Vonaias Aleanvalsa

The Wristwatch

Andrew was late for Latin class. 

He rushed down the corridors, shoes unlaced, hair windswept as he dashed up the stairs. He knew he should have returned sooner, but he couldn't stop thinking about the wizard's words. 

Class had started five minutes ago by the time Andrew made it to the classroom. 

The teacher, Mr Marcia gave him a quizzical look. 

"You are late, Andrew. Care to explain?" the teacher asked. 

Andrew was panting as he found his seat. Finn, who sat next to him, looked worried. 

"Sorry sir," Andrew began in form of apology, "I overslept."

Andrew wasn't used to lying to his teachers, but he couldn't tell the truth either. They would think he had gone absolutely crazy. The truth was that Andrew had not overslept, he had been somewhere else, doing something important, and he only remembered he had to go to class when it was too late. 

He quite enjoyed Latin class, and it wasn't a horrible morning, but he did keep glancing at the clock, waiting for the bell to ring so he could get back to his room and continue where he had left off. 

He'd been so concerned with other problems that he had also forgotten that today was a quiz day. He wasn't truly worried. He was in fact, really good at Latin, so as soon as Mr Marcia gave out the quiz, Andrew was ready to ace it and finished it with half the time left to spare. 

Mr Marcia was, as always, happy with him for having finished so quickly, and allowed Andrew to simply sit there and pull out a book or something while the rest of his classmates finished their own tests. This gave Andrew ample opportunity to glance around the room and see which of his classmates seemed in trouble. 

There was a boy sitting on the opposite side of Andrew's row, who was sweating profusely. His name was Luke, and even though Andrew had never spoken to him, they had friends in common. He was a bit chubby, with golden hair and blue eyes that made him look a little like a cherub or a cupid. 

Despite his somewhat angelical appearance, Luke was doing something not very angelical-like. Andrew had to admit it, it was kinda cool. Luke was currently answering questions on his quiz while glancing at the words he had written on his palm. He was cheating! 

Andrew had never needed to cheat during an exam. Tests were easy, quizzes even more so. So, in a way, it was kinda funny to see Luke all worried about it. He was sweating so much that a drop was dangling off his nose directly over his paper. 

He must have felt he was being watched, because at that moment, Luke looked up and found Andrew's eyes. 

The blonde boy gasped silently, his mouth fell slightly open, eyes wide. He looked at the teacher, then back at Andrew in what Andrew thought was a pleading way, as if he were silently begging him not to snitch. 

Andrew considered this. Snitching on Luke would offer him no benefits whatsoever. Perhaps Mr Marcia would pat him on the back and thank him, but that wasn't particularly profitable. Then again, if he didn't snitch on him, he'd absolutely get nothing at all, except perhaps the gratitude of a boy he didn't care to meet. 

Decisions, decisions. 

In the end, Andrew came to what he considered a very wise conclusion. He might not need a new friend in Luke, but he could certainly do with fewer enemies, or at least, not more than he already had. In the end, with Luke's blue eyes staring at him pleadingly, Andrew made an ok sign and looked away. 

By the time the bell finally rang, Andrew couldn't stand up more quickly. He all but rushed to the door and began the walk back to his dorm. 

He wasn't expecting for Luke to catch up.