Burdens - Chapter 35: Interrogation
#35 of Burdens
Chapter 35: Interrogation
It was dawn. The sun had risen and the light shone through the windows. It would normally had woken the fox, but he was already awake. He paced back and forth in his room.
He was ready to leave. He had woken an hour prior and could not get back to sleep. His nerves were tense, his mind reeling, and for several brief periods he wanted to retreat. However, he continued to be resolved in his future actions. All he had to do was ask a question.
He was nervous. Why should he be, he wondered to himself. It was just figuring out the vixen's name, which should not be really difficult in the first place. In the past he had no qualms about such a thing, but now there was an issue. Perhaps it was not that simple.
He thought about it some more. He figured that on top of asking her name, he was really confirming to himself his own desires for her. He knew it was a lust he felt, an affection, an infatuation that he had created from long ago, but he had been too scared to pursue it. He wanted, now more than ever, to prove to himself that he was not the deviant he had been suspect in the past weekend.
The time came eventually to move from his house and to the school. His mother had already left and his father was asleep. He did not want to disturb them.
On the counter he found his lunch. He grabbed it and headed out the door.
His mother had prepared that lunch for him regularly, and he was grateful for it. If his latent desires for the wolf were true, how would his parents react? Would he let them know? It almost felt as if he were betraying them. Of course, they had never really expressed any desire for him to have a girlfriend or children, but he assumed that was something they wanted.
Still, it felt like it was a dereliction of his duty. He shook his head and continued heading toward the school. It was not a thought he wanted to keep in his mind, plaguing him constantly.
He had to pick a good time for such a question. He did not share any classes with her, so that was impossible. If he did share a class, he would have known her name, since it would have been called. He wished that were the case.
He figured the only real time to ask her would be during lunch. He hoped that she was not ill or absent today. He would seek her out, but pretend it was only in passing, and ask her in a nonchalant manner. That would be best, he thought.
How does one do such a thing, he wondered. It was not really such an easy task to accomplish. He continued the planning process for the while he walked toward school.
He arrived early, as usual. He walked toward his classroom.
The school was still deserted. He did not mind so much, and the weather was still cool that he did not feel too warm. He never really did, but as anxious as he was now, anything that made him warm immediately made him nervous that he would begin to sweat, and then might smell a bit offensive. If that were the case, how would his first impression go? Would she notice?
The familiar sight of the teacher came into view. The skunk walked by, gave him an approving glance, and then unlocked the door. He let the fox in, and soon more students began to trickle in.
The teacher gestured for him to follow. He agreed and they headed off to the side of the building. He had not known, but now knew, that the teacher's office was in the same building, but just off to the side. He had suspected as such, since most of the teachers had their offices near to their class, but so far this was the first time he had seen one so close.
The skunk began to fumble around with his keys to unlock the door. Once open, he walked inside and invited the fox in.
Roger sat down at the provided seat across from the desk that the skunk sat at. On the desk was an old monitor, accompanied by several items, such as a mouse, keyboard, odd desk knick-knacks, as well as pen holders, awards, credentials, and a plaque. Written on the plaque was simply: David Levy. It need not say more, the credentials were already present.
Finally the teacher spoke up after checking his watch to make sure they still had enough time. He swiveled back and forth in his chair while speaking, "So, Mr. Colton, I wanted to ask you a few things. You're not in trouble, I just want your opinion on something. Would that be, uh... amenable?"
Roger nodded. "Yeah, that's okay, but I don't know what you would need my opinion for. I'm just a student."
The skunk nodded thoughtfully, pausing for just a moment. He then continued, "Yes, you're a student. You're still the brightest I have in this current... round, I'd suppose. On the other side of the coin, you're paired up with the... least brightest student I have this round. I won't say in of all, uh, cycles, but he comes pretty close.
"So I'd like to ask you, how well do you think he will do? You've had a little bit of time to work with him, after all. So you, uh... well, I think you're smart enough to, hm... have a good understanding of his nature, I suppose. As you know, he is a bit... how do you say, slow?" The skunk looked at the fox intently, genuinely waiting for an answer.
Roger frowned and moved his head back a bit. "Well, um... he's a nice guy?"
The skunk nodded. "Yes, but academically.... This is between the two of us, of course."
The fox nodded and thought for a moment. He considered what was being asked of him. He responded, "Well, like I said, he's a good guy. He's trying harder, and I think with some effort he'll get it. It's like he's playing catch-up. Problem is, he has a lot to catch up on, but he'll get there, just give him time."
The teacher nodded and paused, not looking at anything in particular, seemingly thinking about something. Roger felt uncomfortable. However, the skunk finally said, "That's good to hear. I trust your word, though with time we'll really... see, I suppose. Sometime around... a quarter of the way, or maybe after the first test, I haven't yet come to a decision, we'll, uh... change partners around. In most, hm, situations, you would get another as your partner... but if you feel it best to stay with Mr. Wright, heh, then that'll be what is done. So, do you feel that would be the best, or do you feel he'll be better off by that time?"
Roger blushed at the double meaning, but rolled his eyes to cover it. He thought for a moment. It was his chance, in a sense, to rid himself of what plagued him. Still, he did not want to leave the wolf in less capable paws, as it was.
The fox argued with himself in his head. For what felt like forever he weighed the pros and cons of each decision, and attempted to find the best solution.
When he found it, he gave his answer.