Being a Barrow - A Sequel to Barrow's Boy

The Fear Is In the Fall

     October continued with minor events. Theodore wrote a variety of midterm exams and shocked himself by scoring well in all of them, including History of Medicine. Though it was his lowest mark by a slight margin, it still fell into a range that he was more than pleased with. 

    He knew that he had scored in the top three of multiple classes purely because the professors had announced the top three grades, and his marks had coincided. Another thing to be proud of himself for. Upon being told, Thomas was quite proud of him too, which made it all even better.

     Theodore didn't tend to discuss marks with his friends unless prompted, not wanting to either show off or admit when he hadn't achieved what he had aimed for. However, Monty and Dansworth were the kinds to compare, and they often began discussing their papers or exams as soon as they had left the class. Ashton also typically stayed quiet, though Teddy was not yet sure if it was from the same reasons as himself or something else. Either way, it was hardly his business.

     The Raphelite continued hushed meetings, and Silvae had begun hinting at a big "mission" coming up, whatever that meant. Teddy had, of course, been forced to share what his Raphaelite name was, though he'd opted not to explain when asked. Ashton, the only one other than Amicus and Silvae who knew about Teddy's history, was kind enough to not say anything either. In return, Theodore never elaborated on Ashton's past with anyone, having noticed that he also did not tend to dive into the topic of his constant relocation. 

     It was toward the end of the month when Ashton, sitting at a study table in Lane Hall with Theodore, Dansworth, and Monty as they all worked on papers, proposed an idea.

    "My parents are hosting a Halloween party on Saturday," he spoke up. The three other boys looked up from their writing. "They said I can invite my friends if you'd all like to come."

    Theodore considered it for a moment. Although Saturday was technically the day before Halloween, it made sense why the Ashtons had picked that day.

     "Sounds fun," Dansworth answered. "Costume?"

     "Optional, but I think Mama would love them."

     "Wonderful. I will be there."

     "I'll come too," Monty agreed. "It'll be a nice break from all of these assignments."

    And thus, all eyes turned to Theodore.

     "It does seem enjoyable," he said, "I just have to check with Abi first-"

     "Oh, here he goes again," Dansworth, who was still of the impression that Abi was somehow fake. "I grew up near an Abbey, but that also happens to be my girlfriend's name. But wait, her last name is the same as the heroine in a famous romance novel-"

     Theodore had long given up trying to convince Dansworth of Abi's existence. 

      "Abi can come too if she'd like," Ashton said, and Theodore gave him a grateful smile.

     "That's very nice of you. I'll call her tonight and let you know."

     "Just wait," Dansworth said, twirling his pen between his fingers, "she'll so unexpectedly say no."

    Abi's answer on the call that night was, verbatim, "That sounds absolutely wonderful. I would love to come and finally wipe the smirk off of this Dansworth's face."

     Theodore loved her with every part of his being.