CHAPTER ONE.
Eponine spoke up quickly and clearly, and Enjolras thought she sounded entirely too happy proving him wrong.
"I'd add to that, actually – I think that the most important trigger was hunger. The little ice age that Europe experienced earlier in the century is probably as big a contributing factor, if not bigger, than the corruption that Enjolras just mentioned."
"A bigger contributing factor? Than corruption?" Enjolras asked incredulously, sitting two seats from the right of Eponine in the lecture hall. Enjolras had hoped to get through the French History class seamlessly since both Eponine and Grantaire were taking it with him, but so far, he was having no such luck. Case in point: this.
Eponine had turned to face him after his disagreement, but the professor interrupted.
"That's very interesting, Eponine – could you expand on that idea a little bit more?"
Enjolras could see Grantaire, out of the corner of his eye. He playfully sat back in his chair and settled in, knowing Enjolras wasn't one to leave an argument unchallenged. Especially one in which he was losing, even if no one else saw it that way.
Eponine shot a quick glance his way, a small smirk at the corner of her mouth.
"What I mean is, I think that while the corruption of the monarchy played its part in the revolution, I think that hunger is what ultimately decided it. We learned last week about the small ice age Europe experienced in the 18th century, which contributed to poor harvest after poor harvest amongst other things, which we know from the text caused grain shortages specifically in France…"
Enjolras quietly flipped the pages in his book to the chapter on revolutions as Eponine was talking, ready for rebuttal.
"Plus, France didn't embrace things like the potato crop, even though it's very easy to grow. All of that together contributed to the grain shortage, then the bread shortage, and I think that's what really set the people of Paris on edge."
The professor opened his mouth to respond to Eponine, but Enjolras, his back straight and his eyes bright, responded before anyone else had a chance.
"I've no doubt that hunger was a contributing factor, Eponine, but the governmental response to the poor crops and the distribution of resources that came after certainly can't be ignored."
"I'm not saying they should be. I'm saying that people can put up with an awful lot of abuse from their governments as long as they have enough to eat."
What began as Eponine sharing her thoughts with the class, contradicting Enjolras' main argument - even though this was slight at best – turned into a conversation between the two of them, the professor eventually giving up and letting them talk. The rest of the class was happy to tune them out and vacate the lecture hall as soon as the bell sounded, Grantaire included, although he did catch Enjolras' eye on the way out with a head nod and a mocking salute.
Although both had the Les Amis meeting to get to at the Café in an hour and a half, the mild argument didn't end with the class. Instead of going their separate ways only to meet in the group at the café, they continued their discourse, much to Enjolras' dismay.
It seemed Eponine wasn't able to let the argument go – what an insufferable characteristic in a person.
"As I said, Enjolras, I don't doubt that corruption was one of the causes. But if you compare other social movements… just look at Karl Marx, right? He was so sure that we would have had a global working-class revolt by now, but it hasn't happened…"
"And the connection is…?"
They had both walked out of their lecture hall and into the common area, still continuing their argument while waiting in line for a pre-meeting coffee at the student cafeteria. They stood in line, made change, collected their coffees, and made their way out to the main campus, all without missing a beat.
"The connection is, Enjolras," She said a little too sternly for his liking as they crossed the street to the subway station, "that Marx was entirely too optimistic. He underestimated how much people will tolerate as long as they have some kind of relief in place – special programs, however small…"
"And you think this is equivalent to the French Revolution?"
They both swiped their metro passes and boarded the train, sitting opposite each other in the least crowded car they could find.
"Of course! The Women's March on Versailles, the one in 1789…"
"Yes, Eponine, I know the year."
"Why do you think they were so angry? Their children were starving! Their families were wasting away! The immediate need to provide for your family and your children is much more convincing than the corruption that has always been entrenched in a centuries-long monarchy."
Enjolras mentioned a few more things about unfair taxes, Eponine countered with more comparisons between rebellions, and before long they had made it to the café without skipping a beat. When they both walked in, Grantaire was already there, sitting at the café bar and sipping some sort of dark liquid from a glass. He dramatically spun on his stool to greet them, the same smug grin on his face that he had left them with earlier in the day.
"Hello, nerds - I see your friendship is stronger than ever."
Enjolras shot him a stern look and set his books down on the small table at the corner of the café, which he had established as his when they first started frequenting the establishment a year ago. Eponine had quipped, "Just admit I have a point, Enjolras… it's not that bad, you know," before sitting down with Musichetta in the opposite corner of the café.
Enjolras huffed and began to gather up his paperwork, reviewing the meeting topics in his mind. Once it seemed everyone had gathered, he stepped into his position at the back of the café that they reserved for their meetings. Everyone was seated at small tables surrounding him, their chosen drinks already half gone. He noticed that Eponine had finished her coffee from the campus cafeteria and was already making progress on a second from the café.
He spent some extra time organizing his papers, his argument with Eponine still bothering him. Of course, he knew hunger was a contributing factor! The audacity to suggest that…
"Enjolras! Are you alright? You look a little flustered."
"Not now, Grantaire. I'm just getting my notes."
"Do you need another coffee? Maybe something to…... eat?"
Enjolras looked up, his lips pursed and his ears red. Grantaire looked smug when he continued, "I know how irritable you get when you're hungry. Hunger sure can set people off, right? I, for one, am not myself if I haven't had a proper lunch…"
Courf joined it, seated the table over, "What's a proper lunch to you, Grantaire, vodka, and toast?"
Enjolras heard Eponine giggle from the corner of the café, entirely too pleased with the situation.
He did manage to finish up the meeting just fine, although maybe a little bit more on edge than usual. Grantaire was much too pleased with himself and his line of jokes, and the rest of the Amis seemed puzzled at his choice of food-based humor. At one point, when the meeting was winding down, Enjolras shot him a look that said, "You know, you really shouldn't joke so much about hunger, Grantaire. It's not very empathetic."
Grantaire feigned a concerned look, already well into his third drink, and replied, "Yes, hunger is pretty serious… it can incite some real conflict, or so I've heard lately…"
Enjolras rolled his eyes, resigned to the fact that he was just going to have to put up with his and Eponine's antics for the rest of the evening. Although Eponine hadn't chosen the direct joke route, Enjolras had caught her eyes a few times through the meeting, looking rather smug and all too amused at Grantaire's chosen comedy.
He was dreading having to go back to his apartment, which he shared with Courfeyrac and Eponine. Courf had convinced them both about three months ago that it was their only option, since they were short a roommate after Joly moved in with Musichetta, and Eponine had been hopping from couch to couch for six months.
Although, in situations like this Eponine did manage to let these things go, but not without a day or two of teasing. She enjoyed proving him wrong or picking up on points he didn't notice, way too much for his liking. In all fairness, it was the exact same the other way round, even if Enjolras was hard-pressed to admit it.
He really didn't have anything against Eponine – she was nice enough, and he had noticed that she was actually much smarter than anyone gave her credit for – her tendency towards sarcasm and lighthearted, sometimes flighty quirks made sure of that. But he wasn't sure he'd ever get used to her being so quick on her feet, especially in arguments he was used to having the upper hand in. He had decided that maybe his clashing with Eponine was good for his debate performance or his policy rebuttal, so there was that at least, although he'd never let her know it.
And, anyway… she was right, after all.
