A/N: one-shot made for thea (youarethesentinels on tumblr and unicornesque here) appreciation weekend. You guys should read all her fics bc she is awesome and her fics never disappoints! Anyway, I'm not really sure what I did with this fic. Haha! But I hope you like it! R & R guys :)
The first time Èponine saw him was during her freshman year in college. Her class were dissecting live frogs and they were tasked to get the beating heart out. It was their laboratory final exam and she was doing her best to extract the heart when he and his merry band of student activists came.
"Fellow students!" He had shouted and slammed his book on the table to get their attention.
Startled - she had pierced her frog's heart with her probe. Spurting blood and killing her frog, and in the end, she failed her finals.
The second time she saw Enjolras and his organization was during their chemistry finals in her sophomore year. Her whole class were paired up and, for some unknown reason, they were instructed by their professor to make homemade ice cream with liquid nitrogen for their final laboratory exam. She was paired up with Joly. She had been extremely pleased with that, for Joly was the smartest student in their class. And with him as her partner, she had been a hundred percent sure she was going to pass the finals.
She was pouring the liquid nitrogen from its container into the beaker that Joly was holding when Enjolras came - with his golden curls and moving words - and did his speech to persuade the pre - med students to join their political organization and take part in rallies against the corrupt government and whatnot.
Here we go again she sighed, she came here to learn and not to rally against the government. Heck, she doesn't even give a flying fuck about the government!
Èponine rolled her eyes and was surprised when Joly handed her the beaker and watched, dumbfounded, as her lab partner bid her good luck and a quick farewell before joining Les Amis de l'ABC and walking out of the room with a handful of her other classmates.
Their professor paired her up with Montparnasse then - the worst student in her class. And with her luck going for the worst, she burned her hand and failed her finals.
Now, she's on her third year in college and their Comparative Anatomy finals is just around the corner. They'd been studying the cat for the whole semester and she'd be lying if she said she's got it all under control. She hasn't learned anything about the goddamn cat. In fact, she only survived this far in the semester by using cheat sheets whenever she can and from copying her classmates' answers during exams.
But this time, she wanted to pass on her own. She no longer wanted to cheat so she asked for Joly's help on studying their lecture notes about the cat muscles. He told her he'd love to teach her but their organization requires all its members to attend its after school meetings. And so, she had no choice but to study her lecture notes alone.
She spent the rest of the day and most of the night studying - drinking coffee when her eyes get droopy.
The following day was judgment day. She and Joly were eating in the cafeteria before their Comparative Anatomy finals.
"You look terrible, Ep." Joly said and took a bite of his sandwich.
"Shut up." She took a sip of her iced coffee and fished out her pocket mirror from her bag. She did look terrible - the dark circles under her eyes were more noticeable and she looked like a thirty year old. But whatever, she doesn't care what she looks like as long as she pass.
She finished her coffee and stood, "Let's go."
"Did you even get any sleep?" Joly asked as they exited the cafeteria.
"Nah, I'm running on caffeine. Ask me a question."
"Uhm, okay,the most posterior muscle of the thigh?"
"Semitendinosus?" Joly gave her a thumbs up, Èponine grinned and pumped her fist in the air. Joly kept on asking her questions while walking down the hall, and she would answer each question correctly. She's determined to pass - no more summer classes for Èponine Thenardier.
They stopped just in front of their room and Joly asked her one last question which she answered correctly, "We can - " Joly's statement was cut short when someone clapped him on the shoulder. He turned around and found Enjolras. The latter smiled at him and wished him good luck on his finals and did the same for Èponine.
Èponine thanked him and prayed that he and the rest of Les Amis won't barge in in the middle of their exam.
Èponine finished her exam and thanked Jesus, Buddha, and Allah for answering her prayers – She was confident that she's going to pass and to top it all, Les Amis didn't came.
Èponine rubbed the back of her neck, stood, and started walking towards the door when her professor blocked her way. She cocked an eyebrow, "What?"
"Ms. Thenardier, please return to your seat and bring out your cat." Her professor told her and spun her around.
"Oh, shit!" Èponine face-palmed. She had forgotten to study for her laboratory finals.