Broken Stride

Punishment

Cassian wouldn't lie and say he hadn't hoped otherwise, but as Yuri had said, she made him pack his own lunch and drove him to school the next morning. Packing lunch wasn't such a big deal, but she insisted he bring his cane to school and wouldn't let him leave without it. Sure it was nice to have sometimes but he hated having to actually carry it around. Well, he could just dump it in the classroom and leave it there until the end of the day—after their second beatdown of the bullies from his first day as Gangu hadn't so much as glanced in his direction, so it would be safe from harm.

"Alright, I'll come get you at the end of the day, so don't even think about sneaking out, ok?" Yuri smiled, pulling up at the front gate of the school grounds.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll be on time." Cassian waved her off as he jumped out of the car.

"Oh, it's you!"

Cassian froze at the sound of the voice. No.

No no no no no no. No.

"Hey, Uchan."

"Friend of yours?"

Shit, he forgot Yuri was still here.

"Um, Kind of?"

"I'd say we're acquaintances," Uchan nodded, waving to Yuri.

"Thanks for looking after my brother. He's quite a handful."

"Oh, it's no trouble, really!"

Cassian wanted to die, again. He couldn't believe he'd let these two meet. Uchan was one thing, but the two of them together? That would be one hell of a friendship. Could he never escape the overbearing sibling energy?

"Oh, that reminds me, Gangu, I was going to ask if you'd be willing to come study with me after school? I heard you're pretty good at English and I'm struggling," Uchan smiled.

Fuck. What did he know?

"Um, I would love to, but I'm grounded so—"

"I don't mind!" Yuri grinned, giving Cassian a look.

Fuck. There was no getting out of this one, huh?

"Great! I'll see you later then!" Uchan waved as he turned to head inside," It was nice meeting you, Ms. Gwon!"

"You too!" Yuri waited for the red-haired teen to leave before turning to Cassian. "Be home by eight at the latest, understand?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Right, off with you then!"

"A right mess you've gotten yourself in." Moros chuckled, clearly enjoying the show.

"I will find a way to punch you." Cassian groaned, dragging a hand through his hair.

He could probably just ditch the Psyker and wait around somewhere until it got late, then head home, right? Yuri probably wouldn't know the difference. Right, that was his plan because he really didn't want to spend any more time with the other teen than he needed to.

Of course, no plan of his ever went how it was supposed to. That became painfully clear when, as he was packing up his things after the last bell, he was greeted by the red-haired psyker trainee he was trying to avoid. He hadn't expected him to wait outside the classroom. That was his miss, but one that would cost him his precious afternoon.

"You were serious about wanting me to tutor you?" Cassian sighed as he joined the teen in the hall.

Uchan nodded, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I'm embarrassed to admit that my skills are abysmal."

Well, that was surprising. Most Psykers learned English or at least some other second language for ease of work. Plus it was a required class for their school, so hearing that Uchan of all people wasn't any good at it came as a bit of a shock.