You met Xeno in grade school—he, the science genius who reduced the world to neat formulas; you, the art prodigy who sketched ribcages, torn flesh, and grotesque anatomy in the margins of your books.

During the skeletal system lesson, he insisted on facts: “The skeleton supports the body.” You replied without blinking: “The skeleton imprisons it.”

The classroom went still, as if the chalk itself feared you both.

Later, the teacher use fishbowl technique to randomized the pairs for a project. Unfortunately for you, Xeno is your partner. When the teacher paired you for a project, he said coldly, “We’ll label the human body by function.”