A/N: I am so sorry. There are no words.

"Look Mathias, if you're going to sulk, go sulk outside!" scolded Vash. The Swiss sophomore wasn't going to put up with his roommate's antics today, he had a North American History test tomorrow, and dammit, he needed peace to study in his own room.

"Noooooo." Mathias groaned from under his covers. "My 20 page essay is due tomorrow and I haven't started it yet. I don't know what to do, but I can't do it outside!" he moaned sorrowfully.

"You're not going to get it done under the covers either!" The young Swiss student snapped sharply. "Now get up, or so help me, I will drive back to Switzerland to get my damn rifle and shoot you in the head if that's what it'll take to get you to stop whining!"

"But Vashie, I'll never get my assignment done if you shoot my brain." Mathias commented miserably from his spot tangled up in the navy blue covers.

I guess that's how ten seconds later he found himself in the daisy bed under their window, blankets and all.

"Fine!" he shouted reproachfully up at the window. "I see how it is! I see!" The window slammed shut with such a force that Mathias actually had to wonder for a moment if his life would be in danger were he to return to that room.

He sighed, got up, and trudged towards the path that wound all around campus. He would wander, he supposed, until he got a brilliant idea for his paper. This was the method that usually saved him from failing and would get him a passing grade of either a C or B.

Blech. He needed a drink; too early for the bar. He'd see if he could bribe Alfred to get him some liquor at his café.

Arthur did a brief look-over of his pile of papers before hitting the bottoms of the papers quickly to even out the edges of the stack. Good. He finished that English Literature assignment 3 days before it was due- quite a close call, if he dare say.

He was the student chosen from England, and there was no doubt why. His family was rich at the top of the technology business, right up there with Apple and Microsoft. Avox Enterprises, that was his family's life. They hadn't gotten there with just kindness and luck, however. His father and mother have had to buy out companies, sabotage competitors, and ruin other's livelihoods. It's not that they were bad people, really, but they viewed it as what they did to survive. Strange really, how they could smile at him so merrily when they were with him, or give the men they saw living on the streets all the money in their wallets, but yet destroy thousands of people's lives, economic situations, and dreams.

Arthur himself had quite a few people still bitter towards him in this school. The student selected from India had hailed from a family that was one of the many whose company was all but controlled by Avox at one point. His mother was a major executive of a blossoming company. Eventually, they broke free of Avox's cold grip, but not without difficulties, and even now the company struggled some. That boy disliked him quite a bit, but wouldn't openly hold grudges. Then there was Wang Yao. He eventually became one of the professors at this school, but was still quite young in appearance. He was not fond of him whatsoever. His father was a co-CEO in another incorporation. It was involved in quite a messy situation with Avox at one point, even one of the possible heirs to the company, Kaoru, had to go train under Avox Enterprises after some serious sabotage on the Kirkland family's part.

Then there was Francis- Francis Bonnefoy. He was the son of the only rivaling company there was, based out of Paris- Aux Cinemas. It based itself mainly off home entertainment products, and was quite proficient in the field. Known for it's aesthetically pleasing designs, it gave Avox a run for its money in that particular branch of technology. Describing the relationship between Francis and Arthur wasn't exactly difficult: bad. However, due to many business meetings between the two families, they often spent time together as children. They were "childhood friends" but not exactly so, but there's still something to be said for that.

Tch. Arthur couldn't believe that Francis had to come to this place as well, yet it was slightly predictable, just as his own acceptance into this school was.

Arthur was the perfect student- each and every assignment was on time or early if allowed and was all stellar work. Perfection was the only word Arthur would let his teachers use to describe him, and if one of them used anything like "wonderful" or "proficient" you'd see him bump up everything- projects, extra credit, staying after school to study and assist the teachers. Perfection was key, and it didn't come from making friends or toiling away with popularity class.

Arthur smiled a little to himself as he got up from his desk chair. "I'm going out," he informed his roommate, Roderich. The Austrian turned up his head, peering at him over the lens of his glasses, staring at him for a few seconds. "If you must," he replied just as monotonously as his roommate, before returning to his laptop to continue his thesis.

Taking his crisp standard blue jacket, Arthur walked out the door without another word. His dorm was a house, really, on the outlying part of campus that was really part of the outside world. It was shared with Roderich, another student at the top of society- from some old Austrian noble family. Deciding that it would be a nice idea to go out to the café for a quick frappe, Arthur set out towards the main campus. All his assignments were finished, anyways.

Mathias played around with his straw of his watermelon smoothie. He took a large bite out of his burger, munching thoughtfully. Think. Thinkthinkthinkthinkthink. Save your skin here. What could he do for a main focus and details of his essay? Come on, there had to be something!

He plucked the straw off, tore away the plastic cover of the top of his drink, put the mixture to his lips, and gulped the entire thing down. The alcohol that was slipped into his order by request (and a bit of bribery) only put a slight buzz inside of him. It didn't help.

Looking around the café, it was all but empty. There was a cute, slightly mousey Taiwanese girl typing away on her pink laptop while occasionally sipping from a sweet berry iced tea, the condensation dripping down onto the surface of her laptop every so often. Hanging out by the counter was the Frenchie, that prankster German, and the weary Spanish kid. In the far corner, reading The Good Earth while sipping away at a mocha frappe, was that English kid with a stick up his ass.

He looked from his current pathetic slouch at the counter by the window, to the mixture of people, before smiling devilishly.