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Valko held his test in his hands. An A. His first test in a human school and he got every question correct. He had to start breathing very intentionally to keep his tail and ears from popping out due to the elation. The student beside him glanced over and looked between Valko’s A and Valko’s contained demeanor.
“That’s the best one can do, Valko. Why are you not pleased?” The student pushed up his glasses and tucked his own perfect score into a folder and then into his school bag.
“Oh, I am. Totally. Really. Very.” Valko gave his response with staccato enunciation, convinced that releasing too much breath would reveal his true form. Valko looked down at his desk where a binder clip served as a folder and a shopping bag stood in for his school bag.
His classmate’s gaze followed his own, but the reserved student kept his observations to himself. He instead sat back in his chair and gave his full attention to the teacher as class resumed.
“Today is the first day for the STEM fair signups. While we don’t expect everyone to make grand discoveries, we do hope everyone will participate and share something they learned and wish the rest of their peers to learn about, as well.” The teacher walked across the front row of students, talking over sighs and grumbles, while handing out a packet with a schedule, rubric, FAQs, and the submission form.
Valko couldn’t take his eyes off of his packet as he passed the rest of the stack back over his head. He had just learned the scientific method and had already been mentally gathering observations and questions he needed data of and answers to. Once he got to the last page, he felt his excitement plummet. Photos of previous winners were collaged around the school’s logo and date of the fair. One observation Valko didn’t need the scientific method to prove was that all the winners had money or access to materials to present their findings. Models, renderings, processors, screens, and holographs decorated the tables in the background of every award winner.
How am I going to make anything? How am I going to collect data…How–
Before Valko’s thoughts could drag him down too far, an index card slid onto his desk.
Bloomshore District
505 Sunset Street
Li Residence
“If you would like to work on a project together, I could use an assistant.” The young man pushed up his glasses, but waited no longer before gathering his belongings and standing up precisely when the bell rang.
Valko stood on the sidewalk leading up to 505 Sunset Street. It was a dreary Saturday morning and his umbrella was one gust of wind away from flipping inside out permanently. As he tentatively walked toward the door, he pulled the umbrella down to hide his face while he practiced his greeting.
“Hi, I’m your son’s classmate. May I work wi–” “Good morning, Mister Li. I’m Li Shen’s classma–”
“My parents aren’t here,” the soft and sure voice of his classmate penetrated the sound of the rain bouncing off Valko’s umbrella and made him freeze. He stood upright and lifted his umbrella enough to see Li Shen through the front screen door sitting on a bench with a book balanced on his knee. “Introductions are inevitable, but I will make them on your behalf if you would prefer.” He stood up and set the book on the now vacated bench cushion.
“Were you waiting there for me a long time?” Valko asked as he stepped under the porch roof and closed his umbrella. He resisted the impulse to shake off any errant drops of water, mussing up his short crimson hair to assuage the urge instead.
“No…and yes…I usually sit here in the mornings. Sometimes my neighbors want to play or study or…just hang.” Li Shen glanced down the street as he spoke, his hopeful gaze betraying his usual placid demeanor.
“Oh. Okay. Cool.”
Li Shen looked at Valko incredulously, the concept of doing something cool utterly baffling him. He glanced down and for a moment, Valko was worried the main front door was going to be closed in his face. Instead, the screen door was opened and a brand new pair of slippers were set down in the doorway.
Valko promptly removed his own shoes and stepped inside, directly into the fresh clean slippers. They were a bit of a tight squeeze, but he was thankful for them as he hadn’t considered bringing a second pair of shoes. He was still getting used to having to wear shoes all the time in general.
“Would you like food or a beverage before we begin discussing our project?”
“Oh, yes, thank you. Anything is fine.”
Li Shen nodded once and then turned his back to Valko, heading through the large open house and taking a right through an open doorway. Valko looked around, appreciating all the personal touches the Li family had made. Photos, trinkets, and more books than Valko could have ever imagined someone owning filled the walls of the main room. Seeing all the books made Valko very curious as to what Li Shen had been reading. He turned around and looked down at the book on the bench.
"The Neonatal Cardiology Handbook."
Valko noticed the book was more worn than some of the other medical sounding texts on the nearest bookshelf. How many times has he read this? After a couple more minutes of browsing the titles on the bookshelves, Valko realized Li Shen hadn’t returned yet. He looked toward the open doorway he assumed led to the kitchen and saw Li Shen standing there watching him. They stared at each other for a couple more seconds before Li Shen spoke up.
“I assumed you would follow me.” He stepped forward carrying two small boxes in one hand and a shiny bag under another. “We don’t have to work at the dining room table. Would you like to work here in the living room?”
Valko took one of the boxes being held out to him. It was cold to the touch and the packaging consisted of what appeared to be a mudslide and "Yawoohoo" in a thick bubbly font. He watched Li Shen remove a small straw from the back of his own drink and pierce the silver circle on top. Valko copied him and took a tentative sip. It was crisp, cold, and velvety smooth in his mouth. Sweet and soft yet rich as it flowed across his tongue and down his throat. It was such a new and delightfully refreshing drink! His lupine ears perked up and his eyes got big as Li Shen’s own hazel eyes looked directly up at the crimson triangles now desperately trying to lay themselves flat against Valko’s skull.
“Please, don’t be alarmed. I suspected you were hiding an Evol. You are far from alone in that respect.” Holding out his soft hand, palm side up, Li Shen created a small swirl of snowflakes which quickly melted and dripped off of his hand. He shook his hand quickly and looked back at Valko. “You’re quite welcome here. Just don’t drink all of the Yawoohoos, please. Grocery shopping day is three days away.”
It had only been a few minutes after Valko finished his Yawoohoo when his skin grew warm and he couldn’t keep his ears flat. His tail was also insisting it be known. “Uh, I don’t feel okay,” Valko mumbled. Li Shen looked up from his list of topic suggestions and quickly approached Valko. He placed the back of his hand against Valko’s forehead and then felt for Valko’s pulse on his neck.
“Does your heart feel lik–” his question was immediately interrupted by a gurgling from Valko’s stomach. “Are you lactose intolerant?”
“I don’t know what that is.”
“A body cannot digest milk properly.”
“Milk’s never been an issue before.” Sure, he didn’t drink much of it, but ever since attending school he usually had a small cup of it for breakfast or with a snack.
Li Shen picked up the Yawoohoo box and browsed the ingredients. “Have you ever had chocolate?”
“No. That and coffee are, like, really bad for me. But I’ve never seen them and isn’t chocolate, like, a brick? Why?”
Li Shen held up the box to Valko’s face, his thumb resting directly under the second ingredient listed: chocolate.
“The bathroom is this way,” Li Shen said matter of factly, leading Valko down a hallway. He stepped inside and opened a drawer built into a wall under the sink and took out a box that rattled in his arms with every step he took. “Please make yourself comfortable in here. I’ll see what I can do to amend my error.” He exited the bathroom and closed the door behind him before the rattling moved back down the hallway.
Valko was lying in the cold, empty bathtub convinced this was the end. His skin wouldn’t stop perspiring even after removing his dress shirt and slacks. His stomach cramps kept him too distracted to be embarrassed that he was half naked in a classmate’s bathroom. He was considering removing his last layer of clothes when a swift trio of knocks rapt at the door.
“Yeah?” Valko responded, sitting up and leaning over the smooth while porcelain of the tub.
Li Shen entered carrying a carbonated murky glass of water in one hand and a thermos in the other. “This will help with your current symptoms.” He handed Valko the murky liquid. Valko eyed it and then looked up at Li Shen. Normally he would have never trusted a human so much.
Why do I trust him? I don’t even know him…for all I know, he knew this would make me sick.
“I’m very sorry for my error in judgement. While I do not know the extent of your Evol, I know many of us have limitations because of or in spite of our genetic circumstances.” His eyes drifted away from Valko’s as if he were thinking of someone else somewhere else. The clinking of Valko’s teeth as he brought the glass of liquid to his mouth too quickly brought Li Shen back into the present.
The taste was bitter and gritty, fizzing bubbles propagating inside his mouth. The sensation was the exact opposite of drinking chocolate milk. His face squished up in protest, but by the time he had managed to finish the entire glass his skin was cooling down. “Are you doing that? Cooling me off?”
Li Shen tilted his head and then shook it, “No. I do not use my Evol on people without their permission. This means you feel better. Good.” He gingerly took the empty glass from Valko and offered the thermos in its place. “This is a probiotic. It’s strawberry flavored. I think it will help your stomach feel better, but it’s not going to fix your dietary limitations…” He turned around and left the bathroom, coming back a minute later with his notebook. “What would you think about being our test subject instead of my assistant?”
Valko’s brows furrowed and he hoisted himself to stand upright in the tub. “No.” He was firm and straightforward, undeniably offended by the question.
Li Shen looked up from his notes surprised and then a soft rosy blush colored the very top of his cheeks. “That was a joke. It would not be scientifically ethical to begin human trials at this stage. You shall remain my assistant.”
Valko scratched his head and then perked up, “And that was a joke, too!”
Li Shen’s neutral facade finally cracked and a very small smile played across his lips. “Yes. That was a joke, too. We’re partners, Valko. Equals.”