|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Thu Oct 20, 2011 1:33 pm
HITS had seemed like an excellent idea, for Veer; a real school had to be better than the s**t online classes he was taking in his spare time, better than teachers who frequently seemed to know less than him, who assigned projects that took him 20 minutes instead of the four to five hours that they were supposed to. After a week, though, his brief bubble of excitement had faded down to a muted thrum of frustration.
Some of the classes were interesting and new, taught him things that he thought were marketable, that would make him better at his job. Database work that he could apply to his anime collection, and sharing with his IRC channel. The basics of GUI design wouldn't leave him an artist, but it'd leave him functional.
Outside of comp sci, though, he frequently found himself gritting his teeth and struggling to gather up the energy to give a s**t. He was probably going to fail English; unless he got good at cheating, it seemed doubtful that he'd be able to pass the exams. He didn't even know why they made him take this math class, since it was so mind-bogglingly easy. Ten minutes of instruction with the teacher and a glance at the book was enough to make him understand it -- and then there was another hour to go.
So. He took to sleeping in math class. Sitting near the middle and the back, his head would slowly sink down into the pillow of his arm, and only came up when the teacher's voice came like a whip-crack to get an answer out of him. It took him time to restart his brain, and his replies were mouthy, disrespectful. If he didn't flunk out, he'd probably get booted. Oh well.
Yawning, he straightened as math class ended, fine lines marring the right side of his face and his hair gone rumpled and flat. He dropped an empty notebook and a dog-eared textbook into his backpack as he stood from his desk.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Oct 20, 2011 4:37 pm
Fritz had not appreciated being expelled from DCU.
For too many unexcused absences, no less. And his plentiful excuses of "I WAS DRUGGED UP, OK? DON'T YOU GUYS READ THE NEWSPAPER?!" had done nothing except get him three pamphlets on "The Horrors of Drugs," "Drug Abuse and You," and "Why You Shouldn't Do Drugs."
Fortunately, however, before Fritz sprayed shaving cream all over the school hallways out of revenge (or maybe he just wanted to use shaving cream), he had gotten the letter from Horizon Institute.
Whatever that was. But it was a school, and it was a school that was willing to accept him, despite his absences. And, since it was either that or drop out completely, Fritz had thought it best to attend.
Except he didn't really want to attend the math class he was required - which was why he was currently sitting in it doodling all over a sheet of appear that was supposed to have been notes.
The guy next to him clearly was not paying attention either; sound asleep, his head on his arms, he had seemed to be dead to the world. At least until he was called on, after which he awoke with a start, snapped out an irritated, foul - and right - answer to the teacher's question, and promptly fell back asleep again.
Fritz, distracted from his doodling of their professor with a cabbage for a head, stared at him. And when class was over, and the other stood to leave, Fritz made to follow him. There was a slapping noise as a notebook fell from his hands, and Fritz stooped, picking up the ratty, blank thing and held it out.
"Here," he said. "This is yours?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Oct 20, 2011 7:08 pm
Veer's mind was most decisively elsewhere. Fritz spoke to him, and for a very long moment he just stared blankly at the other student, amber eyes distant, both eyebrows raised. It took some time for his processor to kick back in, for gears to turn, to figure out that it was addressed to him and --
"Uh. I don't know. Is it?" Veer reached out to take it either way, turning the notebook over in his hands and...ah. GWAR sticker. Yeah, it was his. That made him grin just a little as he nodded, tucking it into his bag and tossing it over one shoulder. Pins covered the strap; bands, video games, obnoxious slogans. A handful of patches helped it hold together. It was an old and much-loved bag.
"Eh, doesn't matter that much, but thanks." It wasn't like he'd taken any notes. Veer shrugged his coat into place and squinted at Fritz's expression for a moment before waving and twisting to go.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Oct 20, 2011 11:52 pm
"Er," said Fritz, wondering what the other was looking at, exactly. He glanced behind him first, trying to see if he was looking at someone else, and when that yielded nothing, glanced down at his shirt front to see if he'd spilled anything embarrassing on himself. "What, er..."
But after a long moment, however, the sleeper reached out and took the notebook, Fritz breathing an internal sigh of relief.
"You're welcome," he said. "And - hey, wait!"
Darting through the crowds of students, he caught up to the other, walking backwards with one hand shoved into the pocket of his jacket.
"That thing you do," said Fritz, and then, realizing he was not being clear in the slightest, figured he oughta clarify just a little bit more. "Where you, er...fall asleep and then wake up and know exactly what to say when the teacher asks you a question. How do you do that?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Oct 21, 2011 9:02 am
...persistence. It would take a bit of doing to catch up with him, not because Veer was avoiding it but just because he had a goal in mind. His goal, naturally, being a collapse back into bed at home for a proper sleep, followed by an afternoon spent fighting with Blizzard to get his WoW account opened up again.
And then an evening fighting to get back into his guild.
Life was hard.
He raised an eyebrow as Fritz settled in front of him, and his pace slowed a little, just enough that he wouldn't step on the poor kid. Fingers wrapped around the strap of his bag, he tipped his head just a little as he considered his answer. "...uh. Well, usually he had stuff on the board behind him, so I just look at it and guess at what he wants. I've ******** it up before, but who really gives a s**t, right? So long as I ace the tests, it's not like he can legit fail me..."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Oct 22, 2011 3:30 pm
"But half of the time he doesn't have stuff written on the board," said Fritz, sounding more impressed than he probably should have. He gave the other a wide smile, clearly entertained by his apparent "skill." "Yesterday he asked you a question about maths that was from the homework, and you woke up and just spouted off the right answer immediately."
Pulling his rucksack against his shoulder, Fritz swung back around so that he was side by side with the guy, rather than straight in front of him. He pushed both hands into his pocket, ambling along amiably.
"It's quite an envious trait, you know," he said wistfully. "I mean, heaven knows I haven't got it. I suppose if he called on me while I was sleeping in class, I'd wake up drooling and looking like a mad fool."
"You, however - " And here Fritz gestured over extravagantly, flashing the other a bright, cheerful grin. "You seem to have this innate ability to know exactly what to say - even if what you say isn't quite, er, school friendly, so to speak. And you still ace the tests, you say, even with sleeping through class."
"So tell me," Fritz said. "What's your secret?"
He had the feeling he was being rather annoying, but if nothing he might be able to get some decent knowledge out of the whole thing.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Oct 22, 2011 10:58 pm
To Veer, it was kind of a hilarious question -- a bit like asking birds how they flew, or musicians how they sung. The birds, likely, would have just fluttered away. The musicians would have said 'open your mouth, make sounds, voila'. The expression he gave Fritz was bemused, uncertain, eyebrows knitted together as he dug for the perfect answer.
"...math is ******** easy." Yes. It was just eloquent enough for Veer, while still being direct, to the point. It rolled off his tongue comfortably, and came with a too-wide flash of teeth, very white in his face. What that expression meant was that he was inordinately pleased with himself, patting his own back.
"I mean, come on. I'm sure you're good at something. No one's a complete waste of space." Except he paused, the expression melting and shifting, thoughtlessly mocking. "...well, maybe I shouldn't say 'no one'. I've met some people..."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Oct 22, 2011 11:31 pm
"I dunno about that," said Fritz, his expression and tone of voice completely deadpan as he turned to look at the other. "My brother Tolliver would say otherwise."
He held his face for a moment, then let it fall into an easy grin. Perhaps this guy was a little, er...different and slightly unorthodox in his methods, and he was maybe a little bit foul in his manner of speaking, but no one could say that they were not at least somewhat successful.
Which only upped Fritz's appreciation for him. He stuck out his hand.
"The name's Fritz," he said, with a wide grin. "Fritz St. James. I was wondering if maybe you'd be willing to help me out a bit, since math is so, er, easy for you."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2011 6:48 pm
"Oh, god." Veer laughed at him, but it wasn't entirely cruel. He did at least finally come to a halt, letting Fritz catch his breath and no longer risk running into walls or poles or, worst of all, other students. He rolled his shoulders in a quick shrug and settled into a more relaxed posture as he licked his lips.
"Well. First of all, being good at s**t doesn't mean you can teach it, right." He scratched at one side of his face, and his expression wasn't entirely disinterested. Just not enthusiastic about the idea. Or not optimistic, at least.
"I could trade you homework, though, maybe. If you wanted. Can you write, Fritz?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Oct 24, 2011 3:08 pm
Fritz had the sneaking suspicion that this guy was going to be like that Felix kid he'd met while in the Surrounding - hard to reach and hard to talk to, although this one was significantly more...vocal than Felix had been. Clearly he didn't mind speaking his mind in the slightest.
"True, true," Fritz consented, waving a noncommittal hand. "Just because you can ski doesn't mean you can stop someone else from running into a tree."
He tilted his head, scrutinizing the other with an expression of mild curiosity. Clearly he was not going to be an easy person to get along with; that much was true, but Fritz had never given up just because something was hard, and he as not about to start now.
"Depends on what you mean by write, mate. If you're asking if I can pen a decent paper, then yes."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2011 7:23 am
"Yeah, I suck at that s**t. So how about you write me papers and I can do your math?" He raised his eyebrows at that, obviously unrepentant about the fact that his violated pretty much every rule in the Student Handbook. That was just fine; Veer hadn't even read the Student Handbook. He'd used it to prop up the shaky leg of his chair.
"Don't know how much that'll help you with the tests, but, eh, at least it should help you scrape by." Hands disappeared into his pockets and he blinked absently at Fritz. Veer probably came out like a bandit on this deal.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Oct 28, 2011 12:43 am
Fritz lifted a brow, a mildly amused smile tugging at the corners of his lips as he regarded the other.
"That's certainly an interesting proposition," he said, hands slipped into the pockets of his dark pants. He rocked back on his heels, apparently contemplating the words of this new guy, who's name he didn't even know yet (Fritz had a sneaking suspicion he'd conveniently just skipped over that part of his introduction).
"I'll tell you what," he said finally, casting a knowing glance at the other and tilting his head to the side in what might have been a thoughtful manner. "I won't write your papers for you, but I'll do the outlines for them. That way you can just...fill in the blanks yourself."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Oct 28, 2011 9:34 am
That got a narrowed look, Veer honestly considering it -- and obviously so. He didn't quite stroke at his chin consideringly, but the fold of his arms and the set of his legs and the c**k of his head, it all was intentional. Teasing, just a little bit. Okay, maybe more than a little bit.
"Outlines and introduction paragraphs or whatever, you know, with the hypothesis." He could probably work out the rest himself. It wouldn't be fantastic writing, but it'd be passable, and the outline was usually the hard part anyway. The outline and actually getting himself off the internet long enough to actually write.
"And I guess I can give you summaries of what I did or whatever so you can study it later." Assuming he remembered. Assuming he could explain well enough.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Nov 02, 2011 12:39 am
Fritz wasn't entirely certain what he was getting into here. He had never been one to cheat so blatantly, though he did enjoy breaking rules and wreaking mischief every so often. But this was a different circumstance, one he was unfamiliar with.
Then he shrugged. Somehow or another he'd figure things out.
"Sounds like a plan to me," said Fritz, with a small smile as he hiked his rucksack further up onto his shoulder. He eyed the boy carefully for a moment, then said
"Though it might be good if you actually gave me your name so I can know with whom I'm entering into this little contract."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Nov 02, 2011 8:25 am
This time, when he grinned, it was sharp and sudden and -- well. Veer was tempted to hold out. He was tempted to give a code name [Deep Throat always a good one] or mess with Fritz. It showed in his expression, a flash through amber eyes, a slight rise of his eyebrows...
But he was good. Instead he gestured at Fritz: one hand sprawled out flat, the other scribbling with an imaginary pen in great, looping swirls. "Gimme a sheet of paper, I can give you my name and email address. Not my phone, but that's mostly just 'cause it'd be a ******** waste, I wouldn't answer..."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
