AN: OK, so for this, the flashback to 2003 is in regular font, and the present day interruptions are in italics. Just to clear that up.

I promise I'll have the next chapter up quicker, but school kind of got in the way for this one. I'l probably update every week to two weeks.

It was the first day of the semester. I was getting ready for my first class of the day. It was going to start in about ten minutes, and kids were starting to trickle in. Most of them were your typical college student, but there were two that really stood out. They may be the oddest couple I have ever seen.

"Even odder than Mark and Roger?" Maureen asked with a small smile.

"Way odder than Mark and Roger. Even odder than you and Joanne." Everyone nodded in appreciation.

The first one was, for lack of a better word, a hick. There's really no other way to describe him. He had a mullet and was wearing ratty jeans, boots, and a flannel shirt with the sleeves ripped off. Like I said, hick.

The other boy was very young looking; he couldn't have been older than 13 or 14.

"A 13 year old at MIT?" Joanne asked skeptically.

"That does sound a little unlikely," Mark said, looking up from the camera.

"Do you want me to tell the story or not?"

"Right. Sorry. Continue."

He couldn't have been older than 13 or 14. He was trying to slouch, make it seem like he didn't care about anything here, but one look at his face ruined that illusion. He was drinking in everything he saw, bright blue eyes shining. He obviously couldn't wait for class to start. He was a nice contrast to the other kids, who tended to take philosophy because they thought it was just crazy thinking and it would be easy. Idiots.

The boys sat down in the front of the room. Hick-boy was blabbing away non-stop, and I don't think he realized his friend wasn't listening to a word he said. I started speaking to get everyone's attention.

"Now, I'm not like most professors. I don't like doing lectures and papers and all that shit, cause that's not philosophy, and I'd have to grade it all later. I prefer class-wide discussions. Also unlike most of your professors, I make an effort to get to know my students. Not just your names, either, which is a hell of a lot more than most of them. Any question?" The really young boy raised his hand. "Yes, um…?"

"Zane Donovan."

"Oh, so the kid is Zane. I was gonna put money on Hick-boy. I can totally see you dating him," Roger said with a smirk. Mark smacked him on the back of the head and shushed him. He lounged across the couch, sticking his feet in Mark's lap. Mark made a face at him. "Carry on."

"Yes, Zane?"

"Do you give the Umbridge speech to every class, or are we just special? And while we're on the subject of Umbridge, will you be wearing a pink cardigan to class one day? I'd like to know ahead of time so I can remember to bring my camera." An evil smirk was on his face. Several students were trying not to laugh, and his friend stealthily gave him a high-five under the table. (Well, he tried to do it stealthily, at any rate. I think he was a little stoned.) I had to admit, it was pretty funny, but I couldn't let him know that.

"You think you're real clever, don't you, Donovan?"

"Hm, yeah, I'd say I think I'm pretty clever. You, on the other hand…"

"Cocky, too. I'll have to remember that."

"Way I see it, it's only cocky if you think you're better than you actually are."

"I think we're gonna have a lot of fun together this semester, boy."

"Why, Professor Collins, I'm flattered, but I'm only 14, so that's kind of illegal. And not in the fun way. Frankly, you're not really my type, anyway."

"Am I the only one who thinks this kid is awesome?" Roger laughed.

"I think he's a bit of a smart ass, like a certain someone else I know," Mark replied with a pointed look. Roger stuck his foot in his face.

"Keep talking, Collins, just ignore us." Collins rolled his eyes at his two best friends.

"That's alright, you're not my type, either. I prefer my boys old enough that they don't have to live with mommy and daddy anymore." His smirk faltered when I mentioned his parents, but he recovered before anyone else noticed.

"Just cause it's jailbait doesn't mean you can't want it. Wouldn't blame you if you did, either. I am pretty damn sexy."

"By your definition, that was cocky." The class looked like they weren't sure how to handle the exchange. Which side do you pick in a situation like this: the snarky kid, or the professor?

"At least I don't look homele-"

"Zane! Dude, shut up!" His redneck friend grabbed his arm and pulled him back into hiss seat.

"You should listen to your friend there, Zaney-Boy. Pretty obvious he's the brains of the operation." Zane opened his mouth, but his friend smacked him on the back of the head. He slumped down in his seat, crossing his arms over his chest, and pouted. "What's your name?" I asked Hick-boy.

"Ash."

"Well, Ash, you keep a close eye on him. I have a feeling he's gonna need someone to keep him in line." Zane snorted as if to say 'Yeah, right, like he could keep me in line', but I ignored him. "He starts being a smartass, just tell me and I can give him another verbal bitch-slap in front of everyone."

"From where I'm sitting, you were getting a pretty good verbal smacking yourself, old man," Zane shot back before Ash could stop him. I flashed him a copy of his own permanent smirk, but otherwise ignored him again.

"Now, getting on with the actual class part of class…"

"This kid sounds like a Mini-Collins!" Maureen said from here seat on Joanne's lap.

"Just wait, the comparisons get better. There's a reason he was my favorite student. He was a good kid. Well, not really, but you get my point. He had no respect for authority, but then, I don't either."

"I can't believe this kid was going to MIT when he was 14, especially with an attitude like that," Joanne said.

"It gets even less believable when you learn he was starting his sophomore year." Mark did that weird little eyebrow-quirk-thingy that he does.

"I'm not buying that."

"I swear on Angel and Mimi's souls, I am telling the truth."

"Alright, we believe you. Now keep telling the story!" Roger demanded, looking and sounding like a little kid.

"OK, OK. A couple weeks later, I managed to start class off with a bang…"

As always, review!

Hobey-ho,

anti-pookie