“So we build a gigantic dynamo, and we dig it into the south pole,” Leo shoved his Physics books into his bag and slung the bag over his shoulder, “Then we can harvest the Earth’s rotational energy for free. We would solve global warming and the energy shortage both at once!”
  “There are like a billion reasons why that is never going to work,” Simon said amusedly. He gathered his stuff quickly and followed his friend out of the classroom. He had come to expect these outbursts of creativity from Leo. Nothing would dissuade the man from his plan until he found a new one and forgot the last.
  “That’s what everyone told the brothers Wright,” Leo said stubbornly, pushing past one of the upperclassmen. Either he did not notice the glare he received or he simply did not care. “We’re already putting dynamos in bikes and windmills everywhere. We just need to scale up.”
  “You’re a dumbass.” Simon said with finality. Still, he couldn’t stop a smile appearing on his face. Eccentric though he was, there was never a dull day with Leo around. Simon had no idea how he would have survived the boredom of his school life without him.
  Leo grinned, taking the remark for a compliment. That was how people reacted to the geniuses of an age, he had often told Simon. It simply meant he was ahead of his time by leaps and bounds.
  “So tell me,” Leo turned around and put his hands behind his head, walking on backward, “How are things between you and Julie? Made any progress yet?” Simon let out an exasperated sigh. “I should have never told you about her.” He did not want to deal with this right now. Still, he knew Leo would not be satisfied until he had given at least something that resembled an answer. “There’s not much talk about, really,” he began.
  As he said it, the sound of raised voices was starting to come from down the hallway. It was the general buzz of a gathered crowd, although some individual voices were distinguishable. Simon could not hear what they were saying. Nice, a distraction. “Something is going on there,” he said, “Let’s check it out.”
  As they walked down the hallway, a couple of first years came racing past. One of them bumped into Simon and bounced back onto the floor. “They’re gonna fight!” he yelled up a them excitedly. “So?” Simon asked, “happens every now and then. It’s always the same guys.” the first years shook his head. “Not this time. It’s the student council! They’re fighting for who’s gonna be president next year.” The kid scrambled to his feet and ran on to join his friends.
  Well, that was something new. The student council was a pretty quiet bunch, apart from the president. From what Simon had heard, Daryll had gotten the position fairly quickly after pushing the others around for a bit. None of the other members really seemed like the type to stand up to Daryll, especially through a physical confrontation. Guess this is worth seeing after all.
  When they entered the main hall, a large crowd stood around the middle. Apparently half the school had come. A wall of people made it impossible to see what was going on in the middle and kids were standing on tables and chairs to be able to see the show. Everywhere people were yelling and cheering in a primal frenzy while one kid was arranging bets on who would win.
  “Ah, the clear evidence of thousands of years of evolution and culture,” Simon said, “You just can’t help but feel confident about our society and how far we’ve come.” Leo shrugged. “It’s good for the world to have a healthy mix of Simons and battle crazed monkeys. Yin and Yang and all that.”
  Leo jumped up on a table to get a better view. He narrowed his eyes. “Hey, isn’t that…” He swallowed and fill silent. As Simon hoisted himself up, his heart skipped a beat. No way. But his eyes didn’t betray him. He’d recognize that ribbon anywhere.
  It was Julie.