Drawing Circles In The Night
Chapter One
"Today we will be discussing your final project of the term."
The words were like a breath of fresh air. America inhaled deeply and exhaled with a satisfied smile stretched widely across his face. He sighed and rested his head on the palm of his hand. His professor was a Random Boring Citizen, like all the professors at the school, but he didn't care.
Science class was definitely one of his favourite classes at the World Academy. It was, like mathematics, one of the only classes mostly any country could take. That meant he could see a lot of different faces compared to the regular crew in the North America class section. Except Canada's face looked just like his only more boring so that only left Cuba as someone interesting, the Caribbean countries, and… Mexico, whose face no one had actually seen since he (or she?) never came out of the dorms.
America broke open his snack pack and pulled out a fantastically nuclear orange bag of cheetos. The fresh faux food smell was intoxicating and he sighed even deeper. The Science Dude professor droned on an on, taking attendance.
Even the living quarters were laid out by continental class. Since North America wasn't made up of as many countries as say, Europe, most of the time they got smushed together with South America. But like most split classes, there was a fine line that separated them all. Maybe that was called the equator.
Science class was definitely different. Better. Here, most of the world showed up, and the final project meant that the school year was almost over! And then… America drooled.
Freedom.
He popped a few cheetos into his mouth.
There was something poking him in the ass. America whipped his orange-flavour covered hand at the offending pen, which belonged to a certain European country named… France.
"Quit it!" America tossed an orange puff over his shoulder.
"Only if you lay down," France whispered. The French speaking nation was the Vice President of the student council and put almost all of his time into seeing to the… student body.
France's fine eyebrows were raised and he smirked. It wasn't that hard for America to get what the country of love was insinuating. He didn't really feel like bothering with that sort of gayness so early in the morning though.
"A simple 'down in front' could have worked too, y'know!" He answered, tugging in his chair so that he wouldn't get it in the butt again.
"Ahhh, oui. I would much prefer you 'going down.'" France began to laugh lecherously but America launched a cheeto missile into his wide open mouth.
France hacked and coughed and America grinned. Not many countries appreciated France's appreciation.
America slumped forward to rest on his forearms, watching the professor pull up the overhead projector with the project outline. He popped a few more of the cheesy snacks into his mouth.
Boring Citizen Man handed hardcopies of the unit structure to the two halves of Italy so they could pass the papers out.
Germany dutifully left his seat to turn off the lights and the class was underway.
"Space." The professor presented, with purpose. "The final project."
There were murmurs among the countries in the darkened room.
Someone half-cursed half-screamed and a slap was heard. "PERVERT."
"Moving along…" Science Citizen droned out. He read the project outline. "During this last unit, we will be covering a few aspects of astronomy. This final report is due at the end of the unit, which coincides with the end of the term. The topics that fall under the study range of astronomy are vast and intriguing. Countries should not feel restricted to the subjects we cover in class. Research is your friend—"
"I object, sir. England's got no friends!" America shouted out and the whole class laughed.
Eyebrows, as the student council president was amply nicknamed at the academy, scowled impressively. "Shut your face, you upstart united sack of bullocks!"
America grinned back, the insult sliding right off him. No one liked the United Kingdom. He put colony collars on countries he decided he wanted. He was pretty much a bushy browed thorn in everyone's side because of his goal; to be the most powerful country in the school.
Even America had been collared at one point in time, way back in time. Things were different now though, and as much as popularity and power had shifted over time outside the school walls, Britain himself refused to stop living in the past when in class.
Plus, he drank tea, which was just gross.
The professor tapped his hand loudly on the overhead projector until he had their attention. He stared balefully back at his students. "Please, no talking during my lecture."
America turned back to the front. Sadly, he found that he'd demolished his snack so he popped some hubba bubba into his mouth before making a zipper motion across his lips.
"The submitted report should be, at minimum, one hundred pages…"
"Yankee doodle," America moaned out, snapping his gum in an annoying fashion.
"Quiet, please." Science Dude commanded.
"Ooh! Oh, question!" North Italy interrupted excitedly, his hand waving high in the air.
The professor reluctantly acknowledged him. "Yes?"
Veneziano made some incomprehensible hand movements and spoke extremely fast. "Can I draw pictures of space to fill up the blank space that's almost positively going to be in my assignment?"
"No."
"Can we draw a comic for the assignment?" Prussia piped up from his desk in the back corner. "'Caaause… I already have one done. I could just hand that in and it'd be pretty much awesome."
"No."
"GEEZE!" Prussia tossed his whole notebook out the window, and then looked horrified. The World Academy was located in the proud state of New York and its building was a few storeys high.
"Wasn't that your entry to the Manga Research club?" Germany asked off-handedly.
"Yes, yes it was." The white-haired wannabe nation raged. "Fuck."
"Now you're going to have to do a new one~!" North Italy informed him happily.
"No shit." Prussia's head met his tiny desk. He had to sit in the back at the kiddie desks with the principalities ever since he stopped being a real country.
America grinned at the antics, not really listening as he blew a gigantic pink bubble.
Japan raised his hand.
"Yes?" Citizen Man asked with a long suffering voice.
"Permission to retrieve that valuable document?" The M.R. club was Japan's after all.
The science professor had been turning the ancient overhead focus dial but it broke off in his hand. He grimaced. "No!"
"Eeh…?" The Asian country looked extremely put-out. Well, as much as his mostly expressionless face could convey. Japan frowned, slightly.
"Permission to use the bathroom?"
"Yes." Science man relented.
The short country booked it from room.
China cleared his throat and raised his own hand with a deep frown. The nation suffered from major anxiety about speaking in science class, probably because he sat behind Russia. America snapped his gum as he lounged. Everyone knew there was an inexplicably bad atmosphere that followed Russia. Apparently it was so bad that countries like Latvia and Estonia just shrivelled up and got the shakes when coming into contact with it.
Personally, America couldn't see the atmosphere around Russia that people feared. He just knew he didn't like Russia. Freaky communism aside. He smiled.
"Are you saying this report is to be completely written?" China asked from behind the bigger Russian speaking nation, who was smiling benignly and making notes.
"Yes." The educator finally offered, but the student countries started to groan in protest anyway.
Citizen Man sighed in loud frustration too. Class time was almost over!
America popped his gum in amusement as he watched the professor try to continue reading the outline. "Topics will be of you and your partner's choosing…"
"PARTNERS?" The class shouted back at him.
Prof. Science's eye twitched. "Yes."
France waved a rose manically in the air. "How many partners may we have?"
The rest of the nations eyed him wearily.
"One."
"Oh, boo." France pouted. "Alright, I'll take Seychelles." He grinned with renewed vitality and reached over to the seat next to him where his hand immediately crept onto the female nation's thigh.
"H-hey!" She tried to ward him off with her binder.
"Not so fast there." The United Kingdom said sharply. His desk was beside America and in front of the African nation.
Suddenly the colony collar on Seychelles was attached to a chain held in Britain's grasp. "I believe I'll dictate who she's paired up with around here."
"I call Germany!" North Italy waved a white flag randomly. "He's hard working and wears glasses when he reads!"
The tall blonde in question sighed but didn't complain, since finding a partner in the form of a country was damn hard to do these days. It was so much easier back when they could just declare war and take relationship status.
America's eyes scanned the room, looking for potential partners. Japan hadn't returned yet, so who did that leave him with…
He hated Cuba, Canada sucked, Britain… no. Never. France? Hell no. He scanned and skimmed, but the countries stayed the same. Lithuania was nice! He found the country sitting in front of Russia. He vaguely wondered if Lithuania was affected by the Russian atmosphere, but he seemed well enough.
The more eastern side of Europe had been mostly quiet until now, dutifully copying down notes. That is, until Belarus decided to quickly pull her whole desk to attach to Russia.
"Brother, let us partner." Her dead stare locked onto him. The tall nation with cement-coloured hair reeled back from his binder to give her a disturbed look.
She didn't seem to notice. "Partner, Partner, Partn—"
Russia's violet eyes darted back and forth as if looking for escape. "Ah…"
American immediately jumped out of his seat.
"Sit down America." Science Man called out.
"Alright!" The star spangled nation ignored the citizen, following his outstretched pointing arm like a gun with his eye. "I'll pick—"
"Hold it!" The student council President smirked evilly and the nations turned to where Eyebrows stood in the middle of the room. He held up a box with paper slips inside. "Let's decide this by draw."
A loud cry of happiness came from somewhere in the front, but no one could see who it was. "YES. I WON'T GET PICKED LAST!"
"Please, America, refrain from making a production out of this." Science Dude said.
America perked up in puzzlement, chewing his bright pink gum in one cheek. "Huh?"
"I'm Canada you stupid medical school drop-out…" The same voice muttered angrily.
The professor cocked his ear, a disturbed look on his old non-descript face. All citizens looked the same to countries. "What was that?"
"I m-mean… Fuck Yeah, I'm America!" Canada announced.
"USA. Detention!" Citizen Dude doled out, looking far happier now than before.
"Whaaaat!" America groaned. "Aw man…" He hadn't even said anything. Though that did sound like something he would say…
He scratched his head in confusion.
Science Citizen scrubbed at his indescribable but still frustrated face. "There are only a few minutes before class is dismissed. Just… draw your partners and settle on a topic for next class. Please!"
Wasting no time, the students rushed the council President for the box.
Britain snatched a paper from the box for himself. "Who do I have here…?"
"Hopefully not me," America muttered and shoved his hand in to pull out his own slip of paper. He held it close to his face. On it was the number fifteen.
Peering around, America noticed countries finding their partners by matching up numbers.
He waited until all the countries in the science class drew their partners and the final number of pairings had been plucked from the box.
America peered around with a suspicious look, trying to figure out who he was destined to be partners with. He walked through the aisles of desks, hiding his paper slip in the sleeve of his school sweater.
"Number fifteen!" A voice called out.
America smiled, his head whipping around to the direction of his partner's voice. The voice belonged to… of course. Britain. Chief exporter of eyebrow.
His glasses nearly flew off his face. "Oh…NO! No way!"
Eyebrows looked somewhat pathetic as he called out his number like a bad game of bingo. "Fifteen! Fifteen? Bloody hell, who the hell is number fifteen?"
"Okay. That's not happening." America started backing away, imagining study sessions consisting of how to brew tea properly and pop quizzes, forced etiquette lessons, and lots of deep-seated emotional baggage.
"Who wants to trade?" He yelled at the top of his lungs. Everyone stared.
Latvia surged forward. "I-I-I-I…"
America didn't even wait for the small country's stuttered reply. He seized the offered slip.
"Oh sweet!" He grinned and jumped up on a desk to point to the sky. "I am Number ONE!" He articulated the point by punching the air on each word. "Oh man, that makes totally more sense, since I'm America!"
The small European country's shakes and stutters somehow magically stopped one the number had left his hand. "Fifteen." He breathed a sigh. "The United Kingdom is cruel and unusual, but at least he won't stretch me out."
"That sounds so gay." America replied with a scrunched up nose. "Hey, Number One! Right over heeere!" He waved but most didn't pay him any mind.
Estonia looked relieved, sitting at the desk America was currently standing on. "I'm sure you will do a wonderful job working with Russia."
On second thought, he could handle baggage. He could carry all the freaking tea bags in the world and deal with it. "I changed my mind Latvia, give me back number fifteen." America smiled winningly.
"No trade backs!" The tiny blond squeaked and darted off towards the eyebrow country.
"Wait! Whaaaat!" America whined. His hubba bubba bubble had just burst. "Russia?… Seriously?"
"Da." The tall country appeared at his left and America's face screwed up in outrage as Russia took a hold of his waist and placed him on the floor. "We are partners!"
"Christ! Don't touch me like that!" America cried out and whacked at the other country's hand. Russia didn't seem to mind.
"I'll trade with you, America." Belarus snuck up on him, because he totally hadn't noticed that plastic model bone from the classroom skeleton being used as a weapon against him a moment ago.
"Uhhhhhh, who do you have?"
"France." She replied, the tip of the fake bone pressing into him even harder.
"Stop poking me with your bone!"America laughed obnoxiously, and gave her a rough push away. "I'll PASS."
Unfortunately, Russia looked thrilled.
"You are being one with Russia in a literal way. It's funny." The big-boned nation cheerily chuckled.
That face and laugh. God, it was maddening.
The professor came around with a clipboard and a pen. "I'm presuming you two are team one?"
"Yes." Russia confirmed, and America's lip twitched in barely concealed displeasure as the Citizen Man wrote down their names. "Topic?"
There was silence and the two countries stared at each other dumbly.
Science Dude sighed. "I'm leaving this sheet at the front of the room. Write it down before you leave. The rest of the class is gone already…"
America gripped at his hair. He could have left class early if he'd gotten a normal boring country, like Canada. "Okay, no problem." He said with renewed optimism.
"I'll choose our topic! Check this out. We make a documentary about the fifty brightest stars this side of the Milky Way!" He envisioned and threw his hands up in the air like he was holding a camera. He centered his picture on Russia and nodded with enthusiasm. "I can totally see this."
"No." Russia replied and his pleasant smile didn't crack an inch, or centimetre, if the US wanted to think metrically. Which he didn't. America grinned back in full annoying force.
"I'm talking about the fifty glorious states that make up ME!" He pounded his chest in pride. "What's not to like?"
"You." Russia said. "Your idea is foolish like usual. This is a written science report, 100 pages minimum length, due on the date—"
"Okay, okay, okay!" America's face started to turn red, but he didn't let the wind blow out of his sails yet. "Okay then. We can write about regular stars."
"Alright." Russia seemed to be relenting because he actually opened those violet eyes and looked down his long nose at him. He looked almost normal.
America smiled in triumph, his right hand making a fist of victory by his side. That was him, putting the order back into the universe.
"You have detention tonight." Russia smiled back and the dirty blond country cursed. "Come to my room tomorrow night, we'll work."
The United States' priceless expression fell right of his face and crashed to the floor. Russia came curiously closer, stepping all over it. "Da?"
"Why can't we just meet at lunch?" America swallowed his gum as the other country leaned closer.
"Because," Russia replied simply, a twinkle forming deep within those eyes. "Astronomy works best at night."
End Chapter One