The two just stood there for a few moments of silence... Enjoying the moment... until the electronic school bell went off.
*BEEEEEEEEEEEP*
That snapped Jamal and Gen out of their stupor.
"Shit. We’re late for class!"
Being late for class was a first for both of them.
As they hurried out the restroom, Gen thought of something. They don't always share the same class. This could lead to problems later if they need each other at any point. "Jamal, let's trade contact information."
"Huh!?" Jamal was taken aback from the sudden request to trade phone numbers.
"We're going to need each other to get ourselves out of a Jam right? Let's trade phone numbers and E-mail addresses before we go to our next class."
Finally understanding what Gen was saying, Jamal and Gen stopped for a moment so they can trade their contact information. Soon, the two were out of the boy's restroom and into the hallway.
...
Because class has already started, there weren’t many people wandering the halls. The few people who did pass by, did a double take when they saw that Gen was holding Jamal’s arm. Are they a couple now? It’s not too shocking. They are surprisingly compatible. The two teens rarely get bullied and they had a chance to build up their social status. After all, nothing can be as world shattering as finding out that the school’s biggest loser was secretly dating the school’s greatest cheerleader. No. If anything, the revelation that Gen and Jamal might be a couple is just a pleasant surprise. The rumor reel is still going to have fun with this though.
As the two walked down the hallway, Gen attempted to break the unsteady silence. "Uh, you had a crush on me since middle school?"
Jamal's tanned skin blushed a little. It's true that he and Gen hasn't talked much until today, but when they did, it was just small talk. Even so, Jamal has always admired her. And now that he has her memories, he was a little surprised by how similar she was to him. Just like Jamal, Gen is more or less a nerd who uses her social skills and looks to disguise that fact. She doesn't look like it, but she is one of the very few girls Jamal knows who likes video games and anime just as much as he does. Jamal is pleasantly surprised that she shares some of the same interests as him.
"Uh, yeah. Yes I do." Jamal replied nervously.
"You DO, huh?" Gen giggled at Jamal's unintentional reference to weddings.
Jamal blushed even more. "Y-you know what I mean!"
Gen gave a playful smile. "Yeah, “I do”."
Jamal actually chucked at that joke. He looked at Gen and saw how she was holding his arm. He just realized how much he succeeded in impressing Gen with his powers. If fact, he never expected to be her friend. But he wasn't proud about how he got that friendship. The circumstance for their friendship is kinda forced... but at least he finally has someone to talk to. Especially now that she knows as much about him as he does her. But having the memories of someone else is different from actually KNOWING them. It's like knowing all of Gen's actions up to this point but not knowing her intentions, feeling or thoughts behind those actions. Jamal has the sinking suspicion that Gen feels the same way about having his memories. Either way, he hopes that having all of Gen’s memories is the stepping stone he needs to get to know Gen better.
"Uh, Jamal. You think I should keep holding on to your arm like this? What if I fuse with you again?" Gen doesn't seem so keen on that. She likes her identity the way it is, thank you.
Jamal groaned internally. He knew she would eventually ask that. Yet, he liked the feeling of her holding his arm... But alas, there is no point in beating around the bush. "To be honest... I don't know. As far as I know, the fusion powers are unpredictable. Sometimes they work by touching one thing with one hand and touching another thing with the other hand and pushing them together. Other times, it's as simple as brushing your hand against something. I think as long as you’re pushing or pulling while touching something, the power will work. So as much as like you holding my arm, there is a chance of you fusing with me again.”
Gen nodded in understanding. She then let go. Jamal felt a little sad when she released his arm, but he knew this was for the best.
There was silence until they reached their next class.
...
When they reached the doors to the P.E. gym, Gen spoke up.
“Wait a minute! You have the same P.E. period as me?!”
Jamal looked a little hurt. “I see you at PE. all the time! What? You never noticed me or something?”
Gen was a little guilty to admit it. “Yeah. I’ve been so distracted by my friends, that I don’t really notice the boy’s class.”
Jamal nodded to this. It's true that the boy’s class and girl’s class are separated most of the time, but if Jamal can notice that Gen is in the same class period, then he can’t understand why Gen didn’t. Is that what’s it like to have real friends? To be wrapped up in a friendship bubble and to be totally unaware of the world around you? Despite having a good social standing, Jamal never had any real friends. Real friends would share secrets and go out of the way to watch each other’s back. The closest Jamal has as friends are casual gossip buddies who have goofy conversations at school but nothing else. None of the friends Jamal had ever helped Jamal out. They haven't even visited his house yet. Jamal hasn't had a proper hang out with friends yet. All his life, he had to pull his own weight. He only relied on himself. He hopes that Gen can be his first true friend. If only he had the courage to ask her to be his true friend out load...
Jamal simply responded with, "Once we go in there, we’re probably going to be separated.”
Gen is scared of her new powers, yet she somehow knew that Jamal has her back if she gets in trouble. “Yeah, let's hang out again some other time.”
Did she just say hang out?...
“Yeah.”
Jamal pushed open the door.
…
Even though they shared almost all of their classes, the two hasn't really talked to each other much until today. P.E is one of the class periods that they share.
Upon entering the P.E Gym, Gen and Jamal were greeted to the sight of the guys doing warm-up exercises in the Gym. It looks like the duo are only a few minutes late. The way P.E. works in their school is that it's split into three separate classes. Athletes participating in sports get to go to weights class were they can work out their muscles. Everyone else is split into a boy's class and a girl's class. Both classes just do regular P.E exercises.
As a result, there are three coaches working together to operate the place. Interesting enough, the three coaches are all part of a family. Mr. Hamsurily senior teaches the Weights Class while his two kids, Mr. Hamsurily Jr. and Ms. Hamsurily teach the regular P.E classes. Their family name might be a little weird, but all three of them are really good coaches.
Ironically enough, Mr. Hamsurily Jr. is teaching the Girls Class while Ms. Hamsurily is teaching the Boys Class. Not that it matters though. The boys like the female P.E coach while the girls like the male P.E coach. It helps that both P.E coaches are around their twenties. Making them look like older high school students.
The two coaches tried switching classes once, but it didn’t work out two well.
There is only one P.E gym and one weights room. The weights class gets their own room but the boys and girls class has to rotate use of the PE gym. It seems that the boys class is working out in gym.
Coach Hamsurily Jr, the girl’s P.E coach just happened to be near by the gym doors when he casually noticed Jamal and Gen sneaking into the gym. "Hey you two." Coach Hamsurily Jr. paused as he thought of something. "It's kinda odd that you two would be late for PE." Both teens grimaced at that. They don't like to admit it but they’re both part of the top 10 ranking students in school. That also means that they NEVER got a tardy before. And it looks like this will be their first. But before they could mope about breaking their attendance record, Coach Hamsurily Jr. winked at them.
“Hey, I know how much attendance matters to you two. Tell you what. I'll pretend you came here on time and you don't have to worry about a tardy on your record. But in return, you guys gotta do a favor for me and my sis. Got it?”
The two teens nodded.
"Good." He looked toward Gen "Hey Gen. The girls class is playing dodge-ball outside today. But we're a little low on dodge balls. Can you grab a few from the storage room?" Gen nodded an affirmative. He then looked at Jamal. "I'm sure my sis has something to do for you. Just explain the situation to her and she should think of something." He then addressed both teens. "But before you do anything, you should change out to your gym clothes. Wouldn't want to lose participation points, right?"
Gen and Jamal looked at each other. Jamal was the first to speak. "Welp, It looks like we're going to be parting ways for awhile. Think you can take care of yourself without getting stuck with anything?"
Gen gave Jamal a playful grin. "Don't worry mister 'I fused my sister to a chair', I won't get fused with a door again."
That 'mister I fused my sister to a chair' joke kind of hurt Jamal's feelings but he shrugged it off.
Jamal and Gen shook hands before parting ways and going to their respective locker rooms. The Boy's Locker room for Jamal and the Girl's Locker room for Gen.