ISOH / TAOAA - One-Shots

ASTR 2000

A/N: In which Viktor suffers through an 8 am college course about his best friend.

This is self-indulgent. I just miss college haha

***

The first day wasn't terrible. Viktor always had first day nerves to help him drag himself out of bed and make it to the classroom with plenty of time to spare. Yes, maybe his attention drifted off here and there, but it was an eight AM class and Viktor was only twenty-one. He could afford to zone out a little!

But it helped that the class was about the Vokkrus. Helped quite a bit, really.

Plus, he was in good company.

"Blah, blah, blah," his friend, Kasey, muttered under her breath as the professor went over the importance of not plagiarizing. He wondered if professors ever got tired of saying that as often as they did. He knew he'd be pretty annoyed. "Get to the part where we learn about motherfuckin' aliens."

"They aren't that cool," Viktor muttered, thinking about the ringmaster. "Some of them are kinda lame."

"What-" hissed Kasey before Professor Lawrence changed the subject to more important topics, like their grades, and they were forced to pay attention.

Viktor rolled a corner of the paper between his fingers as he listened. Grades... He hoped this class would be an easy A, otherwise, he might as well hang up his future as an ambassador. That would be embarrassing. He scowled at the mention of a presentation, irritation mounting even more when the professor said there'd be a sign-up sheet for different topics they'd be allowed to cover. It sucked that they had to present in front of the very large class, but to not even pick their own topic? Viktor wanted to cry.

There was an interesting assignment. Professor Lawrence mentioned a sort of creative writing slash research project about what it would be like being a victim of the Abduction. He wondered if he could just write about his own experiences.

He flipped open his laptop when the professor started lecturing after he made Viktor stand up in front of the whole class and briefly talk about being Kohgrash. He pulled up a blank document to type his notes into, pushing away his smoldering thoughts. Kasey drew little pictures on her tablet, occasionally jotting down a few words. Viktor knew she'd be coming to him for his notes, so he made sure to be a little more detailed than he'd usually be.

Admittedly... most of his document was just blank. The professor started talking about what a Vokkrus was, the differences in skin tone, height, tails, and even horns; it was all stuff Viktor was very familiar with. Well, some of the more technical stuff he wrote down, but seriously... the average number of horns a Vokkrus had on their face? Viktor thought knowing that might be a bit overkill.

The professor slowly started edging into what had happened on the day of the Abduction before their time was over for the day. Viktor had to admit that he was most interested in that part - it had been a flurry of emotions and confusion; he'd barely known what was going on. Sure, he'd watched a few news outlets that covered the topic, but he hadn't watched them since he'd gotten dropped off. It had been more than a little painful.

Kasey yawned, gathering up her tablet with a swiftness that only eager-to-leave college students could muster. "I'm beat. Wanna grab a coffee with me?" she asked, slinging her bag over her shoulder. Viktor had to duck away when it nearly brained him.

"Sure," he agreed easily. He could go for a coffee. Sugary, yummy deliciousness... It'd be nice. And hopefully wake his ass up.

"Kohgrash!" Viktor instinctively looked over in the direction of his name, frowning when he saw the professor waving for him to come over. He's never really interacted with this one before... he wasn't a usual astronomy prof, more of a history slash anthropologist one than anything else. It made sense in some way, but he still wished the professors he was more familiar with were teaching the class.