Burdens - Chapter 36: Trials
#36 of Burdens
Bleh.
Chapter 36: Trials
It had been a moment's deliberation, but his answer was final. He nodded slowly, almost as if he were giving himself time to change his mind, but he knew it would not change.
He looked at the skunk and said clearly, "Yes, he'd be better off with me tutoring him."
The skunk nodded. "Yes, I figured... as much. Well, so be it. For the rest of however long it should be, he's under your supervision. I trust that you'll see to it that he, um... thrives, as it were."
Roger cocked his head, gave a puzzled expression, but nodded in agreement. "Yeah, sure. Shouldn't we be heading to class?"
The teacher nodded after checking his watch. "We have a few minutes, but I wanted to get your, uh... opinion first. Thank you for your time, Mr. Colton. I hope to see some, hm... success in your two's future. He's counting on you."
Roger nodded, got up, and left the office. What a strange teacher, he thought to himself. He had not encountered many like him, and the manner in which he spoke was odd. He spoke normally in the classroom and during lectures, but perhaps that was merely because it was a topic in which he was well versed and pretty much had scripted.
He returned to his seat in the classroom, followed after a moment by the teacher. They began their lesson, and he began to idly ignore it. His mind was too occupied to be really concerned about the teaching, especially when he already knew the material.
He stared at his desk, focused. He thought about what the skunk had told him and about what he agreed to. It felt as if he had sealed his fate. He had an escape from the prison he was placed in, yet he did not take it. It was the release he had wanted, but he could not bear to let the wolf take the fall. He looked around at the room.
He judged the rest of the class. He was not too arrogant, but he knew that none of the other students were more capable than he was when it came to the studies and materials. They were still learning things, he had already known. He knew he was best equipped to tutor the wolf, and to leave it to someone less capable was to forsake him.
Aside from that, the wolf was temperamental. Even he had his prejudices at the start, but he was quick to accept how the wolf truly was. Would someone else be as accepting? He thought about it for the moment, but concluded that they would not be. At least not as accepting as he, he assumed.
It was all hypothesis and theory as far as he was concerned, but he did not base it solely on presumption.
The time came for the class to leave and head toward their next one. The fox walked out first, being situated near the door. He stopped outside it, like he was beginning to grow accustomed. The wolf left and noticed him, so walked to the side and said a greeting. He had a smiling face and a waving tail. The fox was embraced.
Blushing, he quickly pushed the wolf away and hoped that no one had seen. In privacy, it was not too horrible, since no one would be around to judge him, but in such a setting, it would be easy for someone to assume the worst and for rumors to spread. He apologized for his actions, though, and explained.
The wolf shrugged. He told the fox that he did not really care about such things, so long as he had his best friend beside him. Still, he considered it, took it as a warning, and assured Roger that he would try to refrain from doing so in the future.
They parted ways and continued their day. The next few classes were dull, but the fox's mind was still reeling. He focused on the plans he had fabricated, hoping that the implementation was at least close to what he imagined, and perhaps that the products of such interactions would be favorable. At the very least, he wanted to get it over with. The uncertainty was the most bothersome thing.
-
Lunch came much more quickly than he had hoped, yet he had been anticipating it and had been in waiting. Now was the time, but he needed to find her first. She would be near her group of friends first, of course. He knew where that was generally, but not so much specifically. He knew from many, many cycles that she would have to walk by before she got to where the food was distributed. That was where he would make his attempt.
He stood there patiently. From the past few classes he had discerned his friends had no idea as to her identity, except that she existed and she had an appearance. He departed from their accompaniment and stood alone to the side, waiting.
It was only a couple minutes before he took notice of her. He pretended not to, of course, until she was closer. When she did reach the appropriate location, he began his approach. He gave eye contact, and she returned it for a glimpse to determine that he was not a threat, then returned her gaze to what was in front of her, as was the usual mode to watch for obstacles.
He cleared his throat, softly at first to grab her attention, but when it did not work, a bit louder. She turned, and his breath was gone.
She looked confused, and he could see why. He had gotten her attention, and now he was mute. He forced himself to speak, and it was but a nervous stutter, far from what he had desired. "H-hey, sorry to... to bother you, but um..." he began unsuccessfully.
She did not seem offended, though. She waited and he continued, picking up a bit more confidence, "Here, uh... I'm Roger." She nodded. "I've seen you around a few times and, uh... if you don't mind me asking, could I get your name?"
She shrugged and nodded. She gave a weak smile and simply said, "Mary."
Up close, she was much more attractive than he had recalled. She did not seem to be disgusted with him, and for that he was grateful, but she definitely did not seem to fall for him on first glance. In fact, it really did seem like it was the first time she had seen him, his anonymity becoming much more apparent.
He offered a paw, and she shook it after hesitating. For a brief moment, everything was silent, and he wanted to flee. He did not know why, but that seemed to be the feeling he had whenever such a situation presented itself.
She smiled and said, "I'm sorry, um... but I should probably go get lunch...."
He nodded quickly. "Oh, of course. I'm sorry to keep you. Maybe we can, uh... talk sometime?"
She nodded. "Sometime, sure."
She left to go get her food. He retreated for the time. "Mary," he said softly to himself. "Okay."
He sighed and it felt as if a weight had been removed. Now was the difficult part, though.