Invisible Scars
Proffesor Smith adjusted his coffee colored blazer and pointed to the
dust covered chalkboard.
“Can anybody tell me what happens in the second stage of meiosis?”
Cindy raised her left hand confidently, and before he could pick on anybody, she blurted
“Each chromosome splits into two halves!”
Professor Smith sighed deeply, dragging his calloused hands across his freshly shaven cheek
past his mouth.
“Thank you Cindy, again. How about we give somebody else a chance to answer.
What about you Rachel? What are those two halves called?”
Her eyes shifted focus from the tinted windows obstructing the rays of sunlight that
attempted to penetrate through,
and she looked at him with confused gaze.
“I, I don’t know professor.”
“Sister chromatids. They’re called sister chromatids. Please try to pay attention to what’s
happening inside the room rather than what’s going on outside.”
“Sorry,” she whispered quietly as she tilted her head slightly downward.
She stared blankly at her stomach for a while, until the professor resumed his lecture.
She lifted up her shirt slightly to examine the fresh wound where the needle had been
inserted earlier that morning and gingerly stroked it with her index finger.