Chapter Text
The teacher looked small from all the way back, where Black Hole sat. He was used to it by now, after five years, but it was still hard to see and hear what was going on sometimes. He did this for everyone’s good, even if they didn’t appreciate it or care. If he got too close, they’d get sucked in and die. It wasn’t something Black Hole liked to think about.
The music that signaled first period stopped, and the last students entered class. He carefully, and painfully slowly, got out his notebook and pen, ready for class to start.
Suddenly, Black Hole was startled by a horrendous screeching noise that cut through the usual chatter of the students. When he looked around to see what it was, he saw Tree dragging a desk next to his, seemingly struggling.
“Hey, you gonna help me there?” Tree asked, in his usual friendly, lighthearted tone.
“Uh, I don't think that’s a good idea,” Black Hole replied, already slightly panicked. He didn't want to hurt Tree, but didn't know how to stop him. Whenever anyone approached Black Hole, they ended up suffering, and he didn’t want that to happen. Not again.
With another loud sound, Tree sat next to Black Hole. There was a noticeable gap between their desks, but he was still close enough to have his leaves rustle from the gravity.
Black Hole stayed silent for a while, dumbfounded.
“Tree. Don't you want to sit with Pin?” it was worth a try.
“No. She's with Coiny,” Tree waved towards the objects. Those two were closer than usual. Damn, Black Hole really wasn't caught up on the latest gossip.
“Huh? But the seating chart–”
“No one cares about the seating chart. Not even the teacher.”
Taking a look around, it was obvious that Tree was telling the truth. Everyone was back to sitting with their friends, despite the seating chart having been made about a week ago. Black Hole hadn’t even noticed. Maybe he should pay more attention to his surroundings, he thought.
“I’m not moving, Black Hole,” Tree said, giving him a defiant look. Black Hole realized Tree was right, and gave up on convincing him.
He still felt uncomfortable being this close to somebody, though. Black Hole felt strange, tense, almost. His body was stiff, and he was worried about making the wrong movement and actually hurting Tree. Black Hole was so aware of the other object’s presence, in fact, that he wasn’t paying any attention and hadn’t been paying any attention to the lesson for the past ten minutes or so. He obviously hadn’t been taking any notes either. It didn’t help that he was a slow writer, given he had to keep his pen far enough not to suck it in, and he didn’t have any limbs to write with. His handwriting was gnarly, if anyone had been wondering.
Black Hole squinted, trying to read what on earth the teacher had written on the board, when they started erasing it. Black Hole stared ahead in utter disbelief. He hadn’t written down any of it. He was so fucked.
“Psst. Hey,” Tree whispered, slightly leaning towards Black Hole. “Would you happen to have some whiteout? Mine just broke.”
“Um, what?” Black Hole hadn’t caught what Tree had said. He hadn’t even realized he was being spoken to until he saw Tree staring expectantly at him.
“Whiteout,” he whispered.
Just as Black Hole understood what he meant, Tree reached for the correction tape on his desk.
“One sec, I just need to–” Tree’s arm got way too close to Black Hole, and it bent around him, forming a circle around the astronomical body. Black Hole turned to look at Tree, already freaked out, but he didn’t look like he was in any pain. That calmed him down somewhat. “Oops. My bad,” was all Tree had to say about the situation.
He got the Tippex and somehow gripped it strong enough for it to not get pulled by the gravity. Black Hole could only stare wordlessly as Tree fixed a small mistake in his notes. He thought briefly about Tree’s surprisingly strong grip, but banished that line of thought quickly.
“Thanks, man. Catch.”
Black Hole hadn’t been ready at all for that. Tree, without thinking, he had to assume, threw the whiteout at him. It got promptly pulled inside Black Hole, and all he could do was stare at Tree and feel his new, overpriced, brand name Tippex disintegrate inside him. His father was going to kill him for wasting those 3€, and he was going to kill Tree.
“Seriously?” Black Hole said, not accepting Tree’s apologetic smile. “Why did you do that?”
“Sorry. I forgot,” Tree replied sheepishly.
“Don’t lie.” Even though he knew Tree wasn’t being truthful, the thought of somebody forgetting what he was made him feel some things. He was definitely going to have to unpack that at some point in his life.
“I’m not lying, I swear! I really am sorry. I did it without thinking.”
Black Hole sighed and, right as he was going to speak, the teacher cut in:
“Black Hole, Tree. Leave the classroom for five minutes.”
With a roll of his eyes, Tree got up from his chair and headed for the hall. Black Hole followed suit, feeling a bit rattled. It was his first time being kicked out of class.
“Thanks,” said Black Hole when Tree closed the door behind him. “You owe me 3€,” he teased.
“Eh. I’ll just buy you a new one,” Tree said, sitting on a bench. Black Hole stood opposite him, keeping his distance. He had no idea whether Tree had picked up on his attempt at a joke, or he was being serious. He felt too embarrassed to ask.
And with that, their conversation died out. Black Hole looked around, the coldness and emptiness of the halls only seeming to make him feel worse for being kicked out. He would be in big trouble if his father found out, which he probably wouldn’t. But that didn’t stop Black Hole from worrying about it.
“Do you know what we have next period?” Tree piped up.
“Um, physics, I think.”
“Right. And technical drawing after. I guess that must be chemistry for you?”
“No. Literature, actually.” He liked literature class. He was the only student that took it.
“Really? Aren’t you studying sciences, though?”
“I’m studying humanities. I’m in math and physics because… well, it just felt fitting. I’m a black hole after all.”
“Don’t choose subjects because of your species. I’m not doing biology. Not like it would come up in the exam anyway.” He shrugged. “I’m sure Latin or whatever is much easier than math.”
“I don’t know. It’s whatever, though. I just need a seven out of fourteen for what I want to study. I just need to pass.” The average needed for most philology or literature courses had stayed at a steady seven in most universities, so Black Hole wasn’t too worried.
“Like anyone passes physics.”
Black Hole chuckled. Tree was right.
“So, what–?” The question got interrupted by Pin, who was staring at both of them from the doorway.
She shot a look at Tree that Black Hole couldn’t decipher before saying: “You guys can come back in now. There’s only ten minutes left anyways.”
Being honest with himself, Black Hole felt a bit disappointed that the conversation was being cut short. He’d enjoyed it. Talking to Tree, even though it had just been small talk, felt cathartic in a way. Conversations with his father never felt like this. Neither had the ones with Bottle. He didn’t want to think about that. He didn’t want to think about Bottle ever again.
“Oh, alright. Thanks, Pin,” Black Hole said, instantly regretting it. Both of their silences made him feel like he’d said the wrong thing.
He waited until the other two objects were inside so he wouldn’t be too close, and went back inside the classroom.
He heard Pin shut the door behind them, and everything went back to normal.