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“For some of us, at least,” he adds, directing his comment to Astro. By this point, I can see the guy about to lose his shit on the dean, so I drag my chair back, creating a loud distraction, and get up.
“Ah, before you all leave, I’d ask you to please visit the infirmary and Sister Walker, who will have all your medical files,” Mr. Coldwell injects. “She will ensure you’re all updated with vaccinesyou will need to travel and a set of malaria pills you are required to take with you on this mission.”
“Malaria?” I ask, a little stunned and worried. Where the fuck are we going, and why are we being subjected to this?
The sexy teacher looks at me sympathetically, and I can’t help but wonder why he isn’t competing in the Olympics and chooses a life of coaching instead.
He doesn’t look that old to have retired from sport.
“It’s just for prevention and highly recommended,” he replies, casting me a small, assuring smile.
“There’s a 4.1 percent of malaria cases and 3.8 percent of malaria deaths globally,” Byron blurts out. “It’s more than highly recommended to start the pills before you depart from the UK.”
“How do you know the exact figures?” Astro utters sarcastically.
“Mr. Harding is a two-time winner of the British Physics Olympiad AS Challenge and most recently won the BAAO Astrophysics competition and British Biology Olympiad,” the dean rushes to reply. “I would take the advice he has to offer earnestly.”
“He’s a right smartie, innit! I bet you won a Nobel prize at five. Am I right?” Astro grins amusingly at Byron, who’s now gone a shade of dark red.
As much as I sympathized with Astro and how he was chastised for his background by the dean, right now, I’d like to smack him for making fun of Byron.
“I believe his intelligence will next time take precedence over the type of person he chooses to associate with. Someone you can only aspire to be, Mr. Doukas.”
Before Astro loses his cool, Jack makes an abrupt, distracting move, and something goes flying out of his hand. We all draw our attention to the silver zippo on the floor by the door.
“Mr. Bancroft,” the dean is probably one step from exploding on us, “smoking is banned on campus!”
I think he’s already regretting not expelling us.
“It’s ahhh….” Jack stares at the zippo and then back at the dean. He reaches out to the back of his head and remains silent as if he had no intention of elaborating on anything.
For someone who smells really good, he is awfully weird.
“Perhaps we should all visit the sister now,” Mr. Coldwell interrupts the silence that has filled the room. He quickly dashes tothe door and opens it, urging us to leave the office and probably hoping no one else opens their mouth.
This isn’t exactly the new kind of start I was hoping for in my life when I traveled thousands of miles to get here yesterday. I could have attended an Ivy League school and stayed home, and I would have remained the most influential person in Manhattan’s elite society for those under 21.
But no… I had to choose the furthest place from home, and now I might actually die from some mosquito disease.
“Malaria is from mosquitos, right?” I lean into Byron as we follow Mr. Coldwell to the nurse’s office. It’s either staring at the teaching assistant’s alluring ass ahead of us or thinking about something drastically awful.
“Malaria is caused by the plasmodium parasite. It’s spread to humans through the bites of infected mosquitoes. Five different types of plasmodium parasite cause malaria in humans.”
“Five?” Zane asks, his eyes widening in disbelief, mirroring the shock that hits me like a wave of worry.
“Yes, but the mosquito season in Mozambique is from December to April, so I wouldn’t worry much. But take the recommended dosage the sister tells you to take, and you will be fine.” Byron looks at me and smiles, knowing he’s only added that last bit for my benefit.
I think Byron will become my best friend on this trip. He might be the least athletically bound guy among everyone in this group, but having brains on your side only stipulates that in this journey we’re heading, it’s not about the fittest that will survive it, but the most intelligent ones will know exactly how to do so.
Chapter 5
As we wait forour chartered flight at the private departure gate of this airport, I’m wedged on this bench between Eve and Byron. It wasn’t as if I sought to sit with anyone, but I imagine neither of them wanted to sit with Astro.
Zane and Mr. Coldwell seem to be getting on like a house on fire.
They’re probably discussing something non-essential and boring, like the Olympics. I almost want to yawn at the prospect of being involved in such a conversation.
Eve and Byron only chose to sit on either side of me because there was no chance of anyone else joining us on this already smallish seating.
