Phil's not huge on group projects, either. He's a good student, but he works hard for a lot of those grades. He works especially hard in science. It's not that he's bad at it, but his father expects him to be quite a bit better at it than he is. His father is a chemistry professor at the local college. Science has always been emphasized as important in Phil's home. Even if his father doesn't say anything, Phil can tell that he's disappointed when Phil has anything less than an A in any of his science classes.
In group projects, he always gets stuck doing all of the work and it's hard for him. If he isn't doing all the work, he's stuck with some pushy asshole who tries to throw him under the bus for not doing enough after they practically power-tripped the assignment out of Phil's hands. He's a little relieved when he gets assigned to Banner. He gets good grades and he doesn't seem to be a pushy Type A person as far as Phil can tell
( ... )
Don't sigh, Bruce. Don't do it. He can be something of a dick, especially when provoked, but usually if he's abrasive it's just because he hardly talks to anyone. He keeps his head down too, preferring to be invisible when possible, which means his social skills are a little underdeveloped. He also generally is braced for someone to be mean to him; it just seems like most of his interactions are centered around cruelty.
He's not at that point yet, at least, though he does at least groan inwardly."Not... exactly." He pulls the lab notebook they're sharing for the sake of the assignment, and he sets it between them. "First we need to record what's happened to what we mixed earlier. Then we need to titrate that with solution C. Do you -- " He makes a face. "Well, you want to write down what the mixture looks like
( ... )
Phil's face sort of falls a little. Damn. He'd thought that he'd been paying attention, but then he'd been sitting behind Sarah and, okay, she'd smelled really nice and she'd kept flipping her hair. It had been distracting.
"Yes, please." He tried not to sound too upset about needing the help. "I hate having to ask my dad. He expects me to be way better at this stuff." He's not awful at it, but he loses track of things. He's so much better at writing papers than doing lab work. Why can't he just take extra history classes instead of chemistry?
Oh, God, this is embarrassing. He's going to owe Bruce so much for this. He just knows it.
He tries to force a small smile. "Sorry. I'm trying. Science isn't exactly my best subject." It's kind of his worst subject. He just works hard enough for no one at home to notice. "Tell me what to do and I'll do it." That way, no one gets blown up and nothing gets ruined, at least.
Oh, those kinds of distractions. Bruce has those more than he'd like and he'd just rather not concentrate on them, because if he can't acquire a friend to eat lunch with him, how is he going to acquire a love interest? That seems like a step in this human experiment called "socialization" that he just hasn't developed enough skills to reach. Or luck. That one too. Bruce wouldn't say he has a crush on anyone, exactly; there was someone freshman year, who'd been in a lot of his same classes and who was nice to him, at least...
But he moved away, and they didn't keep in touch, and Bruce still doesn't know what to call that. And if he moved away then it doesn't matter.
Phil's going to be one of those. Could be worse; could be a lot worse. At least he's offering to help. Bruce nods and taps his fingers on the table as he considers where to start
( ... )
Comments 18
In group projects, he always gets stuck doing all of the work and it's hard for him. If he isn't doing all the work, he's stuck with some pushy asshole who tries to throw him under the bus for not doing enough after they practically power-tripped the assignment out of Phil's hands. He's a little relieved when he gets assigned to Banner. He gets good grades and he doesn't seem to be a pushy Type A person as far as Phil can tell ( ... )
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He's not at that point yet, at least, though he does at least groan inwardly."Not... exactly." He pulls the lab notebook they're sharing for the sake of the assignment, and he sets it between them. "First we need to record what's happened to what we mixed earlier. Then we need to titrate that with solution C. Do you -- " He makes a face. "Well, you want to write down what the mixture looks like ( ... )
Reply
"Yes, please." He tried not to sound too upset about needing the help. "I hate having to ask my dad. He expects me to be way better at this stuff." He's not awful at it, but he loses track of things. He's so much better at writing papers than doing lab work. Why can't he just take extra history classes instead of chemistry?
Oh, God, this is embarrassing. He's going to owe Bruce so much for this. He just knows it.
He tries to force a small smile. "Sorry. I'm trying. Science isn't exactly my best subject." It's kind of his worst subject. He just works hard enough for no one at home to notice. "Tell me what to do and I'll do it." That way, no one gets blown up and nothing gets ruined, at least.
Reply
But he moved away, and they didn't keep in touch, and Bruce still doesn't know what to call that. And if he moved away then it doesn't matter.
Phil's going to be one of those. Could be worse; could be a lot worse. At least he's offering to help. Bruce nods and taps his fingers on the table as he considers where to start ( ... )
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