Lawful Roll of the Dice

It was around 10:00 in the morning when the test started. Cordell, more commonly known as "Chance", felt pretty good about this exam. It was the third one of the semester and the professor, unfortunately for the class, told everyone that he would mixing it up from the usual. Chance liked the usual tests. The majority of it was multiple choice with a few short answer questions that he explained vaguely enough to get half credit for it and still pull out a B+. The class was Roman History 1000 section 007 which lasted from 10:00-11:15 on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

But enough about the course. This is about Chance not studying wholeheartedly for this test. It was on the Classical Age of Rome and Chance remembered bits and pieces of the subject being taught, but not too much. Luckily for him, he was a son of Fortuna. He was wearing a purple tank top and gray joggers with black converses. After this, he had an hour before his next class: Personal Finance.

After bubbling in answers on the scantron, he turned to flipped the page and saw the essay question:

Compare and contrast the history of the Roman empire with that of classical China during the years from 206 BCE to 290 AD. What do yo think are the major similarities and differences between these two great classical civilizations?

When did they learn about classical China? Probably when he skipped class because of his one night stand wanting round three that next morning. Chance groaned and tapped the eraser of his green mechanical pencil on the page with the essay question. He glanced over the guy sitting beside him with the long hair. Maybe he had something down.

honestly, jaques thought it was about time the professor switched up their test. sure, an easy a is nice, but jaques wasn't here for an easy a. he wasn't going to college just to breeze through, he wanted to challenge himself, and doing the exact same format test every single time was boring and not a challenge in the slightest.

an essay, though - jaques likes essays. he can do essays. comparing and contrasting is a challenge, but an engaging one that he'd willingly dive into.

besides. history? jaques has history. he loves history, has loved it ever since he was a kid and his dad pulled out all his old dusty maps and his giant books and told him about their family history, about old war generals and discoverers and the emperors and queens of various countries. those people were real, and so were the places and the cities and people experienced them the way that jaques experiences his life and the world around him. it was so obvious, but so mind blowing at the same time.

he's a good third of the way into his essay when he notices the boy sitting next to him trying to look at his paper and copy his answer, and jaques may believe in following a code of ethics and honor but he's not a snitch. he's not just going to run to the professor and ask him to fix it for him.

he shoots the boy a glare and casually flips him off before adjusting his scantron so it lays on top of what he's written and moving his arm forward to block more of his page. he knows the pressure of doing well in school is a lot, but gods, if you're going to cheat at least have the decency to bring your own notes rather than copying off of someone else.

Chance quietly snapped his lips when the East Asian looking guy flipped him off and didn't allow him to see his essay. What was he supposed to do now? If he didn't do the essay, then that would bring down his overall grade to a B-. Shit.

Looked like the son of Fortuna's luck had finally run out. Chance sat up in his chair and glanced back over at his fellow classmate before jotting some bullshit down. He grabbed his book bag and test paper and scantron and headed to the front of the class and placed both of his items in their respective piles.

Chance headed out of the classroom, but forgot his pencil on the table. All he wanted to do was forget about the test and get something to eat before his next class.

it's only once the other student leaves in a huff, barely bothering to spend enough time writing a good length essay that jaques realizes he may have been a bit harsh over the whole ordeal. plus, he left his pencil behind. the least he could do is return it, if not offer to help him study for the next test.

(a voice that sounds remarkably similar to his father's echoes 'it would be the honorable thing to do,' in the back of jaque's head, not quite stuck up and not quite condescending but definitely self righteous. sometimes he gets tired of being the honorable one)

he finished up his essay quickly enough - he was almost done, anyway - and made sure to grab the other student's pencil before gathering his things and turning his papers in, hurrying out of the classroom to catch up to the other boy. he's fairly far down the corridor, and jaques is in no mood to start running to catch up but he quickens his pace, hoping he's at least going somewhere where it wouldn't be too awkward for a conversation like, 'hey, sorry i flipped you off, that was rude of me, here's your pencil, also by the way i can totally help you study or tutor you just please don't cheat off of me again.'

Chance continued walking down the hallway of the History, Language, and English building and toward the exit when he came to elevator. He waited patiently for it to rise up to the third floor. He scratched the back of his neck before putting in his left air pod earbud (he'd won a black iPhone 8 after he filled out a survey) and pulled out his phone. After he unlocked it, he started to play "The Hills" by The Weeknd to help pass the time.

While he waited and listened to music, Chance thought about what he wanted to eat. Maybe a burger? Chicken nuggets? Tacos? Oh, there was a good taco cart by the health sciences building. Yep, it was decided. He was going to get a steak quesadilla. Chance's stomach growled again. Make that two.

oh, gods, not an elevator. this is going to get awkward. elevator confrontations are never good.

jaques works himself up to a jog to make it to the elevator in time, before the doors open and it's too late. he's groaning internally, cursing his past self for acting so rudely. he should have just casually covered his paper without flipping the kid off. gods, jaques is an idiot.

"uh, hey," he says as he catches up to to elevator. "you left your pencil behind."

The son of Fortuna was about to step unto the elevator as two people came off of it when he heard a familiar sound. Chance looked over to see the guy that had not only flipped him off, but hid his essay from him. He really couldn't get mad at the guy for the latter, but for the former was a different story.

"Thanks." Chance took the pencil from him and placed it in his pocket. The black Canadian stepped onto the elevator and turned down his music a bit. He flipped through his messages on his phone before stuffing it into his other pocket. "Are you getting on?"

"yes," he says, nodding jerkily as he steps in. gods, this is going to be awkward.

he closes his eyes and takes a deep breath before speaking. he needs to do this. might as well just get it over with. "i wanted to apologize for how i acted in class," he says, forcing the words out. "that was rude of me. i am sorry."

"It's aight," Chance shrugged his shoulders. "I didn't expect for me to lemme copy off of your essay. Plus, I'm sure Professor Heinz would've noticed that our essays looked the same." He looked over at the guy with the long hair.

The doors slid open on the ground floor and Chance stepped out of the elevator. He was heading toward the front door when he put his hand into his pocket.

"i still didn't need to flip you off, though," he says, sticking his hands in his pockets and shrugging. "that was a bit much."

he's itching to get back home to get some training and sewing in before his course on civil procedures, but he can't just leave without apologizing properly, without being sure that it's clear that he is sorry. jaques' is anything but a liar and a heartless asshole, and he can't let anyone think such without at least trying.

OOC: ooohh, adding color I see

BIC: Chance glanced over at him. "I probably would've done the same thing. Don't sweat it." Chance shrugged and reached into his ear and pulled out the airbud and placed it in his pocket with the other one. "Look, next test I'll just copy off of the girl to my left." He stated as he opened the door.

He walked out and directly into the Campus courtyard. Chance's eyes scanned around a bit before heading in the direction of the health science building.

jaque knows he should leave it at that, recognizes that his apology was accepted and that the boy wouldn't copy off of him. the confrontation reached a conclusion beneficial for everyone involved, but something pushes him to continue

(something like a voice whispering to him to always be honorable always be noble you have responsibility to stop rule breaking)

"i could tutor you," he offers, and the second the words are out of his mouth he cringes at himself. the other student doesn't seem the studying type, doesn't seem the type to ask the broody, silent kid help him study for a freshmen course that probably had nothing to do with his major in the first place. gods, he's an idiot

besides, he doesn't know the first thing about tutoring someone, or how to even act around someone within that type of relationship. he knows how to act with friends, and he knows how to act with mentor or teacher figures, but how is he supposed to be the mentor?

ooc: listen man i cant think of any fancy codey thingies rn might as well make it colorful in the meantime!!

OOC: Mhm, I like it!

BIC: Chance turned around when he heard the guy offer to help him studying. "Tutor me?" He repeated with an almost surprised look on his face. He had to stop walking in order to see if this guy was messing with him or not.

"You would want to tutor me? Look, I'll study," He lied. "Plus, it's only a general ed class that I need to take like college algebra." He guessed on that like it was nobody business. His test and homework grades ranged from a C- to a B+. The longer he looked at the guy the longer he seemed to look familiar. He scratched his SPQR tattoo which was composed of a wheel in front of a pole with a flower weaving around it.

"...I feel like I know you from somewhere. You go to that party last Saturday?" Chance asked, cocking his head to the side a bit.

"it was just an offer," he says, shrugging. gods, he shouldn't have even said anything. this was stupid, and clearly he wasn't even interested in studying. jauque could sense the lie easy as anything. "you don't mean that," he says before he can stop himself. "but suit yourself."

the last comment makes him pause, though, and he realizes that the other boy does look familiar, in a distant sort of way. but jaques doesn't party, nor does he even get out much in the first place. "no, i wasn't there," he replies. he's got no clue which party he's even talking about, or if there were multiple parties last saturday or just one or anything of that sort. last saturday he was home, having dinner with his parents and reading.

but he's certain he knows this boy from somewhere, too, somewhere besides sharing the same gen ed course. "what cohort were you in?" he asks, going out on a limb. jaques knew the other members of the second cohort; he wasn't a complete shut in. but he'd always been a solitary person.

The twenty-two year old freshmen raised his eyebrows when the shorter guy told him that he didn't mean that he was going to study. How did he know? The long-haired Asian guy either knew the type of guy that Chance was or that the guy was a son of Veritas, the goddess of truth and trustworthiness, or something.

When he asked him what cohort he was in, Chance had to think about it for a bit. "Oh, uh, second. I was in the second cohort." The son of Fortuna answered. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his lucky coin with his mother's face on head and his grandfather, Bacchus on the other. It was a custom coin that he enchanted himself to give him a boast of good luck. "How did you know that I wasn't gonna study, huh? Are you a descendant of Veritas or somethin'?"

oh, well. that explains it. "i was in the second cohort, too," he says with a small smile. "i'm jaques." he's not surprised that the other boy doesn't remember him. it's not like jaques has ever been that outgoing.

he shrugs simply, before saying, "i'm not a descendant of veritas. you just don't seem the type." he never knows how to describe his whole gut feeling thing. it's not like it has any divine connection, sometimes he just knows, and not because of body language. he's awful at reading that stuff, he can just tell. whatever it is, his mother taught him well.

A grin came across his face. "Oh, yeah! That's where I know you from! I'm Chance." Jaques' name reminded him of a few things. His father was the first thing and Canada was the next.

"Oh, shit, never mind." That was a good thing. The last thing he needed was someone who could tell when he was lying. It wasn't that he lied a lot, but sometimes he had to stretch the truth. "Anyway, uh, yeah, I'll let you tutor me." His eyes scanned over Jaques' body. "Where at? Maybe we can go out for beers or something."

despite not being surprised that chance didn't remember him, jaques feels a twinge of guilt at forgetting the boy. it's not a shock, not even close to it; jaques has never been anything close to outgoing. but he wishes he'd made more of an effort to get to know the people he lived with for ten years.

he can't believe he's gotten himself into this. he always puts so much thought into things, into rationalizing the pros and cons rather than just impulsively jumping headfirst into it like an idiot. honor be damned, he shouldn't have even done this in the first place.

"i was thinking something more like a library," he says, not wanting to disclose the fact that he's never even been to a bar before. gods, he's lame. this is going to be a disaster.

ooc: me, beating my Shit Brain with a stick: C'MON DO THE CREATIVE THING MAKE THE POST HIT THOS BUTTONS

OOC: That's fine! I'll wait for days for this topic.

BIC: Chance scrounged him his nose. "The library? That isn't much fun, but if you wanna study in there, then I guess it makes more sense." Chance would've rather studied at one of the few bars in New Rome, but knew that if they were to go there, then he would get distracted. Not only would he get distracted, but also say "f*ck it" to studying for anything else. He'd do his own form of rationalization and attempt to say that he'd take care of it when he needed to. However, when the son of Fortuna did that, it never studied or waited to the very last second to do it.

"How 'bout we do this: We go to one of those bookstores with those cute coffee area and you can tutor me there." Chance scratched the side of his face and looked at his watch. He still had thirty minutes to go. Maybe he'll get the quesadillas later when he was done with classes. "That sound good to you?"

jaques tries his best not to roll his eyes. studying in a bar. gods. this is going to be difficult.

"yeah, that sounds fine," he says with a short nod. he notices chance check the time, and suddenly feels self conscious for holding him up. jaques' next class isn't for a while, but it looked like chance was in a hurry.

but anyway; no time for that. "what time should we meet?"

"Uh," Chance began to think. He thought about a time that would work for him. Chance did have a social life after all. "What about seven? In the library. There's a Starbucks there on the third floor. They also have those "

Chance never really "studied" before. Maybe this was the start of something new. Or maybe he'd get distracted the way he usually does and wing the test. The latter was already a possibility. A huge one.

"Hey, I gotta get to my personal finance class. I can give you my number."

he mentally flips through his calendar, to make sure he doesn't have anything set up at seven. he secretly hopes he does, but he's not having dinner with his parents tonight, and he's not working, either. "seven is good," he says.

"yeah, of course," he says, and as he rattles off his number he thinks about the decade old flip phone in his pocket. he's never been one for technology, and after he struggled to learn how to send a message with the ridiculous keyboard he figured it was too much effort to even bother getting another one. by the time he figured it out there'd be a new one out, anyway. technology is confusing.

Great, so it was settled. Chance was actually going to study with the help of Jaques. That was going to be different. Gods, what should he bring? Of course his text book and notes.

Chance pulled out a loose piece of paper from his book bag that was partially unzipped and grabbed the pencil that was in his pocket. He wrote down his number and handed it to Jaques. "There. Text me your number when you can. I gotta go. See ya." He nodded his head to his new history tutor before taking off to his next class.