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his favorite. His teacher, Mr. Belden, had a knack for making a boring subject interesting. He knew how to relate abstract concepts to real life. DNA was not just the building block of life in Belden's class, it was the building block of each and every student's life. Jody arrived well before the bell rang, and entered an almost empty classroom. Mr. Belden was there, of course, reviewing his lecture notes. Just one other student was present, sitting in the last row at the back of the classroom. Jody's heart leapt. He couldn't believe his good fortune. It was Missy. She saw him enter and brightened.
    "Hi again, Jody," she said. "Short time, no see."
    "Hi Missy," responded Jody. This was the critical moment, and Jody was determined not to blow it. "Any vacancies back there?"
    Missy laughed, and Jody was thrilled. "As you can see, they're all taken, but I told the guy next to me to get lost because you were coming."
    It was Jody's turn to laugh. He walked to the back of the room, trying mightily to stay as coordinated as possible. There were still a few minutes left before class started, and the two of them began an animated conversation as the classroom filled. Mr. Belden called the class to order and silence gradually descended. As much as he liked Mr. Belden's lectures, Jody was disappointed that he couldn't continue the conversation. On the plus side, though, he had the distinct impression that Missy felt the same way.
    Mr. Belden was tall, bony and angular. He wore wire rimmed glasses perched on a hawk nose. His thin hair had receded back to the middle of his head, giving him the look of a man whose brain had enlarged to the point of expanding his cranium. He looked more like a college professor than a high school teacher, and for good reason. Jody had heard that he had actually been a microbiology research professor at a major university before he came to their school. Rumor had it that he had quit when the school refused to fund one of his research projects.
    Mr. Belden cleared his throat.
    "Welcome once again, class, to the fascinating world of biology." He waited for the laughter to subside. He knew well that not everyone was as enthralled with biology concepts as Jody and a few other students were. Undeterred, Mr. Belden continued. "Today's topic is symbiosis. Symbiosis has to do with close relationships between organisms. There are several categories of symbiotic relationships. We'll be exploring and discussing all of them today."
    Most of the class groaned, but Jody stayed attentive.
    "As I mentioned, symbiosis is a close ecological relationship between individuals of two or more different species. Sometimes the symbiotic relationship benefits both species, sometimes one species benefits at the other's expense, and in other cases neither species benefits. Can anyone give me an example of a symbiotic relationship that benefits both species?"
    Jody raised his hand, but Mr. Belden unwisely chose Marisa instead.
    "John Stokes and Maryanne Halpern?" she offered. The class broke up into laughter. John and Maryanne had been going steady since sixth grade. Mr. Belden waited for the laughter to subside.
    "Marisa, you would be right if John and Maryanne were different species. They are different sexes, but not species." The class tittered when Mr. Belden used the word "sex."
    "Anybody else?" asked Mr. Belden. "Jody?"
    Jody answered "Honey bees and flowers?"
    "Excellent example, Jody. The flower is dependent on the honey bee to transfer its genetic material from one flower to another, thus allowing the flower to reproduce. The process is called pollination, and many flowers would not be able to survive without the intervention of the bees."
    During the next forty-five minutes, Mr. Belden covered the three different types of symbiosis. Jody and Missy were particularly fascinated by the class's discussion of "parasitic" organisms versus "mutualistic" organisms. Parasites were organisms that harmed their hosts. Viruses were prime