As Hashim entered the Botany classroom, almost late again, he found everyone sitting on the floor.
The Botany classroom wasn't actually in one of the twelve main buildings, it was a greenhouse located a few minutes west of Building Five. The walls of the room were glass, as would be expected for a greenhouse, but there were more than just plants outside. Hashim had had to walk about a minute into a forest to get here. It was lucky that Xavier had remembered the directions.
Ah, he finally did something. Xavier broacasted sarcastically before Toon could say anything along those lines.
You've done plenty of things, Toon began, and Xavier broadcasted annoyance as he finished the sentiment with; But this is the first useful one.
Though to be fair, it was true. At least, it was the first thing that didn't involve some sort of...
Hashim cut the thought off as he walked into the room.
Of course Xavier would remember the route to the class that involved the most female students. How did he even know which class that was?
He stifled a sigh, then moved to sit down.
"Hashim, how nice of you to join us," the teacher said dryly. Hashim looked up at her.
Yes, her. And he had heard of her, from Xavier's thoughts. She was undoubtedly Miss Rose. Long, black hair, pink, almost-glowing skin, red eyes and lips. He had no doubt about it. Xavier laughed inside his head, and Hashim resisted the urge to bite his tongue and shake his head. People were looking at him. The teacher, and the whole class.
A rippling prickling started up Hashim's arms, each wave driving the pain deeper like a roller pin over shards of metal.
He didn't say anything. She arched an eyebrow.
Hashim implored Jake for help, but Xavier's suggestions drowned Jake out. Hashim was alone in this.
Unless...
Unless he did what Xavier said.
Obviously that wasn't an option. Yet it was the only option.
Hashim didn't know what to do. Miss Rose didn't seem to be affected by his ability. He deactivated his ability and then reactivated it again, just to make sure, and Hashim could have almost sworn that she narrowed her eyes at him, but it was gone in the blink of an eye.
Had he imagined it? Probably. He didn't have Toon's eyesight, so it was possible his eyes had just twitched.
He could hardly even tell what was going on. He could feel the heat flush creeping up his arms. If he hadn't folded them behind himself soon after entering the classroom, then he would have been able to see the sweat that was forming on his skin, dripping from his pores and slowly creeping down his arms.
The moment seemed to last for forever. But then it was over. Miss Rose didn't even get up. She simply closed her eyes and resumed her position. She breathed deep and softly, and the rest of the class followed suit. They were all sitting cross-legged on pads scattered across the floor, with the students facing Miss Rose.
Hashim found his own, isolated enough to be separate from the others, but not enough to be noticeable. At least, not to most people. So he sat down there and crossed his legs. When he closed his eyes, Hashim was assaulted by images that flashed behind his eyelids.
They were red and black, and some depicted shields or spears, others swords or bows, and some were faces, or masks, he couldn't tell. Was this part of Miss Rose's ability? Xavier didn't answer, but Toon guessed that it was, due to the strange signature.
Unless it was a plant. Hashim tried to recall what Skye had said about plants.
What was the word? Spores?
That was mostly mushrooms, though, which technically weren't a plant. It depended on how specific this class was. What exactly was Miss Rose's definition of 'Botany'? What did the class cover?
Toon formed a thought, probably some form of dismissal of her intelligence, but before he could broadcast it Corpse thought,
Deis Requiem, the Soul Flower. Known for its sedative abilities and the strength of its scent, along with the visions it can cause. It was used by many to form primitive concoctions that they advertised as love potions, as well as being the source of some early civilizations' "divine wisdom".
Hashim didn't know how Corpse knew that, but if Corpse was saying something that didn't involve an insult, then it was probably true.
So he turned off his ability.
When Hashim's ability wasn't active, his entire system would sort of clog up, moving more slowly, as thought plugged by something. That would include slowing whatever this toxin did to a crawl, if not stopping it completely. That often could give his body time to dissolve poisons before they spread around his body and infected him, or just time for him to get out of wherever it was that the toxins came from and purge his system with clean air or water.
So Hashim breathed, slowly. He had to make an effort to breathe at a fraction of the normal pace, otherwise his body wouldn't be able to process the oxygen out of the air that he breathed in. It was strange. In this state, Hashim could easily lose all of his energy by moving just a bit too quickly, because it didn't regenerate as quickly.
He had learned early on that he had to know how to keep his ability on constantly. That, or slow down his breathing, eating, and movements. So, of course, Toon had learned both, and then Hashim had learned them from Toon. But it was just too inconvenient to be moving around at such a slow speed all the time, so he almost always opted instead to keep his ability active. Despite the benefits it provided to keep it off, there was too much of a drawback.
Now, unfortunately, he had no choice, and so was completely exposed to the gazes and attention of others. There was no way that this didn't go poorly. Hashim had already been noticed, and when his ability was active, no less. This class was not looking like it would be easy.
So Hashim sat still, breathing slowly and deeply. It was likely a demonstration of how plants could be useful. Most people here wouldn't really care about botany, not at first. Before it had been opened to boys, the University had much more lax registration requirements, and since they didn't kick anyone out, some of the seniors were less than exceptional.
Many of the girls in this classroom were likely just wasting time with friends, getting a credit, or here for Miss Rose. She was a very popular teacher, according to Xavier. It was interesting. What if this class had turned out to actually be nice? Hashim had expected it to be relaxing, but with Miss Rose teaching it, Xavier would be bothering him every few sentences.
Hashim liked plants. Similarly to animals, they didn't have complicated emotions. In fact, they were even more simple than animals, and generally required less work. Hashim had had a plant when he was a bit younger that he brought with him from foster family to foster family.
That is, he had had it until one of his foster parents had smashed the pot on the ground and ripped up the plant with his heel. That was the last time Corpse came out. That was the point where Hashim had decided that they needed more order in their mind. After all, more lives on their head, even if they weren't innocent, would almost certainly cause legal problems.
Hashim focused back on his breathing, slowing it again to a crawl.
One minute in. One minute pause. One minute out. One minute pause.
It really was nice to have time to just relax like this.
Jake wondered off-handedly if they could pass a class early if Toon got a good enough score on the final test before the semester ended. It would be nice for Hashim, and for all of them, to have more time to relax. This class especially made him realize that.
Then he froze, shocked. Why was he in control? Hashim had...
They fell unconscious.