forum Bored and desperately need distractions from life

Started Oct 03 by @StarkSpangledMayflower_Mad_Elder

tune

Yeah a classroom would work and omg which C-Drama?

(Unforgettable Love, I saw clips of it and loved the story! Plus, I had been wanting a new C/K-Drama to watch)

Studying for exams during a warm afternoon was a common thing for students at the university to be doing. Especially when mid-terms were in a few weeks and many of the tourist attraction had shut down for the fall. Eleanor, as usual, was one such student. Currently she was pulling on her jacket, eager to leave her apartment early to make it to her favourite spot on campus. She had a class later in the day but according to the email open on her phone, it would be more of a self-study research project for their final paper. Eleanor picked up her charger and tossed it in her bag with her laptop, notebooks, field-notes book, and her pencil case. Her phone buzzed and she glanced down to see a message from her friend telling her she was leaving.

Nell took a sip of her coffee and finished the sketch in her notebook. The plant was looking decent and she had labelled it to the best of her ability. There wasn't much time or she would have added more details but it wasn't as if it was that important. As she packed up her things and left, she waved good bye to her friend then took the elevator to the floor her class was in. She took her seat and pulled out her laptop, playing a game as she waited for her professor to come in and explain exactly what it was they would be doing.

(Omg! I wanted to get into that one. I saw it on my Viki app but never had the chance to actually sit and watch)

No matter how many times Ezekiel tried, he couldn't quite get the exact probability value he was aiming for. Lysing strawberry cells turned out to be much more challenging than he'd anticipated, though he was careful not to let that show. To everyone else, he probably seemed like someone meticulously cautious with his lab work, but in truth, he often struggled with these tasks—something he wouldn't readily admit, especially as the salutatorian. To everyone around him, he had to appear flawless.

Thankfully, he’d managed to figure something out just before it was time to head to his next class. Ezekiel rarely spoke to anyone besides his professor, and he'd often wondered if she was getting tired of him constantly pestering her about assignments, tests, and every other scientific question that kept her from clocking out on time. Today, though, he hadn’t held her up for long.

His next class was one he’d once been excited for, but now it had become another major source of stress. He wasn’t sure what to focus on for his final paper. A self-study seemed straightforward, but there were only so many ways he could impress his professor—enough to at least stay one step ahead of her.

Ezekiel strolled into the classroom, catching a quick glimpse of the woman’s computer screen and scoffing when he saw the game she was playing.

“Is that really what you do all day?” he asked, smiling, though the warmth didn’t quite reach his eyes. "So that's what you do to keep yourself 'sharp' during school hours. I guess some of us don't need to try as hard."

(Honestly, you should! I started it yesterday and I'm a third of the way through!)

Focus was a big thing. If she even lost focus for a second, it all could come to an end. She needed to win, had to be first. Not only to prove her dad wrong but to also have the satisfaction of coming out on top of something as highly challenging and fast-paced as this. Fingers flying across her computer as she pressed on a combination of keys. Nell heard a voice behind her but she chose to delay a response.

With one final click, victory music sounded from the speakers and Nell relaxed in her seat. Immediately she received a bombardment of texts from her dad, ranging from faux anger to sadness. Responding would only add fuel to the flame so she chose to ignore him for now, a grin on her face at finally, finally, defeating her father's months-long winning streak.

Nell turned in her chair, simultaneously pressing the mute key, to look at Ezekiel. "Awe Zeze, are you upset that even after walking around as though you suffer from Baculum Rectal Uppititis, your efforts are only a drop in the bucket compared to the results of my lounge-like attitude?" She gave him a catty smile and turned to log out of the game. Quickly opening up a new page in her note-taking app, she turned back around to give him a once-over.

Though Ezekiel tried his best to look his best ahead of others, Nell's attention to detail picked up on signs of frustration. She pursed her lips and then sighed. "Of course, I play games during school hours. Even high school psychology teaches students the importance of taking breaks. How can I learn new things when I force my brain to constantly remember everything I've ever learnt?"

The classroom had begun to get more full and Nell checked the time. Sitting near the right-side window at the front of the class not only meant she got access to one of the few outlets in the class, but it also meant she was right by the clock. Right as her eyes landed on it, it chimed, alerting the students that their professor would be arriving shortly.

Ezekiel’s jaw clenched at the sound of her voice—sweet and condescending, like nails on a chalkboard. "Zeze." No one else called him that, and she knew how much it grated on him. As Nell spun her smug little speech, he could feel the familiar tension creeping up his spine. Baculum Rectal Uppititis? Clever. He had to give her that, though the humor only deepened his irritation.

Her comment about taking breaks? Please. She could mask laziness under the guise of "psychological wisdom" all she wanted, but Ezekiel knew she was coasting on charm and a disturbingly high tolerance for mediocrity. But what frustrated him even more was that she wasn't mediocre. Otherwise there'd be no reason for him to worry so much about her stealing his ranking.

"Well, I guess we all have our coping mechanisms," Ezekiel muttered, his voice dripping with thinly veiled contempt as he reached for his phone, scrolling through his notifications just to keep his hands busy. He plugged it into the outlet near her seat, the same outlet she always claimed first out of spite. "Though some of us prefer to get our results through actual work rather than half-baked distractions."

He didn't bother waiting for her to respond, casually pulling out his iPad and stylus, flipping open to his notes on the research project.

Ezekiel glanced at the clock as it chimed, announcing the start of class. The professor strode in with a brisk pace, setting his papers down on the desk. He adjusted his glasses, looking over the room as the last few students settled into their seats.

"Alright, let's get started. Last week, we wrapped up our unit on ecological succession, so I trust you’ve all got a solid understanding of how environments evolve after disturbances—whether it’s a wildfire, volcanic eruption, or even human activity," the professor began, his voice calm but commanding. "I want you all to be thinking critically about how these processes affect biodiversity. Especially in terms of species adaptations and their resilience or vulnerability to…"

It was supposed to be a real-world analysis, some grand project that tested their ability to apply everything they’d learned in the past year to an original concept. Ezekiel had been playing around with ideas, something fieldwork-based, and he’d overheard the professor mention that the best projects weren’t just confined to the classroom—they were immersive, naturalistic studies.

And that’s where he had his angle.

He jotted down his rough idea: Analyzing Plant Adaptations in a Post-Industrial Environment. It would involve trips to nearby woods and abandoned areas—places where nature was reclaiming the land after years of human interference. It wasn’t just an opportunity to study plant biology, but also a way to measure biodiversity in rapidly shifting ecosystems. Something hands-on, immersive… a real project that demanded attention and effort. That, he could do.

Nell rolled her eyes at his behaviour and sat up straight at their professor's arrival. As the man spoke, she flipped through the pages in her notebook to look for topics that she had wanted to study further. The only thing that stuck out for her was the evolutionary aspects of plant adaptations. This was a fairly generic topic however she knew that if she focused on adding specifics about the relationship between plant toxins and animals in an ecosystem, it may just set her apart.

Focusing on this topic meant that Nell would need to spend a lot of time in the woods, set up her grandpa's hunting cameras, and do some lab work. Nell quickly jotted down her topic on a new page, Evolutionary Genetics of Plant Adaptation: Toxins and Their Relationships Within the Ecosystem. Underneath it, she began creating a list of things she would need to do. She set her rough notes to the side and pulled out her textbook and sticky tabs.

Using the index and the appendix proved to be more useful than simply staring at the table of contents to quickly mark pages to come back to. Nell marked the topics and pages she needed, then opened a new page on her laptop to jot down rough ideas. She didn't have any other classes today so she was planning on heading to the nearby woods to collect some samples and set up her cameras. Nell did have tutoring later tonight so she knew she could only spend a maximum of 3 hours out there until she had to go home to prepare for her student to come.

The professor's voice droned on, diving deep into the specifics of plant adaptations and ecological shifts, but Ezekiel was already tuning out. The endless talk of succession models and biodiversity metrics barely registered in his mind. He fought hard to suppress a yawn, his eyes flicking to his iPad as he absentmindedly tapped his stylus on the screen.

He wasn’t here to listen to another lecture that he could practically recite himself. No, his focus was elsewhere—on how he’d approach his final project. He’d need to hit the ground running, get out into those woods, and begin his fieldwork. But a nagging thought kept surfacing, one that he hated to entertain: what would she be doing?

Eleanor. For all the animosity he harbored toward her, he couldn't deny that she always seemed to come up with something clever. Whatever her study was, it would likely compete with his. It always did. Ezekiel clenched his jaw, the idea of coming second gnawing at him.

He'd worked tirelessly to secure his academic ranking. All those sleepless nights, the migraines from overthinking every single assignment—worth it. He’d sacrificed friendships, sleep, and any semblance of a social life just to be where he was. It was the only place he felt like he mattered, especially since his mother never gave him the praise he craved for his academic achievements. But the school did.

He wasn’t about to lose that validation. Not to her. Not to anyone. Even if it meant pushing himself further into exhaustion. Even if it meant venturing into the woods for hours every day, until his phone inevitably buzzed with the barrage of texts from his mother, demanding he return home. But he'd deal with that when the time came.

For now, the sooner he could get off campus and start working, the better.

The professor’s voice broke through his thoughts. “Alright, that’s it for today. Remember, this project is a significant portion of your grade, so don’t leave it until the last minute. I expect detailed proposals by the end of tomorrow.” Though he wouldn't wait until then to get started on this whole project.

Ezekiel watched as students began packing their things. Bags zipped, chairs scraped against the floor, and the low hum of conversation filled the room. He wasn’t in any rush, but he still slid his iPad into his bag and unplugged his phone from the outlet near the wall. Just as he was about to make his way out, his gaze caught Nell's.

He couldn’t resist. His lips curled into a knowing smirk as he leaned just close enough for her to hear, voice smooth but laced with venom as he glanced at her notes. “I suppose it doesn’t really matter what you do. It’s impressive how you manage to stay so confident with that runner-up mentality. Maybe one day you’ll actually catch up.”

As snarky as he was being right now, there was a bit of truth and fear to what he was saying. “But hey, someone’s got to make me look better.”