Chapter 4

Ed shuffled in his seat. He took one of the isolated tables to eat in peace. He got hungry and went to the cafeteria to buy something without milk in it. He ordered two cups of rice, three steak strips, a corn salad, several lettuce leafs, Caesar dressing, and orange juice. The cafeteria lady looked at him fondly. Most of the kids never ordered vegetables, but Ed wanted to have a balanced diet. He burns more calories than the average five-year old so he needed to eat more. Exercising needed a lot of proteins and vitamins. He finished his rice as he ravenously divided the food into mouthfuls. He was about to gobble a lettuce leaf when a voice called out to him.

"Hello little kid."A man no older than…wait…

"H-Havoc?" He gaped. Why was he here? Oh… okay… double. Relax Ed. He isn't Lt. Havoc.

"Oh? You know my name? I must be famous!" Edward choked on air. Trying to suppress his laughter. He really acted like the Havoc he knew.

"But at least, call me Professor Havoc. I worked hard for it!" He smiled brightly.

Edward chuckled. But sadly, he wasn't the same Havoc he knew. He had long since figured out that most of the People from Amestris had their doubles here. And while having familiar face around was comforting, they didn't hold the same sadness and knowledge as the ones from Amestris.

"Okay then, Professor Havoc. What can my humble self do to be of service?" Edward said, smiling politely. Using the tone Col-General used when talking to people who piss him off.

"Man! You sound like Roy!" He chuckled, Patting Edward a little too hard for his comfort. "I already like you, kid." Mustang has a double? He sighed. It would be hard to call him 'Roy' instead of 'Bastard' or 'Colonel'.

"I am not a kid!" Oh How he sounded like one.

"Sure you aren't. Anyway, I saw what you did in the lounge." He said, his eyes trailing dangerously, dropping his bright and carefree demeanor. Now this seemed more like Havoc when he was assigned to interrogate someone. It was a good thing that Edward was already immune to it. He'd been interrogated by Havoc one too many times already.

Lounge? Hmmm… "That problem?" He asked, to make sure. It was a simple problem most alchemist could solve easily. It had a painstakingly long procedure, but other than that, it was really simple. You just need to learn the fundamentals and how to apply them. Simple as pie.

"Yeah. How long have you been learning, kid?"

"Since the day I could read." Ed said casually.

"How old are you?"

"You should be able to guess, you know. Being a Doctor and all."

"Haha, you're right. But I just want to make sure. You could be a ten year old for all I care."

"Do I look like ten to you?" He stopped himself. "I'm sixte- five!" Ed! You are five years old!

"FIVE!?" Havoc exclaimed, unbelieving. That earned a few stares from the people around them.

Edward laughed heartily. If only you knew.

"You don't believe me, do you?" Edward gave him a second to regain his composure.

"Y-you're serious?"

"I don't joke." Edward said seriously. Breaking the tense atmosphere by gobbling his lettuce, then munching on his carrots.

"You… you…"Havoc didn't seem to be able to make up his mind. "Come with me." He dragged Edward by the collar.

Edward glared. "You! I haven't finished my food yet!" Ed shouted angrily.

"Finish it later!" Havoc said with a smile.

"If I don't finish it, you're going to treat me to a restaurant of my choice!"

"Fine! Just come with me, brat." Havoc said, unaware of the danger that was coming to his precious wallet.

==0==0==0==

"So… What am I supposed to do again?" Edward asked uncertainly. Glancing at the papers in front of him. The was a single sheet on top of a folder. The sheet had circles aligned in four a row. With the first four English Letters labeling each. It was obviously a test answer sheet and questionnaire.

"Answer these test questions." Havoc commanded. Ed sighed. If he was still back in Amestris, he could pull rank to avoid this… Sadly, he wasn't a Colonel here…

"Alright. No time limit?" He caved.

"Just make sure you finish it." Ed blinked. Of course he would.

He browsed through the folders and found that it contained at least 200 questions. He opened it to the first page and started shading. Havoc was watching him intently. He finished in about an hour and Havoc silently took the answer sheet with a contemplating look on his face.

He took out a paper which had holes in it. Probably the template.

He took his time checking, and Ed was getting bored. He sighed and opened his pocketwatch, thinking about Al. He was still learning how to lipread but he could make out most words already. It would come. Al's mannerisms were familiar but it would at least take a few more months till he would become proficient in the practice. But he was patient. And thankful that he was given such a gift. He was a little annoyed that he had to spend his precious time waiting. He should've brought his Research journal! Well at least then he'd have something productive to do.

A shuffling of papers alerted Ed that Havoc had finished checking his work. He snickered at the disbelieving face Havoc made.

"Y-you're… serious?" Havoc muttered. "I nearly failed this exam… scraping 50%... And I'm a professor."

"Aww… Don't worry, Havoc. I won't tell anyone…" Ed chided. It would be amusing to be a college student at five.

"Kid! You're called a genius aren't you?"He said obviously still in shock.

"They call me a prodigy, but I don't get it. My friends and brother calls me stupid all the time…" he said obliviously, snickering at the fish-eyed face Havoc had.

"I'll vouch for you." Edward paused.

"Vouch?" Ed asked confusedly "Anyway, I only want to have access to your college's library. I've finished the city library, well except for the children's books, but I still want to learn about healing techniques and pressure points and stuff…"

"Yes, yes." Havoc drew a yellow slip of paper from under his desk and signed it with a grace the other Havoc never bothered to have.

"Here, your library slip. Laminate it so it doesn't get wet. I'd hate to sign another one of those." Ed smiled widely Finally! Library, here I come!

"Oh, and by the way, I want to eat at L'Renioulle's for dinner." Havoc paled.

==0==0==0==

Havoc wasn't having a very wonderful day. Firstly, he got dumped by another girl. Secondly, most of his students were incompetent. Lastly, He lost a bet to Mustang. He tried to woo another girl, but he didn't have any luck. He was a Professor in the Technological Institute Majoring in Communication networks.

It took him several years to achieve status, but all his hardwork paid off! Now, he had a house to himself, a car and most importantly, a degree! But he still had a long way to go. A lot of the things he did still didn't make sense. It would come with time. He thought. He entered the teacher's lounge and found a kid writing on the chalkboard. He smiled. Maybe the kid thought it nice to draw. But when he looked closer, his eyes bugged out. The kid was solving a problem his co-worker had spent days to understand. He watched in rapt fascination. He would love to have the kid as his student!

A few minutes into the problem, the kid paused and rechecked his work. The kid beamed and put down his chalk and eraser. The handwriting was surprisingly legible and the lines were immaculately straight. Did the kid practice this? He looked over the problem and found that he had a hard time understanding the theorems and the solution. Who was that kid? He tried to remember the kid's features, but he only saw the back of his head. And remembered that the kid was blonde. Who said blondes were dumb? He truly wanted to protest about that stereotyping, but resisted. It wouldn't do good to make society your enemy.

He searched the canteen for the kid and he was greeted a lot. Who knew he was so popular? His eyes darted from blonde to blonde, searching for the kid.

"Jean!" a voice called.

"Oh. Marge, hello." He said distractedly.

"Oh. You're like that now? Ignoring me?"

"Oh! Of course not! It's just… I'm looking for someone." He said, shifting his attention to his friend.

"I can probably help. But you have to do something for me first!"

"No thanks. The last time you asked me to do something, I was completely humiliated. Noo way.." Havoc raised his arms in front of his head.

"Aww… You're no fun! Anyway," a cough. "what do you say about quitting smoking? You're a professor now. You should be more concentrated on your health!"

"Maybe next time." Havoc lighted a cigarette and puffed out smoke.

"Do not smoke in the cafeteria! This is a non smoking area." Marge said, hitting the backside of Havoc's head. The cigarette fell on the floor, becoming unusable. Havoc whimpered muttering something like 'My cigarette!'

"Okaayy… I get it! Stop Hitting me!"

After an exchange of a few more pleasantries, Havoc asked Marge to help him look for the little blonde kid.

"You know, you're really blind." Marge said with a chuckle.

"What do you mean?" Havoc asked, his hands in his pocket.

"He's right behind us you know." Havoc smiled sheepishly.

"Oops… Thanks for the help." He patted Marge's

He went near the kid, leaving an exasperated Marge behind.

He liked the kid. He was witty and has a larger vocabulary than any five year old he'd encountered. He reminded him of one of his friends. He didn't know what got into him, but he dragged the kid out, promising to treat him to a restaurant. He agreed for no specific reason. Kids usually had cheap tastes, so he didn't really worry about having holes in his wallet.

He gave a questionnaire for thied year college students to the little kid, just to test how wide his reading material spread out. There were some history questions, chemistry, physics, trigonometry, and some and other miscellaneous questions that didn't mean anything. Havoc was hit by the miscellaneous questions hard. He wasn't a very wide reader, just skimming on the parts that didn't involve his profession. And it was not fun.

Edward was answering the question fast. Real fast. He was given at least three hours for the examinations and Edward finished within an hour. It was unbelievable. He should expect more surprising stuff later.

After checking the paper. His reaction was: What. The. Hell!? The kid answered almost everything correctly. Missing some miscellaneous questions, that revolved around music. It was a little degrading. Being beaten by a five-ear old wouldn't go well for his popularity...

And it turns out, the kid just wanted a library pass! Good grief. And now the kid wanted him to eat at L'Renoiulle's. The expensive French restaurant downtown. He thought the kid wouls ask McDonalds or something… Gah. Oh how he hated his life.

==0==0==0==

Edward was walking with an extra bounce in his steps. He was so happy he could finally enter the library! Hah! Take that, stupid University! He entered the library and jumped up to the librarian's counter.

"Here." He presented the laminated pass to the librarian. The librarian barely gave him a glance as she took the card and stamped a hot plate on it. The plastic had become embedded with the university logo. The librarian returned it to him and continued doing writing on whatever it was.

He stopped for a while, inhaling the scent of the library. The smell of knowledge, old books and newly printed ones. He was excited! He went near the nearest bookshelf and picked out the book on the lowest divide. He sa down on the floor and started reading.

He didn't know how much time passed, nor did he remember how many books he had read, but it was enlightening. He would finish this shelf in a week or so if his plans weren't destroyed by anyone or anything and he was satisfied.

==0==0==0==

It was already dark outside and Sacha was getting worried. Normally, Edward would be home by six and it was already nearly Seven! She paced, What if Edward got kidnapped? She didn't want to admit it, but she didn't want to go outside the orphanage at night. She had one too many unpleasant experiences as a wizard. She went to the study, hoping that Edward was there, reading a newly purchased book or something. Sadly, her hopes were crushed. Ed wasn't there. She checked his room and still… She felt something tugging at the bottom of her skirt.

"Miss Sacha?" A little voice called. It was Lin. One of the 5 year olds.

"Oh, what is it dear?" Shesat down, petting Lin's head.

"Ed told me, tell you that he go in the University." She said quietly. "Library, he says."

Sacha facepalmed. Of course! Ed and hi libraries…

"Thanks for telling me." Lin nodded and scurried off to bed.

Sacha sighed. Why did she volunteer for this again?

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New chapter! Yay! How I love reviews. The internet connection at home sucks.I didn't have anything to do, so voila!