Chapter Text
Petra Ral was so cute. Distractingly cute. She was scribbling vigorously, trying to capture every single word of Professor Levi's lecture, her strawberry-blonde hair rustling just above her shoulders as she wrote.
If Auruo were a better student, he'd be writing too. But note-taking wasn't his style. He was more of a memorization kind of guy. Or at least, he would be, if his photographic memory ever decided to work. All suave guys had photographic memories, right? Professor Levi did. That was how he could tell if you'd actually read his assignments - he knew the quotes and pages by heart. There was no room for bullshitting in year three literature studies at Sina College.
Unfortunately, bullshitting was just about all Auruo was good at. It had worked well in high school, but now his college career was slowly going downhill due to his laziness. Why couldn't he have been gifted with some of Professor Levi's wit, and…
"Personally, I always found it a little fucked up that he's building the coffin right outside her window. But it's a good metaphor…" the professor said, making chapter notes on the blackboard.
…er… charm? Some people claimed Professor Levi was a bit of an oddball, but Auruo thought his interpretations actually made the books sound interesting. Auruo hated reading. But he needed another arts credit to get his diploma, and like hell was he going to suffer through art history 101 or some shit. At least when he told people he was studying literature it make him sound sophisticated. And the class was turning out to be okay. Listening to Professor Levi talk shit about famous authors and make vulgar jokes about epic poetry had been entertaining for the four hours a week that Auruo had had to endure lectures. Plus, some nice eye candy was sitting three rows in front of him.
Auruo had known Petra Ral since his first year at Sina. Freshmen got few electives, and for his he had opted to take an essay writing class that was intended for second years (because he was cool enough to skip ahead, of course). If he remembered right, Petra had gotten top marks in that class. As it turned out, she was studying creative writing, a major that had little crossover with Auruo's bachelor of political science, and between that and their one-year study gap, he never really expected to run into her again.
So when he'd walked in on the first day of literature studies, Auruo had thought himself quite lucky to find Petra taking a third year elective. He hadn't been making much use of his luck, though. In fact, he'd hardly said two words to her since the semester started over a month ago. He just sat at the back of the lecture hall, watching as she dutifully took her notes, his mouth twisting into an involuntary smile whenever she'd wave her hand in the air trying to answer one of the professor's questions.
Auruo would pack up his things as quickly as possible after class, hoping to get a glimpse of her soft brown eyes and enthusiastic smile on his way out of the hall. Petra was often one of the last to leave when class ended, loitering behind to hear Professor Levi's last comments. A lot of girls liked Professor Levi, so Auruo was hardly surprised to learn this about her. He consoled himself with the thought that when once he was accepted into law school, there would be plenty of girls fawning over him too. So he paid attention to what Levi did. You know. To learn how to handle all the pressure that would inevitably come with his impending cool-guy status.
Today was going to be different from the usual watch-and-dodge, though. As the professor marked next week's reading assignments on the board, Auruo choked back his nerves, collected his books, and walked as casually as he could manage down to the front row where Petra was seated. She was still scribbling, of course. He couldn't help but stare a little bit. He watched her until one of the other students shoved him out of the way because he was blocking the aisle. Auruo grunted, nearly dropping his things.
The sudden noise made Petra look in his direction. A wave of recognition passed over her round face. Her lip twitched a bit, then she frowned.
"I know you from somewhere, don't I?" Petra asked.
"Uh, huh, well, you should remember me, Petra Ral. We had a writing class together a couple years ago," Auruo said, raising his eyebrows.
"Writing class… I've taken a lot of writing classes. I'm a creative writing major." She frowned more deeply, trying to concentrate. This expression managed to make her look even cuter, and Auruo felt the heat rising in his cheeks.
"Nope, sorry!" Petra said after a moment of reflection.
Auruo had opened his mouth to speak, but her total lack of recognition surprised him, and he closed his mouth so quickly that he nipped his tongue.
"Yow!!" He scowled, turning away to hide his embarrassment.
"Did you just… bite your tongue?" Petra tried to muffle her laughter.
Shit, Auruo thought, I'm so uncool… he glanced quickly over at the professor to make sure Levi hadn't seen him making a fool of himself. Heaven forbid he look incompetent in front of a cute girl and his intimidatingly impressive teacher.
Casually, Petra began to pack up, placing her pen back into her pencil case, her delicate fingers tugging the zipper closed and… Auruo caught himself staring again.
"Uh, sorry, did you want something?" she said.
"Yeah. I can't help but notice that you… take a lot of notes. You must be real interested in literature, huh?"
"Well, of course, um. Why else would I be taking this class?" Petra was beginning to look a little impatient. Auruo shouldn't have worn a scarf to this lecture. He could feel himself sweating through his shirt.
"I just… you know… Professor Levi said once that books aren't exactly cool, you know. It's unusual that a cool girl like you would be so into… old books?"
Great. Just great. So eloquent, Auruo thought, holding his breath. This was why he never tried to talk to girls. He hoped he'd managed to sound at least a little bit cool. He'd quoted Professor Levi, after all.
Petra's cheeks flushed, and she began to look a little upset. "Well… no," she stuttered, "you're wrong. I think books are wonderful - literature is wonderful! And besides, Professor Levi didn't say books were uncool. He said people think it's uncool to read books these days, but they are missing out, because there are a lot of cool stories in classic literature. That was a really good introductory speech…"
She sighed. "You don't pay too much attention, do you, uh-"
"Auruo," said Auruo, exhaling suddenly. "Auruo Bossard. And I thought my memory was great, but I guess I don't stand a chance against someone who writes down the professor's every- hey!"
Petra was walking out of the now-empty lecture hall, and Auruo scrambled to catch up.
"Look," she said, "I'm not sure what prompted you to talk to me, but I'm not really interested in making friends with people who don't take their studies seriously." She frowned again, halfheartedly. "I really like Professor Levi's lecture. If you wanted to talk about something he said, I'd be happy to clarify… but I'm not going to listen to you try to one-up me in my favourite class when you don't even like to read." After saying this, she picked up her pace, striding briskly toward the end of campus.
Auruo tried his best to keep up, but by the time they reached the student life centre, he was panting.
"Look, Petra," he wheezed. "That didn't come out right. I don't think you're uncool for liking that shi- I mean, books, you know? You- I mean, the professor… he makes our classes interesting-"
"Do you have business here or something?" Petra cut him off. "Look, I'd love to chat more about our lecture, but I'm pretty busy right now. I have a lot of homework tonight, and I have an appointment with a student advisor in a minute. It's a lot to think about. I'd appreciate if you'd leave me alone."
Auruo's heart sank, but he tried not to look too devastated. He certainly wasn't fooling Petra, who backtracked just a little upon spying the tears barely forming in the corners of his eyes.
"Hey, you should catch up on the book we're talking about in class right now. It's actually a really easy read, in spite of the subject matter! And, um," she continued hesitantly, "maybe then we'd have something to talk about next week, okay? I'll see you later," she said, finally walking away.
Auruo stared down at the books in his hands and sighed. It could have gone worse, he thought as he flipped open the first pages of As I Lay Dying. It could have gone a lot worse. At least now he'd have an excuse to talk to Petra again… if he could make it through a chapter of this novel.
He stared down at the pages, his mind drawing a blank.