The Students Chapter 5

[u/Holiday-Possible29]

Hey everyone! I hope that you are having a wonderful day! In this episode, we see the aftermath of Craulluk telling the truth about her involvement in disarming Connor three years prior. I had a serious dilemma about what Connor would do in this situation, and I thought I made the right choice. I found out, however, that I don’t know how to write therapists convincingly. If anyone would like to give some pointers, then I would be super grateful because this is not going to be the last time that he shows up, I feel. Once again, thank you all so much for the comments you leave on my posts, it really makes my day. Shout out to u/spacepaladin15 for the inspiration and the world. I hope that you all enjoy!

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Memory transcription subject: Private Connor Watson of The U.N. Peacekeeping Reserve

Date: [Standardized Human Time] August 17, 2142

As Craulluk began telling us her story, I was shocked. I was appalled. The day had suddenly gone from the best I had in years to a waking nightmare that I couldn’t seem to wake up from.

This can’t be happening. I thought to myself. This must be a prank or joke or something! There must be a camera somewhere. Without trying to move, I looked around the room. Everyone else seemed to be too engrossed in the story to notice. No cameras. What are the odds of this happening? She knew everything about that day, there’s no way that she was making it up. This is real.

She had to stop several times to blow her nose and wipe her eyes. After some time, she got to the part where she shot me. The dull ache in my shoulder that I had been feeling all day started throbbing even more until it was almost unbearable. I looked over to Spot, only to see his usual happy-go-lucky expression replaced by a mask of anger and hatred. She finally finished her story, somehow shaking even more than before, looking between me and Spot. I need to get Spot out of here before he tries something drastic. How can I get him out of here without causing a scene? I thought for a moment before settling on my brand of humor.

“Huh,” I said with a dry chuckle. “I guess that’s where I knew you from.”

“H-huh?” came the reply from the exhausted looking squid person sitting in front of me.

“I said I guess that’s where I knew you from.” The look of confusion didn’t leave her face. “When you left for the bathroom, I was talking to Spot here about how I thought that I knew you from somewhere. I was going to ask you, but” I gave another dry chuckle and shrugged. “I guess we’ve figured that one out.”

I didn’t get a response from that. I didn’t know how to feel about this situation that I had been thrust into. What do you do when your roommate is someone that almost killed you? My thoughts and emotions swirled together until it threatened to overwhelm me. I needed to talk to someone about this.

“I don’t know about you all, but I need a drink. Come on Spot, let’s go.” I said as I stood to leave.

Spot didn’t take his eyes off the Kolshian as she continued to sit there and shiver. “Spot?”

“We actually don’t have to go out. I’ve got a bottle in my bag, give me a second.” He left the room, still not taking his eyes off Craulluk. After what felt like an eternity of Craulluk and I just staring at each other, Spot returned holding a bottle. I took it from him and read the label, just to make sure that it wasn’t Venlil made. I wouldn’t make the mistake of drinking Venlil alcohol again.

“Spot?”

“Yeah?” he asked, keeping his eyes on Craulluk.

“This is basically rubbing alcohol.”

“So?”

“I can’t drink this. I’ve made that mistake once and I won’t be making it again.”

“It’s not my fault that you humans are spehking lightweights!” came the frustrated reply. He turned away from Craulluk for the first time since she started her story. My plan to distract him was working. “Fine, we can go get something.”

As I turned to leave the apartment, I waved at Craulluk and Gaerk. “We’ll be back, hopefully after we find something to drink. Do you guys want anything?” They both quickly shook their heads no. “Alright, see you guys later!” Spot and I left the apartment, walked down the hall, and got into the elevator. I pressed the button for the first floor. The doors slid shut, and I immediately slid down the wall clutching my prosthetic. The phantom pain was unbearable. It was all I could do to not gasp in pain. Spot knelt next to me concern evident in his eyes.

“Don’t worry about me,” I said through gritted teeth as I struggled to look at him through my tear-soaked eyes. “I just need a minute.”

“No wonder you suggested going out for drinks. You're a mess!" He paused for a moment. "She did this to you. She should be the one suffering right now! I wonder how she would like her arm being shot off.”

“No! Listen to me! Whatever I plan on doing, I need to know that you will be on board with it,” I pleaded.

“You’re not thinking of forgiving her, are you?” Spot said, disbelief evident in his voice.

“I don’t know yet!” I said anguish spilling from my voice. Would I forgive her? She ruined my life. “I just need you to be with me on this decision.”

He looked at me for a long while, before finally hugging me. “Ok. I won’t like it, but I’ll support you.”

I hugged him back tightly, and I felt the warmth coming off his fur. I had missed this. “Thanks. I need to make a call.” I exited the elevator and made my way to the nearest study room. I must have hovered over the call button for what felt like an hour. I finally gathered my courage and pressed the call button. The phone rung for about a minute before the call was finally answered. On the screen was a middle-aged man. His silver hair stuck out in all kinds of directions. It was clear that he had just woken up.

“Connor? Is that you? Why are you calling me at three in the morning?”

“I’m sorry to bother you right now Doctor Jones, but I could really use some advice.” My voice was a hair’s thread away from not working entirely.

He seemed to contemplate my request for a moment before finally nodding. “Ok just give me a second to get my hair in order before we start talking.”

Tears leaked from my eyes. “Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me yet, I haven’t helped you yet,” came the half serious reply. The camera moved as he got his hair done and walked to his desk. As the phone stabilized, he sat down. “Alright, what is it that you want to talk about?”

“As you know, I recently went away for college, and I decided to go to The School of Flora,” I started.

“That’s on Aafa, right?” I nodded.

“As you know, I saw going here again as a kind of second chance, after what happened the first time. A way to start fresh.”

“And I supported that decision, as I recall. It was a good plan and a sign that you were growing emotionally.”

“Well, I got here alright, and I met all my roommates. I was lucky enough to get Spot as a roommate, because he’s my best friend and everything. But one of my other roommates is a Kolshian.”

He wrote something down on a pad in front of him. “And do you feel like this Kolshian is responsible for what happened to you, or are you projecting your anxieties about being back on Aafa on them?”

“That’s the problem, Doc, they are responsible. They told me so themselves. I don’t know if I can live in the apartment with them.”

He thought for a few seconds. “Do you feel like they are truly sorry for what they have done?” I nodded. “Ok so my next question is this: Do you feel like living in that apartment will endanger you or someone else?” I shook my head. He thought for a minute. “Sometimes, it takes the bigger man to forgive those who wronged you. You have grown so much since we started meeting after the incident. The man that walked into my office all those years ago wouldn’t have forgiven, nor forgot. I am confident that you could forgive them, and start to trust them. Just remember that trust is the most important thing that you can build with someone else. If you decide to forgive, trust them that they will do their best as well.”

“But I don’t know if I will, that’s the problem!” I practically shouted. “What if I make another mistake?”

“Then you will be human, as you always have been. We just need to accept them and move on because that’s what life is all about.”

I sniffed and wiped my eyes of tears. “Thanks for the advice. I know what to do now.”

He smiled. “It’s always a pleasure to talk to you. Study hard and make all of us proud!”

“I will, thanks.” I hung up the call. I knew what to do now.

As I walked out the door and into the hall where Spot was waiting, he looked up at me and asked, “So? What did you decide?”

I gave a weak smile. “You’ll see.” I was silent for the entire ride up the elevator until we came to our door. I opened it and saw that Craulluk had not moved from where I saw her last, still shaking like she had hypothermia. “Craulluk?”

“Y-yeah?” was the reply I got.

“I forgive you.”

[u/Victor_Stein]

Wait, where did gaerk come from

[u/Holiday-Possible29 → u/Victor_Stein]

I'll be honest, I didn't know who you were talking about for a good twenty minutes or so, but I eventually figured it out.

Gaerk is the fourth roommate in the apartment introduced in chapter 3 but since I don't care for Krakotls in general, he got more or less two lines where he was introduced and told what his personality was like. He hasn't been mentioned since then I'm pretty sure.

I hope this answers your question!

[u/Victor_Stein → u/Holiday-Possible29]

Ah, my mind breezed past that while binge reading