’t think it’s just possible.”

“Why not, our little friend is not ‘human.’ It’s…” she thinks of a word and comes with, “it’s our little friend. It is a thousand times better than us.”

“But he can’t be seen.”

Shizuka pouts, having enough of me teasing her. “So it’s all wrong then?”

If I said, yes–then I should provide her with a real answer. But if I say, no this is right–then I wouldn’t have to deal with it anymore now but later is a different story. If her answer is found wrong then I’d too be found wrong.

“It’s all wrong.”

So I decided. Who the hell doesn’t know what’s the answer is, here.”

“Then tell me the real answer.”

Except for Shizuka.

“Of course, the process is called reflexes–an involuntary action.” My sciencey tone and look almost convinces the nail’s biting Shizuka. I continue…but what? The question asks how and one reason I hate biology is that kind of question. No one asks how babies are made nowadays or why we have sex. If you do, the hell.

“Sunbae?”

Shizuka has long stopped biting her cute finger’s blade, a long time ago when my voice stretches into the black hole of shit I fucked up. But I can’t pull away now. Always pushes in is what man should do in biology. Heh.

“The how is simpler than you think,” I say.

“Do tell this little clueless girl of yours.” She seems eager to hear my answer; eager to hear I’m wrong; eager to have me under her feet. Under your feet is later, not now. Later.

“Everyone is a coward,” I begin confidently, “so when we touch something that could harm us in any way or any level, our body reacts without thinking, dodging, and withdrawing away. Pain is not cool.”

That’s my answer folk.

Of course, she doesn’t know the real answer herself, so her brain could wonder if this is real or not. “Isn’t that psychology?”

She’s right but, “anything psychological is biological.”

“Why am I believing every word of your?”

I shrug, “Maybe it is true, I said so. I’m the tutor anyway.”

“Right…let’s go with your answer then…” she pout.

From her skirt pocket, she takes out a red pen. With the sound of scribbling, The red ink starting to correct her paper.

Then she put down the red pen and hold back her blue. She starts writing again. Below her evening-soaked lips, “I will answer the second question, too.”

“For real.” I sigh, she’s hoping for more answers from me so she can find flaws to use. Using it to blackmail me probably.

She stops writing and flips the crying paper to me.

The question is: A doctor gently knocks John’s knee with a hammer. Without consent, Bob’s leg pulled up after two knocks. Why?

And again, our Shizuka answers it with: To get revenge.

“What do you mean?”

Shizuka reply, “because the doctor knock his knee with a hammer two times. If I am Bob I also would kick the shit out the doctor’s chin.”

“I’m not Sohee but keep your language well.”

“Fuck me, Sunbae.”

Oh, I wish I can.

“Your answer is wrong.”

Her eyebrows shouting, “why? I think that should be the answer.”

“As I said, you can have your own opinion about anything. But that doesn’t mean the million people have the same as you.”

Shizuka defuses her lung and leans back on the couch so relaxingly. “So, what’s the real answer.”

“The answer is also simpler.”

“You say as if deciding to kick someone is simple.”

I point at the first question, “Bob here and, “I point on the second, “here is the same subject. And biology is logical. So logically, we know that Bob is a careless person. He is for one tends to stomp or hit her leg on something. The knock two times from the doctor is just examining Bob’s leg function. The real reason why the body raised his leg is to show the doctor where it felt pain.”

As if not accepting, Shizuka leans forward. Her lips sucking in frustration, “you said it was simpler than mine!”

“If we’re having a debate why people do revenge and why people think logically, mine would be shorter in words.”

“…”

“…”

Shizuka tilts her head, “you’re serious? These are the answer.” She takes the paper and reads it again.

“Maybe.”

Just before she could retort the door is knocked. Who could be on the other side at this time, the school is about to end in an hour so it would not be any of the negative girls. It’s also couldn’t be Sohee for she said she couldn’t attend today, but maybe something changed and she could.

“The door is unlocked,” I say and find a little odd about my chosen line. I start again, “you are safe to enter.”

Shizuka eyes me, “what kind of weird line are you picking.”

“The safest one.”

The door pulls open and a young woman in teacher attire you can probably find in AV videos appears, holding a clipped of papers. She smiles, not at me.

Shizuka returns her smile and says, “Sensei…Sensei,” a light bulb pops out over her head. The grin returns. She looks at me and then the ‘Sensei’, “Sensei, what do you call yourself the teacher of again?”

Just coming in here, now struck with a sudden question. The Sensei looks at us and the room, maybe finding a clue to solve why and what’s going on here? She decides to answer, her voice is as fragile as a drop on a leaf.

“I–I am a Biology teacher.”

Now I know, why Shizuka is smirking.

This is not good, this is not good at all, is an old line. The best line here is, holy shit I must think of a new lie now.

Before I can grab the question paper on the table, Shizuka makes a quicker one, gets up, and runs to Sensei.

I can only sigh and join with them, too.

She steps back from us and shifting her eyes from Shizuka to me repeatedly like she’s a pop artist and the fans are asking about her dildo color or whatever.

Her yellow eyes on me, “a-are you the Sunbae?”

“The’ Sunbae? She must have thought it’s a weird name, it is not but a pronoun. I don’t have a name, not yet. But anyway, she must be associate with Sohee, the girl who starts this ‘Sunbae’ calling.

I nod and she almost immediately pushes the clipped papers to me, “Sohee asked me to give you this.” I take it, not questioning why the teacher should be the one who deals with delivery now.

And Shizuka begins, “Sensei, Sensei,” she holds away from the questions paper, “here I have biology questions answered. I need your expertise to tell me what’s wrong in here.”

Her forehead slurps the rolling sweat, feeling warmer from getting an explanation. “Oh, so I’m about that but,” she glances, “but you already have the ‘tutor’ here.”

Shizuka waves her hand, looking at me funnily. “Two better than one, right, Sunbae?”

Goddamn, this sadist.

I shrug, “guess so.”

“You heard him,” Shizuka says.

“Al–All right.” She takes the paper and angles it in front of her eyes.

She reads.

She chuckles.

“What kind of answer is this?” Her eyes return to my student, “I told you, Biology is easy if you spend a little time reading the subject.”

Shizuka smiles, “is the red ink’s answer is wrong?”

Sensei reads again and chuckles. She mumbles, “this is too thoughtful.” Then she says, “yes, it is. Where do you even think of answering this kind of way?”

O-oh.

Shizuka beams at me, “my tutor!”

Awkwardly, her face meets mine. We should be ‘teachers’, teaching the right thing. But in her eyes, if this is the way I give my student the answer seriously, in my early days too, then we can’t be the same.

“Is that true?”

But I’m good with lying.

“Yes.”

Lies buries the truth.

‘Why?” she asks in suspicion.

“Because it’s a funny answer.” It is.

She doesn’t seem to understand, “ar–are you serious? Just because it’s funny?”

“Isn’t that,” I begin to explain calmly, “another way to break the ice?”

“Break the ice?”

“Break the ice?” Shizuka chimes.

I don’t say anything for a while, giving them enough time to come up with a theory.

But my lie reaches Sensei. She makes an ‘ooohh’ mouth while nodding her head. For she could be an experienced teacher, the word ‘break the ice with your student’ is green to her eyes.

Sensei chuckles for the last, give Shizuka the paper back and pat her shoulder. “Be nice to your new tutor, Shizuka.”

The teacher left.

Blankly, Shizuka stands on the floor, with white paper in her hand, still breathing and alive, still thinking what’s so obvious that made Sensei left us alone.

I sit and check the new papers.

Shizuka twirls and storms to me, “what’s breaking the ice.”

“Don’t complicate things, Shizuka.”

“But, but…” she bits her nail, “but Sensei saw your answer and says it’s wrong. Even after all that, you just saying ‘break the ice’ had won her over.”

Why.

“Because she knows even if I answered wrongly I have the real answer.”

“Real answer? Then tell me the real answer?”

I smile, “gladly, now listen carefully.” I take out the paper and read, “In biology, a reflex is a relatively simple segment of behavior that takes place as an immediate and direct response to a stimulus that is uniquely related to it.”

“What?”

“Most reflexes don’t have to travel up to your brain to be processed, which is why they take place so quickly. A reflex action often involves a very simple nervous pathway called a reflex arc.

I continue reading, ” an arc of reflexes begins when receptors are stimulated. Sensory neurons then transmit signals to your spinal cord, where they are passed on to a motor neuron. The result is stimulation of one of your muscles or glands,” I finish it with, “or somewhat close to that, is the answer.”

Her jaws drop as she eyeing the paper, “y–you have that this all time?”

Maybe she didn’t see or care about her Sensei gesture giving me this. What a self-centered girl.

We begin doing five more questions, Shizuka thinks, answers, and gets wrong. I just read what’s there.. Thank you, Sohee, you’re the best.