Klug fails a test for a reason he cannot fathom. Requested by a tumblr anon!

No Rest for the Weary

50%.

Klug blinked. Once, twice, thrice, he wasn't sure how many times he blinked. He hoped that with every blink, the number would change. With all the magic he knew, he willed the scarlet numbers to fade away and change to a perfect one hundred. If he focused hard enough, then his grade would certainly improve to something worthy of praise.

Yet, it remained. Mocking him, the fat, vibrant grade tormented his blank mind. It burned his retinas and imprinted itself directly onto his brain. For a moment, it was all he could see. He couldn't make out Amitie gasping as she marveled over her score or Lidelle's wiggling ears as she smiled over her 86%.

It was just him and his grade. A complete failure with his results, he bit his tongue as a laugh rolled up in the back of his throat. He wondered why his glasses began to fog, murky splotches blurring his vision.

Bowing his head, Klug clutched the paper with such force that it could have ripped in half. His knuckles burned a brilliant white, and he scanned the sheet, taking notice of every right answer. Clean check marks lined the questions on the front of the exam, but when he turned over the paper, his heart stopped.

He forgot to fill out the back. Ms. Accord's check marks were nowhere in sight. It was simply a bare piece of paper with neatly printed questions.

He felt like he could've vomited. His teacher sounded so far away as if he were stuck at the bottom of a dark well. His stomach flipped and churned, causing a headache to bounce behind his eyes as he slowly took off his glasses. He pressed his palms to his closed eyelids, bare tears sneaking out through the spaces of his eyelashes.

You buffoon. You ignoramus! You didn't check the back? How could you not check the back? Everyone flips a test over. Why didn't you? Are you that ignorant that you can't remember to look at the back?

Cruel thoughts from the back of his mind surfaced. They jabbed into his spoiled heart. Like blades, they stabbed him again and again, dying his soul a cool vermillion. If he could speak, than he would have been spitting them out like a poisonous venom, infecting only himself with their bite.

"Klug."

He raised his hands, not realizing his fingers were raking through his short brown hair. A curt gasp brushed past his chapped lips. Sitting back, he glanced around, realizing his classmates were gone, the toll of the final bell buzzing around him.

Accord smiled at him, her hands clasped in front of her waist. "Are you okay?"

His throat squeezed, clogged with saliva and hatred. He ducked his head, shame and horror gnawing at his neck.

Taking an adjacent chair, she pulled it next to him and sat down. She gently massaged his shoulder, saying, "It's okay. I-"

"I don't need pity. Shouldn't you be bothering that dope Amitie about her fluctuating results? I'm sure she must've done worse this time around." The words hissed out of him before he could stop himself. Disrespecting his teacher would certainly earn him a few demerits. He pursed his lips, hot crimson coloring his cheeks as his eyes widened.

Instead of reprimanding him, Accord tilted her head, her long locks of fuschia hair falling over her shoulder. "Were you tired?"

He squeaked. His shoulders hitched to his earlobes. Feeling as though he could've collapsed, he breathed out, "What?"

"You were tired. I saw it well when you were taking your test, but I didn't intervene. You were yawning, and your head was bobbing like this." She slowly rocked her head back and forth. "I'm sorry. As your teacher, I should've asked if you were well before you took the test."

"N-n-n-no! That's-why, that's not it at all!" Klug shot to his feet, the terrifying implication of pity far worse than his score. "I made the inept decision of not turning my paper over. It's my responsibility as a student to always be the best."

"But at the expense of your health?"

Dark splotches coated the underside of his eyes. They itched, nuisances more than anything. He blinked the sleep away once again, his throat refusing to cooperate with his mind. Words tried escaping him, rebuttal after rebuttal dying in the clutches of his parched esophagus.

He sat down and slipped his glasses back onto his face. Hunching forward, he glared at his desk. It was his own fault for failing so spectacularly and no one else's. He wanted to say that he accepted his mistake, but the way his teacher kept smiling at him made the tears lingering in his eyes burn.

"You're my most studious pupil. You work yourself to the bone, don't you, Klug?" She wrapped her arm around his neck and brought him into an embrace. "It's okay. Don't push yourself to the point of exhaustion."

He trembled, refusing to hug her. He didn't want her kindness. All he needed was excellence, growth, and respect. He needed to be the best, the smartest, the absolute master of cosmic magic with his name exalted by the masses.

The silent tears rolling down his cheeks betrayed his internal screaming. Burying his head into the crook of Accord's neck, he slipped his arms around her and let her hold him like a mother to her son. As she patted his back, he covered his mouth to withhold his sobs.

"You can fill out the rest of the questions right now if you'd like. Consider it some extra time," she said, parting from him. She stood up and pushed in her chair back to the other desk. "I'll stay at my desk while you work, okay? Is a half hour enough time?"

"I can finish it in ten!" he blurted, smiling, excitement and arrogance jumping off his tongue.

Chuckling, Accord patted his head. "I know, Klug, but promise me you'll take better care of yourself."

He nodded, happy to not speak and snatched his pencil, rapidly filling in answers as she walked away. He already knew he'd break the promise, glancing over to his treasured tome with the scarlet spirit peeking out at him with a gaze that he felt was too knowing.