Light was having a boring day. His head rested on the lecture hall's desk, and his eyes drooped sleepily. Despite the recent appearance of L, college classes were proving to be as boring as ever, some actually being worse than high school. The most annoying part was that, unlike his previous educational experience, he actually had to pay attention. It wasn't necessarily challenging, but the information was new, and daydreaming was simply not an option.
It was these rare days that Light wished he could just be a normal teenager. Then he could be focused on parties and socializing rather than being perfection and working toward a new world. Plus, he was horribly tired from staying up late last night with his "writing assignment". Maybe he should lower his aspirations, be more average...
"I am surprised that Light-kun could think in such a way," came a familiar voice from beside him. Light's head snapped up, suddenly remembering the man beside him. He must have said that last thought aloud.
"About what, Ryuga?" he asked, using L's alias for school.
"In the short time I have known you," L explained, "you have never once lowered your ambitions or strayed from your goals. Why now?" Even if he had a point, the brown-haired teen nevertheless was drawn to argument from L's mere voice.
"Don't you ever feel the strain of excellence? We can't all deal with stress by biting our thumbs."
"Hmm," the detective pondered, biting his thumb then seemingly for the sole purpose of annoying Light, "I suppose so, but that is no reason to long to be average. Beware the lollipop of mediocrity; lick once, and you suck forever."
"...you have the weirdest advice," Light stated frankly. But he really couldn't make any further arguments to L's unorthodox warning. And, ironically enough, that same piece of advice would later fuel his desire to become a god even more. But it also helped to keep L eternally in his memory.