Class dismissed, Heart Enlisted [JesBible]

5 [The Fountain Fiasco]

Bible sprinted down the path toward the university courtyard, heart racing as he cursed himself for being late—again. Today was the big day: the university’s art competition, and he was responsible for bringing all the supplies for his team. If Bas hadn’t already called him five times, he’d be surprised.

I’m so dead, Bible thought, struggling to keep the large, wobbling box of paints, brushes, and canvases balanced in his arms. Bas is going to kill me. And I’ll deserve it.

Ahead, Bas stood anxiously near the campus fountain, scanning the crowd. Bible sighed with relief. Almost there.

But just as Bible reached the last few feet, disaster struck. He collided—hard—with something solid. The box flew from his hands, art supplies spilling out in every direction. His heart sank as he watched several paint tubes soar through the air and—splash! —straight into the fountain.

“No way,” Bible muttered in disbelief, as the colors began swirling in the fountain’s clear water.

"Are you serious?" a sharp, icy voice cut through the chaos. Bible looked up, and his stomach dropped.

There stood Jes—their notoriously strict lecturer. His usual sharp suit now speckled with bright red and blue splashes of paint, a rigid expression of disbelief on his face.

“Perfect,” Bible muttered under his breath, scrambling to pick up the fallen brushes and canvases. Of all the people he could’ve run into, why him?

Jes, drenched in paint, looked down at the mess, eyes narrowing. “Do you have any idea what you’ve just done?” he said, voice dangerously low.

Bible, flustered and red-faced, stammered, “It was—it was an accident! I didn’t see you—”

Jes crossed his arms, now fully glaring. “You never see anything, Bible. First, you're late, and now you’ve ruined not just your team’s supplies, but half the courtyard fountain.”

Bible was already on his knees, desperately pulling brushes out of the fountain, but they were soaked and useless now. “I-I’m sorry! I’ll fix it—just, give me a second.”

But Jes wasn’t having it. “Fix it? You think this is just about you? You’re representing the university today, Bible. Being late is one thing, but this—” He gestured to the fountain where swirling colors of paint mixed with the water. “This is reckless.”

Bible stood up, anger bubbling up alongside his embarrassment. “I know I messed up, okay? You don’t need to keep rubbing it in.”

Jes, unphased, raised an eyebrow. “Clearly you don’t. If you did understand, you’d stop making these careless mistakes. This is the third time this month you’ve done something like this.”

Before Bible could snap back, the chaos took another unexpected turn. One of the paint cans, still rolling on the edge of the fountain, tipped over. With a loud splat! , it burst open—showering both Bible and Jes in a bright wave of neon pink paint.

Bible froze, staring at the pink paint dripping from his hair, down his face, onto his already-stained clothes. Jes, standing rigidly beside him, was equally covered, his once-perfect suit now a mess of bright colors.

Bible glanced at Jes, and despite the absurdity of it all, a laugh slipped out. It started as a snicker, but quickly grew into uncontrollable laughter. The sight of Jes, their cold and composed lecturer, standing there drenched in pink paint—it was too much.

Jes’s glare darkened, his jaw tightening as he wiped a thick glob of paint from his face. “You think this is funny?”

Bible tried to stop, but the laughter kept coming. “I mean—look at us!”

Jes took a step forward, paint dripping down his brow, his voice dangerously quiet. “You’ve made a mess of everything, and you’re laughing?”

“I— I’m sorry, I can’t help it,” Bible managed to choke out between laughs. The stress of the day, the embarrassment, and now this—it was all so ridiculous.

Before Jes could respond, Bas arrived on the scene, wide-eyed and horrified. “What the—what happened?!” he asked, looking between Bible, Jes, and the mess of supplies scattered across the ground.

Bible gestured to Jes, still laughing. “I ran into him, and now we’re both part of the art display.”

Jes wiped at his face again, clearly at the end of his patience. “This is not a joke, Bible. You need to take responsibility for your actions.” He turned to Bas, his tone more controlled but no less stern. “Make sure this gets cleaned up. And make sure he doesn’t ruin the next event.”

Bas shot a helpless look at Bible, who just shrugged, still trying to suppress his laughter. “I’ll take care of it, Professor,” Bas said quickly, pulling Bible aside before Jes could say more.

As Jes turned on his heel and walked away, Bible’s laughter finally subsided. But as he watched his paint-covered lecturer stalk off, he couldn’t help but smirk.

“Well, at least now we’re even,” he muttered to himself, wiping the last of the pink paint from his face.