Jim's Folly

Well, my goodness. I've decided (insanely) to place my plans all in chapter ten, so…you can officially hate me (you'll see why) after the installment which is chapter ten….though there will be more to follow. Curious? I hope so.

Chapter Seven

"So, what was your plan…Rowan?" Jim asked. The two young men were walking down the corridor of the Academy, Jim hoping to not get caught by a professer he knew. Especially Raven.

"Well, I thought I'd take ya to a cool place I know of. I mean, yer my pal and all, right?"

Jim nodded, slowly but surely. Rowan was quite a character. One minute he was making crude comments at the captain, the next, he was being a nice, mannerly person with a girlfriend. Thinking of Beth, Jim was reminded.

"So, how did you and Beth meet?" he asked, putting his hands in his uniform pockets.

Rowan grinned. "I saw her this one time and I was all 'she's the prettiest thing I've ever seen,' so I talked with her and the rest is history."
"Ah," Jim replied. "So…is she new this year?"

"Yeah. I told her she should come because she's a smart girl. I don't want all those brains in her pretty head to go to waste."

"I see," Jim added. Not much of a conversationalist, really.

"Yeah, so…she's in the advanced courses because I told her to take the tests to see if she was good enough and sure enough, they let her in a year ahead."

"So are you on your third year?" Jim asked, changing the subject.

Rowan nodded. "Yep, Jimmy. Just like you."
"Where are we going?" Jim asked. The two had wandered far from the ISA and were headed towards town. Jim noticed that they were the dingier parts of town, and he was unsure as to why Rowan was taking him to such a place.

"You'll see, buddy," was all Rowan said.

Jim decided to wait and see.

---

Andrew was lonely. His cat was sleeping on his lap and all he had was a few picture books his mom had bought for him from a used book store. The store had been ancient, she'd said, and that was why they'd been so cheap. It was a good thing, though. They could only afford cheap things.

Getting up after moving the kitty, Andrew wandered into the kitchen, hoping for something to snack on that would curb the hunger pangs in his stomach.

The cupboards were mighty tempting, but he couldn't reach them, even while standing on a chair. He'd tried it before.

There were two purps in the fridge. He got one and ate it, saving the other one for his mother. He hoped she'd enjoy it.

For awhile, his stomach's ceaseless complaining died down.

---

Jim watched in near-horror as Rowan opened the door to a small shack in the middle of nowhere and jumped on the mangy bed inside. "This here, Jimmy, is my place to get away from it all."

Jim watched in horror, now, as Rowan scrounged under the bed for something with his tail. His tail soon emerged with a small box. Rowan said nothing about the box and didn't open it; his tail went right back under the bed, soon emerging with a bottle. There was liquid in the bottle. And Jim knew exactly what was harbored inside that bottle.

He felt his heart rate increase dramatically. His palms were sweaty. He knew this was wrong. Despite the rancid smell inside the shack, Jim entered anyway, looking around. The place was tiny, dark and smelly. The bed Rowan sat on was a simple, thin mattress on a wiry bed frame. In another corner of the room were two old, dirty chairs whose upholstery was beginning to fade and tear.

Jim wasn't sure what to say when Rowan ripped the cork out of the bottle and chugged some of it. So, he changed the subject.

"What's in the box?" he asked. Rowan smiled, baring his pointed teeth and motioned for Jim to come sit next to him.

"It's life itself, Jimmy. C'mere," Rowan said, patting the space next to him. Jim sat, unsure of what exactly he was doing in that place. Why had he come?

Still, he watched as Rowan opened the box. Inside were needles and various vials of liquid. Beside the vials were tiny bags of powder. Jim wasn't clear on everything in that box, but he was smart enough to know what it was.

"Rowan, you're not serious!" he said, jumping up from his place.

Rowan smiled. "Well, if I'm gonna suffer through class I may as well enjoy it, right? C'mon, Jimmy. At least a bit of the brew, eh?"

Rowan's tail held the bottle out towards Jim and he wasn't sure what to do.

"Well? Take it. It'll make the rest of the day bearable, I promise ya. It's good stuff. I wouldn't get otherwise."
"Do you always come here?" Jim asked, narrowing his eyes at Rowan.

"Yeah, why do you think I'm such a jerk all the time?" the blue-skinned Ydredinian creature replied. Jim sighed heavily, his hands trembling. The very bottle he was staring at was a bottle related to others which had poisoned his life. He hated what he was staring at, yet a part of him yearned to hold that bottle in his hands and drink the 'life' it gave.

Rowan's yellow eyes narrowed. "Come on, Jimmy. Drink some. It'll make ya feel better."

"Where'd you get that?"

"I stole it, of course. Remember where I come from, Jimmy."
Jim hesitated. A little bit couldn't hurt, right? He had been through this before; he knew his limits. He had self control. He could take care of himself.

Convinced that it would all be okay, Jim took the bottle and, looking at Rowan, raised his eyebrows and shrugged. "Why not?" he asked before lifting the bottle to his lips.

---

"He's what?" Captain Raven asked in shock as she spoke with the math professor, Abby Foreman, on the phone.

"He's drunk, Captain. He and his blue friend, Rowan, you may know him-" Raven grimaced. She knew him. "-they're both drunk…and disrupting my class. Can you please come remove them? I know they're not in any of your classes this semester, but they'll listen to you."

"I understand. Thank you, Professor." Raven hung up the phone, anger coursing through her veins. How could he do this?! She expected this from Rowan, but Jim?!

She wasn't sure how to deal with this. Taking a deep breath, she stormed down the corridor and off to the class where the boys were.

---

It was quite a scene when Raven arrived. She knocked on the door and Professor Foreman answered the door, smiling in thanks. "Thank you so much, Captain."
"Sure," Raven replied, her eyes swimming with hatred. She stood up straight, and, ignoring the stares of the other class members, called for the boys. "Cadet Rowan Kilyar, Cadet Jim Hawkins, you are to come with me immediately!" she announced. Jim and Rowan, who'd been laughing hysterically, stopped and looked at her. "What?"

"You heard me, Cadets. Come with me. You boys are in a lot of trouble."
"Well, Cap, you don't gotta interrupt class for us," Rowan replied, his words slurring as he spoke. Raven blinked impatiently. Jim appeared to be a bit more sober at her arrival. This was a good sign. If he was afraid of her judgment, he wouldn't do this again.

Jim grinned and Raven frowned. He can't smile. He shouldn't be smiling.

"Yeah, Cap. Let us finish class…we're good boys, really!" he stated, causing Rowan to burst into laughter.

"Cadets!" Raven shouted. Both boys were silent.

"Don't throw aside my commands! I want you to come with me this instant and any complaints will be disregarded and you'll have more to deal with than just an angry Captain."
Jim shrugged and Rowan. "Why not?" he asked. They stood and followed Raven out the door.

The class murmured to themselves for a few moments before Professor Foreman caught their attention.

"That didn't happen, class. Let's continue with our lesson."
Inside her heart, Professor Abby Foreman was ecstatic to have those two boys gone.

----

"Do you know how much trouble you're in?!" Raven yelled. The boys were seated in her office.

"I dunno, Cap. Tell us…" Rowan slurred. Raven glared at him. "Cadet Kilyar, you're in just as much trouble as Jim is. Don't be smart with me."
"I was always told I was a smart boy," he replied, grinning.

Raven turned her attention toward Jim, who was looking at his folded hands.

"Jim, what got into you?"

"My alcohol!" Rowan cried. Raven slammed her hand on her desk, causing Rowan to jump. "That's enough! I'm talking to Cadet Hawkins right now."
"Yes, ma'am," Rowan cracked.

Raven continued. "Jim, I'm appalled at your behavior. How could you do this? What were you hoping to gain?"

Jim stared at his folded hands in shame. "Whatever," he muttered. Yeah, he was completely sober again.

Rowan started to giggle. "Whatever! Hee hee!"

Raven rolled her eyes. "Cadet, thank you. I'll ask you to excuse us. I need to talk with Jim alone."

The second the words left her mouth, she knew she shouldn't have said them.

Rowan grinned. "Ooh, Captain! Alone, hey??" Various crude comments ensued and Raven buzzed for security.

When they arrived, she instructed them to take him to Private Detention until he sobered up.

Once Raven was alone with Jim, she looked at him for a long time, an awkward silence building between the two of them. Jim slowly began to fidget in his seat and Raven was amused.

"So, Jim. Don't like where you're at?"

"No, ma'am," he muttered.

"Answer my question from earlier, Cadet," she prompted gently.

Jim blinked a few times before folding and unfolding his hands. He lifted his eyes to meet hers for the first time since he'd entered her office.

"…I don't know, Captain."

"Then why did you do it?" she asked softly, leaning against the desk in front of him. "Jim, I know you're a good student…you wouldn't do something like this. You left that self behind you and started anew, remember? Why would you return to something you know has haunted you since you gave it up?"

Jim blinked some more, looking away in shame and Raven noticed he was trying to hide the tears which were accumulating.

"Captain, I don't know. I guess…it looked…good to me. I had to have it…again, I mean…it's…I thought I could control myself," he managed to stutter. Raven nodded faintly, crossing her arms over her chest. "Well, Cadet…you just faced a situation with temptation and lost miserably. Next time that happens, I want you to win. Remember what I told you?"

Jim blinked, turning his face away so she couldn't see the tears that fell. He sniffled slightly, hoping to convince her he had a cold.

"Yeah…I remember," he muttered. Truth be told, he would never, ever forget.

Raven nodded firmly. "Good. Now, because there are rules at the Academy, I have to abide by them, so…I'm afraid you'll have to go back to Detention Hall."

Jim nodded. "I was guessing you'd say that," he mumbled, sighing heavily.

"I'm sorry, Jim. I know you've learned your lesson, but remember…rules are rules. If I break one of them for you-"
"You'll have to break them all for everyone else," Jim finished for her. Raven nodded and chuckled slightly.

"Next time, Jim, I expect you to tell Rowan what he needs to hear." She stood at attention and Jim followed suit quickly.

"Cadet Hawkins, you'll be escorted to Detention Hall, but I'll come to see you in a little while, okay?"

"Thanks, Captain," Jim replied, saluting her.

"Dismissed."
As soon as the door closed behind Jim, Raven sighed heavily.

"What am I going to do about him?" she wondered to herself.