Okeedokee, this is my first TP fanfic. . . and Jim won't be falling in love! He's still free for all of you crazy obsessed fangirls. . . Mar. Heh, no, I kid. Not just Mar. All of you.

Fangirls: "YEEEEE!!!! JIIIIM!!!"

*****

Jim didn't really know, didn't really want to know, what was going on back at the Benbow at this particular moment. No, it was best not to think about the chaos, lest he spontaneously combust. The Benbow had been a complete madhouse ever since B.E.N. and Morph had moved in, and Doppler's visits now included four small children and his smirk-filled wife, Amelia. Not that Jim minded any of them; truth be told, he loved them all. Not that he would admit it to any of them. His mother, fine. But, "I love you, Doc"? No, maybe some other time. Uh-huh. Thanks.

At the Interstellar Academy, Jim was fitting in nicely. Wonderfully! Just fiiine. Well, having gotten that lie out of the way. . . Jim was alone most of the time. He had made a few acquaintances, but no friends. He was at the top of the class, and, for the first time in his life, considered the nerd of the class.

"Suck-up Hawkins got another A, Dan!"

"'S'matter, Hawkins, didn't get that 105% on the test like you'd planned?"

"Going out tonight, Jim? Yeeeah? Bringin' a friend? Oh, right. . . sorry. Guess I forgot about that one little thing. . ."

Jim had no friends. Jim had no crowd. Jim had no one. He did frequently exchange letters and postcards with the Benbow crowd, as he fondly referred to them as. Especially Dr. Doppler, who wanted to know how everything at the academy was going and if Jim was learning anything interesting. Jim always relied to the post promptly. "Such a good little citizen, I've become. . ." he muttered to himself as his pen ran across the paper quickly and neatly.

Well, some people at the academy liked Jim. His professors were quite happy with him. "A few more years of this, James, and you'll be a captain earlier in your life than the best student of my career!" Jim had asked, out of curiosity, who that student was, and was pleased and surprised to discover that the professor had been talking about Amelia.

Jim never mentioned Treasure Planet to anyone. Doubtless it would have increased his popularity with some and decreased his credibility with others. Every time he thought of Treasure Planet a smile tugged at his mouth and a tear came to his eye. Of course, he quickly wiped them both away, each in their own fashion. It wouldn't improve his situation if he was caught crying.

Going to his next class (coincidentally, pre-astrophysics), Jim thought about his situation some more. He could do less in class, get lower grades, to put him in the majority, but he pushed that option away. With his record, he couldn't afford to do less than, well, stellar. He walked into his class and sat down at his desk. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes. He sat up again quickly and read the blackboard, which usually held the day's lesson plan. Today it read: 'Guest Lecturer: be prepared to take notes.' Jim sighed, pulled out some parchment, and closed his eyes again, waiting for whoever was coming to walk in.

Waiting, he started thinking about nothing in general. The thoughts moved to himself again. He wasn't unhappy at all, now that he thought about it. He had always been pretty much alone before now, and he would be able to be alone again. He sighed, and heard the classroom door open and close again, then some shuffling of papers, obviously the speaker's notes.

"Jim, my boy! Good to see you!"

Jim sat bolt upright in his seat to look at the source of the voice at the front of the room. "Doc?!" His face split into a grin. "Doc, what're you doing here?"

"Well, Jim, I received an invitation to come lecture at the Interstellar Academy, and jumped at the opportunity. I couldn't wait to see the place again!"

"Hey, Doc, that's gr-- waitaminnit, 'See the place again'?"

Doppler smiled secretively. "Well, Jim, I never told you, because I don't like to brag, but my above-average grades and superior intelligence got me a free ticket into this wonderful learning establishment! Now, why don't you take your seat? I can talk to you later, if you like."

Jim nodded, still smiling, and sat down again, this time sitting up straight and listening attentively. Doppler wrote the subject of the lecture on the board and Jim struggled not to laugh out loud. 'BLACK HOLES'.

*****

Okay, there wasn't a lot of action there. Forgive me; I promise that more will come up in later chapters, and a fancharacter that (gasp!) isn't a female that Jim falls in love with!!! Shock!!