Chapter 2. Fix it Up!

The following morning after preparing for the day; Max stood before the mirror, feeling disgusted at himself with newly acquired black eyes that looked so demonic—he opened one of his shelves and brought out a sunglass.

“This will do,” he said as he put it on and headed to his garage.

*****

"Hey man, you're cutting it close," Philip exclaimed upon seeing Max rushing in. "The exam is about to start." Max was wearing sunglasses, which caught Philip's attention.

"What's up with the shades?" he asked curiously. Max put on a fake smile and replied,

"Oh, I'm just trying out some new styles." As Prof Wong entered the classroom with exam papers in hand, he called out,

"Alright everyone, settle down." He addressed the students, "This particular exam will last for an hour. Do your best to answer all the questions. Any questions before we begin?"

The students replied in unison, "No sir."

"Good! Let’s begin," said Prof Wong as he started distributing the exam papers. As Max approached Prof Wong to collect his exam papers, the professor noticed the sunglasses he was wearing.

"Why are you wearing sunglasses?" Prof Wong asked curiously.

"The lights are disturbing my eyes," Max replied.

Prof Wong frowned and replied firmly, "You have to remove those sunglasses if you want to take part in this exam."

"But sir, the sunglasses..." Max started to protest.

Prof Wong cut him off sharply, "You have to get rid of them now, or there won't be an exam for you." Seeing that Max was not eager to remove the sunglasses, Prof Wong pulled out the sunglasses by himself as Max quickly closed his eyes.

“Here is your paper,” Prof Wong said as he dropped Max’s paper on his desk. Max however placed his head on his desk trying not to expose his deep black hue eyes.

Philip whispered to him, “Dude, are you sure you are okay?”

“I am fine,” Max replied without hesitation as he pulled out his phone and used it as a mirror while his head was still placed on his desk.

“It’s gone.” His cheeks flushed with excitement, realizing the deep black hue eyes were gone.

“What did you say, dude?” Philip asked. He needed to be sure he was talking to him.

“Nothing dude, I am just talking to myself,” Max replied with a soft smile.

*****

As they left the exam hall, Max and Philip made their way to the school gate, but Jasmine spotted Max from the entrance and waited patiently for him.

"Where are you off to?" Philip asked Max.

"I'm heading home to take a nap," Max replied, glancing at Philip. “I am glad today’s exam is gone,” he added, poking Philip’s shoulder. Grabbing Philip towards him, he continued, “Best pal forever.”

They both laughed and continued on their way but were suddenly interrupted.

“I can see you are enjoying yourself all by yourself,” said Jasmine as she approached Max.

“Nice to see you again!” Max gaped at her in surprise. He quickly puts the sunglasses back on.

"Who is she?" Philip asked, his curiosity piqued. He had never seen Max with such a beautiful woman before on campus.

“Can you give us a minute buddy; I will catch up with you.” Max moves away from Philip as Jasmine follows him without hesitation. Philip's eyes widened with curiosity as he looked over at Max and the stunning woman by his side.

He couldn't help but wonder who she was and how Max had come to know her. As he watched them walk across campus, he noticed the way she laughed at Max's jokes and the way Max looked at her with admiration. It was clear that there was a strong connection between the two of them, but Philip couldn't help but feel envious of the chemistry they shared.

“Don’t you announce you're coming when you walk in on people?”

“That’s my kind of thing,” Jasmine said, glaring at Max. Max frowned as he looked at Jasmine.

"When I woke up, you were gone!" he said, his voice tinged with disappointment. Jasmine's response was nonchalant.

"I'm not good at saying goodbyes," she said with a shrug.

Max's confusion was evident as he asked, "So why are you here now? To say goodbye?" Jasmine laughed and shook her head.

"Nah! I must have dropped something and I'm here to find it," she said. As Max adjusted his sunglasses, Jasmine couldn't help but ask, "And what type of man puts on sunglasses without the sun in the sky?"

Max's response was quick and confident. "The type that wants to be cool," he said with a fake smile, hoping to impress her. “You said you dropped something?”

“Yes,” Jasmine replied. Her face turned mean and serious for a moment, wondering if Max knew she left something and kept quiet.

“Perhaps I could help you look for it if you tell me what it is.”

“A black crystal,” she replied with haste, rolling her eyes.

“Whoa!” Max exclaimed. “What’s that for?” .

“That object is of great importance to me,” Jasmine replied. “If I don’t find it, I will…”

“Then we better start looking around my house,” Max interrupted, offering to help out. Even though he has no idea what the black crystal is for, he’s eager to help her.

As Max noticed Jasmine staring at him with a peculiar expression, he couldn't help but inquire, "Why are you staring at me like that?" He decided to shake it off when Jasmine ignored to answer. "Maybe we should go back to my house and check for it," Max suggested.

“Nah, it’s not there,” she disputed as she continued to stare at him weirdly.

"Why not? That's where you first walked in, not here on campus," he said with certainty. He continued to offer his help.

"What if it fell into the mud that trapped you?" Jasmine finally speaks up. "I've been there all day looking for it. It's not there!" She sniffed into the air and continued in a refined voice.

“I can perceive the smell of the black crystal from you!” She continued to sniff, drawing close to Max.

“I can’t smell anything neither have I come across any black crystal!” Max said in his defense. Nevertheless, Jasmine continued to sniff, leaving him with no choice but to blurt out. “You are making a scene here.” He started looking around to make sure no one was watching.

Before he could even figure out if anyone was watching, Jasmine ordered, saying, “Take off your clothes.” It was a harsh demand with a mean look on her face.

“Whoa! Go easy.” Max tried to shake it off with a smile. “We can’t do this here, people are watching.”

“I am not here for sex so take off your damn clothes!” she yelled. On hearing this, Philip glanced at them from where he was standing. The people passing by stopped for a second and stared at both Jasmine and Max.

“You are making a scene here,” said Max. “If you are back for more sex, let’s take it home,” Max added in a low tone as he glanced around, nervously.

“I am not here for sex, just off your clothes!” she yelled once more.

“If you are not here for sex, why then should I remove my clothes in public?” he asked, raising his head quizzically.

“I am here for my black crystal,” she blurted out drawing closer to Max.

Max drew aback feeling uncomfortable with the entire situation as he exclaimed, “Whoa, whoa!” Jasmine has shown seriousness as she tried gripping Max’s shirt to pull it off in public. “What are you trying to do?” Max quickly crossed his arms around his chest, stopping Jasmine from accomplishing her quest.

“Since you don’t want to remove your clothes by yourself, maybe I should do that for you. How about that?” She quickly reaches out to Max’s belt. Philip stood frozen in disbelief as he watched the chaos unfold around him.

The sun had already set, and the school grounds were now almost empty, except for a small group of students gathered near the main gate. He had been observing them for a few minutes, trying to figure out what was happening.

The group seemed to be arguing amongst themselves, with some gesturing wildly and others shaking their heads in frustration. As he watched the scene unfold, Philip couldn't help but feel a growing sense of unease.

He wondered what could have happened to cause such a commotion. Were they arguing about something serious, or was it just a petty squabble?

He decided to wait and observe a little longer, hoping to get some answers from Max soon.

Max held Jasmine’s hand tight from opening his belt around his waist, “I feel like you have the black crystal. I can smell it from here,” she said, trying to talk Max off from restraining her.

“How possible could that be?” Max asked and further pleaded with Jasmine not to create more scenes. “This is not cool!”

“You are right,” said Jasmine as she let go of Max’s belt. Immediately she saw Max was relaxed, she reached out for Max’s pants with one hand and the other hand on the belt,

“What are you doing?!” Max cried out as he tightly held his pants from being pulled down.

“People are watching!” “Let them watch,” she sneered.

“What is so important about this black crystal that you want to pull my clothes off in public?” Curiosity crossed Max’s face as he glared at her.

“My life depends on it,” she answered.

“Then you can buy another one if that is so important to you,” he suggested in an attempt to talk her out of pulling his pants.

“This is not what you just buy,” she gnawed in frustration.

“Please people are watching, can we do this elsewhere?” Max pleaded as he continued to hold his pants firmly.

“Your hand,” said Jasmine as she pointed at Max’s hand.

“What’s wrong with my hand?” Max asked as he narrowed his eyes.

Jasmine's voice trembles as she speaks, "The black vein is not ordinary." She stares intently at Max, her eyes never leaving his face.

Something about him seems off, and she can't quite put her finger on it. Suddenly, an instinctual voice in her head tells her to remove Max's sunglasses. Without hesitating, she reaches out and pulls them from his face.

"Oh no!" she cries out in a panic as she sees the deep black hue of Max's eyes.