To Live Again, For the First Time!

Emilin never had the intention of changing the order in which things would be taught to Xander.

Such a thought had crossed her mind, but then she quickly rejected it as it would be counterproductive to do so.

But when Xander said that he wanted to learn the pharmaceuticals sooner, a nice idea popped up in her mind.

Wouldn't it be nice if she crammed everything a little tighter together? :)

It was a win-win situation!

Like this, she would be able to get one more problem out of her hair sooner and at the same time, Xander wouldn't have the time to think about all the useless stuff that would give her a heart attack.

Xander would also get what he wanted as he would get to touch upon the pharmaceuticals sooner than previously planned.

Emilin promptly ignored the despairing gaze Xander gave her when the new stack of information and documents were handed to him, and the new deadline was set shorter than ever.

'I believe it you!' She encouraged in her heart with much hope as she left for classes with Mason.

On the other hand, for the following days, Xander was like a sad puppy with a pen in his hand that never had the chance to stop moving.

If only absorbing all this information, that was quite literally from another generation, wasn't this satisfying.

Then Xander wouldn't be so troubled!

***

Emilin was once again seated at the balcony on the 4th floor in the middle of the fashion district, but this time, she wasn't alone there taking photos anymore.

Instead, Mason was there currently lecturing about everything Emilin had to pay attention to when it came to photography.

It had to be said, Mason was truly a poor excuse for a teacher.

Not because he didn't know his stuff or because he couldn't speak eloquently, but because he was all over the place.

To be fair, he never had any teachings on how to teach nor any experience, but if anyone else were to listen in on the conversation, even if you swore on your life that that was Emilin's first lesson with no prior knowledge on the subject, that person definitely wouldn't believe you.

That was because whether they knew about photography or not, there were just too many random concepts being thrown around before they were even explained or defined.

It would have been fine, in fact, more than fine if he were talking to someone more experienced, but as of right now, if it had been anyone else sitting in front of him, they would have already stopped Mason from spewing so much gibberish.

Thankfully, Emilin had a great memory and an even greater brain capacity.

After everything was said and done, she was still able to piece the information together.

If it were anyone else, it was like letting them listen to the lecture of a Master at human anatomy before giving them some lessons on basic biology and chemistry to explain what some of the words meant.

You can't expect anything great to come of it really…

"And don't forget to check the histogram properly when you're taking photos to make sure that the lighting isn't crap, I'd say at least half of your photos from a simple skim had such a problem. That half I just spoke of was only the ones with major issues. You were taking photos outside, right? Yeah, sometimes it happens where the scene is either too exposed or too dim…"

With the help of Mason's nonstop lectures and a lot of lemonade to quench his thirst, Mason was finally able to cram in all the basics into Emilin's head.

Of course, most other things would depend on luck, experience, and inspiration.

Two people were slouched on their chairs, with lazy arms reaching out for their sweet drinks.

The sun was setting behind them and they were both tired out of their minds.

Emilin had had her mind working overtime to organize all the information into new files to sort out in her mental library and Mason felt like if he didn't take care of things properly, he may lose his voice tomorrow.

"Did you understand everything?" Mason asked like the irresponsible teacher that he was.

He had been speaking for hours on end, without a break and this was the first time today that he had asked Emilin whether she understood what was being taught to her.

But his efforts could not be denied and his dry throat was proof of his hard work.

"Yes, teacher," Emilin replied.

Her abilities truly prevented Mason from understanding just how bad his teaching methods would have been for anyone other than geniuses like her, that could memorize and organize all the information at the same time in their minds.

Mason nodded in relief that he wouldn't have to reexplain anything or elaborate.

It was nice to have a student who understood but seeing as Mason hadn't had any other student other than Emilin, it was hard for him to compare.

"Then why don't you give it a shot?" Mason motioned at one of the cameras on the table that had been used as an example during class.

Emilin hesitated for a second before taking the camera up.

Mason looked away and gave Emilin some of her personal space.

He could still correct her later when Emilin got the hang of it.

It was still necessary for Emilin to learn a little from her own experience.

*Click* *shutter* *Click* *shutter*

Emilin tried her very best to concentrate on taking the photos, but she was still a little lost in thought. 

*Click* *shutter* *Click* *shutter*

The picture of the setting sun, though very different from the other one she had taken back in the Hemafuji Mountain Range, still couldn't help but bring her memories back to that day on the cliff. 

*Click* *shutter* *Click* *shutter*

"Why are you distracted, dear one and only student of mine?" Mason asked out of curiosity and worry.

As a veteran in the field, how could he not tell when someone was distracted?

Emilin hadn't been like this even during the lesson, which would have most likely bore most people to sleep.

In fact, Mason had never seen Emilin like this.

Though her eyes were in a daze, there also seemed to be an obsessive glint in them.

Mason just didn't know what it was about.

Emilin sighed as she was caught red-handed and put the camera down, but the look in her eyes did not change even when there was no longer a camera in her hands.

In fact, they only became more desperate.

"I'm not getting the feeling! That feeling," Emilin's voice trailed off as if mumbling to herself when she was clearly talking to Mason.

Mason was dumbfounded as a look of enlightenment flashed on his face.

"Oh dear," Mason mumbled.

"Oh, deary dear! My dear student, tell me the truth. Are you… a psycho?" Mason felt like so many things had just clicked in his mind.

"…"

There were just too many things off about everything and now, with this one link, everything seemed interconnected.

Emilin snapped out of her fervent daze of wanting to find that right feeling again when she heard her teacher's words.

What the cr*p.

There was a momentary pause of silence, which only convinced Mason even more.

Even if he didn't admit it, it seemed like his student was really no normal, and possibly not even sane, character.

Emilin felt like she was finally poured on with a bucket of cold water as her fervent and desperate eyes returned to usual.

Still, her itching hands did not stop.

Emilin sighed with her hands clutched tightly.

"I guess I should be explaining before I get sent off to some mental institution by my own teacher…"

She lifted her head, looking at Mason with an aggrieved expression as if she had been wronged by the world.

***

On the other hand, one more person was feeling aggrieved at their teacher's actions against them.

Maverick would definitely know that Elijah was coming here to Opaque city and with some simple deductions, the reason for his coming was quite simple.

But from what he was told, it was clear that Margo had gone for the business trip and probably wasn't going to be coming back any time soon.

Without any better clues, Elijah may have come for naught.

That was annoying.

"If it's alright, could I know which places and shops your boss has been visiting most frequently? This has something to do with her own safety and wellbeing," Elijah prompted the same lady for answers, though it was highly unlikely that he was going to get anything.

The lady visibly stiffened when she heard that it was about the Boss's safety, but in the end, she still held on.

What if this person was the one that would put her Boss in a precarious situation?

Then wouldn't she have become a sinner?

"Sorry Sir, but I won't be able to disclose much information to you on matters that have to do with the Boss's private life, but I can tell you that there have been a few of our own businesses that she has been visiting and doing check-ups at more frequently," the lady compromised as this could truly be about the safety of her Boss Margo.

"Do tell," Elijah nodded.

He would get what he could from the hands of his stingy teacher.

"Well, there has been this cat café that she attends to more frequently than the others and more frequently than before, though due to her business trip, she hasn't gone as of recently, I'll circle the address for you," the lady said while taking out a pamphlet.

"If you want more information, I suggest you show something that would be able to confirm your identity as someone who Boss Margo trusts with such," the lady said helplessly, telling Elijah that she really couldn't say any more.

Elijah nodded and was impressed by this employee's tactfulness. 

"Thank you," he said, turning around to leave with Liam following behind.

The lady at the counter sighed.