Chapter Text
“I can’t open it,” James said, holding the letter out to his mother. He wasn’t sure whether to be excited or nervous when the letter bearing a return address from Oxford, England, arrived, and now he was mainly panicking.
Winona shook her head. “No, James. This is your future, you open it.” She was trying not to smile- back home in the US, they had a saying that thick envelopes are a good thing, as they contain all of the information you need to accept your place at a university. Sam had received a thick envelope from the Royal University of Kensington, and this envelope was too thick for it to be anything but good news for James. She wasn’t about to tell her son that though, she knew he would doubt her and just think she was trying to think positively.
James took a shaky breath, one that matched his hands. “Okay. Do you promise to love me no matter what? I don’t even know where I’ll go if this is a no.”
“Open the letter, James,” Winona said with a smile, and she could see her son visibly relax. He turned the envelope over and hastily ripped it open, the envelope falling to the ground as he pulled the stack of papers out. His eyes flew back and forth over the page, and he gasped.
“I got in! I- Mum, I’m going to Oxford!” James yelled, jumping up and down a few times for good measure. Winona smiled and let him run his excitement down before hugging him tightly.
“I never doubted you would, James. I’m very proud of the young man you’ve become,” she whispered.
“Thanks, mum.” He would later tell that his voice was muffled by Winona’s shoulder, but they both knew his voice was thick with tears.
“Well, I guess we have a lot of shopping to do if you’re going to be living so far away. Go accept your spot and we’ll catch a train to Morpeth tomorrow, love.”
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Leo closed the door quietly behind him, knowing Geoff was likely asleep as it was well past midnight. He had been out with Jocelyn for hours, getting to know each other over coffee, and then dinner after their shared English lecture (how he hadn’t seen her before, he didn’t know. He must be totally oblivious, he thought), and he really enjoyed her company. He set his alarm for 5 am the next morning and crawled in between the sheets, fully dressed.
The letter addressed to him in neat letters, a Royal mail stamp in the corner sat unopened and unread on his desk, a notebook thrown on top of it so only the blank corner stuck out.
When he woke with his alarm, he only remembered dreaming of Jocelyn, and their coffee date at 9 am, when his shift at the grocery store would be done. He changed quickly and hopped on his bike, humming as he rode down the street.
He didn’t notice he was barefoot until he was a block away from the store. “Fuck,” he swore quietly, turning his bike around and praying he wouldn’t be late. After all, it was store policy that no one could be barefoot (also, gross. Leo didn’t know where everyone else’s shoes had been. There could be dog poop on that floor.), including employees. Also, it was approximately cold as balls and dark as hell (translation: sixty-seven degrees Fahrenheit and sunrise), so he really hated himself in that moment. He got a sweater while he was at it. No sense in catching a cold, he thought.
The day passed uneventfully after coffee with Jocelyn. His finals were rapidly approaching, so he studied in his favorite library, a cup of coffee next to him.
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After he had accepted his place in the class of 2020 at Oxford, they sent him a list of things to do. They included, but were not limited to:
1) Apply for student housing
2) Send copies of final transcripts, including graduation day
3) Attend a one-day orientation program to register for classes
4) Announce his standing on social media (optional, but encouraged)
5) Submit his insurance information and emergency contact in case of emergencies
6) Buy all required course materials (he had to wait until he registered to do that, but it was still very important)
And that was just the beginning. James didn’t own anything suitable to take to university. He would need to buy a new duvet, new sheets, new pillows, new blankets, new everything. Luckily for him, Winona had printed off several (eight, but who was counting?) packing lists that recommended everything from the basics to the things he would have forgotten (who remembers to pack hangers? Now, James, but not before reading that list!).
The Morpeth shopping was minimal, so Winona paid for a ticket to King’s Cross for James. Sam would meet him at the station, and they would take the Hammersmith and City Line from King’s Cross/St. Pancras to Liverpool Street and then change to the Central Line to complete the journey to Stratford, where they would depart and shop at Westfield Stratford Mall, the largest mall in all of Europe. James had been there once before, and he couldn’t deny that he was excited to go back. Plus, he could probably talk Sam into eating at Wahaco, the amazing Mexican street food restaurant, when they were done.
James spent several hours in the mall, buying everything from bedding to kitchen supplies, clothes to towels. By the time they were done, he was laden with bags and had to purchase a small cart to carry everything to the station in. Sam assured him that it would come in handy for buying groceries at college, so James felt better about wasting the money. He was very pleased with his choices- he had chosen grey and gold as his color scheme, and was very excited to see how it all came together when he moved in. The gold sheets were his favorite, but he was most excited about the model solar system that he had purchased for his desk.
He would spend the night at Sam’s apartment in Kensington before taking a train to Oxford in the morning for his two-day orientation, during which he would sleep in a dormitory on campus and take a more in-depth tour before registering for classes. Sam, meanwhile, was taking the train back to Alnmouth with James’ purchases and to visit their mother for a few days. James would have to take the train back to King’s Cross and board another to home without any help. All in all, five days away from home. It wasn’t a big deal, he would be moving away for a much longer length of time in two months. He had to get used to being away from his mother.
And ignoring panic attacks about being alone forever. Those were no biggie either. He wouldn’t be alone. There were 20,000 students on campus. One of them would befriend James. It was statistically impossible to not befriend someone in that large of a student body.
Spock would like that, James thought as he tried to control his breathing. Using statistics and logic to calm himself about not having any friends. His best friend was going to St. Andrew’s University outside of Edinburg.
Oh, fuck. Why did he have to think about missing Spock?
Here came the nausea again. He had just passed that. Shit.