Errors, Mistakes [Koschei/Theta, OC/Theta] (Disappearance)
Pairing: Koschei/Theta, OC/Theta
Challenge: Disappearance
Rating: PG-15
Warnings: Mentioned rape of a minor
Spoilers: none
Summary: Theta really needs to learn when to shut up.
The class was boring beyond belief, and the boy generally known as Theta Sigma already regretted attending at all. But the end of the term was nearing and it wouldn’t do any harm for him to be seen by his teachers. Just so they knew he existed and wouldn’t let him fail because of lack of enthusiasm.
Some of the exams for this term had already been written, and he was fairly certain he had passed enough of them not to get kicked out of the academy. Still he’d make sure to be at least average in the next one, to be on the safe side. Ever since he’s entered the academy Theta had scraped though his exams with little more then the absolute minimum of points required for passing. The one thing teachers and pupils generally agreed on was that it was only luck that had allowed him to come this far. Every year they expected him to finally fail, and every year Theta got some secret satisfaction out of picturing the moment the lecturers added up his marks and realised that once again he hadn’t.
His lack of brains and inability to keep to the more stupid rules made sure that he was hardly their favourite student. It also made him sit here, pretending to listen to some old fool’s words, instead of being elsewhere and doing something useful - Time Lord lecturer’s were supposed to be above letting students fail because of anything else but their written marks, but Theta knew they weren’t. He didn’t want to push his luck.
Contrary to public belief he actually wanted to graduate from the academy, because if he didn’t he would never be able to take a TARDIS and get away from here.
Also, he didn’t want to give the entire Prydonian chapter the satisfaction of seeing him fail.
Koschei never understood his lack of ambition. His roommate and only friend wanted all the world to see that he was one of the best. He wanted the possibilities being one of the best would offer to him. He wanted to change the world. Theta only wanted to leave. He’d accepted years ago that this world couldn’t be changed. The Time Lords would never use their power for anything useful - once he had his own TARDIS Theta would turn his back on Gallifrey and its society and do all the things his people were too ignorant to do.
He had the power to make things better, out there in this terrible and fascinating cosmos. It would be wrong not to use them.
And to reach his goals he needed to be average. Good graduates received far too much attention.
Theta sighed and slumped a little in his seat. Only seventy-four more years to go…
At least passing his exams with the absolute minimum of points didn’t require a whole lot of work. Today he attended his classes, and that, Theta decided, was enough learning for one day. Once he was out of here he would get into the library under the pretence of learning and see if he could find out more about…
“Theta Sigma,” someone said. Startled, Theta focused his gaze on Lord Deliarux in the centre of the circular classroom. He was standing beside the holographic projection of a schematic visualization of the vortex, surrounded by mathematical symbols. And clearly expecting an answer to the question he had just posed. Whatever that might have been.
Theta’s thoughts raced. He could admit that he had not listened, but showing that he didn’t pay attention somewhat negated the impression he wanted to make by attending the class. Alternatively he could just say something and risk making a fool of himself.
He looked at the hologram. If the lecturer’s question had anything to do with the mathematic formulas displayed there he could imagine what that question had been. After all he had read the textbook for this class once, and in these halls there hadn’t been a question requiring independent thoughts for generations. Everything taught here was in some way related to the books. One more thing that made attending the actual classes a little redundant in Theta’s opinion.
He decided to be brave.
And answered what he hoped had been the question.
For a moment Lord Deliarux was still. Then he frowned.
From somewhere in the back Theta heard a badly suppressed giggle. It was soon joined by another one.
“An interesting answer,” the teacher said. “Would you mind coming down here to repeat it?”
At least this time Theta knew for sure what the question had been.
“Yes, I would,” he answered honestly.
“Come down here!” Deliarux ordered impatiently. Reluctantly Theta complied. More giggles followed him.
Dinner in the hall wasn’t going to be a lot of fun today.
“Now,” his teacher said when Theta stood beside him. He gestured to the control pad for the projection. “Please be so kind to demonstrate what you think the movement of a capsule charged with temporal energy though the vortex would look like. A few explanations would be nice as well. Just so we’ll be able to understand the process.”
“Well, first of all the temporal energies would need to be channelled by the coronal field-matrix and turned back to the source of…” Theta stopped, and bit his lips. Everyone was staring at him with expectant grins on their faces. They were just waiting for him to realise how stupid his answer was.
In the circular room it was impossible to turn his back on everyone, so he concentrated on the controls instead as he keyed in his data. The mathematical symbols dancing around them changed, as did the projection of the vortex. The lazy movement of the schematic visualisation picked up speed. A lot of speed.
The other students were kind enough to stop giggling.
“The energies are fed back to the source before they are send outside to react with the currents of the vortex, the fields collide and the potential power can be used to its full extent,” he kept his explanation as simple a possible, hiding his relief at seeing that his untested theory really worked.
When he turned to Deliarux his heart sank. The professor’s face was dark with anger.
“I do not appreciate being made fun of, boy,” he said darkly.
‘Neither do I,’ though Theta. ‘But I can’t recall anyone ever asking.’
“It would never work that way,” the teacher pointed out to the class. “We all know that this young man has a tasteless sense of humour, but he must be a fool to believe he can confuse us by entering the right data while speaking of the wrong one. They method he described can’t work.”
“If he entered the data we always work with, why does the vortex move much faster than usual in the projection?” someone in the lecture hall called. Theta felt inappropriately happy to recognize Koschei’s voice, but kept himself from smiling.
“Because he manipulated the projector,” Deliarux answered without missing a beat. “Now, can anyone tell me why the process described by young Theta can’t work?”
A lot of lights came into existence above the tables, indicating the students eager to give an answer. Lord Deliarux chose Varash, who looked far too pleased with himself when he said, “The energies would get into a feedback loop and tear apart the time capsule.”
“As anyone who’s studied the documents of our ancestors should know,” their teacher nodded.
“Oh, yes, that!” exclaimed Theta. “I read that textbook, actually. And I thought there was something funny about the results of the calculations given there, because they indicate that there would be a direct connection between the distance, both local and temporal, travelled in the vortex, and the subjective time needed to go there. That is not the case - as anyone who’s living on Gallifrey should know - and so I had a closer look at the given data. Checking the calculations I found out that there is an error in the one predicting the time capsule’s destruction.”
“An error,” echoed Deliarux, his face displaying disbelief. “There will be consequences for your insolence, child!” he suddenly hissed. “Who are you to claim that you, a less than average pupil, have found an error all the high lords have missed in thousands of years? Why do you think you know more than we do?”
Theta stared back darkly. This was the moment for an apology and a meek retreat to his seat, to face the mocking of his classmates.
“Because it’s written in the books,” he said defiantly. “Because all the books just copy the data given in one old document and everyone has always assumed that it has to be correct. No one ever questions anything left to us by our ancestors. It’s too much effort to think for yourself, I guess. That’s why this civilisation has failed to make any progress for a thousand generations!”
He saw a shadow moving towards him, and before he could react something hard collided with his cheek. The next thing Theta knew was that he was sitting on the ground, pressing a hand to his face and staring up at the furious face of this teacher.
There were no giggles this time, he noticed through the pain. Just whispers and a few shocked gasps. Their lecturers yelled a lot, but this was the first time they had ever seen one loose his temper like this and hit a student. Time Lords, they were taught again and again, didn’t do this sort of thing.
Koschei had half-risen from his seat. He looked like it was only Runcible’s hand on his arm that was keeping him from running down to them.
“I will not bear your presence any longer!” Deliarux thundered. “How dare you! You will not attend this class again until you have learned humility and the respect to your elders you are so desperately lacking. After this class you will come to my office. Now, remove yourself from my sight!”
‘If you can’t bear my presence, calling me to your office was not your brightest idea ever,’ Theta thought, but this time he knew better than to say it aloud.
His robes were flapping as he stormed out of the room, wondering if there was any chance left for him to pass his exams in the next two millennia.
Maybe this was the time for plan B: Steal a TARDIS and never come back here.
It seemed like a good idea at the moment.
-
Having off until the end of class Theta went back to the room he shared with Koschei and tried to get some sleep. Unfortunately his thoughts kept him awake to the point where he really considered to run away and never come back. Not only had he managed to spoil his chances for graduation, he had also made a completely fool of himself - what did it matter that he was right? Everyone was going to have so much fun from now on, even more so than before. Koschei was probably asking for a new room already. Theta couldn’t blame him. He wouldn’t want to be seen with himself either, right now.
And all that just because he didn’t know when to shut up. He would be more careful from now on, he promised himself. If he ever got the chance to mess something up again, that was.
Thankfully all the other pupils where having dinner when he made his way to Deliarux office, so he didn’t run into anyone from his class. Theta did not dare to be late for this appointment, as much as he hated going there. Maybe, if he apologized, the teacher would still let him pass.
And afterwards he would chew off his tongue…
In his attempt not to show his insecurity he knocked on the door harder than necessary. Deliarux let him knock two more times before he finally called him in.
The older Time Lord was sitting behind his desk, gesturing him to stand in the middle of the large office without saying a word. Nervously, Theta did so.
Deliarux regarded him intently, motionless, for a long time. Eventually he said, “Take of you robes.”
Theta grid his teeth but did as he was told, until only the short tunic he wore beneath his student’s robes protected him from the other’s stare. He didn’t know the purpose of this order, but it certainly had something to do with humiliation, and he had no intention of showing the old bastard how uneasy he was felling.
“You’re still wearing some of your clothes,” Lord Deliarux noted. “It makes me think you do not really want to convince me to let you pass my class.”
“The exam is tomorrow,” Theta dared to say. “You can’t let me fail if my results are good.”
A low chuckle.
“Experience shows that good results are not something you could give me. And even if you would - results can be manipulated. Now take of your clothes. All of them.”
Theta almost asked if anything he did would make a difference at this point, or if he was going to embarrass himself only to be send home afterwards. He bit his tongue instead and kept his face blank as he slipped out of his remaining clothes.
“I will speak plainly to you,” Lord Deliarux stated, rising from his chair. “You are a nuisance without any potential - that you have reached this year of learning is a shame. I would like to see you removed from the academy forever. This wish is shared by many of my colleagues, so do not bother to report what will happen in this room. No one will care.”
He slowly circled his student, eying him coldly. Theta shivered. Although normally nudity didn’t bother him, he felt exposed and vulnerable. The urge to run away grew stronger with every second.
“Besides, no one would believe you,” the other pointed out. “I will not forbid you to tell anyone of my actions as it will only lead to you getting banned for questionable morals. Kneel.”
“Why not just kick me out and be done with it?” Theta couldn’t help asking even as he sank to his knees, his hearts pounding wildly in his chest.
“Because, my boy, things like that are more complicated than you could possibly imagine. I would have to write reports, present my reasons. A meeting of all your teachers would decide your fate, and while no one cares enough for you to ask many questions it remains a waste of time I would like to avoid. So I’m leaving the decision to you.”
He crouched down behind Theta, leaning closer, so the boy felt the other’s breath on his bare shoulder as he spoke. Nothing the man did made any sense to him, but for the first time he felt real fear.
“Once I’m finished with you, you are free to leave the academy of your own will. If you should decide to stay -” Theta felt a cold hand trail down his back. He couldn’t move. “If you decide to stay, I will see you again next week.”
Deliarux’s presence disappeared from right behind Theta as he stood again and walked away. Not daring to say anything, not daring to even turn his head, Theta clenched his fists and fought against the wave of rage and fear. Whatever the other was planning for him, it would have to be bad if it was meant to drive him away. Such a nice and easy way to get rid of the unpleasant student. Theta would not give him that satisfaction.
He closed his eyes when he heard the sound of the door being locked.
-
Their room was empty when Koschei returned there after dinner. He didn’t think much of it - Theta had told him about his plans to go to the library, and after the incident in class today he probably had run off somewhere to sulk.
Although Koschei had expected his friend to come to him and tell him how his appointment with Lord Old Geezer had gone. He’d already mentally steeled himself for a long ramble about the unfairness of life in general and the faults of academy learning in particular, spiced with a few insults for Deliarux. Not that Koschei didn’t agree, but he still had a bit of learning to do, and Theta was pretty much the only person in the Prydon academy that wasn’t easy to ignore.
That included their teachers. In most classes Koschei was listening about as intently as Theta did, although he usually was at least physically present, and always ready to answer the questions.
All in all he was probably lucky that his roommate wasn’t there yet. Koschei decided to use the time before Theta returned to learn for the exam in temporal mechanics. Other than his friend he did care for good marks. He would never really understand why Theta was happy with being only just good enough, when he could be one of the best.
Today’s class had proven it once again. Good thing their lecturers were so narrow minded - else they might someday realise that Theta wasn’t quite as stupid as they believed him to be.
Koschei himself never argued with the general opinion outside their shared rooms. Life was much easier if he just went with the flow, for now. His time would come.
Outside, the second sun was setting. Koschei read the page in front of him and it didn’t seem in the least familiar despite him having read the same page three times before. With an exasperated sigh he glanced over to Theta’s empty bed. Time for the little idiot to come back, so they could get done with his complaining and Koschei could concentrate on learning again.
Half an hour later he was in the library, accessing the central computer to see if Theta had logged in. He hadn’t been here all day.
Koschei frowned. Well, maybe the appointment with Lord Deliarux had taken longer than expected - the teacher had been very angry, after all. With Theta’s luck he would be in that office, listening to an infuriated lecture, until morning.
He’d brought it onto himself, really. There was a reason for Koschei to keep his own thoughts to himself, after all. Now he could only hope his friend didn’t get banned from the academy. It would be boring without him.
And if they gave him another roommate, Koschei might get banned himself. For murder.
But he needn’t have worried. Theta was in their room when Koschei returned, his small frame just about visible under the covers of his bed.
“Hey,” Koschei greeted, poking the lump under the blanket with his finger. “What did he tell you?”
There was no answer, just a slight movement that indicated Theta curling even further around himself. Koschei began to be slightly worried. He knew of his friend’s emotional vulnerability, but Theta had learned to swallow his feelings years ago. For him to react like this, it had to be at least medium bad.
Koschei remembered the shocked expression on the other’s face when Lord Deliarux had punched him today. (He also remembered his own fury.)
“Did they kick you out after all?” he asked with forced lightness. He poked again when Theta didn’t immediately answer.
“No.” His friend’s voice was but a whisper. He sounded hoarse.
Koschei managed to mask his sigh of relief as a sigh of impatience. “What’s wrong, then?”
“Leave me alone, Koschei.”
The words were lacking force. Theta only sounded exhausted and very, very miserable. Koschei tried to imagine what might have caused this, and even though he failed, his face hardened in anger. It didn’t even matter if Deliarux had done this to him, or anyone else. It didn’t even matter what exactly they had done.
Theta wasn’t theirs to hurt!
“Tell me what happened!” he demanded. When Theta stayed stubbornly silent he grabbed the blanket and pulled it away.
The other boy held on to it with a cry and tried to pull it over his head again but Koschei was stronger. In the fading light falling in through the window he stared down onto the skinny, trembling form of his friend and didn’t feel shocked. He didn’t feel pity. Only a cold, burning hatred.
Theta was wearing his sleeping clothes but they were too short to hide the bruises on his legs and arms, and too thin to keep the blood from seeping through his pants and soil the sheets.
Koschei’s hearts were racing, but he stayed perfectly calm as he sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled Theta close. Despite his wish to be left alone the other boy clung to him with all the strength he had left and quietly sobbed into his arms, while Koschei stroked his long, blonde hair. He hid his fury well.
“Did the old bastard do this to you?” he asked after a while, unnecessarily. In his arms, Theta shook his head.
“It doesn’t matter,” he whispered.
“Yes, it does!”
“No!” The force behind the word was unexpected. When Theta pulled away the tears had stopped running and his stare was surprisingly intense. “You will forget what you just saw here,” he said firmly.
“Like hell!”
“Koschei.” Theta’s gaze softened a little. “Please.”
When Koschei reached out to cup his face he didn’t flinch.
“How could I?” he asked. “How could you?”
“I can,” Theta told him, “because I have made a decision. This was just a moment a weakness. It won’t happen again.” He sounded like he was meaning it.
“So you’ll just let him get away with it?” Koschei asked disbelievingly. “What happened to you sense of justice and all that?”
“I know what I’m doing.”
“I doubt it.” Koschei hand circled around Theta’s wrist, and he didn’t care that this time the other did flinch. “He hurt you!” he hissed. “That might be okay for you, but not for me! I won’t let him touch you again.”
In the weak light Theta’s eyes seemed unnaturally large. “Even if he tried, what would you do about it?”
Koschei gave him a grim smile. “I’d think of something.”
“Don’t,” Theta asked. “Just leave it alone. Don’t get involved, Ko, you’d only get in trouble. This is none of your business.”
‘Yes, it is,’ thought Koschei. Theta was his only real friend, and any harm dealt to him Koschei took as a personal insult. He felt like the two of them were the only ones on this planet who didn’t only have a brain but also knew how to use it. Everyone else was useless, inferior. They had no right to touch his friend. (No one had that right, but him.)
He didn’t say any of that when he pulled the other over into his own bed and held him in his arms until he fell asleep.
-
When an exam was being written it became more obvious than ever just how many students had dropped out since their class had entered the academy all those years ago. After every term there were less boys and girls left in the lecture halls. It proved to Theta that his teachers were lying when they told him was the worst student they ever had. Just like they lied about so many other things.
Koschei was already sitting on his place when Theta entered. He only acknowledged his friend’s presence with a brief nod, before concentrating on looking through his notes again. Theta didn’t mind being ignored right now. If they just pretended the last night hadn’t happened, it would be perfectly fine with him.
Theta himself hadn’t brought any papers for last-minute learning. He just couldn’t be bothered, and besides, he didn’t need it. Neither did Koschei, he knew, but wasn’t going to argue with his friend about his perfectionism.
Theta wouldn’t even do his best for this exam. He’d leave out some of the more complicated questions and generally word his answers in a way that would show he had learned enough to pass but also made it appear like he didn’t really know what he was talking about. Briefly - this morning, before breakfast - he had toyed with the idea of scoring higher than he usually did, just to show Lord Deliarux, but in the end he’d decided against it. He didn’t want that bastard to believe he had sat down and learned all night just to please him.
In front of them the screens that would display their questions were still set on stand-by. It was the teachers of the classes who activated them when they officially started the test, but so far Deliarux had failed to show up.
He was already six minutes late.
Another six minutes later the students began to get restless. Quiet conversations were started, the concentration broken. Some seemed relieved at the lack of teacher, some nervous. Theta turned his head to share a confused gaze with Koschei, and was surprised to see a thin smile gracing his friend’s features. He didn’t look up from his notes.
Twenty-one minutes after the official start of the exam the door finally opened. Theta hadn’t looked forward to seeing Deliarux again, and so he was pleasantly surprised when it was a female teacher instead, whose name he didn’t even know.
“Lord Deliarux appears to be absent today,” she explained. “I will monitor this exam in his place.”
The screens finally came to life, much to the disappointment of some of the students. When he keyed in his first answer, all Theta felt was relief. For a moment he could even forget that Deliarux would not be gone forever, that in one week he would be back again, waiting for him.
-
But he wasn’t.
Theta didn’t miss him, but couldn’t quite shake off a slight feeling of dread, when someone told him that Lord Deliarux should not be expected back in his office anytime soon. The following term his class was taken over by Lord Borusa.
Later they learned that their old teacher had left the day before the exam and never come back. No one ever found out what had happened to him.
Theta’s unease grew. But a lot of years passed before he was willing to consider any connection between Deliarux’s disappearance and the thin smile he saw on Koschei’s face that day.
August 17, 2008
Challenge: Disappearance
Rating: PG-15
Warnings: Mentioned rape of a minor
Spoilers: none
Summary: Theta really needs to learn when to shut up.
The class was boring beyond belief, and the boy generally known as Theta Sigma already regretted attending at all. But the end of the term was nearing and it wouldn’t do any harm for him to be seen by his teachers. Just so they knew he existed and wouldn’t let him fail because of lack of enthusiasm.
Some of the exams for this term had already been written, and he was fairly certain he had passed enough of them not to get kicked out of the academy. Still he’d make sure to be at least average in the next one, to be on the safe side. Ever since he’s entered the academy Theta had scraped though his exams with little more then the absolute minimum of points required for passing. The one thing teachers and pupils generally agreed on was that it was only luck that had allowed him to come this far. Every year they expected him to finally fail, and every year Theta got some secret satisfaction out of picturing the moment the lecturers added up his marks and realised that once again he hadn’t.
His lack of brains and inability to keep to the more stupid rules made sure that he was hardly their favourite student. It also made him sit here, pretending to listen to some old fool’s words, instead of being elsewhere and doing something useful - Time Lord lecturer’s were supposed to be above letting students fail because of anything else but their written marks, but Theta knew they weren’t. He didn’t want to push his luck.
Contrary to public belief he actually wanted to graduate from the academy, because if he didn’t he would never be able to take a TARDIS and get away from here.
Also, he didn’t want to give the entire Prydonian chapter the satisfaction of seeing him fail.
Koschei never understood his lack of ambition. His roommate and only friend wanted all the world to see that he was one of the best. He wanted the possibilities being one of the best would offer to him. He wanted to change the world. Theta only wanted to leave. He’d accepted years ago that this world couldn’t be changed. The Time Lords would never use their power for anything useful - once he had his own TARDIS Theta would turn his back on Gallifrey and its society and do all the things his people were too ignorant to do.
He had the power to make things better, out there in this terrible and fascinating cosmos. It would be wrong not to use them.
And to reach his goals he needed to be average. Good graduates received far too much attention.
Theta sighed and slumped a little in his seat. Only seventy-four more years to go…
At least passing his exams with the absolute minimum of points didn’t require a whole lot of work. Today he attended his classes, and that, Theta decided, was enough learning for one day. Once he was out of here he would get into the library under the pretence of learning and see if he could find out more about…
“Theta Sigma,” someone said. Startled, Theta focused his gaze on Lord Deliarux in the centre of the circular classroom. He was standing beside the holographic projection of a schematic visualization of the vortex, surrounded by mathematical symbols. And clearly expecting an answer to the question he had just posed. Whatever that might have been.
Theta’s thoughts raced. He could admit that he had not listened, but showing that he didn’t pay attention somewhat negated the impression he wanted to make by attending the class. Alternatively he could just say something and risk making a fool of himself.
He looked at the hologram. If the lecturer’s question had anything to do with the mathematic formulas displayed there he could imagine what that question had been. After all he had read the textbook for this class once, and in these halls there hadn’t been a question requiring independent thoughts for generations. Everything taught here was in some way related to the books. One more thing that made attending the actual classes a little redundant in Theta’s opinion.
He decided to be brave.
And answered what he hoped had been the question.
For a moment Lord Deliarux was still. Then he frowned.
From somewhere in the back Theta heard a badly suppressed giggle. It was soon joined by another one.
“An interesting answer,” the teacher said. “Would you mind coming down here to repeat it?”
At least this time Theta knew for sure what the question had been.
“Yes, I would,” he answered honestly.
“Come down here!” Deliarux ordered impatiently. Reluctantly Theta complied. More giggles followed him.
Dinner in the hall wasn’t going to be a lot of fun today.
“Now,” his teacher said when Theta stood beside him. He gestured to the control pad for the projection. “Please be so kind to demonstrate what you think the movement of a capsule charged with temporal energy though the vortex would look like. A few explanations would be nice as well. Just so we’ll be able to understand the process.”
“Well, first of all the temporal energies would need to be channelled by the coronal field-matrix and turned back to the source of…” Theta stopped, and bit his lips. Everyone was staring at him with expectant grins on their faces. They were just waiting for him to realise how stupid his answer was.
In the circular room it was impossible to turn his back on everyone, so he concentrated on the controls instead as he keyed in his data. The mathematical symbols dancing around them changed, as did the projection of the vortex. The lazy movement of the schematic visualisation picked up speed. A lot of speed.
The other students were kind enough to stop giggling.
“The energies are fed back to the source before they are send outside to react with the currents of the vortex, the fields collide and the potential power can be used to its full extent,” he kept his explanation as simple a possible, hiding his relief at seeing that his untested theory really worked.
When he turned to Deliarux his heart sank. The professor’s face was dark with anger.
“I do not appreciate being made fun of, boy,” he said darkly.
‘Neither do I,’ though Theta. ‘But I can’t recall anyone ever asking.’
“It would never work that way,” the teacher pointed out to the class. “We all know that this young man has a tasteless sense of humour, but he must be a fool to believe he can confuse us by entering the right data while speaking of the wrong one. They method he described can’t work.”
“If he entered the data we always work with, why does the vortex move much faster than usual in the projection?” someone in the lecture hall called. Theta felt inappropriately happy to recognize Koschei’s voice, but kept himself from smiling.
“Because he manipulated the projector,” Deliarux answered without missing a beat. “Now, can anyone tell me why the process described by young Theta can’t work?”
A lot of lights came into existence above the tables, indicating the students eager to give an answer. Lord Deliarux chose Varash, who looked far too pleased with himself when he said, “The energies would get into a feedback loop and tear apart the time capsule.”
“As anyone who’s studied the documents of our ancestors should know,” their teacher nodded.
“Oh, yes, that!” exclaimed Theta. “I read that textbook, actually. And I thought there was something funny about the results of the calculations given there, because they indicate that there would be a direct connection between the distance, both local and temporal, travelled in the vortex, and the subjective time needed to go there. That is not the case - as anyone who’s living on Gallifrey should know - and so I had a closer look at the given data. Checking the calculations I found out that there is an error in the one predicting the time capsule’s destruction.”
“An error,” echoed Deliarux, his face displaying disbelief. “There will be consequences for your insolence, child!” he suddenly hissed. “Who are you to claim that you, a less than average pupil, have found an error all the high lords have missed in thousands of years? Why do you think you know more than we do?”
Theta stared back darkly. This was the moment for an apology and a meek retreat to his seat, to face the mocking of his classmates.
“Because it’s written in the books,” he said defiantly. “Because all the books just copy the data given in one old document and everyone has always assumed that it has to be correct. No one ever questions anything left to us by our ancestors. It’s too much effort to think for yourself, I guess. That’s why this civilisation has failed to make any progress for a thousand generations!”
He saw a shadow moving towards him, and before he could react something hard collided with his cheek. The next thing Theta knew was that he was sitting on the ground, pressing a hand to his face and staring up at the furious face of this teacher.
There were no giggles this time, he noticed through the pain. Just whispers and a few shocked gasps. Their lecturers yelled a lot, but this was the first time they had ever seen one loose his temper like this and hit a student. Time Lords, they were taught again and again, didn’t do this sort of thing.
Koschei had half-risen from his seat. He looked like it was only Runcible’s hand on his arm that was keeping him from running down to them.
“I will not bear your presence any longer!” Deliarux thundered. “How dare you! You will not attend this class again until you have learned humility and the respect to your elders you are so desperately lacking. After this class you will come to my office. Now, remove yourself from my sight!”
‘If you can’t bear my presence, calling me to your office was not your brightest idea ever,’ Theta thought, but this time he knew better than to say it aloud.
His robes were flapping as he stormed out of the room, wondering if there was any chance left for him to pass his exams in the next two millennia.
Maybe this was the time for plan B: Steal a TARDIS and never come back here.
It seemed like a good idea at the moment.
-
Having off until the end of class Theta went back to the room he shared with Koschei and tried to get some sleep. Unfortunately his thoughts kept him awake to the point where he really considered to run away and never come back. Not only had he managed to spoil his chances for graduation, he had also made a completely fool of himself - what did it matter that he was right? Everyone was going to have so much fun from now on, even more so than before. Koschei was probably asking for a new room already. Theta couldn’t blame him. He wouldn’t want to be seen with himself either, right now.
And all that just because he didn’t know when to shut up. He would be more careful from now on, he promised himself. If he ever got the chance to mess something up again, that was.
Thankfully all the other pupils where having dinner when he made his way to Deliarux office, so he didn’t run into anyone from his class. Theta did not dare to be late for this appointment, as much as he hated going there. Maybe, if he apologized, the teacher would still let him pass.
And afterwards he would chew off his tongue…
In his attempt not to show his insecurity he knocked on the door harder than necessary. Deliarux let him knock two more times before he finally called him in.
The older Time Lord was sitting behind his desk, gesturing him to stand in the middle of the large office without saying a word. Nervously, Theta did so.
Deliarux regarded him intently, motionless, for a long time. Eventually he said, “Take of you robes.”
Theta grid his teeth but did as he was told, until only the short tunic he wore beneath his student’s robes protected him from the other’s stare. He didn’t know the purpose of this order, but it certainly had something to do with humiliation, and he had no intention of showing the old bastard how uneasy he was felling.
“You’re still wearing some of your clothes,” Lord Deliarux noted. “It makes me think you do not really want to convince me to let you pass my class.”
“The exam is tomorrow,” Theta dared to say. “You can’t let me fail if my results are good.”
A low chuckle.
“Experience shows that good results are not something you could give me. And even if you would - results can be manipulated. Now take of your clothes. All of them.”
Theta almost asked if anything he did would make a difference at this point, or if he was going to embarrass himself only to be send home afterwards. He bit his tongue instead and kept his face blank as he slipped out of his remaining clothes.
“I will speak plainly to you,” Lord Deliarux stated, rising from his chair. “You are a nuisance without any potential - that you have reached this year of learning is a shame. I would like to see you removed from the academy forever. This wish is shared by many of my colleagues, so do not bother to report what will happen in this room. No one will care.”
He slowly circled his student, eying him coldly. Theta shivered. Although normally nudity didn’t bother him, he felt exposed and vulnerable. The urge to run away grew stronger with every second.
“Besides, no one would believe you,” the other pointed out. “I will not forbid you to tell anyone of my actions as it will only lead to you getting banned for questionable morals. Kneel.”
“Why not just kick me out and be done with it?” Theta couldn’t help asking even as he sank to his knees, his hearts pounding wildly in his chest.
“Because, my boy, things like that are more complicated than you could possibly imagine. I would have to write reports, present my reasons. A meeting of all your teachers would decide your fate, and while no one cares enough for you to ask many questions it remains a waste of time I would like to avoid. So I’m leaving the decision to you.”
He crouched down behind Theta, leaning closer, so the boy felt the other’s breath on his bare shoulder as he spoke. Nothing the man did made any sense to him, but for the first time he felt real fear.
“Once I’m finished with you, you are free to leave the academy of your own will. If you should decide to stay -” Theta felt a cold hand trail down his back. He couldn’t move. “If you decide to stay, I will see you again next week.”
Deliarux’s presence disappeared from right behind Theta as he stood again and walked away. Not daring to say anything, not daring to even turn his head, Theta clenched his fists and fought against the wave of rage and fear. Whatever the other was planning for him, it would have to be bad if it was meant to drive him away. Such a nice and easy way to get rid of the unpleasant student. Theta would not give him that satisfaction.
He closed his eyes when he heard the sound of the door being locked.
-
Their room was empty when Koschei returned there after dinner. He didn’t think much of it - Theta had told him about his plans to go to the library, and after the incident in class today he probably had run off somewhere to sulk.
Although Koschei had expected his friend to come to him and tell him how his appointment with Lord Old Geezer had gone. He’d already mentally steeled himself for a long ramble about the unfairness of life in general and the faults of academy learning in particular, spiced with a few insults for Deliarux. Not that Koschei didn’t agree, but he still had a bit of learning to do, and Theta was pretty much the only person in the Prydon academy that wasn’t easy to ignore.
That included their teachers. In most classes Koschei was listening about as intently as Theta did, although he usually was at least physically present, and always ready to answer the questions.
All in all he was probably lucky that his roommate wasn’t there yet. Koschei decided to use the time before Theta returned to learn for the exam in temporal mechanics. Other than his friend he did care for good marks. He would never really understand why Theta was happy with being only just good enough, when he could be one of the best.
Today’s class had proven it once again. Good thing their lecturers were so narrow minded - else they might someday realise that Theta wasn’t quite as stupid as they believed him to be.
Koschei himself never argued with the general opinion outside their shared rooms. Life was much easier if he just went with the flow, for now. His time would come.
Outside, the second sun was setting. Koschei read the page in front of him and it didn’t seem in the least familiar despite him having read the same page three times before. With an exasperated sigh he glanced over to Theta’s empty bed. Time for the little idiot to come back, so they could get done with his complaining and Koschei could concentrate on learning again.
Half an hour later he was in the library, accessing the central computer to see if Theta had logged in. He hadn’t been here all day.
Koschei frowned. Well, maybe the appointment with Lord Deliarux had taken longer than expected - the teacher had been very angry, after all. With Theta’s luck he would be in that office, listening to an infuriated lecture, until morning.
He’d brought it onto himself, really. There was a reason for Koschei to keep his own thoughts to himself, after all. Now he could only hope his friend didn’t get banned from the academy. It would be boring without him.
And if they gave him another roommate, Koschei might get banned himself. For murder.
But he needn’t have worried. Theta was in their room when Koschei returned, his small frame just about visible under the covers of his bed.
“Hey,” Koschei greeted, poking the lump under the blanket with his finger. “What did he tell you?”
There was no answer, just a slight movement that indicated Theta curling even further around himself. Koschei began to be slightly worried. He knew of his friend’s emotional vulnerability, but Theta had learned to swallow his feelings years ago. For him to react like this, it had to be at least medium bad.
Koschei remembered the shocked expression on the other’s face when Lord Deliarux had punched him today. (He also remembered his own fury.)
“Did they kick you out after all?” he asked with forced lightness. He poked again when Theta didn’t immediately answer.
“No.” His friend’s voice was but a whisper. He sounded hoarse.
Koschei managed to mask his sigh of relief as a sigh of impatience. “What’s wrong, then?”
“Leave me alone, Koschei.”
The words were lacking force. Theta only sounded exhausted and very, very miserable. Koschei tried to imagine what might have caused this, and even though he failed, his face hardened in anger. It didn’t even matter if Deliarux had done this to him, or anyone else. It didn’t even matter what exactly they had done.
Theta wasn’t theirs to hurt!
“Tell me what happened!” he demanded. When Theta stayed stubbornly silent he grabbed the blanket and pulled it away.
The other boy held on to it with a cry and tried to pull it over his head again but Koschei was stronger. In the fading light falling in through the window he stared down onto the skinny, trembling form of his friend and didn’t feel shocked. He didn’t feel pity. Only a cold, burning hatred.
Theta was wearing his sleeping clothes but they were too short to hide the bruises on his legs and arms, and too thin to keep the blood from seeping through his pants and soil the sheets.
Koschei’s hearts were racing, but he stayed perfectly calm as he sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled Theta close. Despite his wish to be left alone the other boy clung to him with all the strength he had left and quietly sobbed into his arms, while Koschei stroked his long, blonde hair. He hid his fury well.
“Did the old bastard do this to you?” he asked after a while, unnecessarily. In his arms, Theta shook his head.
“It doesn’t matter,” he whispered.
“Yes, it does!”
“No!” The force behind the word was unexpected. When Theta pulled away the tears had stopped running and his stare was surprisingly intense. “You will forget what you just saw here,” he said firmly.
“Like hell!”
“Koschei.” Theta’s gaze softened a little. “Please.”
When Koschei reached out to cup his face he didn’t flinch.
“How could I?” he asked. “How could you?”
“I can,” Theta told him, “because I have made a decision. This was just a moment a weakness. It won’t happen again.” He sounded like he was meaning it.
“So you’ll just let him get away with it?” Koschei asked disbelievingly. “What happened to you sense of justice and all that?”
“I know what I’m doing.”
“I doubt it.” Koschei hand circled around Theta’s wrist, and he didn’t care that this time the other did flinch. “He hurt you!” he hissed. “That might be okay for you, but not for me! I won’t let him touch you again.”
In the weak light Theta’s eyes seemed unnaturally large. “Even if he tried, what would you do about it?”
Koschei gave him a grim smile. “I’d think of something.”
“Don’t,” Theta asked. “Just leave it alone. Don’t get involved, Ko, you’d only get in trouble. This is none of your business.”
‘Yes, it is,’ thought Koschei. Theta was his only real friend, and any harm dealt to him Koschei took as a personal insult. He felt like the two of them were the only ones on this planet who didn’t only have a brain but also knew how to use it. Everyone else was useless, inferior. They had no right to touch his friend. (No one had that right, but him.)
He didn’t say any of that when he pulled the other over into his own bed and held him in his arms until he fell asleep.
-
When an exam was being written it became more obvious than ever just how many students had dropped out since their class had entered the academy all those years ago. After every term there were less boys and girls left in the lecture halls. It proved to Theta that his teachers were lying when they told him was the worst student they ever had. Just like they lied about so many other things.
Koschei was already sitting on his place when Theta entered. He only acknowledged his friend’s presence with a brief nod, before concentrating on looking through his notes again. Theta didn’t mind being ignored right now. If they just pretended the last night hadn’t happened, it would be perfectly fine with him.
Theta himself hadn’t brought any papers for last-minute learning. He just couldn’t be bothered, and besides, he didn’t need it. Neither did Koschei, he knew, but wasn’t going to argue with his friend about his perfectionism.
Theta wouldn’t even do his best for this exam. He’d leave out some of the more complicated questions and generally word his answers in a way that would show he had learned enough to pass but also made it appear like he didn’t really know what he was talking about. Briefly - this morning, before breakfast - he had toyed with the idea of scoring higher than he usually did, just to show Lord Deliarux, but in the end he’d decided against it. He didn’t want that bastard to believe he had sat down and learned all night just to please him.
In front of them the screens that would display their questions were still set on stand-by. It was the teachers of the classes who activated them when they officially started the test, but so far Deliarux had failed to show up.
He was already six minutes late.
Another six minutes later the students began to get restless. Quiet conversations were started, the concentration broken. Some seemed relieved at the lack of teacher, some nervous. Theta turned his head to share a confused gaze with Koschei, and was surprised to see a thin smile gracing his friend’s features. He didn’t look up from his notes.
Twenty-one minutes after the official start of the exam the door finally opened. Theta hadn’t looked forward to seeing Deliarux again, and so he was pleasantly surprised when it was a female teacher instead, whose name he didn’t even know.
“Lord Deliarux appears to be absent today,” she explained. “I will monitor this exam in his place.”
The screens finally came to life, much to the disappointment of some of the students. When he keyed in his first answer, all Theta felt was relief. For a moment he could even forget that Deliarux would not be gone forever, that in one week he would be back again, waiting for him.
-
But he wasn’t.
Theta didn’t miss him, but couldn’t quite shake off a slight feeling of dread, when someone told him that Lord Deliarux should not be expected back in his office anytime soon. The following term his class was taken over by Lord Borusa.
Later they learned that their old teacher had left the day before the exam and never come back. No one ever found out what had happened to him.
Theta’s unease grew. But a lot of years passed before he was willing to consider any connection between Deliarux’s disappearance and the thin smile he saw on Koschei’s face that day.
August 17, 2008