Chapter 3 – First Week at the Academy Part 2
On Wednesday morning, after two hours of swimming, she took her seat and pulled out her textbook, notebook and pen. The professor was a balding, middle-aged Acamarian. He was recognisable by the vertical crease in his forehead and introduced himself as Professor Spalding. At the mention of his name, one sarcastic cadet choked out 'Professor Balding!' and earned a stern glance from the Professor. Then the role was called, and Zia was the first name, again.
"This subject is Principles of Biology," Professor Spalding announced. He tapped a ruler against Zia's desk, and she jumped. "Here, we seek to understand the four unifying principles that form the foundation of modern biology: cell theory, evolutionary theory, the gene theory and the principle of homeostasis." He handed out their course outlines and Zia examined hers.
Course Outline: BIOL 111
Week 1 – Overview
Week 2 – Cell Theory Part 1
Week 3 – Cell Theory Part 2
Week 4 – Evolutionary Theory Part 1
Week 5 – Evolutionary Theory Part 2
Week 6 – Gene Theory Part 1
Week 7 – Gene Theory Part 2
Week 8 – Homeostasis Part 1
Week 9 – Homeostasis Part 2
Week 10 – Assessment on previous nine topics
Professor Spalding was slightly crazy but excellent at teaching. Zia found his class entertaining and couldn't wait for Friday, but she was still happy to hear the bell ring for the end of class. The room emptied quickly, with most people having the same thoughts as her. She had two hours until her next class and lunch was the first thing that came to mind. She donned her hood and she kept her head down as she made her way across the Quad, a large grass space in the centre of each block, towards the Cafeteria, her eyes on her map. She was so focused on her map that-
"Ah!" She hit the ground and her satchel spilled open. Whoever she'd bumped into darted forward and knelt beside her, grabbing her things before they blew away.
"More care is advised, cadet," they said. She recognised the voice.
"I'm sorry Professor," she said meekly, standing up. "It was my first class in Block-B and I needed a map." Well that was embarrassing.
"My apologies, Miss Abbott," Professor Spock said, passing her the satchel. She shouldered it and glanced around once at the powdery ground. It wasn't snowing, but a cruel wind bit at her cheeks.
"Would it be too much to ask you to show me where the Cafeteria is, Professor?" she asked nervously. His expression didn't change until he nodded affirmation.
"I was just on my way there myself," he said, before treading away across the snow. Zia ran to catch up and fell into step with him. They walked in silence until reaching the Cadet Union Building. "It is just through the door on the far right," Professor Spock told her.
"Thank you, Professor," she said, smiling slightly. He blinked once at her and turned, striding up the corridor towards the textbook hire. Zia pulled down her hood and walked into the Cafeteria, trying to muster up as much courage as she could. This time, no one stared in surprise. She even received a few nods and smiles, to which she replied in turn. There was hot soup and coffee that day, and Zia took a generous serving of soup before pouring a strong black coffee. She would need the beverage before long to get through the long nights of study.
Tara sat alone at a table in the corner. Zia hesitated, then turned to sit at a different table, but Tara spotted her.
"Zia, over here!"
There was no way out of it now. Zia pushed her way through the tables, her eyes flicking around her as she looked for anything she could trip over. Just as she was about to reach Tara, the Bolian from her physics class pushed in front of her with his fingers wrapped around his own tray.
"Hey," he said, "I'm sorry for Monday."
"It's okay," she said, looking away. He ploughed on.
"Look, I'm sorry for being rude. You just caught me by surprise. I never thought I'd see a Vulcan at the Academy, let alone in my class. I hate to start off on the wrong foot. Can we be friends?"
She hesitated for a second. Ugly memories forced their way into her brain and she shook them aside. Starfleet Academy was about taking risks. "Sure…"
"Awesome! Where were you sitting?"
"Just there." Zia led him over to where Tara sat, and they joined her.
"Who's this?" Tara asked, taking a sip of her soup.
"This is Blair Turon. He's in my physics class. Blair, this is Tara Dillard, my roommate."
"What's your major?" Blair asked her.
"Computers and mathematics," she replied promptly. "What about you?"
"Physics and engineering," he grinned.
"That's an odd combination. I like it."
Blair smiled crookedly at her and gulped down his juice. "Hey Abbott, what do you think of the physics homework? Did you find it easy?"
"I think so," Zia replied, swallowing some soup. "I reckon that Professor Spock made it easy on purpose to lull us into a false sense of security."
"Wait, Professor Spock?"
Both Blair and Zia turned at Tara's question. "Yeah," he replied.
"In one of my classes I overheard some cadets who'd just been in his class, and they were talking about him. Apparently, he's half-Vulcan and half-human! He rejected the offer to go into science on Vulcan and came to Starfleet, and he graduated at the top of his year. He's been here for four years in the same teaching post."
"He was a good professor," Zia said. "He's very well-informed about the subject."
"But it's so weird! He's only half-Vulcan and you're more human than he is, even though you're fully Vulcan."
They both looked at Zia, as if they wanted to hear her story as to why she was so human in her behaviour. "I don't want to talk about it," she said, finishing off her soup. She gulped down her coffee dregs and left the table. Blair and Tara exchanged glances.
"Let's not mention it again," Tara told him.
"Agreed," Blair nodded.
o.O.o
Tara was in Zia's Finite Mathematics class. The Vulcan fully expected her roommate to sit with the other girls and had to mask her surprise when she sat next to her. It was the first time ever that Zia had spoken to the person sitting beside her about something not education-related.
They ended up spending the evening together in the library doing homework. The whole situation confused her. No peer had ever voluntarily done work with her. It was… nice. Tara told her about a party Friday night and invited her, but Zia declined. Just the thought of a party was terrifying enough.
Thursday morning dragged on purely because at two o'clock Zia had her second physics class. She loitered outside the classroom for the hour before it began and, with ten minutes to go, she entered and took the same seat that she had on Monday. She tugged off her jacket and draped it over the back of her chair. All morning her stomach had churned and she couldn't figure out why.
Professor Spock came through the door calmly just before the bell rang. He took off his fur-trimmed jacket and set his books down on the lectern, flipping through them for a second, oblivious to the cadets in his room. Every eye in the room was on him and a few cadets in the back snickered.
"For a Vulcan he sure doesn't care about our education," one cadet whispered. At the whisper, Professor Spock's head shot up and his eyes narrowed in on the cadet.
"Perhaps Mister Bishop would like to repeat that statement," he said scathingly. Although the professor's face didn't change, Zia noticed his shoulders were tense.
"Uh, no Professor," Bishop stammered. For a second, the ghost of a smirk appeared on Professor Spock's face, but then it was gone. Zia blinked, surprised that she could read him so easily. Was it because they were both Vulcan? That had to be it.
"Good. Now that we have that sorted, perhaps we can get on with the class. The topic for this class today is the theory and experiment of physics. Please turn to page 4 and could Mister Bishop read the introduction."
There was a rustling of pages and Bishop read the passage, his voice low and disgruntled.
"What does this tell us?" Professor Spock said coolly once Bishop was finished. Zia examined his set jaw and realised that she wasn't the only Vulcan who'd been through tough times. If what Tara had said was true, and he was half-Vulcan half-human, and subject to as much ridicule as she had. Gaining his respect as a cadet seemed the most logical choice of action.
As another cadet answered the question, Blair leant in to Zia. "I really am sorry about before. How can I make it up?"
"It's okay, you don't have to apologise," she whispered.
"You wanna catch up in the library after classes on Friday and study?"
"Um, okay."
"Awesome."
Professor Spock's gaze flicked over to them and they quietened, paying attention to the class again. He turned on the projector and showed them various papers that related to theories of parallel universes and read them out. Apparently, there were any numbers of parallel universes, all of them existing in unison with each other and providing various different paths. This time, their homework was an essay on the levels of parallel universes.
The bell rang loud and clear, and the class filed out. Zia walked to the other end of the corridor, where her next class was, and sat down to learn more about Federation history.
o.O.o
"Where do they serve coffee after-hours?" Zia wondered.
"Over there!" Tara pointed. "We need to be quick. I want to get this homework done ASAP and we don't want to keep Blair waiting."
The two women stood in line for coffee and were there for barely five minutes before heading across the Quad to the library, their mugs cradled in cold hands. It snowed hard and the sky was dark grey. The Academy lights flickered through the haze, directing them to the library. It was warm inside and filled with cadets studying, doing homework and talking quietly.
It was a good environment. She was determined to keep her head down, study hard, and get good results. Then, with any luck, she would serve aboard a Starship and put her knowledge to use. Only the highest achievers got that privilege, and she dearly wished to be among them. Excellent results didn't come from slacking off or going to bars after class. It came from countless nights spent in the library with noses in books and pens to paper. Zia liked hard work and strived to do well, which was part of the reason she'd been accepted into the Academy. She knew for a fact that thousands of people applied every year, but only two hundred were accepted. Just to be accepted into the Academy was an honour.
Blair was squashed into a corner, his blue skin making him instantly recognisable. He had a few books spread out in front of him, pen to paper and his tongue sticking out. Zia and Tara joined him, taking out their own books.
"Are you doing math homework?" Blair asked in a low voice.
"Yep," Tara replied. "Some boring stuff about calculations and the roots of symbols. I'll be back in a second; just gotta get the right book."
Zia sat next to Blair and they got started on their essay's on parallel universes. After that was done, Zia had to do what Tara was currently doing with maths. The homework was never-ending.
After an hour of silence, Blair held out his book to Zia.
"That looks okay. Zia, could you please read over? Spelling isn't my strong suit."
Nodding, Zia took his page and scanned the content. She corrected a few errors in numbers and spelling and handed it back to him complete. Then she finished her own essay and moved onto math.
It took almost two more hours for them to finish all their work. They closed their books gratefully and checked the time. Nine o'clock.
"The party started ages ago," Tara groaned. "I didn't expect it to take this long."
"Is there still time?" Zia asked.
"Obviously. But it just means that everyone will already be trashed when I get there." Tara packed her bag and slung it over her shoulder.
"Can I come?" Blair asked.
"Yeah, sure."
"Zia?" He looked at her.
"She's already said no," Tara said. "I'll be back later, okay?"
"Okay." Zia watched Tara and Blair leave the library. It was almost empty now, most of the cadets either in bed or partying.
She left the library and headed for her dorm room. It was cold outside, and snow continued to fall, coating the ground with a thick white powder. She folded her arms to retain warmth. The wind had dropped off, but it was eerily silent, the sound of her footsteps muffled by the snow. Absolutely nothing moved except for the snow and the occasional light flickering as someone passed by. She couldn't wait to get away from the Quad and get to her room, where she could curl up in bed and sleep.
As she reached the Cadet Union Building, she traced the path to her room, her footsteps echoing through the empty corridors. At any moment she expected someone to jump out and scare her. If that happened, she would hit the roof. She scared easily. Another set of footsteps joined hers and she peered around into other corridors curiously. What she saw was a pair of cadets on their way to the party, looking excited. Hopefully Tara would already be gone, and Blair too. It wasn't that Zia was ungrateful for their familiarity, she welcomed it, but she'd spent a majority of her life alone and she valued her privacy.
Thankfully, her room was empty. Clothes were strewn across Tara's bed and Zia bit back a chuckle. She'd obviously dressed in a great hurry and rushed out, leaving the mess behind. Zia had helped her organise everything, so she knew where it all went. It took all of ten minutes to clean up the room and then there was nothing to do. She laid in bed and closed her eyes.