What Fools These Mortals Be!
by: Quicksilver
mbsilvana@yahoo.com
standard disclaimers
Monday: Chem 101 (9 AM)
Math 101 (1 PM)
Theater: (3 PM)
History: (4 PM)
Richie was getting sick of the jokes. He'd made the mistake of mentioning the hydrochloric incident to Methos, who's reaction was, "What did you expect? You're lucky it didn't land on a more sensitive area." Richie had flinched when he'd read THAT Email. And to think of Email, Richie had yet to hear from MacLeod.
The hydrochloric incident had made him into a temporary campus celebrity. And something of a sex symbol, as well. Many of the females in his chem class had gotten a good look at his build, and they had liked what they saw...a lot..... Richie shook his head, trying to discard his unwanted thoughts. He held his book closer to his chest, hurrying for drama class.
Richie was, by nature, a late person. Prolonged exposure to MacLeod has changed that somewhat, but he still had a long way to go until he could actually be called punctual. Case in point: his three o'clock theatre class. Last week he had almost slept through the entire thing, and this week he was cutting it close. For some reason, he was unable to actually arrive where he was suppose to on time. He certainly MEANT to, but things just never worked out that way.
Richie managed to skid into his class just as the professor began to speak. He slid into his seat, hoping Reinheart (that was the professor's name) wouldn't notice him. No such luck.
"Ah, Mr. Richardson," he said, almost purring.
Richie felt his self-preservation instincts kick in. He looked at Reinheart, trying to conceal his discomfort. "Yes, sir?" he asked nervously.
"I see you finally decided to join us. Did you finish your assignment?" he asked.
Richie nodded, finally in control. He held up his copy of A Midsummer Night's Dream. "Yes, sir." Richie had been surprised that he'd actually almost been interested in it- but only almost.
Reinheart smiled. "Good. I have some news for the class. We have been invited to put on a production for Family Day," he said. "I've taken the liberty of assigning parts. You, Mr. Richardson, will-" Richie closed his eyes, dreading what he knew was coming, "have your work cut out for you. You're going to be Puck."
Richie's eyes instinctively looked around for an escape route. "I'd rather not," he said, trying not to squirm too visibly.
"I'm sorry to hear that. Failure to participate in the class project will result in failure of the class."
The young Immortal couldn't contain his wince. "Can't I at least play a smaller part- like Philostrate?" The smallest and least embarrassing part of the entire play.
Reinheart's smile grew evil. "I've already cast the play.... I've been observing the class, and you, dear boy, are the only possible choice for Puck. Besides, in this production, Puck will be going shirtless, and I have heard rumors that you don't have anything to be worried about on that front."
Richie wondered why the evil Immortal who had trapped him in the nightmare simply didn't come and finish him off. Damn MacLeod.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Beth's eyes widened as Richie told her of his latest disaster. She tossed the long rope of her braid over her right shoulder before speaking. "It's amusing. You seem to attract trouble the way honey attracts flies," she said solemnly. Then she started to laugh. Richie was eventually forced to pound her back a few times to try to clear her airway so she could breath.
Richie and Beth were sitting at a table eating dinner, with Darian. Alex had gone off somewhere, and Richie's Chemistry partner Kara (since, after the hydrochloric incident, no one else would have anything to do with her), had joined them. The three attractive females made for a sympathetic audience.
"Don't I just," he groaned melodramatically. "Then I had to sit through history like nothing had ever happened!"
"Where can I get tickets?" Kara asked.
Richie glared at her. "Through Campus Affairs," he informed her. "Supposedly they're raising money to start a REAL drama club, but I think they're just trying to milk our families for more money." As if the twenty thousand dollar tuition wasn't enough. Unlike Richie, most students didn't have rich benefactors like Duncan in the wings.
"We'll get front row seats," Beth promised cheerfully. "And you know what? I think we might even be able to talk Percy into coming- she likes theatre."
Everyone at the table shuddered, even Kara, who had already her some hair-raising stories of Beth and Darian's eccentric roommate. "What's she up to now?" Richie asked as a distraction technique.
Beth turned slightly pale, and it was Darian who had to answer. "Last night she sliced up her arm pretty good. Said she was trying to "carve a scar" or something like that. I reported it to Mental Health and they interviewed her... seems that scarring yourself in a shape is the latest rage with some groups. Percy didn't have a proper iron brand, so she decided to improvise. They made her promise not to do it again, and she agreed, so they let her go. There must be a limit to how far she'll go- we just haven't encountered it yet."
Richie grew more and more grateful for the introverted Alex. He wondered how Darian and Beth were even able to sleep in the same room as Percy. The idea of purposely scarring an arm seemed gruesome to Richie, and it showed on his face. "What did she carve? A pentagram?"
Darian shook her head. "Nope. A peace-sign, if you can believe it."
Richie couldn't. "A peace sign? That's-" he cut off, feeling a familiar surge of energy warning of another Immortal's presence. "Gotta run," he said, grabbing his tray and arrowing for the door.
The three girls were left alone. "Something is not normal with that boy," Beth said, looking at the place he had just vacated.
"You're telling me," Kara agreed readily. "That's the second time he's done that to me!"
"It's the fourth this month its happened around me," Beth informed her.
"Fifth, actually," Darian corrected.
"Feels like an almost Clark Kent kind of deal. Richie just gets up and bolts away," Beth complained. "It's impossible to have a complete conversation with him sometimes!"
The three girls exchanged amused glances. Then they raised their water glasses in a mock toast. "Men," they chorused before finishing their drinks.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yet again Richie had had no luck with tracking the Immortal. It was starting to become annoying, to say the least. He almost would have preferred a direct challenge to all this pussy-footing. Having another Immortal come within range to Buzz yet not actually introduce himself was enough to make him want to scream. The Immortal had even woken Richie up twice, which had left him in the awkward position of explaining WHY he slept with a sword under his bed to Alex.
Richie made a point of being early to his theatre class Tuesday. He walked in, clutching his copy of A Midsummer Night's Dream like a lifeline.
He went and sat in the back of the class, looking at his copy and trying to get the words straight. He really like Puck's closing.... If we shadows have offended....
A thump from the front of the room brought his attention back to reality. "OK, everyone!" Dr. Reinheart said. "I want all of you assigned to behind the stage stuff to go over to the next room. I've appointed Melvin my stage manager, and he'll explain what needs to be done! Anyone actually cast, stay here."
The students shifted, and soon Richie was left with about twenty students surrounding him. They pulled there chairs in a circle.
"We have two months- November 18, until the play," Dr. Reinheart said. "This will require some out-of-classwork, and even some extra rehearsals. I expect everyone to give their all," he drawled, though his eyes never left Richie's face.
Richie flushed, trying not to feel insulted. He hadn't even wanted to participate, but since he had to, there was no way he would let his classmates down. It was obvious, even to him, that Puck was the pivotal role of the play.
Reinheart asked them how they viewed their characters, and Richie listened thoughtfully to each of the amateur actors who would soon be taking the stage with him. When it was his turn, he spoke quietly. "I think Puck just wants to have a good time. He's willing to twist whatever command Oberon gives him to his own benefit- that is, making fun of people and causing trouble. He's like this big child who'll never grow up."
One of the actors began whistling the song from Peter Pan, but Reinheart waved the rest of the crew silent. "And how does he move?" the Professor asked.
"Move?" Richie parrotted, not getting it.
"His body-language, his gestures! What kind of voice does he speak with?"
Richie smiled, tilting his head in a puckish fashion. Then he sprang to his feet with barely contained energy. "Like someone full of joy and mischief," Richie said. He did a backspring over the desk, coming lightly to his feet. The girl who would be playing Helena clapped her hands, while the others just watched, their mouths hanging open.
"I think you have a good foundation to build on, Mr. Richardson," Professor Reinheart said.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Saturday morning, nine am.
Richie woke to the sound of his alarm. Rather then hitting snooze, he rolled out of bed, landing in a tumble of blankets. He muttered a few derisive words, then went to shake Alex awake.
Alex rolled over, snuggling deeper into the cocoon of blankets. Richie whipped them off, and the sudden flood of cold air had Alex sitting up groggily. "Wha?" he slurred, not really with it.
"Time to practice!" Richie sang out cheerily. If he was going to be awake this early on the week-end, he was going to annoy Alex, too.
Alex groaned and attempted to bury his head under his pillow. Richie took it away from the slender brunette. "I'm not happy about this," Alex said.
"You can take it out using the quarterstaff," Richie promised. "That is, if you can hit me with it!" the Immortal teased, sliding into a pair of sweatpants and a muscle-shirt, not caring how it made him look. He grabbed the quarter-staffs and even dared sneak his sword into his gym-bag.
Half an hour later, the two young men were in the gym warming up. Richie used his sword in one of the katas MacLeod had grilled into his thick skull, while Alex lifted a few of the weights- which Richie had taken pains to show him how to use correctly. It wouldn't do for Alex to bulk up- he had a slender build, and packing muscle on it would have been stupid.
The gym was almost empty- most of the other students were probably in their rooms either recovery from their hangovers from the Friday night parties, or sleeping. Richie was glad to finally have his sword out in the open, even if only for a few minutes. He restricted himself to Kendo only, trying to maintain the facade that he was a martial artist. That meant hiding the characteristic of an Immortal's style- the rapid slice meant to decapitate a head.
Richie reluctantly hid his sword after about a half an hour. With a mental sigh, he went over and pick up his quarter staff. "You ready, Alex?" he asked.
The dark-haired youth bounced over with energy that made Richie feel tired just looking at him. Alex grabbed his own staff and assumed a basic defensive posture. Richie attacked him with relished, decided to work out some of his frustrations on his innocent roommate.
Alex was improving rapidly. The staff seemed to suit him perfectly, and Richie would wager that Alex might actually be able to beat him in a year or to. Richie had to keep his sword work up as well as his other skills.
Richie was just leaping over a blow aimed for his legs when it hit him. Another Immortal. He managed to land on his feet, but was too busy comptenplating the situation to block the blow that was coming towards him.
A minute later, Richie was looking up at a frantic Alex, trying to decide what car had hit him. His head was ringing like a gong. "I'm so sorry!" Alex was apologizing. "I thought you'd block that! Do you want me to get the nurse? You might have a concussion."
Even though the Quickening was already healing his fractured skull (he could feel the bones shift back into place, which made him VERY happy), he felt his headache increase. He wasn't up to another little encounter with Student Health. And to top that off, he had another Immortal wandering around. Most likely, it was the "knocker", but he didn't want to be complacent.
"I'm fine. Don't bother the nurse."
"She certainly wouldn't be able to do anything for him unless she has a degree in psychiatry, anyway," a feminine voice called from the doorway.
He shut his eyes, wishing that Alex's blow had killed him. "Hello, Amanda," he said with a resigned sigh.
Amanda floated into the room, smiling charmingly. Her hair was dark and was bobbed at her chin, and her clothes screamed money. Richie saw Alex's jaw drop at the sight of her, a typical male reaction to the attractive female Immortal. "Hello, darling. Don't act so happy to see me," she chided him, brushing a kiss on his cheek.
"Is something wrong?" he asked, trying to figure out what she was doing here instead of being in some luxury hotel.
She shook her head, eyes laughing. "Not at all. Can't I just decide I want to visit my favorite college student?"
"No," he said decisively.
She laughed and hoisted him to his feet. "Still suspicious. I'm proud of you- thought hanging around all the frats would loosen you up." She noticed Alex and cast a smile his way, at the same time entrancing him with her feminine charms. "This Alex?" she asked.
"Yes," Richie said as he started to pack up his gear. They weren't going to get anymore practice done with the thief around.
"Well, how about I treat you two to lunch? I hear the food here leaves something to be desired."
Alex agreed hastily and the three started back towards the dorm. Richie worried the entire way. Amanda, offering to buy something for someone else? She was up to something, and Richie was positive he didn't want to know what. He was equally sure that he wasn't going to have a choice in the matter.
THE END
by: Quicksilver
mbsilvana@yahoo.com
standard disclaimers
Monday: Chem 101 (9 AM)
Math 101 (1 PM)
Theater: (3 PM)
History: (4 PM)
Richie was getting sick of the jokes. He'd made the mistake of mentioning the hydrochloric incident to Methos, who's reaction was, "What did you expect? You're lucky it didn't land on a more sensitive area." Richie had flinched when he'd read THAT Email. And to think of Email, Richie had yet to hear from MacLeod.
The hydrochloric incident had made him into a temporary campus celebrity. And something of a sex symbol, as well. Many of the females in his chem class had gotten a good look at his build, and they had liked what they saw...a lot..... Richie shook his head, trying to discard his unwanted thoughts. He held his book closer to his chest, hurrying for drama class.
Richie was, by nature, a late person. Prolonged exposure to MacLeod has changed that somewhat, but he still had a long way to go until he could actually be called punctual. Case in point: his three o'clock theatre class. Last week he had almost slept through the entire thing, and this week he was cutting it close. For some reason, he was unable to actually arrive where he was suppose to on time. He certainly MEANT to, but things just never worked out that way.
Richie managed to skid into his class just as the professor began to speak. He slid into his seat, hoping Reinheart (that was the professor's name) wouldn't notice him. No such luck.
"Ah, Mr. Richardson," he said, almost purring.
Richie felt his self-preservation instincts kick in. He looked at Reinheart, trying to conceal his discomfort. "Yes, sir?" he asked nervously.
"I see you finally decided to join us. Did you finish your assignment?" he asked.
Richie nodded, finally in control. He held up his copy of A Midsummer Night's Dream. "Yes, sir." Richie had been surprised that he'd actually almost been interested in it- but only almost.
Reinheart smiled. "Good. I have some news for the class. We have been invited to put on a production for Family Day," he said. "I've taken the liberty of assigning parts. You, Mr. Richardson, will-" Richie closed his eyes, dreading what he knew was coming, "have your work cut out for you. You're going to be Puck."
Richie's eyes instinctively looked around for an escape route. "I'd rather not," he said, trying not to squirm too visibly.
"I'm sorry to hear that. Failure to participate in the class project will result in failure of the class."
The young Immortal couldn't contain his wince. "Can't I at least play a smaller part- like Philostrate?" The smallest and least embarrassing part of the entire play.
Reinheart's smile grew evil. "I've already cast the play.... I've been observing the class, and you, dear boy, are the only possible choice for Puck. Besides, in this production, Puck will be going shirtless, and I have heard rumors that you don't have anything to be worried about on that front."
Richie wondered why the evil Immortal who had trapped him in the nightmare simply didn't come and finish him off. Damn MacLeod.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Beth's eyes widened as Richie told her of his latest disaster. She tossed the long rope of her braid over her right shoulder before speaking. "It's amusing. You seem to attract trouble the way honey attracts flies," she said solemnly. Then she started to laugh. Richie was eventually forced to pound her back a few times to try to clear her airway so she could breath.
Richie and Beth were sitting at a table eating dinner, with Darian. Alex had gone off somewhere, and Richie's Chemistry partner Kara (since, after the hydrochloric incident, no one else would have anything to do with her), had joined them. The three attractive females made for a sympathetic audience.
"Don't I just," he groaned melodramatically. "Then I had to sit through history like nothing had ever happened!"
"Where can I get tickets?" Kara asked.
Richie glared at her. "Through Campus Affairs," he informed her. "Supposedly they're raising money to start a REAL drama club, but I think they're just trying to milk our families for more money." As if the twenty thousand dollar tuition wasn't enough. Unlike Richie, most students didn't have rich benefactors like Duncan in the wings.
"We'll get front row seats," Beth promised cheerfully. "And you know what? I think we might even be able to talk Percy into coming- she likes theatre."
Everyone at the table shuddered, even Kara, who had already her some hair-raising stories of Beth and Darian's eccentric roommate. "What's she up to now?" Richie asked as a distraction technique.
Beth turned slightly pale, and it was Darian who had to answer. "Last night she sliced up her arm pretty good. Said she was trying to "carve a scar" or something like that. I reported it to Mental Health and they interviewed her... seems that scarring yourself in a shape is the latest rage with some groups. Percy didn't have a proper iron brand, so she decided to improvise. They made her promise not to do it again, and she agreed, so they let her go. There must be a limit to how far she'll go- we just haven't encountered it yet."
Richie grew more and more grateful for the introverted Alex. He wondered how Darian and Beth were even able to sleep in the same room as Percy. The idea of purposely scarring an arm seemed gruesome to Richie, and it showed on his face. "What did she carve? A pentagram?"
Darian shook her head. "Nope. A peace-sign, if you can believe it."
Richie couldn't. "A peace sign? That's-" he cut off, feeling a familiar surge of energy warning of another Immortal's presence. "Gotta run," he said, grabbing his tray and arrowing for the door.
The three girls were left alone. "Something is not normal with that boy," Beth said, looking at the place he had just vacated.
"You're telling me," Kara agreed readily. "That's the second time he's done that to me!"
"It's the fourth this month its happened around me," Beth informed her.
"Fifth, actually," Darian corrected.
"Feels like an almost Clark Kent kind of deal. Richie just gets up and bolts away," Beth complained. "It's impossible to have a complete conversation with him sometimes!"
The three girls exchanged amused glances. Then they raised their water glasses in a mock toast. "Men," they chorused before finishing their drinks.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yet again Richie had had no luck with tracking the Immortal. It was starting to become annoying, to say the least. He almost would have preferred a direct challenge to all this pussy-footing. Having another Immortal come within range to Buzz yet not actually introduce himself was enough to make him want to scream. The Immortal had even woken Richie up twice, which had left him in the awkward position of explaining WHY he slept with a sword under his bed to Alex.
Richie made a point of being early to his theatre class Tuesday. He walked in, clutching his copy of A Midsummer Night's Dream like a lifeline.
He went and sat in the back of the class, looking at his copy and trying to get the words straight. He really like Puck's closing.... If we shadows have offended....
A thump from the front of the room brought his attention back to reality. "OK, everyone!" Dr. Reinheart said. "I want all of you assigned to behind the stage stuff to go over to the next room. I've appointed Melvin my stage manager, and he'll explain what needs to be done! Anyone actually cast, stay here."
The students shifted, and soon Richie was left with about twenty students surrounding him. They pulled there chairs in a circle.
"We have two months- November 18, until the play," Dr. Reinheart said. "This will require some out-of-classwork, and even some extra rehearsals. I expect everyone to give their all," he drawled, though his eyes never left Richie's face.
Richie flushed, trying not to feel insulted. He hadn't even wanted to participate, but since he had to, there was no way he would let his classmates down. It was obvious, even to him, that Puck was the pivotal role of the play.
Reinheart asked them how they viewed their characters, and Richie listened thoughtfully to each of the amateur actors who would soon be taking the stage with him. When it was his turn, he spoke quietly. "I think Puck just wants to have a good time. He's willing to twist whatever command Oberon gives him to his own benefit- that is, making fun of people and causing trouble. He's like this big child who'll never grow up."
One of the actors began whistling the song from Peter Pan, but Reinheart waved the rest of the crew silent. "And how does he move?" the Professor asked.
"Move?" Richie parrotted, not getting it.
"His body-language, his gestures! What kind of voice does he speak with?"
Richie smiled, tilting his head in a puckish fashion. Then he sprang to his feet with barely contained energy. "Like someone full of joy and mischief," Richie said. He did a backspring over the desk, coming lightly to his feet. The girl who would be playing Helena clapped her hands, while the others just watched, their mouths hanging open.
"I think you have a good foundation to build on, Mr. Richardson," Professor Reinheart said.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Saturday morning, nine am.
Richie woke to the sound of his alarm. Rather then hitting snooze, he rolled out of bed, landing in a tumble of blankets. He muttered a few derisive words, then went to shake Alex awake.
Alex rolled over, snuggling deeper into the cocoon of blankets. Richie whipped them off, and the sudden flood of cold air had Alex sitting up groggily. "Wha?" he slurred, not really with it.
"Time to practice!" Richie sang out cheerily. If he was going to be awake this early on the week-end, he was going to annoy Alex, too.
Alex groaned and attempted to bury his head under his pillow. Richie took it away from the slender brunette. "I'm not happy about this," Alex said.
"You can take it out using the quarterstaff," Richie promised. "That is, if you can hit me with it!" the Immortal teased, sliding into a pair of sweatpants and a muscle-shirt, not caring how it made him look. He grabbed the quarter-staffs and even dared sneak his sword into his gym-bag.
Half an hour later, the two young men were in the gym warming up. Richie used his sword in one of the katas MacLeod had grilled into his thick skull, while Alex lifted a few of the weights- which Richie had taken pains to show him how to use correctly. It wouldn't do for Alex to bulk up- he had a slender build, and packing muscle on it would have been stupid.
The gym was almost empty- most of the other students were probably in their rooms either recovery from their hangovers from the Friday night parties, or sleeping. Richie was glad to finally have his sword out in the open, even if only for a few minutes. He restricted himself to Kendo only, trying to maintain the facade that he was a martial artist. That meant hiding the characteristic of an Immortal's style- the rapid slice meant to decapitate a head.
Richie reluctantly hid his sword after about a half an hour. With a mental sigh, he went over and pick up his quarter staff. "You ready, Alex?" he asked.
The dark-haired youth bounced over with energy that made Richie feel tired just looking at him. Alex grabbed his own staff and assumed a basic defensive posture. Richie attacked him with relished, decided to work out some of his frustrations on his innocent roommate.
Alex was improving rapidly. The staff seemed to suit him perfectly, and Richie would wager that Alex might actually be able to beat him in a year or to. Richie had to keep his sword work up as well as his other skills.
Richie was just leaping over a blow aimed for his legs when it hit him. Another Immortal. He managed to land on his feet, but was too busy comptenplating the situation to block the blow that was coming towards him.
A minute later, Richie was looking up at a frantic Alex, trying to decide what car had hit him. His head was ringing like a gong. "I'm so sorry!" Alex was apologizing. "I thought you'd block that! Do you want me to get the nurse? You might have a concussion."
Even though the Quickening was already healing his fractured skull (he could feel the bones shift back into place, which made him VERY happy), he felt his headache increase. He wasn't up to another little encounter with Student Health. And to top that off, he had another Immortal wandering around. Most likely, it was the "knocker", but he didn't want to be complacent.
"I'm fine. Don't bother the nurse."
"She certainly wouldn't be able to do anything for him unless she has a degree in psychiatry, anyway," a feminine voice called from the doorway.
He shut his eyes, wishing that Alex's blow had killed him. "Hello, Amanda," he said with a resigned sigh.
Amanda floated into the room, smiling charmingly. Her hair was dark and was bobbed at her chin, and her clothes screamed money. Richie saw Alex's jaw drop at the sight of her, a typical male reaction to the attractive female Immortal. "Hello, darling. Don't act so happy to see me," she chided him, brushing a kiss on his cheek.
"Is something wrong?" he asked, trying to figure out what she was doing here instead of being in some luxury hotel.
She shook her head, eyes laughing. "Not at all. Can't I just decide I want to visit my favorite college student?"
"No," he said decisively.
She laughed and hoisted him to his feet. "Still suspicious. I'm proud of you- thought hanging around all the frats would loosen you up." She noticed Alex and cast a smile his way, at the same time entrancing him with her feminine charms. "This Alex?" she asked.
"Yes," Richie said as he started to pack up his gear. They weren't going to get anymore practice done with the thief around.
"Well, how about I treat you two to lunch? I hear the food here leaves something to be desired."
Alex agreed hastily and the three started back towards the dorm. Richie worried the entire way. Amanda, offering to buy something for someone else? She was up to something, and Richie was positive he didn't want to know what. He was equally sure that he wasn't going to have a choice in the matter.
THE END
