He lands on his bed with a slam, but it doesn´t hurt, he just bounces up and down. Theta presses his hands to his face while he makes a grimace.
"Someone had a rough day." Koschei said from a chair not far away. He is writing something on a paper, but Theta doesn´t care.
"I'm failing." Theta spits out hopelessly.
"Really?" Koschei answered ironically. "If I´m not mistaken, you have never won in anything."
"I´m failing botany, Koschei."
Koschei isn't looking at Theta anymore, but focusing at the paper instead.
"I thought you said you were failing Gallifreyan flyutterwings?"
"I´m failing that too."
"And cybernetics?"
Theta rises from the bed. "No, not cybernetics. I´m sixty-four per cent approved on my work, so I´m four per cent over the limit. I´m in the clear-zone on cybernetics."
Koschei looks at Theta with an apologetic look. "No, you´re not."
Theta answers with quizzical eyes.
"The High Council decided that sixty per cent approved isn´t good enough, so they lifted it to seventy."
Theta jaw drops down to the floor and Koschei can see a faint glassy cover over Theta´s eyes.
Theta tries to find word, but it´s hard when his throat is to tight. "Why must they make it so hard?" He turns his eyes away, refusing to let the tears fall, refusing to let Koschei see him cry.
Koschei looks down, a bit ashamed of himself. He doesn´t know why, it isn´t his fault after all. Koschei scored eighty-nine per cent on cybernetics, that´s almost thirty per cent over Theta´s. If it wasn´t Theta, Koschei would probably brag about it, that would typically be him. But this is Theta, Koschei´s best friend, and he is failing school.
"You know, I don´t even want to work for the High Council, it sounds boring and horrible. I want to live my one life, do what I want. I want to see the universe!"
"I want to see the universe." Koschei´s voice sync in time with Theta´s, like he knew that Theta would say the exact same thing. "Yes, I know, I know. You haven't been talking about anything else the last fifty years."
"But to do that I need a TARDIS, and to get a TARDIS I need to educate. I don´t have any use of botany or Gallifreyan Flyutterwings."
"No, but you do have use of cybernetics, very important use of it in fact." Koschei said.
"Yes, but I already scored sixty-four per cent. I mean, it isn´t that bad. Is it?" Theta asked.
Koschei draws a breath. "I guess not."
They sit quietly for a while, before Theta shares a thought: "Maybe I should just drop out, steal a TARDIS and run away."
"Yeah, how far would you run? To Pazithi Gallifreya? You would never make it. They would catch you and you would never see daylight again."
Theta frowns, still consumed in his idea. "What is Pazithi Gallifreya?"
"You´re kidding me, Theta." Koschei´s eyebrows jumped up. "It´s just the name of one of our moons!"
Theta groans deeply. "I don´t even know the name of the moon. I´m so stupid!"
"Hey, Thete." Koschei said while turning away from the paper and towards Theta. "Don´t worry. You will finish school, I´ll make sure of it."
Theta smiles at his best friend. "Really, Kos? You´ll help me?"
Koscheo smiles back. "Of course, what are friends for?"
"You know, that is a common phrase on Earth."
Koschei groans and turns towards the paper again. "Stop with the sol-3 thing, will you?"
"It´s called Earth. And no, I have a feeling I won´t," Theta said and smiled.
The door open with a bang and both boys turn to look who´s opened it.
"Professor Borusa wants to see us." Drax said.
