"Good luck Jim."

Jim gave his friends a small grin. "Thanks guys. I'll catch up with you at dinner." He turned from his group and took a deep breath. Usually when he went to see the head instructor it was because he deserved to be in trouble. This would be a new one for him. Stealing himself against his nerves, the teen knocked sharply upon the door.

"Come in."

Jim stepped in and nodded to the young secretary. "Hello Miss Wazowski," he kept his eyes fixed on her single blue eye, even if her snake hair was a bit distracting. The green skin and unusual number of body parts hadn't phased him, but he wasn't quite used to trying to ignore that many faces so near to the one he was focused on. "I'm here to see the head of instructors."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Milly gave the young human an apologetic smile. "He's gone off planet for a few days. The admiral himself is filling in right now. Do you know which office is his?"

"The, um, the admiral?" Jim hadn't ever actually spoken to the man before, and the idea of doing so now was admittedly rather scary.

"Yes, he told me himself that he will be taking those duties this week."

"Uh, no."

Milly blinked her single eye at him. Her snakes tipped their heads curiously in various directions. "Oh, actually, yes. He did tell me that."

Jim's face heated up. "I meant no, I don't know which door is his. Sorry." He ducked his head in embarrassment and studied the tops of his boots.

Milly giggled. One of her snakes batted its eyes at him. "Oh, it's quite alright! Last door at the end of the second hallway." She pressed a button at her desk and the large door behind her unlocked. "Go ahead on through. I'll page him."

"Thank you." Jim hurried out of the antechamber and through to the office corridors. As the door was closing behind him he could barely hear Milly's voice on the intercom.

"Sir. Recruit Hawkins is here to see you."

There were only two hallways he could have gone down, so Jim proceeded to the second one before turning left. The long corridor was lit by bright fluorescents, highlighting the names and ranks of the men and women that worked behind each door. The soft carpet muffled the sound of Jim's boots as he headed for the end of the hall.

Admiral D. de Châteaupers

Even the nameplate was intimidating. Jim drew a deep breath to try and steel himself against his nerves. He swallowed hard as he read it again. He raised his fist and knocked.

"Come in." Contrary to the prior time he had heard those words, this voice was deep and a little gruff.

Jim grasped the handle and pushed. Stepping into the room was almost like stepping into a new time period. The room was filled with furniture made of wood and fabrics, harking back to a style that Jim had only ever seen in pictures and drawings from the fairytales his mother loved to read him. The main colors were blues and brown, lending a soft touch to the room. Though there was lighting in the ceiling, the admiral had a candle sitting on his desk to write by.

"Sir." Jim bowed as he awaited acknowledgement.

The admiral nodded to him and set his feathered pen to the side. "Mister Hawkins. I heard that you wished to speak with me."

"Yes sir, thank you. I wanted to see about having my service days overturned."

The admiral arched an eyebrow as he studied Jim. His age showed in the wrinkles on his pale skin and the way his blond hair was streaked with white, but his eyes were still clear and sharp and Jim had no doubts that the man could easily outmatch him in any sort of fight. It took everything the young recruit had not to squirm under the intense gaze.

"They were assigned unfairly, and I don't mind serving days I've earned, but these were unreasonable." Jim felt the need to justify himself the longer the silence stretched.

"I did not ask for your opinion." The man selected a paper off his desk as he finally took his eyes off Jim.

Jim flushed. "Sorry sir."

"I have the report from your instructor here." He set the paper down between them both, facing himself. The secretary must have printed it off for him. "And I have read it over. Very impressive, really. Five days. I haven't seen this many assigned at once before, though I have been told this is because I have not kept up with some of the more troublesome recruits."

"You mean Braxton."

The corner of the admiral's lip twitched, the only hint to his thoughts on Jim's comment. "I was not given any names." Back to business, the man schooled his face into the usual serious expression he was known for. "Now. It says here you were assigned your days for disrupting class and for profanity. Both reasons are well within the right of a teacher to assign service to a recruit."

Jim bit his tongue hard to keep from speaking up in his defense again. He did not think it would do him well to argue at this moment.

"I will allow you to explain why you believe they were unreasonably given. However I will not accept excuses. You will state the facts as they are, not declare yourself innocent. Is that clear?"

"Yes sir." Jim drew in a slow breath as he organized his mind. "I feel-" he cut himself off quickly. "Sorry. The service days are unreasonable because Instructor Xelo offered to allow me to teach the class. He was providing nothing of value to my education, and he disliked that I was bored with his method of instruction. I mean, I'll accept I should least have been pretending to pay attention, but that man can bore a mountain to sleep! So he asked if I wanted to teach, and I even checked to make sure he was being serious, because I've seen traps like that. You can ask Matthew, he was right there. He was helping me! Or Mohamad, or Hogarth! They all heard it! It's not my fault if I'm a better instructor than he is."

The admiral did not seem moved by Jim's explanation. "And the swearing?"

Jim studied his shoes again. "When he assigned me the three days for teaching, I said 'whalefilth' and he gave me two more. I still think it's whalefilth though."

The admiral picked the paper back up and read it over once more. "I will review footage from the class. You will be notified if I decide to clear any of your service days, and your schedule will be updated. My word will be the final say on this matter, and you will accept whatever I judge to be fair."

Jim nodded. "Yes sir. Thank you for hearing my case, sir."

The intercom on the admiral's desk interrupted them. "Sir." Milly's voice was as light and chipper as always. "D'nahsy is here to see you."

"Thank you, Milly. I will meet him out there. I have some papers to bring you anyway."

Jim spoke up quickly. "Can I carry your papers sir?"

Admiral de Châteaupers raised an eyebrow. "Are you attempting to sway my decision in your favor?"

"If I was, I wouldn't admit to it, sir." Jim replied with a cheeky grin. "Sy is my friend, sir. I was hoping to check on his hands, he injured them during the obstacle course Saturday, and I haven't seen him since. I thought if I took the papers for you, I would be able to speak with him a minute before sending him back to you."

The admiral frowned at that news. "How was he injured?"

"He grabbed the line connected to my harness, sir, and held me up so I wouldn't fall. He's a good teammate, sir, and I would partner with him again in a heartbeat." Jim couldn't keep his pride from his voice as he recalled his partner's actions. Having a friend that would react so quickly and selflessly to help you was something you could never buy.

"I see." The admiral stood up and handed Jim a stack of papers. "Let's go then."

It was hard not to feel awkward leading the way down the hallway. Jim held the door for the admiral and crossed over to set the papers on Milly's desk. "Thank you for letting me in, Miss Wazowski. These are from the admiral." Turning away, he couldn't stop the grin that erupted across his face. "Sy!"

Sy smiled back at him. "Jim! Why are you here?"

Jim shrugged. "I got in trouble again, you get used to it. How are your hands?"

Sy's cheeks went from white to bright pink. He flicked his eyes past Jim's shoulder to the imposing figure by the doorway. Ducking his head he sheepishly answered. "They hurt, but the doctor was able to look them over yesterday. He gave me some stuff for them."

"Braxton keeps telling me you wouldn't have this issue if you'd replaced your arms with machinery."

Sy shook his head. "I get the feeling that's Braxton's solution to most things."

Jim shrugged. "If he could be a brain inside a robot, I think he'd be happier than anything. He said he's planning on saving up to get his other ear replaced. Something about sonic waves or underwater sonar or space sonar? I'm not actually sure, he was all over the place."

Sy laughed. "I'll see you later Jim."

Jim nodded. "Sure thing! I'll watch for you at dinner. We always eat at table 8-B. Bring 638."

"628. I'll be there." Sy turned and headed over to the admiral. Jim gave one last wave and stepped out into the hall. Now he just needed to find his friends.