1 The Changing World

Bang!

A fallen book startled Kate awake. It took her a few moments to realize that she was still inside her classroom, supposedly listening to the presentation of the teacher. 

"Huh?" Kate blinked her eyes then turned her attention to the side, picking her fallen books with red faces. She peeked to the front and sigh in relief when she saw that her teacher was not paying attention to her.

The third year of university had not been kind to Kate. She was too sleep-deprived to concentrate, having spent the past night scrambling to finish her assignments. 

"Euler equations are nonlinear partial differential equations for describing the dynamics—" 

Kate's eyes wandered all over the classroom, looking at anything but Professor Kyle and his presentation to make sure that she didn't fall asleep again.

Glancing at the window beside her, she noticed the dark red sky once more. It had been like this for months, all over the world, but no one could explain why. Kate wondered how long it was going to last. 

"It's raining."

Kate blinked her eyes. It seemed that even the rain was now somewhat red in color.

What a strange phenomenon.

Brrring! Brrring! Brrring!

Standing up instantly, Kate swept her books into her bag in one smooth motion. From the corner of her eye, she could see that Lucy had likewise been revitalized by the school bell. 

"You're also sleeping?"

"What do you mean by sleeping?" Lucy snorted as she stuffed her belongings into her backpack. "I was only daydreaming."

Kate chuckled.

Professor Kyle glanced down at his watch and announced in a low voice, "The class is over, you may leave now. Do not forget to finish your readings for the next lecture."

"Yes, Professor!" was the collective reply from students too excited to conceal their glee at finally being allowed to leave the lecture theatre. They had planned a small afterclass basketball match. 

*Meow~*

The little ball of fur on Professor Kyle's desk caught Kate's attention just as she was making her escape, prompting her to look back through the glass door. 

Normally, Professor Kyle wouldn't bring the kitten around. He only brought the small kitten to the vet and hadn't had the time to go home, so he could only bring the cat to the classroom.

The girls naturally didn't mind.

Many spent the lesson eyeing the kitten rather than the boring presentation. It's obvious that they wanted to pat it, but Professor Kyle's stern expression prevented anyone from asking for permission. 

Really…

They couldn't understand why this cold professor even brought such a little kitten around. The image simply didn't match!

"Are you going to watch the basketball game?" Lucy's question interrupted Kate's train of thought. 

Kate shook her head. "I haven't finished the homework yet."

"Tsk, what a model student you are."

Kate merely smiled in response and took out her phone to check for unread messages. But a sudden scream disrupted that plan. Kate pursed her lips instinctively. That scream sounded familiar. 

"Hey! What happened to you?"

"Are you alright?"

"How do you feel? Can you stand?"

Kate turned towards the commotion, only to see Lotus, one of the most popular female students and also the acclaimed university belle, crouching along the corridor, holding her head and surrounded by concerned boys. She seemed hurt. Kate felt her eyebrows arch in mild surprise. 

Lucy rolled her eyes. "She's doing it again. This is already the fourth time this week."

Kate smiled helplessly. 

Because Lotus had such a great figure and face, a lot of boys liked her. Some girls didn't like her because they felt that she was too fake, including Lucy, who didn't want to get close to Lotus at all.

Kate chose to ignore the fiasco. She quickly read and replied the new messages. Just as she was about to put her phone in her bag, she noticed that her pencil case was missing. She sighed. "I'm going back to class. I left my pencil case behind."

"Don't take too long." Lucy waved her hand.

"I won't."

She took her student card and scanned it on the scanner before pushing the door. Since this was engineering faculty, their teacher seemed to have taken it upon themselves to ensure that the engineering faculty had the most advanced technology. 

This automatically locked door was one of them. The students would have to use their card to open the look, which would naturally record their in and out. It was used for their attendance, though it was proven to be quite ineffective given that some students often 'lent' their card to their friend to 'prove' their attendance.

Naturally, when they wanted to go back home, just one student is enough because they can hold the door open and the others walked out quickly enough.

Kate walked inside and looked at the little kitten who approached her. 

*meow*

The little kitten trotted towards her. Unable to resist its cuteness, she bent down to give it a few light pats on the head. 

Kyle looked at Kate and arched his eyebrows. "Something?"

Kate stood up immediately. She had totally forgotten about Professor Kyle! 

"I…left my pencil case in the class, please excuse me, Professor." Kate bowed down and dodged his eyes. 

Kate tried to walk towards her desk, but the little kitten continued nuzzling her shoe. Kate dared not move, lest she accidentally step on it. She liked animals, and they usually liked her too. She seemed to have some affinity with animals, but now she wished she didn't. 

She felt so embarrassed. 

Professor Kyle was still clearing his desk. There were several thick tomes, and Kate knew she would never be able to understand all of them.

Seeing that Professor Kyle had no intention of helping her, Kate crouched down. "Little kitty, big sister needs to go, okay?" 

"Meow~" 

The kitten heard her, but did not budge. 

Kate felt her heart melt at its adorableness. Still, she gently eased the kitten off her shoe. 

Just as she was about to put it aside, thunder began rumbling outside. 

BABABADALGHARAGHTAK! 

Kate felt something hit her head. For a brief moment she wondered if she had been struck by lightning indoors. Her body slumped and her vision blurred. 

The last thing she saw was the kitten on her hand meowing non-stop and, behind that, Professor Kyle's body on the floor. 

'What in the world happened?'