Hi guys!
Aster Bunnymund was already having a bad day when he spilled his coffee all over his shirt.
His alarm hadn't gone off, he'd burned his toast, and he'd almost forgotten his keys. On the way out the door he'd tripped and fallen flat on his face, and of course the moment he left his apartment building he was surrounded by throngs of children who refused to move despite his most polite protestations. His brashly brewed coffee, in his favourite mug that he brought back and forth from work every morning, swirled dangerously. It was one of those days where nothing, absolutely nothing, went right. Now, he was rushing to the station to get to work.
If I make the next train, I should get there on time, he thought as he entered the station. Drat! And on the first day of the new school year, too.
It was rush hour, so naturally the subway station was clogged full of commuters, all pushing and shoving and jostling to get to work. Sometimes, Aster liked the subway – the feeling of anonymity, being lost among the crowds. He liked that nobody stopped him, asked him invasive questions about how his day was going, how he was left to his own business. He felt at home in the cold indifference of the Chicago L, clanking above a city full of worries, concerns, bothers that weren't his.
Today, though, he hated with a vengeance every unfortunate commuter who happened to get in his way.
"Excuse me," he muttered. "Coming through." He elbowed his way past a couple of old ladies, and made it onto the platform.
There it was. The L train. Aster lurched forward. He was going to make it, he was going to make the train, he wasn't going to be –
And then, of course, someone stepped in front of him.
Aster was moving too fast to stop in time. The collision was sudden and startling, and as Aster reeled backwards, his coffee sloshed up out of his mug and onto his nice white shirt.
"Agh!" Aster shouted as the scalding liquid burned him.
And then, of course, the carriage doors closed. Aster watched in disbelief as the train pulled out of the station.
"Nice job, dimwit," he spat at the little stranger who'd gotten in his way. Now that he had a moment, he could step back and see the man properly. He was small and rotund, with sandy brown hair. The man looked up in confusion at him, and the look of incomprehension on his face sparked further irritation in Aster.
"I missed my train," he hissed. "And now I'm going to be late for work."
"Hey, hey, cut it out!" came another angry voice. "Pick on someone your own size."
Another stranger stepped forward. This one was odd. He looked young, probably in his late teens or early twenties. One of the palest complexions Aster had ever seen, and a slim, lean build, clad in a simple button-down shirt and khakis. But that wasn't the real kicker. That honour would have to go to his shock of snow white hair, messy and unkempt.
Blue eyes narrowed in suspicion glared at Aster. "What's the matter with you?"
Aster was jolted back to a retort. "Your friend there cost me a nice coffee, not to mention he made me late for work. Maybe he should pay attention to where he's going."
"Cut him some slack, it's not like you had 20/20 vision," the white-haired stranger fired back. Turning to the sandy-haired man, he began to make gestures with his hands, and the small man responded. It took Aster a long moment to realize they were communicating in sign language.
White Hair turned back to Aster, scowling. "He's fine, no thanks to you."
Aster wasn't a total monster – he felt a little guilty for yelling at a deaf person. But he sure as hell wasn't going to let that show to a couple of strangers he would never see again.
"Well, he's got eyes, hasn't he?" he sniped as a new train pulled in. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got a train to catch. Unless your friend would prefer to knock me over again?"
"What a jerk," he heard White Hair remark as he boarded his train. He turned to shoot one last glare over his shoulder, but with the crowd of commuters, the two strangers were already lost from sight. Well, good. It was better that way.
In the crowded carriage, Aster examined the damage. Not too bad. It might come off with some soap. And the coffee hadn't been too hot, so there'd been no harm to his person.
Lucky I keep a spare shirt in the office, he thought, and lucky I hadn't put my tie on yet.
With that in mind, he leaned against a wall as the L train trundled over Chicago, taking him to his destination.
~~Page Break~~
Pine University was a rising star among America's tertiary institutions. Increasingly known for its selective admissions and demanding curricula, Pine was carving a place for itself among the elite and prestigious universities of the country. Aster knew this – he'd helped make it happen.
"Good morning, Yvonne," he greeted the blushing and inarticulate receptionist as he speed-walked into the building. The campus outside was full of students, many of them new and gazing around at the university's impressive architecture in awe, but most of them returning. The air outside was loud with the voices of reuniting friends. Loud. Just what Aster detested.
Aster found his office again with ease – he had, after all, been here six years. The silence and sanctity of his office was a relief to him – the familiar desk, computer, chair, desk lamp, even the potted plant that sat obediently on the windowsill. Aster immediately began unbuttoning his coffee-drenched shirt. No sooner had he slid it from his shoulders than he heard a voice say, "Wow, someone's been working out."
Dr. Toothiana Yachi, one of the dentistry professors and one of the few people of whose company Aster never tired, leaned against the doorway. As Aster turned to face her, she gave his bare chest an appreciative up and down with her eyes and wiggled her eyebrows. "Not bad."
Aster snorted. "Come in and shut the door."
Tooth obeyed, flinging herself comfortably onto a stool Aster kept by the door. "What happened, handsome? Why the undressing?"
"Bumped into someone on the L. Spilled coffee onto myself."
"Is that all? Well, if they'd only known that was all it took for you to take your shirt off, I'm sure half the women in the office would inexplicably become incorrigibly clumsy."
Tooth laughed as Aster balled up his used shirt and threw it at her. "Okay, relax, big boy. I'm only here to check you're not late. You actually arrived barely in time as opposed to one hour before classes even start, so of course I had to mark this historical occasion by teasing you about it."
"Get over yourself," Aster said with a grin as he rifled through his cupboard and found his spare shirt. Slipping it on, he buttoned it up to the collar, then reached for his tie, only to realize he didn't have a mirror.
"Come here," Tooth said in exasperation. Meekly, Aster went to her, and stood still as she tied his tie for him. "What do you say to Tooth?" she asked in a sing-song voice as she fastened the knot.
"Thanks for contributing exactly nothing to my morning."
"That's the spirit," Tooth beamed, before glancing at her phone. "Oh. Assembly's starting. You'd better go, Professor Bunnymund."
"Shut up," Aster muttered as she laughed and left his office. She knew he never bothered with Assembly. There wasn't much to it.
Instead, Aster sat down at his desk and sorted his files. When the bell rang to signify the beginning of classes, he neatly slipped his stacks of paper into their binders, took them into his arms and made his way to class.
It was good to be back at the university, he reflected, back in a familiar environment. As usual on the first day of term, his class was already waiting for him in the classroom – it wasn't usually until later on in the year that they would start to slack off.
"Hello, freshmen, and welcome to your first class here at Pine University," he announced as he walked in, to whoops and cheers. "I'm Professor Bunnymund and I'm going to be your Journalism professor. So settle down, because I'm not going anywhere."
A round of chuckles that Aster knew was entirely sycophantic rolled round the room as he laid out his things on the desk at the front of the lecture room. "Now, today we'll first look at – "
He stopped short as he looked up, because there, in the front row, looking as surprised as Aster himself felt, was the white-haired stranger who'd yelled at him on the L.
It really was a small world after all.
I'm excited to be back in the Rise of the Guardians fandom! Please review!
