Cell adhesion and other bonding methods

Libraries are meant to be quiet places, this much is common knowledge, and school libraries are no exception. Yet, from a tucked away corner in the far back, hushed bickering can be heard.

It’s not on purpose, that’s what both Chanto and Duncan tell themselves, and they aren’t being that loud either. Who could blame them for arguing when their biology teacher forced the two people in class known for being unable to work with each other into a group project on human cytology of all things?

‘Chanto needs something to up her grade if she wants to pass this class and Duncan is not only intelligent but also a diligent worker. If you two get over your silly indifferences then this project will be a piece of cake!’

That was the teacher’s reasoning, and it does make sense, but neither of them is happy about it nonetheless.

But right now it is silent between them. At one side of the round table sits Duncan, immersed in a thick book titled ‘Cell junction types and Adhesion methods - Advanced Cell Biology’, jotting down notes at the speed of light. Chanto sits at the other side, wasting the minutes away on her laptop, playing around with PowerPoint layouts and discovering editing effects she has never heard of before.

Duncan is very well aware that Chanto isn’t writing anything onto those slides, or being otherwise useful, but she’s quiet and not distracting him, so he lets her be.

That is until a comic whoosh sound blares from Chanto’s laptop speakers, effectively startling them both. Duncan’s eyebrows knit together out of anger and he forcefully shuts the book he had been reading, startling Chanto a second time.

“If you can’t even be quiet while doing nothing, can you at least do some reading as well? And waste less of my time?”

Chanto pouts and crosses her arms. “I don’t understand anything in those books, though!”

“Isn’t biology the one thing you’re supposed to be good at?”, he retorts and Chanto’s pout turns into an upset frown.

“I’m interested in botany, not human cell stuff! Two very different things in case you haven’t noticed.” Her tone is defensive and has increased in volume.

“It’s all biology, you dunce!”

Before Chanto can angrily bang her fists on the table to refute that it’s not ‘all just biology’, a quiet yet insistent cough catches her attention.

The two of them whip their heads around to see the library assistant Laverne standing before them, a threatening smile on her otherwise gentle face. Their eyes widen, absolutely mortified.

Laverne tilts her head to the side slightly before she speaks: “I, and especially everyone else trying to study at this library, would appreciate it if you two could keep it down a bit. You have already made everyone in this part of the building leave, so please refrain from chasing even more people out of here with your bickering.”

There’s silence for a moment after she’s done, her slight smile unwavering. Then Chanto panics and tries to explain herself, or rather apologize, but she keeps stumbling over her words and not a single coherent sentence leaves her mouth. Meanwhile Duncan is just staring off into space with a blank expression and an embarrassed blush on his face.

Bemused, Laverne chuckles, a melodious sound that immediately makes both of them pay attention to her again. “Well, if you are quiet from now on I won’t have to kick you out.”

Just as suddenly as she had appeared, she turns on her heels and walks back to the counter, leaving Chanto and Duncan speechless as they watch her leave.

Duncan can’t believe this just happened to him - the library’s most frequent and politest patron. On top of that, he got lectured by Laverne of all people, he never knew her smile could be so threatening! This embarrassment will take ages to digest and even longer to be forgotten.

The mortification twisting and turning in his stomach turns into anger, his eyes shifting from the empty space Laverne has left behind to Chanto, who looks not a bit apologetic. Instead, she is hiding her face from him by holding her head in her hands.

His anger bubbles over at the sight and he snaps at her in the quietest, most irritated whisper he can muster. “Great work Chanto, just great! Now Laverne is upset with us, did that make your lazy ass happy? Is this what you wanted to happen?”

To his surprise Chanto doesn’t reply, in fact, she doesn’t react at all. Taking a closer look, he notices that her arms tremble and her fingers are tightly threaded into her hair. That’s a bit concerning, to say the least.

“Uhm…” he starts lamely, “are you, like, okay?”

Chanto drops her arms onto the desk at that with a loud slap of her skin against varnished wood. There are tears in her eyes, ready to spill any moment.

The sound makes Duncan flinch and the sight makes him frown. He wasn’t being nice, but he didn’t want to be mean to her. Well… maybe somewhat mean, not enough to make her cry, though. Slapping himself for being so harsh, he scrambles for a way to stop Chanto from actually crying.

Carefully, he breaks the silence between the two of them once more. “Are you… okay?” Chanto furrows her eyebrows in disbelief and Duncan cringes at his choice of words.

“Fuck- of course you’re not. That was a stupid question. I’m- listen, I’m sorry.”

Now Chanto’s eyes widen. She still doesn’t say anything, just stares, so Duncan continues: “I shouldn't have called you lazy, or stupid, or an ass. That was… rude and I guess I owe you an apology.”

She continues to stare without saying a word or making a move, so Duncan adds: “What I mean to say is that I will apologize right now. I’m really sorry, Chanto.”

Chanto’s lips purse and she looks like she is about to cry for an entirely different reason. Quickly, she wipes away her freshly spilled tears with the heels of her palms, gets up from the chair, and takes two quick steps towards Duncan, who jumps in his seat at her sudden movement. She leans down and wraps him up in a strong bear hug. Duncan stiffens at first, but then relaxes and pats her arms to show reciprocation.

“Apology accepted!” she says, voice back to its usual cheerful tone. Duncan can’t help but smile when he hears her sound happy again.

Somewhat reluctantly, Chanto lets go of the other. The smile on her face is huge and her eyes, still slightly puffy, sparkle with determination.

“Alright Duncan! Let’s get this passing grade.”

Chanto spins where she stands and sits back down on her side of the table, grabbing the top book on Duncan’s pile and starts to read. The library is as quiet as it hasn’t been all day while both immerse themselves into the topic.

After a short while Chanto lowers the book again and sheepishly says: “Actually, can you explain this to me? Haha…”

Duncan sighs but there is just the slightest smile on his lips. “Fine, scoot over.” he replies as he motions for her to sit next to him and so she does. She happily takes her chair and places it right next to Duncan’s.

The rest of the day is spent with Duncan explaining every term Chanto isn’t familiar with, making the complicated cell mechanisms as easy to understand as possible. Laverne smiles solemnly from her spot behind the shelves.

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“And you won’t believe this Aaron, Duncan apologized to me today for once! Sincerely even!”

The person at the other end of the phone laughs loudly, enough to make the phone speakers vibrate in Chanto’s hand.

It was late into the evening now. The two had decided to pack it up for today and move to the park for a breather (and later some ice cream due to Chanto’s insistence).

Aaron had called Duncan just shortly after they had sat down at a bench close to the ice cream shop. At some point into the call, Chanto had taken hold of his phone to recount today’s events in embarrassing detail.

“Shut up! Don’t push your luck now!” Duncan shouted, trying to reclaim his phone to no avail, Chanto’s grip on it was insanely strong.

“Come on, no need to cause another scene, you two. Who knows, maybe Laverne is just around the corner ready to lecture you a second time.”

On reflex, Chanto and Duncan whip their heads around to scan the area for Laverne, Aaron laughing as if he could see them.