“So, why does SiC have a higher melting point than SiGe?”

“Bruh, you can just Google that.” 

“Ya, but there’s so many answers that I don’t know which one to write!” 

“Fmph…something more effective orbital overlap something, I guess?” 

After many gruelling hours of sacrificing our brain cells and sanity, it was fast approaching night by the time Liam and I could see the fruit of our struggle. 

“And…it’s finally done!” 

Breathing a sigh of relieved exhaustion, I cracked my stiff fingers and took a picture of my assignment before sending it to Liam. He sent his in return, and we swiftly cross-checked each other’s work to make sure that all our answers were lined up perfectly. 

“My god, I can’t believe Mr. Yong made us draw three pages’ worth of chemical structures for practice,” I groaned, throwing my pen on my table as I leaned back in my chair and massaged my wrists. “My hand feels like it’s gonna break any second…”

“Avery, come out and eat dinner now!” Mum called out from the living room, interrupting my brief rest. “I won’t have time to drive you to the tuition centre later, so you have to leave early to catch the train!” 

“O-okay, coming!” 

I shot up from my seat and hastily packed my bag. In the living room, Dad was already seated at the dining table, his hands flying over the keyboard of his laptop while he typed up a document. Mum brought out dinner from the kitchen—a pan of stir-fried instant noodles with soy sauce and fish balls—and dished out a smaller-than-usual portion of it on my plate. 

“You should eat less, Avery,” she said after giving me a once-over without mercy. “You’ve gotten so fat that it’s starting to become worrying, you know.” 

Surprised, I felt around my bulging stomach and frowned. “Have I? Huh, must be the stress from school getting to me.”

“You’re only eighteen, why do you sound like an old man already?” Dad chided jokingly as he shifted his laptop away to make space for his own plate. “Go and do some exercise over the holidays, it’s important to take care of your health while you are still growing up.” 

“Talking about the holidays, tomorrow’s the start of your school break, isn’t it?” Mum chimed in. “Make sure to finish all the TYS assignment books that you bought last week during this time, do you understand? This year is a very crucial year for your studies, and I don’t want to see you slacking off when everyone else is working hard for the A-levels.”

I munched on a mouthful of noodles and swallowed with a sigh. “Yes, Mum, you’ve repeated this countless times already…”

“I’m repeating it so that it gets drilled into that mind of yours!” she huffed. 

“Aiya, he’s also not a stupid boy, I’m sure that he will do the work needed when push comes to shove,” Dad defended me in between bites.

Nodding my head in agreement, I directed a grateful look at Dad. 

“Besides that, Avery, there’s something that I need to tell you,” he said out of the blue. “Your mum and I will be leaving the country later this evening to oversee a project in Europe, and we won’t be back in Singapore until the end of next month.”

I paused in the middle of bringing my chopsticks to my mouth. 

“Wait, both of you will be travelling overseas together so suddenly?” 

“It’s an urgent assignment from one of our important clients. My department got dragged into it as well to provide extra manpower,” Mum grumbled. “But the company is willing to pay for our expenses, so I have nothing to argue about.” 

“With that said, I believe you are old enough to have your own sense of self-discipline,” Dad continued, looking at me with a serious expression on his face. “Do remember to keep the house clean and tidy while we are away, and make sure that you always lock the door properly when exiting the house, okay?” 

“If there’s any problems, you must message either of us immediately,” Mum added. “I don’t want to see the house burn up in flames when we get home.” 

“Uhh…don’t worry, I promise that my cooking skills have improved greatly since that time,” I replied with a sheepish smile. 

Dad scratched his chin and gave a light cough. “In any case, I’ll transfer three hundred dollars to your bank account later. Treat it as your meal and travel allowance for the entire month.”

“Three hundred dollars…” I opened my mouth in astonishment at the number he just casually threw out. “T-thank you so much, Dad!”

He folded his arms and smiled. “Any additional expenses that you chalk up is your own responsibility, got it?” 

“If he can spend all three hundred dollars in one month and still need more, he deserves a good stroke of the cane,” Mum rejoined.

I let out a wry laugh. “That’s harsh, Ma…” 

Ignoring my comment, she glanced out at the window and pursed her lips. “You should hurry and start preparing to go out soon. Looks like it’s about to rain.”

“Got it, got it.”

I hastily shovelled the last few strands of noodles into my mouth and took my plate into the kitchen; hitting the shower to refresh myself, I threw on a change of clothes and grabbed my bag before bidding Mum and Dad goodbye and a safe trip. 

I wasn’t so lucky as to catch the feeder bus this time round, hence I walked to the station while listening to The Weeknd on my playlist. Gazing skywards, I noticed that the sky looked especially dark and gloomy. 

‘Looks like a pretty big storm is coming…better get on the train fast.’ 

A drizzle had begun to fall when I reached the station and hurriedly made my way to the platform, just in time for my train. The soft pitter-patter of raindrops against the windows and hum of the air-conditioning greeted me as the doors hissed open. Wondering if Terasia was also leaving her house soon, I typed a message asking if she would like to meet me at Canberra station while I stepped into the almost empty carriage.

Suddenly, a peculiar sensation enveloped me. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end.

‘What’s this feeling…?’

The fluorescent lights flickered above, and the air felt charged with an invisible force which seemed to ripple the very fabric of reality. My frozen fingers hovered over my phone screen as I realised that there was a presence hanging over my shoulders.

“We finally meet.”

My gaze flicked to the lone figure standing at the end of the cabin. 

Dark, shoulder-length hair cascading in waves around her face. Delicate features softened by a faint dusting of freckles across her cheeks. Almond-shaped eyes which held a mesmerising spark within their depths. 

‘Huh, isn’t that…that’s strange, what is she doing here?’

Our eyes locked. 

And her lips instantly curved into a slight smile, as if she had been waiting for me.

“You’ve given me many a headache, haven’t you, Avery?” Seraphine said in a low murmur. “Or, would it be more appropriate to call you…Hero Stefania?”