There was another knock at the door, but louder. Kostya weighted his tablet in his hand, then decided good equipment wasn't worth it.

"Kostya, open up! It's me!"

He stood up with a deep sigh.

"Naive as I am, I thought I had secured the use of this silent work room to myself for today" he said. Thete, out of breath, dropped on a chair, then brushed ash-gray locks off his eyes.

"I've been looking for you everywhere." he gasped. "The librarian chased me out."

"I'll take your word for it." Kostya carefully locked the door before pulling another chair from beside the wall.

"What's going on?"

Thete looked him deep in the eye. Kostya, who hated this, took the reader off the table and opened the data slot.

"I can't do it." confessed Thete after a long, silent while.

"You're too humble." Kostya put another data crystal exactly in line with those already on the table.

Thete raised his eyes, only for a flicker. "I mean tomorrow." he said. "The exam. Kostya, you have to help me."

Kostya kept his eyes on the reader. "You want to copy my work?" Has the impossible happened and given Thete rudiments of reason?

"No, come on." Vain hopes, thought Kostya. "Explain this geometry stuff to me, please."

"An entire semester of discreet geometry in one night. You have an inflated opinion of me." Kostya started rearranging the crystals. He liked being asked for things.

Thete slumped in the chair again. "Please. If I fail now, I'll get thrown out."

"As instructor Amazal insists on repeating, Academy training is not com-"

"I know!" There pulled at his hair. "Tell that to my family! They're gonna kill me..."

"You'll regenerate." With a small smile Kostya loaded the regulation claret-coloured geometry textcrystal into his reader.

Thete snorted. "Thanks." He reached into his pocket, as always elbow-deep.

On the table, in the midst of painstakingly sorted crystals and tablets, a slightly crumpled paper bag landed heavily.

"A bribe? Thete, really, I'm amazed." Kostya purred.

"Not a bribe. Lesson fee."

Good enough.

"There's more if I pass."

"You do care." muttered Kostya, sliding his finger through the reader screen. "Well, what do you know, I have geometry loaded right now. Get your tablet, go on. But." Thete froze, hand in his pocket. "One condition."

"What is it?"

"Next time either study regularly, instead of running about, or you make your own cheatsheet."

Thete rolled his eyes, not trying to hide it this time. Kostya tutted.

"I dislike wasting my time on hopeless cases."

His friend blushed a lovely red from the tips of his ears. "I'll study." he muttered. "Swear on Rasillon."

"And you'll bring candied magentas." Kostya reached for the bag.

"Mhm."

"Well, then" he said, his mouth full. "Zero-dimensional space."

Of course, they were both late for the exam, which lowered their grades - in Thete's case to "passing", although if he cared, Kostya didn't notice.

Neither did he stop sneaking out. True, the semester was coming to an end, even the teachers were mostly thinking of summer vacation anyway, but still, Kostya wasn't happy and wouldn't speak to his friend for a while. He only forgave Thete's lack of ambition while emptying his locker before leaving.

The box of candy was positively jammed into the top shelf.