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He lifted his eyes from the borrowed book and looked up at the night sky. Blades of unmowed grass swayed with the wind, tickling his arms. Days of adventures and tomfoolery were coming to an end. He was no longer a child. Although his body was ready for his graduation, his heart was not. He’d miss every single corner of their small shelter, the bone marrow. However, he could not fall apart. Not then, not after all that time. U-1146 didn't have much of a choice, either way.
He wrapped his arms around his legs, hanging his head behind them. The book his Senpai had given him long before slipped from his lap, landing face down on the grass. He took several deep breaths to compose himself. A cracking sound behind the tree. All these woes would have to wait.
He swiftly jumped from his sitting position, drawing one of his resin replicas of an actual Neutrophil knife. It wasn’t as efficient as the original, but it was fairly imposing at least.
“Who’s there?” he asked the darkness, broken by a dim glint of light. It shivered along with its owner. As his sight adjusted, he glimpsed a figure in a long dress. Another child?
“S-Sorry!” a feminine voice stammered, the owner stepping back on the grass.
He brought his flashlight forward, enlightening the meadow. Glistening eyes and bright red hair came into sight, her lips trembling. His features relaxed as he stood up and sheathed his practice knife.
“No, I am sorry. I thought you were an intruder. You’re just…“ As he held her gaze, chubby, wet cheeks and the same red hair popped into his head. She was grabbing his hand, sobbing uncontrollably after some bacteria had put them through the wringer. It became clear that one erythroblast had managed to get that far. “A red blood cell,” he muttered. Her agitated expression didn’t give hints of her recognizing him, nonetheless. He stepped closer to the girl, slowly bringing one index finger to his face. Would she remember him?
“Do you…?” he wondered; his black obsidian eye open wide. She tilted her head slightly, giving him a confused look. Of course she didn’t. All the myelocytes and band cells were so alike, in the end. “Never mind.” He shook his head, his gaze falling to the floor. “Sorry I scared you. What are you even doing here?” the band cell asked, going back to his spot by the tree. She walked closer, her alertness fading.
“I... I should be the one asking that. I heard you guys are graduating tomorrow.” She looked down at him, her hand lamp illuminating her fresh-faced features. She’s grown up so much, he thought.
He averted his eyes. “You heard right. I’m just saying my goodbyes to this place,” he explained, his far-off gaze lost in the black lake. The moon was absent that night.
“Oh.” She clutched her white, ruffled apron. “I see. I’ll leave you to it, then. Good luck tomorrow!” the redhead said, a warm smile forming around her mouth. He nodded before spotting a large book under her armpit.
“What are you doing here?” he asked once more, holding her for a little longer. She gripped the book with her spare hand, her hazel eyes boring into its cover.
“I have a big exam tomorrow. I like coming here the night before a test, for a last-minute cramming,” she replied while resting the heavy-looking book against her hip, the kerosene lamp in her other hand. He picked up his own book, lying on the grass. He didn’t tear his eye away from her, nevertheless.
“That’s nice. And how’s the studying going?”
The immature erythrocyte raised her brows, sensing a certain familiarity in the behavior of that complete stranger. His voice was warm; his expression, on the other hand, was deadpan. All in all, it felt as if he knew her.
“Eh, so-so,” she admitted, raising a single shoulder. They shared a moment of silence, the white dressed cell gazing off into the distance.
“Circulation pathways, isn’t it?” he asked. That little lost erythroblast had ended up struggling with such a subject. In his eyes, it was ridiculously spot on.
The wind gently batted at the ends of her red dress. “Yup. How did you know?”
“You see, our theory lessons aren’t that different. I took that test not long ago.” He turned his head towards her. “I’ll give you a hand.”
She gaped at him. “But- but you were saying goodbye and all that stuff! I’ll handle this.”
“I can’t think of a better thing to do than helping a fellow cell before my graduation. Honestly, I’ll feel responsible if I let you fail that test,” the young band cell explained, his eye boring into hers.
“Gee, you really take things to heart.” The redhead gave him an apologetic smile. She knelt next to him and sat cross-legged, carefully placing the skirt over her knees. The lamp was set between them, on the grass. “Thank you, Mister White Blood Cell,” she said, beaming. He tittered at her comment.
“Not until tomorrow. I’m Mister Band Cell to you. Well, uh, forget that Mister thing,” he jabbered, his book between his hands. She giggled, fingers covering her mouth.
“Alrighty, Master Band Cell.” He pulled a face. “By the way, I’m a normoblast and not a red blood cell, as you said before. See?” The teenage girl pointed at the pompom sewn on top of her beret, indicating she still had a nucleus.
“Oh, right,” he acknowledged, nodding.
“After my graduation, I’m becoming heartless!” She cracked up at her own pun. The white-haired boy cocked an eyebrow.
“Don’t say that,” he said with a note of concern in his voice.
“What? Don’t you get it? I’m losing my nucleus, you know!” she insisted, trying to put a smile on his inscrutable face. When the band cell caught on to her joke, he pinched the bridge of his nose.
“Ahaha,” he fake-laughed, making the redhead chortle. She was still confused by their instant closeness, as if they had known each other for ages. Instead, she chose not to address it, as she felt comfortable around that mysterious cell.
When her laughter faded, she laid her eyes on the book he was holding; the edges of the hard cover were worn and had started to turn yellow.
“Oh! So you read?” Curiosity lingered in her voice.
“Yes. Contrary to popular belief, neutrophils are not illiterate,” he joked in a dead voice.
The redhead snorted in disappointment. “That’s not what I meant!” She managed to glimpse a corner of his mouth lifting. “You’re such a funny guy,” she mumbled, crossing her arms over her chest. His eyes returned to her.
“Anyway, let’s get down to business. What’s exactly giving you trouble?” he said, drastically changing the subject.
“Um…” She glanced down at the textbook resting on her lap. Her shoulders dropped as she sighed deeply. “I dunno. I really tried, but I get all this stuff mixed up. Hallways, avenues, intersections… It’s just a big ugly jumble in my head!” she whined, dramatically pulling from her frontal locks. The soon-to-be neutrophil merely observed her tantrum. “Ugh. You must be thinking I’m a pipsqueak.”
He slightly raised his brows. “You’re not a pipsqueak. Just a bit of a mess… Let’s see.” He took her textbook and flipped it open. He leafed through the pages, looking for something that could instruct her in the complex mechanism of their vast world in the shortest possible time. Quite the challenge.
Fortunately, he knew the contents by heart. His eyes fixed on a title before halting his browsing, and then skimmed through the text.
The light beam coming from his flashlight was only bright enough to illuminate the pages. Thus, the overwhelming darkness and his long bangs turned his face into an almost mystery. At least, his deep voice was characteristic enough to tell him apart from other neutrophils.
“Have you checked this chapter out?” He glanced at her, her bright eyes staring at the page at issue. “It collects many key points from the major routes,” he explained, one finger tapping on a convoluted scheme. Terror overtook her face as she looked at the figure; she was already hopeless. “Don’t panic. Let’s break it down slowly, shall we?”
She turned around to face him, her lips pursed. “But that’ll take ages!” she complained, furrowing her brows. “I- I already know some routes, but not as many!” the teenager fussed, pinching her rosy cheeks.
The band cell sighed. “I got all night,” he said calmly.
“What? Earth to Master Band Cell? You totally forgot about your gra-du-a-tion!” she exclaimed, arms stretched out.
“And you say that because right now I'd rather be…” he said, arching a quizzical eyebrow.
“Sleeping!?” she answered in an annoyed voice. He rolled his eyes.
“Nonsense. Now, stop dragging your feet and focus,” the white-haired boy said, patting the textbook.
She mumbled a complaint before obeying, paying attention to his lecture. He taught her some mnemotechnic devices to retain the routes' names and codes easily. This will only help you in the short term, he warned. She would eventually have to learn all the pathways by heart, but that’d help her a pinch on her test.
Now and then, she pleaded for a rest, her brain clogged up with maps and directions. He had agreed each time, acknowledging her hard work and fast learning. In fact, she had proved herself to be a bright spark. Her mind just tended to go blank upon loads of information. U-1146 was oddly proud of his self-assigned pupil.
As the stars advanced across the night sky, the scheme started to make more sense and became less and less complex. Her head carefully unraveled that maze of circuits. However, exhaustion began to take its toll as hours went by.
They both had drifted off to sleep by daybreak. Her red hair spilled across his shoulder, and her book had slipped from his hands and onto the grass.
The second sunlight bathed his pale lids, his eyes fluttered open. His large pupils contracted at the bright light, making him groan. The band cell blinked several times as he attempted to straighten his back against the tree’s trunk. The weight of the dozing girl on his shoulder brought him back to his senses. He tensed up.
“Hey, you,” he said, his voice usually husky early in the morning. He cleared his throat immediately. The band cell gently nudged her, but her breathing remained undisturbed. Having no apparent answer, he rocked her shoulder lightly. “You’re going to be late.”
She shifted and grumbled against his white t-shirt, her drool dampening it. He let her wake up at her own pace. “What,” she slurred after some seconds, nuzzling his shoulder. She slowly opened her hazel eyes, only to be dazzled by the sunrise. She covered her shut eyes with one arm.
The young neutrophil ignored the numbness in the arm she was leaning on. She unexpectedly sat bolt upright, startling him. “I’ll be late!” she yelled, trying to stand up on wobbling legs. The redhead placed her hand on the trunk for support and retrieved her lamp and fallen beret. She looked up at the white dressed teenager, who was handing her the textbook.
“You’ll do great.” He gave her a shy smile, making her eyes widen. She took the book and brought it close to her chest.
“Thank you, Band Cell. What time is your graduation?”
He shook his head.
“Don’t bother. By the time I become a Neutrophil, you’ll still be taking your exam.” Sadness then overtook her features. He tried to cheer her up with another smile. “Go now. Your efforts will pay off,” he encouraged her, still sitting by the tree. She nodded with conviction.
“Thank you again, Master Band Cell. For everything. You’ll become the best Neutrophil this world has ever seen!” she shouted with a confident look on her face. "I'll see you soon!" His mouth fell open with astonishment, so he couldn’t utter a word before she spun on her heels and ran away.
He waved at her back as she disappeared into the distance. “Master Band Cell…” he chuckled. “This girl.” His time had come.
She couldn’t wrap her head around the fact that she had answered most of the questions confidently. Still, she didn’t have time for celebrations after finishing her exam, an hour earlier than she expected. She ran off the building, bumping into some classmates during her sprint. “AE! What’s the big rush?” they yelled. She just shouted back a quick apology, not losing track of her way.
Adrenaline hit her as she set foot beyond the boundary between the red and white districts. The bone marrow was divided into these two areas, where red blood cells and granulocytes matured separately. That plain, unsophisticated line on the floor represented a colossal barrier between two different worlds, at least for most cells. She was the exception, though.
Approaching a loud roaring square, she hid behind a pillar. Sneaking a look from behind it, she witnessed a massive white crowd dressed in uniform. Neutrophils! Cheering and whistling neutrophils, more precisely. There were so many of them that she started to feel dizzy. After scrutinizing them for a long while, she just gave up. Nevertheless, AE3803 firmly believed that one kind-hearted band cell had successfully turned into a brilliant, mighty neutrophil.
The U squad members teased and complimented each other on their sudden physical enhancement. All of them, except for U-1146.
The full-fledged Neutrophil smiled at that red, little trespasser, from the sea of white. She was too focused on scrutinizing the hectic crowd to notice him; she could be looking for someone else after all. However, U-1146 wished from the bottom of his heart that the one she had come to see was, indeed, him.