Emo-The-Wisp

Wednesday afternoon-how thrilling. The fluorescent lights of Casper High's biology lab flickered slightly, casting a dull glow over the rows of students slumped at their desks. Mr. Falluca, ever the enthusiastic science teacher, stood at the front of the room, scrawling complex terminology across the whiteboard with the kind of energy only a science nerd could possess.

Milly sat next to Dash, who was flipping through the pages of his textbook with half-interest, occasionally glancing at her. He wasn't sure how this seating arrangement had happened, but at least Milly was smart-especially in English.

"Alright, class," Mr. Falluca announced, clapping his hands together. "Before we get into today's dissection, let's go over the key scientific terms related to amphibian anatomy. Who can pronounce urostyle and explain its function?"

Silence. Some students looked away, others sunk into their seats.

Milly, with her chin propped up on her hand, deadpanned, "It's a fused vertebra at the end of a frog's spine. Used for jumping."

Mr. Falluca beamed. "Excellent! And neurocranium?"

"The part of the skull that encases the brain," she replied without hesitation, adjusting her spiked bracelet.

Dash blinked at her. "How do you just know that?"

Milly shrugged. "My mom's an English teacher. I learned to read dictionaries for fun when I was younger."

"Dictionaries?" Tucker whispered from the next table over. "For fun?"

"She could probably translate Lewis Carroll like it's nothing," Danny added, impressed.

Milly smirked. "Want Jabberwocky in modern English or Shakespearean iambic pentameter?"

Before anyone could dare her to prove it, Mr. Falluca clapped his hands again. "Alright, team up! Today, we're dissecting frogs!"

Sam immediately looked horrified. "We what?"

Mr. Falluca gestured to the trays being distributed, each carrying a lifeless frog, limp and preserved. "I expect you all to work together to examine the specimen and identify its organs."

Sam folded her arms. "This is an act of barbaric cruelty."

Tucker sighed. "Sam, you literally wear a skull necklace every day."

"Because it's symbolic," she huffed. "Unlike this, which is grotesque."

Milly side-eyed her. "Goths literally honor the dead. The ones I met dissected like they worked at a morgue." She glanced at the frog, pulling on her gloves. "One dude even held a funeral for it afterward. Bit bittersweet, honestly."

Dash, who had been quiet during the whole ordeal, watched as Milly effortlessly handled the scalpel. "You sure you're not one of those goths?"

Milly gave him a flat stare before flicking her blue-tinted bangs. "Nah, I'm emo. There's a difference."

Sam groaned, but Danny and Tucker had already accepted their fate, gloves on, ready to deal with the lesson.

Milly, already slicing into the specimen, sighed. "This whole thing reeks of 2000s wristbands."

Dash, trying to be helpful, peered over her shoulder. "Uh... that's the liver, right?"

Milly raised a brow. "No, that's the fat body."

Dash made a face. "Oh. Gross."

Mr. Falluca strolled past, nodding approvingly at their work. "Excellent technique, Miss Culeman! And great teamwork with Mr. Baxter."