Entropy

"Entropy does what now?" K asked of Jay, who laughed a familiar and ever so slightly irritating laugh. K rubbed his face knowing that the coming explanation was going to be partially truthful and interesting, but largely grandiose and fictional. He glanced up at the grinning vampire who was leaning over the computer help desk at an unnatural angle to get a view of K's computer screen.

"I'm just sayin', is all, that entropy and vampires makes a lot of sense," Jay insisted returning his body to a more normal angle as a student walked into the computer lab. Jay had taken a physics class to fill one of his required classes for graduation. K had declined Physics for Chemistry, as it was by far the easier class, but with as much Jay liked to talk about his Physics class, K felt he was learning almost as much if not more than Jay was, excepting of course that K could never really be sure which parts were true without actually borrowing Jay's always conveniently missing Physics book.

"Since I'm fairly certain there's no way you'll let me get out of this conversation, and the general lack of people bothering me with questions right now, why don't we go take a smoke break?" K suggested, locking his computer. Normally, leaving a computer locked in a college computer lab was a sure way to get your information stolen, but K's eight digit password would take a Cray super computer eight hours to crack. Both K and Jay had learned some valuable lessons from their Intro to Cryptogrophy class.

"Yay, smoke break!" Jay grinned at the inside joke. K didn't smoke and neither did Jay. Not that either of them found smoking particularly objectionable, that is. Jay had smoked from time to time before, and probably would again, and though K never smoked, he never minded it either. But it was an excellent excuse for taking a five minute break from the computer lab. And, like all true smokers, those five minutes were taken in perspective of a smokers five minutes, that being, "I'll be on break for as long as I god damn well feel like it."

"So entropy," K prompted as he leaned comfortably up against his favorite place on the wall in front of the lab's building, ironically right next to the ashtray set out for smokers.

"Entropy affects vampires, as it does with many apex predators, in that to create a more balanced eco-system vampires need to be spread about to keep their respective packs safe from over feeding," Jay explained. "This works similarly in hunting and killing in that leopards and panthers and the like have large and non-overlapping hunting ranges, such that no one group of prey is over hunted.

"Of course, there is the occasional overlap, and since no one is getting killed, vampires have to be extra careful to keep to their territory. Since we don't really have to fight to figure out who the stronger person is, and we can be reasonable, normally these border disputes get quietly and quickly handled when the other vampire is found.

"But most interesting is-" K cut Jay off with a beleaguered sigh.

"Jay, you do remember that you only need a D minus to pass this frickin' class, right?" K reminded Jay purposefully. Jay only laughed again.

"Just because you're not enjoying your Chemistry class is no reason to steal my fun from having taking the more interesting hard science," Jay, ever the gentleman, stuck his tongue out at K, who rolled his eyes and sighed. K glanced left as a female student entered the building.

"Hi K, Jay," the young lady smiled at the two letters of the alphebet. Her smile widened as she noted the pained expression on K's face. "Smoke break?" K nodded while massaging his temples which provoked a peal of laughter as the young lady continued on into the building.

"One of these days you're actually going to let me get her phone number," Jay commented, leaning right so he could watch the young lady walk into the building and down the stairs to the lab.

"And one of these days you'll believe me when I say she would set you on fire as soon as talk to you if she knew what you were," K shook his head and smiled, his first smile in several hours. "We'll find you someone nice who isn't going to freak out when you off handedly comment on the flavor of male blood versus female blood." Jay scowled.

"You've been promising me that for months," Jay pointed out. "And I see her on her way into this building far too often to continue to be patient."

"If I didn't think I'd have to help you recover from burn wounds, I assure you, I'd be pushing her at you," K shook his head helplessly.

"She's pursuing you then?" Jay asked, eyebrow raised. He was always shocked how K's seeming total lack of interest in girls was like a beacon in the dark to them.

"She's certainly trying," K admitted.

"And the fact that you currently have a girlfriend gives her no pause?" Jay asked, pursing his lips.

"None whatsoever," K sighed.

"Well, you do kinda go through girlfriends like fasion fads," Jay teased. K affixed Jay with a glare.

"You don't make fun of my girlfriend habits and I won't remind you what president was in office when last you had a girl," K grumbled. Jay held up his hands in defeat.

"So anyway, because of the apex predator status..." Jay started again.

"Oh no, not this again! Break's over! Back to work!" K waved his hands around in a futile attempt to get Jay to stop talking, even as he realized it would be a wasted effort. K stalked back into the office with Jay spouting his physics/vampires theories the entire way. The fact that this was so normal that not a single student so much as batted an eye should tell you something about the usual smoke break conversations Jay inflicted upon K.