Once upon a time…
"We~iss!"
There is a sigh.
"Yes, Ruby?"
"Ugh, I've got a question."
"Why am I not surprised?"
"Oh shut up, Princess. I bet you won't understand it any better."
"Try me."
An impatient tapping sound resounds, echoing as if within a large hallway.
"Ah…here, hey, wait a second!"
There is a sound of ruffling papers, then a dramatic cough. A young girl reads out, in a voice trying to be sonorous and wise, but failing badly:
"For time is infinite, but the things of—ah, I mean in—the concrete bodies…are…uh…are…f-finite. Now, however long a time may pass, according to the eternal laws governing the—wait, what's this word…um, combinations, of this eternal play of…of repetition, all configurations that have previously existed on this earth must, um, yet meet, attract, repulse, kiss, and… and—corrupt each other again...and, um, thus it will happen one day that—"
"Oh, shut up, pretentiousness doesn't suit dunces. And let me guess, Professor Friedrich?"
An indignant stamping of feet rings out.
"Funny coming from you, you…snow airhead! And well—yeah."
There is a slight giggle—clearly, those two are friends.
"Geez, I wonder why you were even chosen for the class. I mean, really? Ruby, a philosopher? I'd think that Yang would sooner shave her head to become a nun than you be a thinker."
There is a long-suffering sigh.
"Okay, okay, I don't know, can you please, please help me now? I've got his class next period, and I don't even understand half of this—I mean, seriously? Eternal recurrence? What does that even mean?"
"Ugh…I don't understand how you can be such a bonehead. Here, let me read this stuff for a second."
The sound of crinkling papers resound, and the swoosh-swoosh of a cloak can be heard as its owner paces worriedly. A few minutes go by this way.
"Here, okay, I got it. So it's like this. So, well, you know, time goes on forever and ever right? That's pretty self-explanatory. So, since time goes on forever and ever and ever, everything that can possibly happen will happen, no matter how low its chances are—that's because anything, no matter how low of a percentage chance, becomes infinite and therefore certain when multiplied by infinity, right? So, all Friedrich is saying is, since all things are possible, all things will eventually repeat, meaning that probably a thousand years from now, another duncehead named Ruby will be pestering people about what eternal recurrence is—gosh, is that a depressing thought."
Silence.
"…What?"
There is an irritated harrumph.
"Geez...ok, I've got to run to my own classes too. Just…um…paraphrase what I say. Make it up. Obfuscate!"
There is the sound of something hard clacking, as if someone is walking very fast. Very fast.
Swoosh.
"Ahh! Get off me, Ruby! This…this is embarrassing! Stop!"
"Weiss, pleaaaaaaase! We're best friends, right? We paint our nails together, go shopping together and talk about cute boys together and how could you leave me—"
"Argh! Fine! Just…just fine! Let me think, and copy exactly what I say, got that? Exactly!"
"Okay—"
"Tell Professor Friedrich this."
What has risen may fall; what has fallen may rise.