Pre-Jump Earth Literature

[aestrix]

It's a new term, and the end of the break between terms most students have been enjoying. But time marches ever on, and so at 1:00 PM, just after lunch, twenty-six students all around the age of fifteen are finding seats in an obnoxiously decorated classroom. It's one of those classrooms that tries very hard to be peppy and inspirational, and only succeeds at being very out of touch, and kind of creepy.

Soon it will be time to read about things long-dead people wrote.

Comments

[thisvorlunatic]

"I'll take it."

[poll_the_stars]

She smiles.

...

She would like to invite him to go do something fun, she's not sure what, but she thinks he could do with some cheering up, and to be honest she'd like to go do something fun, too. But - how does she. How does she even go about asking that? It's strange and complicated and scary and she simultaneously wants to reassure him that it is Not A Date and also that dates are not out of the question just please let's not be Betan about this?

Talking to people's scary. It's easier when she can just float by on snarky comments, it's much, much harder to attempt to say something with no flow of conversation helping it sail along. Does she just. Force herself to cough up the words 'Hey want to go hang out'? ... Does she want to use the term hang out, she does not believe she does, that just. Sounds. Awkward. And 'Do you want to go to [x] with me' sounds way too... datey. For her. She - maybe kind of has a bit of a crush on him, admittedly! But this does not mean she won't completely freak the fuck out if she asks the son of the (former, she reminds herself) Regent, the guy who plays board games with the Emperor, out on a date. Even if he said yes! .... Especially if he said yes!

She has never dated before! Dating is scary! Betan whatever things are easy (if highly unsatisfying) but they don't come with the weight of two Vor doing. Any sort of courtship. Not even close. Plus he seems to have some unhandled issues that should probably be reasonably in check first and she hasn't analyzed everything involved to death and she might regret accepting that declaration to be best friends and regretting doing any sort of courtship thing with another Vor is worse and she would sort of like some time to keep being herself before she flings herself at a Vor and no really she is kind of frightened!

(At some point she has started fidgeting.)

[thisvorlunatic]

By this time Miles is rereading his essay and does not notice her fidgets. He corrects a typo and changes a wording.

[poll_the_stars]

She both does not want him to notice how she is sort of silently freaking out a bit, and also would please like him to notice and fix it. Can he do that? ... She's not sure she wants him to! She does not like the idea of needing someone else to help fix her, it's - sort of hypocritical of her, she realizes, but she doesn't.

Nnnnnrgh why are things so difficult, this is hard, she would like to just, not have things be difficult like this.

...

Okay. Stop. Stop freaking out. Stop.

She has the self control to halt this shit and re-evaluate. Freak out, you are pending results of re-evaluation.

Obviously she is Not Ready For A Relationship Right Now, if she is freaking out at just the hint of maybe going on a date with Miles. That's, she'll - not. She will not. Maybe when she is a bit more - well, a bit less this, she can possibly Attempt To Date The Cute Well-Spoken Vor. And until then she sees no reason as to why she shouldn't be his friend. She does actually want to be his friend, along with the - the confusing blurble of romantic whatever. So she can pick the just friends option without much regret. So this is now Solved. Good? Good.

Phew. Okay. Now. Does she still want to go do a fun thing?

...

Actually, no. She kind of wants to go curl up in bed for several hours and not do things, having a mild internal freak out is draining.

Well, that solves that, though she'll likely want to go do a fun thing with Miles later, for sure. Okay. That she can do. She has had friends before, if not best friends, she can handle this, sort of, if she sticks to script.

"Are you going to be busy tomorrow?" she wonders.

[thisvorlunatic]

"Well, I have a history class all morning, but my afternoon's free."

[poll_the_stars]

"Do you want to do something in the afternoon? Go be best friends?"

[thisvorlunatic]

He looks away from the screen to grin at her. "Definitely!"

[poll_the_stars]

Oh good. That went well.

"Great!" says Yvette, smiling.

[thisvorlunatic]

"Anything in particular you want to go do?"

[poll_the_stars]

"Not really. Uh. Nothing super touristy?"

[thisvorlunatic]

"Okay, let's see, what could we go do..." He drums his fingers lightly on the desk. "I can't for the life of me remember the name, but there's that one science museum, d'you know the one I'm talking about? It's close to the spaceport and therefore constantly flooded with tourists, but I keep hearing amazing things about their exhibits and then not getting around to going there because I am too busy oh for example making my teacher cry."

[poll_the_stars]

"Hmmm. I think science is worth putting up with tourists. That'll work for me."

[thisvorlunatic]

"Great. And we should probably exchange contact information in case somebody has trouble finding the place—"

And lo, there was contact information.

[poll_the_stars]

Contact information! Gosh!

"And consequently we are no longer stuck with class and class related activities for talking. Hooray!"

[thisvorlunatic]

"This seems an important step on the road to saving the galaxy together," Miles agrees.

[poll_the_stars]

"My alternate plan was wandering around the school, calling 'MILES! THE GALAXY IS NOT YET SAVED!' into crowds. This is quite an improvement."

[thisvorlunatic]

"...Although that would have been hilarious, I think I have to agree."

[poll_the_stars]

"Sabine would have helped. She has quite the shouting voice."

[thisvorlunatic]

"Potentially also hilarious, but less easily imagined since I've never met her."

[poll_the_stars]

Giggle. "This is true. Oh well. I can introduce you to her sometime, I think you'd like her."

[thisvorlunatic]

"Sure."

[poll_the_stars]

"Hmm, want me to help spell check the essay to see if you missed anything? ... I promise not to try to space the terminal."

[thisvorlunatic]

"That is good. If you space the terminal I'll just have to write the whole thing again. Sure, go ahead."

[poll_the_stars]

Read read read wince suppressed hug urges read read minor punctuation fix, read, deep breath that sounds like it is building up to a ramble about the value of human life, but then is cut off, read read read minor correction. And then she is out of essay.

"Looks good to me. Time to send it in?"

[thisvorlunatic]

"Yeah."

He submits the essay.

"Alas, I will probably never find out if he cried."