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Laios stood behind the pillar, anxiously shuffling on his feet as he waited for someone to unlock the classroom door so that he could come in along with everyone else and claim his spot in the back of the room. Ah, and Kabru's seat along with it, obviously. He promised that he would do that if he was there before him, after all. It was an easy enough thing to do – he'd just need to put his backpack on the next seat over and wait for Kabru to arrive. The only thing that worried him about that was the possibility that somebody would really want to sit there and get into an argument with him over it. The odds of that were pretty low, though, all things considered. People usually didn't really want to sit next to Laios. Honestly, he was still surprised that Kabru went out of his way to make sure that they'd sit together. It was a little confusing, but felt kind of nice, too, in a way that he wasn't used to. Sitting next to Kabru made him feel safe, probably because Kabru didn't get angry with him even after he found out that he wasn't supposed to be there. He found himself hoping that Kabru would come a little later today so that he could save his seat for him, and simultaneously wishing that he was there already so that he wouldn't have to stand there all by himself.
“Good morning, Laios,” a voice came from right behind him. A chill went down Laios' spine and he instinctively stiffened up, risking a sideways glance over his shoulder. Kabru was standing beside him, clutching his bag, with a bright smile on his face. Laios instantly relaxed, putting his hand over his heart. Kabru let out a soft snort. “Haha! Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you! I have to say, if I didn't know where to look, I probably wouldn't have noticed you. I suppose that's a compliment,” he said, putting his hands on his hips as he glanced towards the door. “Let's come closer, shall we? I want to make sure that we can claim our seats. Don't worry,” he added, putting his hand on Laios' shoulder, “as long as you're with me, nobody is going to bother you. I promise.”
“All right,” Laios murmured, instinctively following him towards the door. Most of the tension had disappeared from his body as soon as Kabru touched him, replaced by a curious warmth. There really was something reassuring about his presence, something that made Laios want to stay by his side. He seemed like a nice guy, if a little overbearing. Laios wanted to believe that he meant everything he said, that it wasn't all some kind of elaborate prank, as it usually was. He had met plenty of people who seemed just as nice and interested in the things he had to say, only to later find out that they were making fun of him behind his back the entire time. He'd gotten used to this kind of thing, and grown to expect it from everyone he talked to, and yet, whenever someone went out of their way to approach him, he would find himself wanting to trust them anyway. Even if they were going to stab him in the back later, he thought, it was still better than having nobody to talk to. It was too early to tell if Kabru would be different from the others, but he really, really hoped so.
“By the way,” Kabru prompted as soon as he sat down, “my next class has been cancelled.”
“Huh, really? How do you know?” Laios asked, settling into his seat.
“I passed by the bulletin board on my way here and saw a notice about it,” Kabru explained, taking his notebook out of his bag. “In any case, that means that there is now going to be a two-hour window between this class and the next. That's a lot of time to have on my hands all of a sudden. I've been trying to come up with the optimal way to spend it, preferably while staying within a reasonable distance from the campus.” He made a meaningful pause, playing with a pen between his index and middle finger. “There's a cosy cafe on the other side of the street that I've been meaning to check out. I think I'm going to head there first. Now, if you don't have any other plans,” he said, watching Laios from the corner of his eye, “I would be delighted if you would join me.”
“Oh, yeah. I'm not doing anything,” Laios replied automatically, nodding his head. Having lunch with Kabru sounded like a really good idea. Until now, they hadn't really had an opportunity to sit down and talk properly. Kabru was probably going to ask him a bunch of questions about his situation, but he already figured that was going to happen sooner or later, anyway. Honestly, he wasn't dreading it as much as he used to. Actually, at this point, he was looking forward to an opportunity to explain everything properly. Hopefully Kabru would understand. It seemed like he might. In any case, the sooner they got the explanations out of the way, the better.
It also meant that he could hold off on showing Kabru his notes until after the class, which was a good thing. Obviously, he couldn't put it off forever, but it was nice to be able to postpone it for a little while longer and really make up his mind on whether it was a good idea. Kabru had yet to bring it up again, but it was obvious that he was curious about the contents of his notebook. Honestly, he was a little pushy about it before. If Laios told him that he needed more time to think, he would probably be nice about it, but he wouldn't entirely let it go. It felt as if he was expecting to find something incriminating there. That was kind of true, Laios thought, in the sense that people always found everything he did incriminating in some way, usually for reasons he didn't understand. He'd gotten in trouble for doodling in class before, even though it helped him focus, and he'd gotten in trouble for drawing during recess, too, and his notes and his drawings would be torn apart and dragged through the mud. If Kabru was a bully, he probably wouldn't have waited for his permission to look through his notes. He would've just grabbed it when he wasn't looking, and then he would make loud comments about it and show everyone, and he'd refuse to give it back, and... Then again, it may have been more entertaining to do all that after talking Laios into handing it over willingly. Some people did go this route. But Kabru didn't seem like the type, either.
Laios' ears perked at the sound of the door closing, followed by footsteps. Gradually, the background noise of people's voices quieted down, replaced by the voice of the professor. The class was about to start. Laios gripped the pencil and hunched over his notebook, preparing to start taking notes. The words of the lecture filled his head and trickled down onto the page.
*
The cafe really was pretty cosy. They got a table outside, which was also nice. Laios liked this kind of weather, on the borderline between late Winter and early Spring, warm enough that he could go out in a hoodie, but still pleasantly chilly. Soon enough, his pollen allergies would start acting up – they usually did around this time of the year, as soon as things started to bloom in the second half of March – but for now, he was enjoying himself without worrying about it. Kabru, on the other hand, was visibly shivering despite wearing a jacket over his turtleneck. Laios offered to lend him his hoodie, and for a moment Kabru genuinely seemed to consider it, but ultimately refused.
Kabru ordered coffee, and Laios got tea and a croissant. When asked if he wasn't going to eat anything, Kabru gave a vague answer and changed the topic before Laios could really push him about it. “Lovely little cafe, isn't it?” he prompted, looking around with a soft smile. He had a nice smile, Laios thought, and the rest of his face was pretty nice, too. Laios had never seen anybody who looked like him before. Big bright blue eyes stood out in contrast to his brown skin, which made for a pretty striking effect. His hair was composed of thick, shiny, dark curls, and his lips were plump and soft. He caught himself staring at them and looked away just before Kabru turned towards him. “I'm really glad that you could join me today,” he said sincerely, his friendly gaze fixed on Laios' face, his eyelashes fluttering slightly. “I've been looking forward to talking to you outside of the classroom. As you can imagine, I've got a lot of things I want to ask you about.”
“Yeah, I figured you would,” Laios said calmly, stirring sugar into his tea. He then licked the spoon and nearly burnt his tongue. “It's fine. You can ask me whatever you want. I don't mind.”
“Well, thank you! I'm glad to know that!” Kabru chuckled softly, visibly relieved. “The real question is, where do I even start? I suppose we should start from the beginning. That's usually the best place to start. The problem, of course, is that I don't know where your story begins. If I did, we wouldn't be here, would we?” He idly rubbed his temple as he spoke. He seemed pretty excited, Laios thought. “Well, I'd better start somewhere! Let's see...” Kabru rubbed his bottom lip. “Where did you get the idea to sneak into university in the first place? Where did that come from?”
Laios thought for a moment. “From my sister, I guess. She's got a friend, uh, a really close friend. They met at school, actually, but then a bunch of stuff happened and my sister left. Her friend stuck around and now she spends a lot of time at the university, and sometimes she brings my sister along so they can spend more time together. I figured I could do the same thing. Obviously, it would be easier if I had someone to vouch for me, so I asked my roommate, but he said that he didn't want anything to do with it, and that I shouldn't do it at all. From what he told me, all of his classes are pretty boring, so it's not a big loss anyway. I just did it by myself instead, and it was fine.”
“Hang on!” Kabru put his hands up. “One moment! I'm sorry to interrupt, but I have so many questions already! I will let you continue, but I need some clarifications first, otherwise it's going to bother me.” He put up his index finger, staring at Laios intensely. “Your sister. Tell me about her. What's her name? What is she like? Is she younger or older than you? Who is her friend?”
“My sister?” Laios' face subconsciously lit up. “My sister is awesome! Her name is Falin. She's three years younger than me. Actually, our birthdays are really close to each other, so it's almost exactly three years. She turned twenty-two in December... Wow, it's been four months already, huh?” He stroked his cheek as he spoke. “Anyway, she's an amazing person. We didn't see each other for a while because we went to school in different places, but we stayed in touch. She wrote me a bunch of letters. After that, we lived together for a while, but then she moved in with Marcille, and I found a different roommate. We still see each other all the time, though.”
“Marcille...?” Kabru's eyes twinkled. “Are you talking about Marcille Donato, by chance?”
“Hm? Yeah...” Laios tilted his head. “Do you know her?”
“I believe I may have heard of her,” Kabru said vaguely, his lips curling into a smile, “if I'm thinking of the right person. So your little sister is friends with Marcille Donato? I see. That's interesting.” He paused for a moment, stroking his chin. “What about your roommate?”
“He's a really cool guy! His name is Shuro, and he's from Japan,” he mused excitedly, gesturing with his croissant.” I asked if he would take me with him when he goes back, and he said he'll think about it,” Laios offered cheerfully, poking the side of his nose. Going to Japan had always been a dream of his. He had an ever growing list of things he'd wanna see in person once he got there. “I think he's here because of some business thing. His family is a big deal over there, or something, so they sent him here on a mission. Pretty cool, huh? He's a student, but I don't remember what his major is. We met at work a few years back, and we moved in together like a year ago.”
“I see.” A strange smile danced on Kabru's lips. “He sounds like an interesting person. I would love to be introduced to him one day,” he murmured to himself. “You met at work, you said? Could you tell me more about that? I'll admit, I have been curious about your source of income.”
“Oh, I don't work there anymore. Haven't in a long time. It was just one of the many jobs I've had,” Laios explained patiently, scratching the back of his head. “I don't really have a real job, unless you count...” he started, and abruptly paused. Was it really safe to tell Kabru about that? Not yet, he decided, and made a vague gesture. “You know, like temporary jobs? Stuff that needs to be done, but nobody wants to do it. Stocking shelves, moving furniture, walking dogs, stuff like that. Sometimes people give me money to buy their groceries or something... I was a janitor for a while.”
Kabru's eyes suddenly grew wide and he jumped in his seat. “Janitor...? Wait, don't tell me!” He pointed towards the campus. “Did you work as a janitor at the university? Is that why...?”
“Yep. That was also a while ago, though.” Laios took a bite out of his croissant and washed it down with tea. Then he put his hands up defensively. “Ah, to be clear, that's not why I got the job or anything! It just kind of happened, I guess. I didn't get the idea until way later.” He paused for a moment, chewing on his croissant. “You know, as a janitor, you can pretty much go wherever you want, and people don't really notice you, and if they do, they just assume you're supposed to be there. It's pretty convenient. Obviously, you're not really supposed to pay attention to the lectures or anything,” he went on musing. “It's not like I could stick around and take notes. Sooner or later, somebody would've noticed and said something, and I'd probably get yelled at. I mean, it's not like I could understand most of the stuff they were talking about, anyway. But, you know, it gave me a pretty good idea of where everything is, and how it works. More or less.”
“Right!” Kabru blurted out excitedly, looking at him with twinkling eyes. “During your time as a janitor, you familiarised yourself with the layout of the buildings on campus, which must have come in handy when you returned off-duty, so to say. What a convenient position to be in! People would not find it necessary to keep their voices down around you. After all, you were only there to clean. You would learn which classes were held on which days in which classrooms just by virtue of being there. Perhaps you read notices on the walls out of pure boredom. I know I would in your position. In any case, you would know how to access information if you needed it. Huh!” Kabru bit the tip of his pinky finger. “You said that this wasn't a part of your plan, and I'm going to take you at your word, but it would have been a very clever plan if you did it on purpose. Ooh, I'm getting shivers just thinking about it! I see how everything worked out now. Incredible! Truly incredible!”
“Ah, it's nothing...” Laios subconsciously shrank in his seat. “I just got lucky, that's all. If anybody other than you figured out that I'm not supposed to be there, I'd be in big trouble. I don't even have a good reason to be there. I just thought I might learn something.”
“Well, that's a pretty good reason, I'd say. It should be the only reason one needs, as far as I'm concerned.” Kabru took a sip of his coffee, deep in thought, tapping his finger on the cup. “Why don't you enrol in a programme?” he asked finally, eyeing Laios with concern and curiosity. “There are plenty of options to choose from. I'm sure that you could find something.”
Laios frowned, crinkling his eyebrows. This was one of the parts he'd been dreading. “Ah, I can't. I couldn't even if I wanted to. See,” he spoke quickly, trying to get the explanation out as soon as possible, “I never finished school. I don't have a diploma or anything. I didn't take my final exams, and you need to pass those to get into university. It's fine, though. Really! I probably wouldn't like it anyway.” He looked down into his cup. His legs jiggled uncontrollably under the table. “I like learning about things, but I've never really been good at school. I probably wouldn't have dropped out if I was. Besides, the whole university thing seems kind of complicated. You have to choose your own classes, but they can't just be whatever you want, because of the whole thing with the points and stuff, right? I would mess it up along the way, I bet. It's better if I don't even try.”
Kabru watched him silently, knitting his eyebrows and biting his pinky finger. “Hm. I see. That is a difficult situation to be in,” he said after a long pause, filled with the sounds of Laios munching on his croissants. Kabru's lips slowly curled into a smile and he lightly shook his head. “I respect your decision, but I think you should give yourself more credit. I think you're perfectly capable of passing your exams and attending university, if you so desired. I would happily help you study for your finals. As a matter of fact,” he added in a proud tone, leaning back in his chair, “it's kind of my job to help people with these things, considering that I am a professional tutor. I could also help you navigate the process of composing your schedule and other administrative matters. That is only if you would be interested, of course. It's not my intention to pressure you.”
“Thanks, Kabru. I'll think about it,” Laios said softly under his breath. He looked up at Kabru, cocking his head slightly to the side. Kabru's words stirred something inside him, a strange sensation in his chest, in his stomach, in his head, something like dread but not quite. He was overwhelmed, but in a way that didn't feel entirely bad. Mostly, he was confused. Why was Kabru going out of his way to make him feel better, to offer him help? Why did he care so much? It was nice of him, very nice, but Laios couldn't help but feel like he did nothing to deserve it. “What are you getting out of this?” he asked, studying Kabru's expression. “I mean, let's say that I decide to ask you for help. What would you want from me in return? I couldn't really make it up to you in any way.” He paused for a moment. “Ah, I guess I could pay you, but that's not really enough.”
Kabru's expression dropped for a moment, but he composed himself quickly enough. “Oh, I wouldn't ask for anything in return. Although, if you insist on doing something for me in return, I suppose there is one thing,” he mused, rubbing his bottom lip with his index finger. “You see, I have my own studying to do. Very soon, I will have to start working on my master's thesis, not to mention all the exams I've got to take this Summer. To be honest, it's a little overwhelming. That's why I would like to ask you to be my study buddy. All that entails,” he explained patiently, “is that you would accompany me while I study. You wouldn't have to understand anything that I'm talking about,” he added quickly. “Sometimes it helps just to have somebody to bounce ideas off of.”
“Yeah, I know what you mean.” More than anything, Laios knew how awful it was not to have that. Shuro listened to him sometimes, but he would always get tired after a while, not to mention that he really didn't know what Laios was talking about most of the time. Most of the people he knew were like that, except for Falin. It had been difficult since she moved out, but he didn't have the right to stop her. Besides, they still worked together on the project. That was better than nothing. If he could help Kabru just by listening, there was no reason not to do it. Besides, maybe Kabru would be interested in his project? It would be cool to have another person on board. “Sure, if it helps, you can tell me anything. What do you study, anyway?”
“Oh, right, I never told you! I'm a student of anthropology.”
“Anthropology?” Laios scrunched up his nose. “Like, fossils?”
Kabru chuckled. “That's archeology. Understandable mistake to make, though. The two disciplines have quite a bit of overlap. Archaeology is sometimes called the anthropology of the past.” He folded his hands under his chin. “To put it simply, anthropology is the study of all things human. Human history, biology, culture, language, and everything in between. It's a really broad field of study. So broad, indeed, that you could say it encompasses the entirety of human experience. The term is derived from the Greek word for human, anthropos.”
“Oooh!” Laios snapped his fingers. “Like in anthropomorphic. I see.”
“Exactly! Anthropomorphism is the act of ascribing human attributes to non-human entities, most commonly other living beings, like animals. Personification is the analogous process for inanimate objects and abstract concepts. Typically what we mean when we describe a creature as anthropomorphic, we mean that it is somewhat humanoid in shape and possesses human-like personality traits, emotions and intelligence, but both are not required at the same time. For example, talking animals in children's fiction are an example of anthropomorphism, even though they typically look like regular animals. Examples of anthropomorphic depictions of animals have been documented all throughout human history, in art, literature, folklore and mythology... That is what the lecture you and I attend together is all about, though it is only a small sample.”
Laios, who had stopped breathing somewhere in the middle of Kabru's explanation, now abruptly inhaled. “Aah!” He planted both of his hands on the table. “So you're interested in that stuff, too! I thought you might be, since you were in that class, but I wasn't sure. That's so cool! Hold on!” He put his finger up as he reached into his backpack to pull out his notebook. He held it in both hands for a while, fighting the last remnants of his apprehension. “You wanted to see my notes, right> I'm gonna show you, but,” he said softly, looking away, “promise that you won't laugh.”
Kabru looked at him with large eyes. Finally he gave a nod. “Of course, I promise!”
After one last moment of hesitation, Laios opened his notebook and turned it around to show Kabru. “Like I told you, my notes aren't very good,” he explained defensively, seeing Kabru's expression. “They probably only make sense to me. I only need to look at them to remember what was said in the lecture. And, uh, about the drawings...” he mumbled awkwardly.
Kabru studied the page in stunned silence, hiding his mouth behind his hand. His eyes twinkled curiously. “I assume that drawing helps you focus on the lecture? I see.” Kabru's heart skipped a beat. He understood...! “You're a pretty good artist. That's... an anthropomorphic wolf?”
“Yeah!” Laios blurted out happily. “That's my fursona!” he added.
Kabru crinkled his eyebrows, squinting at the page. “Your fur...? Ah!” He gave a nod. “That's a representation of yourself as an anthropomorphic wolf? I understand.” He looked between the drawings and Laios, wearing an impenetrable expression. “I can see the resemblance, I think. Very good,” he said weakly, leaning back in his seat. “If I may ask, why a wolf?”
“Oh, I'm glad you asked!” Laios chirped, putting up his index finger. “Actually, that's only one of my fursonas. I've got a bunch of them. This was the first one, though. I've had it since I was little, before I even knew that there was a name for it. I grew up around dogs, you know, and wolves, I mean, wolves are like dogs but cooler, because they haven't been domesticated. I always wished that I could live amongst the wolves. But, you know, having a wolf fursona is kind of basic... There are a lot of other cool species that are way less popular. So, I started making a bunch of different designs. I haven't decided if they should all be separate or if I should just make my fursona a shapeshifter. I guess it's kind of a cop-out, but that's the best idea I have. Do you wanna-”
“Hold that thought,” Kabru said as he glanced at his watch. “I just realised that I only have fifteen minutes to make it to my next class. I'm afraid that we will have to stop here for now.”
“Aw, what?” Laios whined, pouting. “Really? Come on! I wanted to keep talking to you...!” Just when the conversation was starting to get good, too! Bummer.
The corners of Kabru's mouth visibly twitched when he looked at Laios. “I'm sorry,” he said softly. “I also wish that we could continue. I'm really interested in what you have to say. You've got a fascinating mind. Truly fascinating,” he murmured, and downed the rest of his coffee, which must have gone cold by now. “Would you like to grab a drink with me sometime? Say, this weekend?”
Laios felt his face grow warm. “Oh, sure! Yeah, I'd like that!” he blurted out enthusiastically.
“Good.” Kabru nodded his head. “Do you own a phone?”
“Ah.” Laios winced. “Yeah, I do. I don't have it on me, though, and I don't remember my number.”
Kabru dismissively waved his hand. “Oh, that's no problem at all. Could you hand me the notebook for a moment,” he asked, pointing at it.
“Oh, sure.” Relieved, Laios slipped the notebook to Kabru, and watched him write his phone number in big bold letters on the margin. He had pretty neat handwriting.
Once he was done, Kabru drew a frame around the number and handed the notebook back to Laios. “Here you go. Feel free to text me anytime, and if you'd prefer to call, I should be available every day from around four in the afternoon. I hope that we'll be able to figure something out.”
“We will!” Laios blurted out, putting the notebook back in his backpack. His heart was thumping in his chest. “For sure we will. I'll call you sometime,” he promised, getting up from his seat, and began playing with the straps of his backpack. “Do you want me to walk you to class again?”
Kabru came up to him and gently put his hand on his shoulder. “I'd love it if you did, yes.”