Ah, well, this prompt spoke to me so I figured I'd try and attempt it. I haven't written anything Non-Academic in a very long time so I apologize beforehand on how this comes off! But I do hope there's some enjoyment in it ;3;
Ludwig let out a long sigh. He was trying to calm his nerves, really, but he was finding it rather difficult as he stared at the door labeled A-327. He checked his schedule for the fifth time to confirm that yes, this was the room he was going to be in for his first university English class but he still had his doubts. What if the office changed the room last minute? What if he found himself in the wrong English class? That it was English 200 as opposed to 100?
He felt his grip shaking as he held his books a bit tighter. What if he became that student that was in the wrong class his first day? And everyone so forth called him names based on it? It was too much. He should just drop the class and avoid the embarrassment.
“Excuse me?” He nearly jumped out of his skin as a female voice came from behind him. “Are you waiting for English 100?”
“Y…Yes.” He said, trying not to sound so nervous and frightened. His eyes locked with sparkling blue ones and he felt himself blush. He never was good at communicating with girls.
“Oh, perfect!” She piped up, flashing him a big grin which made him fidget. “I was so-o-o-o worried I got the wrong fucking class! And then I would look like a fucking fool! You know?” She gave a laugh and he nervously laughed back. At least he wasn’t alone with that thought. “Can you imagine? How embarrassing that would be!”
“V-very.” He nodded and she laughed even more. She was starting to frighten him.
“Well, hey, at least if this is the wrong class for English, we’ll be embarrassed together!” She smirked and he gave her another weak smile. If that was the case, at least he wouldn’t be alone. It comforted him a bit. He looked down at her and her smile faltered before she slapped her forehead and made him blink. “Oh, fuck, where are my manners? Hey, I’m Samantha.”
She held out her hand and he took it for a moment, shaking it. “Ludwig.”
“Hey, Ludwig.” She grinned before the sound of a door clicking caught their attention. Both moved aside as the class before them began piling out, the teacher behind them calling for them to remember ‘Monday’. The blank faces moved past and to his right he noticed more students coming from the hall, standing around aimlessly as they waited for the others to leave. At least he knew there was definitely a class going to be in here.
The teacher of the previous class filed out, a student already trailing him to ask a question and the bodies began piling in, separating off to claim seats. The back filled up right away. Ludwig nervously walked to the front, stopping for a second as a student took off his bag and claimed the end seat on the second table, and took a seat. He looked over his shoulder, watching the rest of his assumed classmates not go anywhere near the front and he sighed. He hoped at least someone would sit up at the front table. Then he wouldn’t feel so much like a nerd.
“Hey!” He was pulling out his glasses when Samantha flopped down in the seat next to him, her grin wide as she watched him put them on. “Up at the front, eh?”
He gave her a meek smile and began to mumble about bad eyesight. She shrugged it off. “Naw, I get you. Hey, so, can I borrow a pen?”
He already knew he probably wasn’t going to like her.
“Sure.” He relented, pulling out an extra pen from his bag when the door slammed behind them, making both of them jump. All eyes turned to stare at the one who caused the disruption and they were met with the back of a man’s head, his silver hair seeming to shine under the bad lighting. Samantha let out a scoff.
“Great, a geezer.” She muttered but her jaw dropped as the man turned around. Actually, everyone’s in the class seemed to, including Ludwig’s. The ‘geezer’ wasn’t old at all but looked barely above the age of some of the students in the room, despite his hair color. He was in a simple long sweater, holding a laptop but it was already clear he was their authority figure. He looked around and gave a shrug. It seemed to make the class relax.
“Fucking doors in this building.” He cracked a smile, his eyes reflecting a strange mixture of red and purple. “Projectors and doors. Things a University will never fix!”
His comment got a few scattered laughs and he made his way up to the front, the atmosphere cooling off from its previous tense state. Ludwig watched him, wondering how a man so young could be a teacher when his eye caught Samantha’s. She was practically drooling.
“Oh wow!” She nudged Ludwig in the ribs and he frowned, scooting a bit away from her. “Man, I hope that hottie is our teacher!”
“…Mm.”
The man placed his laptop down on the desk at the front and grabbed a bunch of cords, fiddling with them for a minute before he hooked up the device. A few seconds the projector in the room was whirling and the words ENGLISH 100 came up on the screen. Ludwig nearly let out a breath of relief. Well, at least he was in the right class.
“All right, let’s get started, shall we?” Their teacher spoke up, coming out to sit on the edge of the table where his laptop was. “Welcome to English 100…” He paused as the door opened and a few students trailed in, forced to sit at the empty seats at the front when none seemed available at the back. “Introduction to Literature.”
His eyebrow went up as a shuffling noise was heard and a student quickly got up, racing out of class. The man smiled, his chest rising as he gave a little laugh, his teeth showing through his grin. “Happens every class. At least one new student got the wrong door.” More chuckles came from throughout the room and Ludwig felt himself rest a bit easier. At least it wasn’t him. “Anyways, beside the point. I take it that you’re all here because this is an elective and you need it to pass University.”
There were scattered mumbles but one hand raised. He pointed absently to it. “I’m here because this is my major.”
His eyebrows rose once again. “A fine major you’ve chosen then! English, as you’ll come to find out, is really the stupidest language ever made.” His statement got an awkward silence. “No, it’s true. What other language in the world has so many rules and words ripped from other languages? German, French, Indian, Japanese… English takes them all, muddles them up and spits it out back at you. It’s stupid!”
A few eyes went to the girl who was majoring in it and she was blushing, almost embarrassed she said anything. Their teacher merely grinned.
“But! That’s the beauty of it! People have taken this utterly shitty language, bent it all up to create something so complex it gets its own major in University. Those who take this major and go through it will get knowledge not many people in this world know anymore – since the invention of phones and chat speak. You will gain the knowledge of how to understand a language that, in all accounts, should not have been able to exist as a dominating force. I congratulate you on that.” His finger pointed again and the girl looked a bit more relieved but still embarrassed. He seemed to sense it and smoothed his hair back, scanning the room before he started again.
“Anyways, I digress. But I am your teacher through this dreadful language, Dr. Gilbert Belischmidt. I prefer for you to use Dr. Belischmidt but I won’t kill you if you use ‘Mr’.” He smirked. “My office hours are from one until two-thirty on Monday and Friday and from one to two on Wednesday. My email address is… here, I’ll write it on the board.” He slid off the edge of his table and made his way to the board, scribbling it down messily. Ludwig immediately copied it along with this office hours. He hoped he would never have to use them but just in case he did it was better to have them down.
“You can contact me through this or wait for my office hours. If these hours don’t work, talk to me and we’ll make an appointment.” He went back to his position sitting on the table. He waited as he saw a few people furiously scribbling before he began his introduction again. “In this course we’ll be going through short stories, poetry, and finally novels. I will not be doing Shakespeare this year and damn proud of it.” He crossed his arms in triumph. “Our English Head, Dr. Kirkland insists we do one every year but I find those boring plays usually make up the worst two weeks of teaching so I’m scraping it.”
There were a few sighs of relief and cheers from the back. Dr. Belischmidt grinned even wider, showing off his canines before he began once again. “I know. But that means I expect a good deliverance on the novels. This year I’ve picked ‘Fight Club’ by Chuck Palahniuk and ‘The Chessmen of Mars’ by Edgar Rice Burroughs, which you will need to buy. You will be expected to do 3 papers for me this term. One summary, one analysis, and one long essay.” He paused at the groans. “The books I’ve assigned are up on the University’s website for those of you who didn’t get a sent out package detailing such items and all are currently selling in the bookstore but I am unaware of how many copies are there.”
He paused, his jaw moving before he turned back to look at the screen. A moment later he frowned before he slapped his hands on his thighs and scanned the room. “And… That’s about it. Buy those books, read the first chapter on Reading a Story and be prepared on Friday to talk about it.”
No one in the class moved except for Ludwig, who furiously was scribbling down the assignment. He underlined ‘Get Books’ a few times before he gazed up with the rest of the class. Dr. Belischmidt shrugged again and patted his thigh.
“You can all go, you know.”
His words were immediately met with the sounds of bags being collected. Ludwig looked back down at his paper, reading his scribbled words when he heard a bag rustle next to him. Samantha was packing up her things. He felt relieved in witnessing this.
“Awesome! I can tell I’m gonna love this class!” She smiled at Ludwig and turned to Dr. Belischmidt. She gave a giggle and he smiled at her before she kicked her chair in and turned to Ludwig one last time. “See you, handsome.”
He felt his cheeks burn brightly at her words and began slowly packing up, his mind already whirling on how to get away from her next class. He needed to secure a seat somewhere else. Maybe behind him.
He slung his bag over his shoulder and looked up to Dr. Belischmidt, watching him unplug his laptop. He hesitated for a second, wondering if there was anything he should ask him before he decided not and headed out.
He had done it.
He survived his first class.
--
The cafeteria was a loud buzz of voices. Ludwig winced as he walked by it, his bag now heavy with five classes worth of books. He had nearly wept when the bill came up on how much he owed but he had enough to cover the expense. It just meant his food budget was now going to be greatly reduced.
He winced when he caught a whiff of greasy pizza trailing from the cafeteria. It was if the universe was taunting him for choosing to go to a University.
A few minutes later he was outdoors, his chest relaxing as it took in the early fall air, the sound of traffic filling the air. He looked up at the stone building that made up his campus and felt a bit of pride well up inside of him, a smile crossing his face. Even though he was probably going to be eating a mixture of potatoes and rice for the next year, he couldn’t help but feel a bit proud that he had made it into University. He was finally making something of himself.
He wondered if his grandmother would be proud if she saw him.
“Hey, Ludwig!” A voice called behind him and he paused, turning to see a blond man running towards him. The smile disappeared from his face and he calmly waited as the man caught up, doubling over a minute to catch his breath before he leaned up and gave him a thumbs up. Ludwig only shook his head.
“Sheesh!” A breathless voice came out. “I need to work out… I’m out of shape!”
“Maybe you should stop eating a diet of only hamburgers.” Ludwig chastised as he began to slowly walk, waiting when Alfred fell behind. His friend didn’t seem to care for his criticism.
“Ludwig… Your body runs on protein. If I cut that out, how would I get that intake? Are you advocating I cut out an important building block in helping me live? I think not! I just need to hit the gym a few times.” He waved him off and Ludwig rolled his eyes. He should have figured out by now any words of advice on his friend’s diet would not be taken but he still felt obligated to give it. Just in case he ever did consider it.
Alfred fell into stride next to him and the two began towards the dorms where they conveniently shared a room, talking about their classes. Ludwig immediately found himself lamenting, something he thought he wouldn’t do until second year.
“Psychology isn’t what I expected.” He sighed, frowning as Alfred pulled a burger out of his pocket, taking an abnormally large bite. “Take slower bites.”
“Yes, mom.” Alfred rolled his eyes. “What’s wrong with Psychology? I loved that class.”
Ludwig shrugged, looking down a bit guilty. “We’ve already got a test coming up next week. I flipped through the book and I don’t know if I can handle the course. It’s an awful lot of information for an introductory course.”
“Yeah. I do remember it being fucking hell, but fun.” His friend replied, taking a moment to digest his ‘food’. “What else do you have? Did you take Statistics?”
“No. I didn’t sign up in time. But I got into Sociology and History. Coupled with English and Anthropology…” Ludwig paused for a second. “I’m going to die of an overload.”
“I told you to space out your social sciences!” Alfred waved his hand, crumpling the wrapper up. “I don’t know why you insisted on taking them all so early!”
“It’s easy for you to say. You know what your major and minor are.” Ludwig said, frowning. Alfred seemed to beam at his comment. “I still don’t know what I want to do.”
“Dude, it’s been one day. You’ll figure out what interests you!”
“Yeah, I guess.”
“Hey, when’s your next class?” Alfred’s glasses reflected the sunlight for a moment before Ludwig saw his blue eyes staring at him with mischief. He frowned, almost afraid to answer.
“I have History at four.”
“Excellent!” His sleeve was grabbed before he could react. “Come on! The Boozehound has ten cent wings starting at two!”
“Alfred!” Ludwig began to protest but he was already being dragged across the sidewalk towards the intersection where a bunch of students were crossing, heading towards a bar.
“Come on! As a treat, I’ll let you buy me a plate!” Alfred paused for just a minute, his eyes lighting up as he looked at his miserable companion. “Welcome to University, Lud!”
Samantha was again sitting beside him, his pen lodged in her mouth as she stared at the front with a bored look. Ludwig scowled at her. It was the last time he would lend her a pen.
“Did you read today’s stuff?” She asked and he only gave a nod, looking down into his book with a hard expression. Maybe if he pretended to read, she would leave him alone. “What’s it about?”
“…If you read it, you’d know.” He mumbled lowly, trying to focus. Ironically, Psychology wasn’t his worst class now. It was English. When he was stuck with this girl.
“I don’t have a fucking book!” She complained loudly, her hand hitting the table. “The fucking bookstore was sold out! Not my fault!”
“There’s a copy in the library.” Ludwig said, a bit more sympathetic. She only scoffed at his suggestion, making him narrow his eyes.
“Please! Take out books? Who does that?” She snorted, leaning back up to scribble on the desk. Ludwig wished he wasn’t raised so strictly by his grandmother to never harm a woman because he wanted so badly to punch the girl next to him. He still didn’t understand why she was even there but before he could ask the door opened and he stiffened, looking over his shoulder as Dr. Belischmidt strode forth, laptop in his hands. He grinned at the class, looking down to the ones with open books.
“Glad to see a lot of you secured copies.” He commented, setting his laptop down before grabbing the familiar cords. “I heard the bookstore was short due to an overlap of English 104 using the same material as us.”
Samantha, with her annoying voice, immediately chirped up. “They’re still sold out! Some of us haven’t had a chance to get a copy! It really is affecting our success in school!”
Ludwig rolled his eyes. The only thing she was successful at was being a bitc-
“Not to worry, Samantha. I put a copy on hold at the library under my name for this class. You can sign it out for three hours to get your reading done while we wait for another shipment.” He smiled at her and she straightened in her chair, beaming.
“Oh, thank you, Gilbert!”
“Dr. Gilbert, if you please.”
Ludwig wanted to vomit. He buried his nose in his book, re-reading a sentence on prose for the one hundredth time when he felt an elbow jab his ribs. He looked at her with disdain.
“He is wonderful, isn’t he?” She asked in a dreamy voice. He shrugged and went back to his books. Slowly, he slid away from her. She didn’t seem to notice.
“I’ll remind you, next class your personal summaries of a short story from the book is due. I expect it handed in at the start of class. Please, don’t put any under my door.” He emphasized the ‘don’t’ quite heavily in his statement. “I share an office with several colleagues and one has high heels that will pierce and destroy papers on the floor that get in her way.”
The class giggled but Samantha’s rang out louder than anyone’s which caused Ludwig to chew his cheek, as he was prone to doing when he was displeased or stressed. He wondered if he could transfer into another class.
“Dr. Belischmidt.” A girl put her hand up in the back and his eyebrows lifted, indicating she could speak. “What if we’re having trouble with the assignment?”
Samantha turned to Ludwig and rolled her eyes. He glared at her, mentally hoping she would get the hint that she should fuck off before he turned back to his book. Why did she think they were friends?
“Come speak to me after class and we’ll see what you need help with. Or send me an email.” Dr. Belischmidt responded before he turned to his first slide. Immediately people began writing down the title.
“Point of View.” He repeated the topic. “So, what can you tell me about Point of View?” His red eyes turned to scan the crowd and Ludwig buried his face in his notes, trying to write slowly. He hated how Dr. Belischmidt did this – pick on people at random. It didn’t feel like teaching, more like torture.
His gaze narrowed in on a boy sitting at the back, imitating Ludwig’s motions on how not to get noticed. “Andrew.”
“Uh.”
“Tell me, what are the different types?”
Silence met his ears. The class shifted as the boy grabbed his text and began to rifle through it. Dr. Belischmidt’s eyebrows rose. He waited, patiently, until the boy got to the right page and listened to his answer of ‘Total Omniscience, Limited, Impartial, Editorial and Objective.’
“Good.” Was his only line of feedback at first. “Though it’s pronounced ‘Omnis-cience’, not ‘Omni-science.’” The boy flushed at his words and nodded. Defeated, Dr. Belischmidt let out a sigh. “Did anyone even read the material? I know it’s boring as shit, but come now.”
Ludwig contemplated raising his hand when he thought better of it. All throughout high school he was teased for being a nerd and a teacher’s pet. Now in University, he had a chance to blend in, to cast off the label of being a bookworm dork and be accepted for more than being the guy to go to when you wanted answers for homework. He sighed, staring at his notebook when the familiar high pitched voice began to speak.
“Ludwig read the material.”
Well, he closed his eyes, biting his cheek as hard as he could. So much for that.
“Ludwig.” Dr. Belischmidt seemed to coo, walking to the front so he could see him. Ludwig looked to him, his face pink, his eyes staring angrily every once in a while at Samantha. He hated her. “Can you give us the definitions – In your own words, of course.”
Ludwig let out a sigh and nodded. For a second he swore he saw Dr. Belischmidt gloating at his discomfort and embarrassment but he knew it was just his anger at Samantha acting up. He took a breath and began.
“Total Omniscience is when the narrator knows everything about the characters and story. Limited Omniscience is when we see into some characters minds but not all. Impartial Omniscience is when… there’s no bias on the actions the characters do. Editorial Omniscience is when we do get judgment on the characters actions and Objective point of view is when it’s seen from a third person and we don’t hear character thoughts.”
Dr. Belischmidt stared at him for a moment, his red eyes seeming to gleam for a moment under the light before he muttered out something. Ludwig frowned, looking at his book before his teacher cleared his throat, straightening. “Very good, Ludwig. So then, what would you say was the point of view used in A Tell Tale Heart?”
He winced a little. “Uh… Limited... I think?”
“Yes, very good! Anyone, other than Ludwig, know why?” His attention turned to the rest of class and he finally let out an exhale of adrenaline. He hated being put on the spot like that, especially when it wasn’t his choice. He looked at Samantha, who was staring dreamily up at Dr. Belischmidt and he shook his head in annoyance. The next time this came up, he was going to call her out. See how she liked it.
“Alright, good!” Ludwig snapped back to what was going on in class, completely missing a part of the discussion. “So, I want opinions now! What did those of you who read it think of The Tell Tale Heart? Hm?” His eyes scanned the room and everyone went silent. Ludwig looked over his shoulder, wondering if anyone was going to speak when he turned back and his eyes locked with Dr. Belischmidt’s. He almost whimpered. He knew he was trapped.
“Ludwig.” He frowned at his name. “What did you think?”
He remained silent for a few minutes, fidgeting. Dr. Belischmidt picked up on it and strode over, his thigh rising so it could rest to the right of Ludwig’s hand, his body leaning on the table, eyes staring down at him. Ludwig started playing with the cap of his pen. “Come now, what did you think? There is no right or wrong answer with this, it’s merely opinion.”
“Right.” Ludwig muttered under his breath before his voice found him before his brain had time to process. “I-I didn’t like it.”
He saw his teacher shift. “Why?”
His body went rigid. He should have said he liked it, curse his stupid tongue! “I… thought it was boring. And predictable.” He could feel all eyes on him and sweat began to form at the back of his neck. “I-I mean, I… really didn’t find it… shocking that he confessed. I…” He chewed his cheek and suddenly Dr. Belischmidt’s form pushed off from the desk. He saw his hand raise and a voice cut through the air.
“I liked it.” It wasn’t Samantha’s voice, but by the tone it sounded like an equally lovesick girl. “I thought it was so thrilling the way the narrator was dipping into madness over a sound in his head! It really made me think about what madness is about!”
“I agree!” Piped in another voice and Ludwig felt his face grow hot. He felt Samantha’s gaze on him for a second and he busied himself with his notebook. He should have said he liked the stupid thing.
“Interesting.” Dr. Belischmidt said before he turned and looked to the clock. He checked his watch before he walked back to his laptop, unhooking the cords. “Well, we’ll pick up this next class, alright? And come prepared with those personal summaries!” Chairs began pushing back and the sounds of bags being rifled through filled the air. For once, Ludwig began packing up his stuff hastily when a voice broke through his concentration. “Ludwig, do you mind waiting a minute? I’d like to speak to you.”
Ludwig looked up but his view was blocked by the girl who spoke at the beginning of class. He looked at his stuff and found himself absently look to Samantha. She only covered her mouth and gave him a look of pity. He hated it.
“See you, handsome.” She went off, her blonde curls bouncing and he sighed, rearranging his bag before he slung it over his shoulder and went to stand awkwardly to the side as he waited. The girl was frantically writing down Dr. Belischmidt’s advice.
“Just email me with any more questions, alright?” He said casually and she nodded, thanking him. Another girl came forth, asking a simple question and Ludwig stared at the board, shuffling his feet. He wanted to leave. His next class was starting soon.
“Ludwig.” He jolted as he turned to see Dr. Belischmidt packed up, nodding to the door. “Come, let’s vacate. There’s another class waiting to get in.”
“S-Sure.” He mumbled and he followed him out, noticing how short he was to him. It was only a few inches but for some reason Ludwig reveled in how he towered over him a bit. It made him feel less like a failure.
“So, Ludwig.” Dr. Belischmidt looked over his shoulder and smiled at him. Ludwig only stared, cheeks flushing for reasons he didn’t even know why. “You hate The Tell Tale Heart?”
His mouth immediately began to babble an apology. “I-I’m sorry. I-I should have liked it! I mean, it’s written by one of the greatest-“
“Ludwig, calm down.” Dr. Belischmidt’s voice cut in and Ludwig looked up at him, flustered. He didn’t understand. “Look, I’m not saying you shouldn’t hate it. By all means, I’m not.” He flashed him a friendly grin and despite himself, he smiled at it. “I mean, just because most people think Poe is a genius and a godsend to the earth doesn’t mean there can’t be people who see his works as shit. What a boring, stupid world we’d live in if we all agreed that everything written by a singular person was amazing beyond all reason!” He turned a corner and Ludwig followed, his eyes locked on the back of his teacher’s head. He didn’t understand what his point was.
“Are… you saying you hate him… too?” Ludwig asked quietly and Dr. Belischmidt looked over his shoulder and smiled.
“I’m saying I hate conformity. Ludwig.” He stopped and turned to him and Ludwig stopped abruptly, their eyes locking as students filed past them, rushing to their classes which were about to start. “Look, don’t ever feel like you can’t hate things everyone likes in class, alright? Diversity of opinion is what makes this world less-than-shitty. If you hate Poe’s Tell Tale Heart, then you hate it. Good for you! But don’t let the others make you doubt your own opinion, alright?” He smiled once again and Ludwig felt his cheeks burn, for reasons he could not explain yet again.
“I… understand.” He mumbled out and Dr. Belischmidt grinned once again and winked. It made his knees feel a tiny bit weak when he did it.
“Great! Now then, if you’ll excuse me, I have another class.”
With that, he seemed to disappear in the flow of students leaving Ludwig behind to flush and run to class at a break neck speed. As he did, he couldn’t help but grin.
Maybe English wasn’t so bad.
--
As soon as he walked into their dorm room he couldn’t help but sigh in frustration. His foot had met with a piece of underwear on the floor and a line of clothes seemed to stretch down the small hall towards their two beds, collecting in a pile in the middle of the room. He absolutely hated coming home to this.
“Alfred, how many times have I told you!” He began to bark, dropping his bag on the closet door handle before he entered where their beds were situated. “Keep your clo-“
He didn’t finish his sentence as he came face to face with a dark-skinned naked girl, her black hair spilling out from two pigtails which were a bit askew. She didn’t even seem bothered by Ludwig’s presence, her focus on something more trivial.
“Seriously, Alfred!” She brushed past Ludwig who had flattened himself against the wall, a hand across his eyes. “That iPod was a gift!”
“It’s probably on the floor somewhere!” He drawled back, his attention focused on his Biology book when he looked up to his friend, who was having a heart attack. “Hey, Lud. What’s up?”
“….A…A…A-Alfred!” Ludwig sputtered, trying hard not to stare at the girl who was now on all fours peering under his bed. “Y-You c-c-could at least w-warn me!”
“About what?” He frowned and the girl made a noise before she sat up, a small device in the palm of her hand.
“Found it!”
“Hey, there you go.” Alfred said lazily before he focused back up on Ludwig. “Warn about what?”
Ludwig’s face merely turned red and he nodded down to the girl. She didn’t even notice. Alfred knit his brows, trying to decipher when he realized what he meant. He merely let out a laugh and went back to his book.
“Ludwig, you’re in University now! Seriously! If you can’t handle the wonder that is a naked female form then you should quit now before you embarrass yourself!”
Ludwig clenched his teeth, flushing as he felt the girl’s eyes on him before he turned back to the door and grabbed his bag. He kicked the underwear away from his feet.
“J-Just… let me know next time!” He shouted behind him before he rushed out, slamming the door. He winced as a couple talking near the window looked to him but continued on his way to the common area, his ears now feeling like they were on fire. He was looking forward to seeing Alfred, to tell him about his day. Now the only thing he could think about were the curves of the girl he slept with and how inappropriate it was for him to see.
Women were too bold these days.
“Hey.” He looked up and flushed as his eyes met those of the girl Alfred had obviously been intimate with. She was clothed now – if you could call a baggy sweater clothes – and staring at him with a curious look. He merely avoided her gaze and stared at her feet. Her toenails were painted blue.
“Sorry about that.” She shrugged, sitting down on the coffee table in front of him, her panties unknowingly exposed to his eyesight. He flushed and jerked his head up, not taking his eyes off hers. It was better than seeing between her legs. She noticed his discomfort. “Yeah, usually the norm is to put a sock on the door but… I’m not even supposed to be here so I didn’t want to attract attention.”
He nodded as if he understood. He paused, taking in a breath before it exhaled into an awkward sentence. “I’m sorry I saw your genitals.”
She started laughing at him and he flushed, his eyes angrily focusing on the ping pong table near the corner. He really did not like the opposite sex.
“Hey, it’s alright.” She undid her pigtails and with a few motions of her hand tied her black hair into a ponytail, her expression soft as she gazed at him. “Like I said, sorry you came in. Next time, we’ll let you know if we’re using the room, OK?”
“…Thanks.”
“Sure.” She shrugged before she got up, her toes wiggling on the carpet. “Oh, and I hope you didn’t mind, I took one of your drinks.”
“It’s alright.” He assured her and she smiled before going to the stairs. It took him only a minute before he was back in his dorm, screaming at Alfred for what had happened. His roommate didn’t seem to understand and brushed him off, calling him a psycho.
“You know, we only did it on your bed once! I don’t see what your problem is!”
--
Sex was banned from their dorm room.
--
(So, er, first parts done..aha. Well, I hope this is somewhat what you would like, OP!)
I've glad! It makes me happy to know I'm somewhat on the right track! And learning :D
And Samantha is a combination of everyone annoying in all my classes. So technically an OC but she's just there for my frustration of classmates you can't avoid sometimes.
I love this fill so far, and you are such a good author I love it!!!
Samantha reminds me of every annoying girl and boy that I ever had the misfortune of knowing in my classes. I hated those people and constantly wanted to throw them out the window.
I love the start and the building relationship of Gilbert and Ludwig. Although I have to wonder is the grandmother an OC like Samantha or is she someone else?
Please keep up the good work and I very heavily look forward to the next part. Thank you once more for starting to fill this. <3
Have to say I disagree with the assessments of all the previous comments thus far. "It's been a long time since you've written something not-academic?" And writing a fanfic specifically about a university English class? One has to presume that you are attending university because writers tend to write what they know about. And I could go further to presume you are either interested in English or taking an English major.
From my hypothesis above, I find a number of certain things disappointing:
1. You use quotations completely improperly. You need to use a comma with dialogue. Observe: "This is how to use quotations properly," he said. There are several more rules and I suggest brushing up. Perhaps pick up a book and see how they are used.
2. Your writing gives no evidence of a command of language as might be suspected from a university English major. Abrupt sentences, no evidence of literary devices, no wittiness.
3. Your Prussia seems to despite the English language. Why exactly is he a teacher, then? I found it unbelievable that a university professor would act in this manner. I was hoping for a Prussia that was a little more witty than usual.
4. Also wasn't a big fan of Germany's characterization. He's always organized - so why would he be worrying about getting the wrong classroom. You could have at least written something along the lines of "he had checked his syllabus multiple times, he had printed a map of the campus and studied it before his first day. But despite his precautions he found himself irrationally worrying about whether or not he got the classroom wrong." Also, the suggestion that he would be remembered as the kid that was lost on the first day would most likely not hold true in university on account of 1st year classes being composed of over a hundred students, in most universities.
5. This OC Samantha seemed like a female version of Prussia. Maybe you should have some variety in characters. Not too many girls I know swear profusely like that, especially to people they don't know.
I apologize if anything I said can be debunked by later occurrences in this installment but I only read the first two parts or so before I had to step in and say something. As a university student (but not an English major), I felt that someone had to step up and say the picture you are painting of university is entirely flawed. I think it would have been best with your assumptions about teacher's behaviour to have set this as a high school fanfic.
Anon, I respect that everyone has differing opinions, and that you are perfectly and fully entitled to said opinions, but I think you're taking this whole story a little too seriously. The author was writing for enjoyment, not academically or for monetary gain and therefor, under the circumstances, I think we can afford to be a bit lenient with "abrupt sentences, no evidence of literary devices, no wittiness".
In regards to Germany's characterisation, I think it's pretty believable. Sure, maybe he's always organised and would have double checked every detail a thousand times, but I'm willing to bet he'd still be nervous about being in the wrong class on his very first day of Uni. Hell, I'll be the first admit that I'm still worried about doing halfway through each semester.
And about girls swearing profusely, I have no idea where you live, but where I'm from, there are chicks with vocabularies a hundred times worse than Samantha. This is the 21st century. Women do say "fuck" these days, you know.
Now who's taking things too seriously, defending the author in his/her absence?
I could have left a succinct, less harsh comment such as: hey, I can tell you're applying high school logic to a university setting, maybe you should change it? Maybe then you would not have misconstrued my points. I never said anything about it being weird to be afraid to go to the wrong class on the first day. But you're deluded if you think you'll be remembered as "the kid who went to the wrong classroom." University is much bigger than high school. Also, I never said women don't swear, just that it's more rare, and as a fanfic that never specified if both Prussia and Germany were both going to be male, I initially thought Samantha to perchance be fem!Prussia. Then I thought it was unoriginal to include an OC character that resembled Prussia's behaviour.
And silly me, for holding higher expectations for someone claiming to be an authority on both university and English majors.
Anyway, could have been short and sweet, but that wouldn't have driven the point home. Besides, I'm a strong opinionated woman. :)
A!A here. I think your critique was well worth it. I actually do attend a University but it's very small - 20 students in a class - so my assessment of it is flawed compared to the large universities with 60+. So I apologize. But I must defend myself saying I do read books and to my credit, some I read don't have the comma after quotations. I wrote not using them before and it was never a problem but maybe no one noticed. I'm comfortable not using it but if it really wrong, then I will change.
And Samantha isn't a female Prussia. I honestly have had classes with girls like this in a lot of my Social Sciences but I apologize if it came off as if that was the case because it really, really isn't. As for the rest, I do think my intimate University experience has clouded me since my relationships with my teachers and classmates are very personal but I'll study the bigger ones to see what they're like. And I'll try to improve my sentences. I am very rusty and it helps to be reminded.
Then I must offer apologies. Most universities are large, especially first year classes and therefore extremely impersonal so they operate very differently from high school (though my upper-years are composed of 20 students). Also, admittedly I found your writing quality to be perhaps that of a high school level, especially due to the erroneous quotations and the choice of "Tell Tale Heart" (a common High school reading).
Don't know how you came to the conclusion that not using commas with quotations is acceptable. I have never seen: / "Hello." He said. / EVER in a novel. Read "Elements of Style" by Strunk and you'll see what I mean. Yes, there are cases when commas aren't used, but that's when the action doesn't directly relate to the dialogue being said:
"Use commas when saying words like said and spoke and mumbled," she asserted. (Yes, asserted relates to the dialogue being said. Note that "She asserted." is not a full sentence on its own because immediately the question WHAT did she assert? comes.)
"But if the action doesn't relate then a comma isn't needed." After saying this, she could only hope the author might study up on the proper usages without being stubborn.
Also, for constructive criticism since you seem willing to improve, which is why I even bothered to write the review, as I know that you aren't writing for for money (which must come to a surprise to that anon that stepped in who felt the need to point it out to me):
Best things I find are to have foreshadowing so the story seems well-planned and tied together, throw in some literary devices, use strong verbs over common ones... and I think your writing could stand to be more descriptive. The most important, though, is putting the voice of the character in the narration usually separates a story from all the mediocre. So my introduction that I wrote about Germany in my first review contained is a decent example. Rather than just stating "Germany was worried whether or not he got the wrong classroom" you could have described his meticulous preparations because he's like that and his observation that such a worry was irrational. People may all think "oh shit I am going to be late" at points in their life but they all express that sentiment differently.
Also, you could have had Germany think about the university a little which would have cleared up some details like: "It was a very small university that built its reputation on its tight-knit community. He had practical reasons to go there: it was close to home, near the capital city, but in the end he chose to go there because he preferred to be treated as someone more than a number, someone to be talked with as opposed to lectured at. Of course, the intimate quality of the university added to his stress on the first day of classes where if he did anything foolish he could be sure to leave negative lasting impressions." And then add what I wrote earlier about his printing the map and checking the syllabus and it's all nice and flow-y.
Hell, you could have cleared the Samantha issue up by having described her a bit: "Are you waiting for English 101?" the girl asked. She had brown hair tied in pigtails and despite her question her mischievous bright eyes did not appear to be nervous in the slightest. Ludwig immediately felt she must have a rambunctious personality... a personality type he wasn't good at handling.
Hope this all helps. Won't be bothering you anymore on further chapters so don't worry 'bout lil old me anymore.
I find your depiction of Prussia as a relaxed student perfect-- I actually did take an introductory Lit class at University, and many of my teachers were really relaxed about the whole thing. Sometimes they'd just start talking about something that they found silly/stupid about the content just to get a few laughs.
I think it's just a matter of each university and each faculty has differing styles and ways of doing things, but personally I found your story realistic in this sense.
I found no problems with your story and just basically thought it was great
Anon read this a couple of days ago, but didn't get a chance to post a reply due to life OTL
I have to say that I can feel myself falling for this fill; it's refreshing and fun to see a student/teacher relationship in a University setting rather than a high-school for once (not that I don't love those still)! And, taking into account the critique from the anon above/below/wherever, whilst they raise good points, I personally still think you're doing wonderfully despite them. Even if the setting isn't true-to-life for 100% of Universities, there is still a clear distinction (for me) that it is set in a much more relaxed, mature, educational environment than I have ever experienced,even in my present college years.British!Anon is British
And Samantha oh my God I agree with the other anons that say that she is like a combination of every annoying person that I know. With a helping of frustration on top.
As an anon who is currently trying not to freak the hell out over the fact that she'll be starting University for herself come September, it's fun to be able to read a comical take on it all ♥
After reading the above anon's very critical comments, I just had to post something. This isn't for said anon, this is for you, the author. To your credit you responded more than civilly, but I found that critique to be inappropriate and completely unwarranted. The only valid point was the technical comment about comma use in dialogue. Other than that, please disregard what they wrote, and please please do not take their terrible advice on description! Your writing sounds much more sophisticated than the anon's amateurish examples of packing as much information as possible into introductory paragraphs. There are much better ways of revealing information, and it does not have to be all at once and up front, or else it will sound like pure exposition that more often than not weighs down a narrative with unnecessary padding. What you have so far is a nicely stream-lined story with promising characterizations forming. Also, as a current college student myself, I really enjoy the way you create an authentic university atmosphere. All schools are different, so there is no single correct way of writing a university fic.
Sorry for the block of text, but I couldn't stand the thought of you being discouraged or mislead by previous comments! This is far better than the average fic I read here and on other sites, and you show clear evidence of personal style and voice. That's not to say that there isn't room for improvement, because as a fellow writer I know there's ALWAYS room for improvement, and it's worth striving for, but you are off to an intriguing, enjoyable start. I absolutely can't wait to see how the teacher/student relationship develops!
I hope this was helpful. All the best with your writing!
Completely different anon agrees with this comment.
That so called 'critique' was really rather sloppy and they clearly can't write for shit themselves because their attempts at description were long-winded and drop-dead boring. Author!Anon, I love your style and I love this fic, don't be discouraged because one anon decided to spout rubbish.
I know it's been a while, but... do you think you are ever going to continue this? Just wanted to let you know there are some of us out here who still think and wonder about your fic! It really is one of the more promising starts I've seen around here, and it's on a theme I'd love to see explored. I'd be very sad to never see this finished! Well, I hope you'll decide to pick it back up eventually. All the best, whether you continue with it or not! And in general, I hope you keep writing!
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A Major in English is the finest Degree [1/?]
(Anonymous) 2012-02-01 02:23 pm (UTC)(link)Ludwig let out a long sigh. He was trying to calm his nerves, really, but he was finding it rather difficult as he stared at the door labeled A-327. He checked his schedule for the fifth time to confirm that yes, this was the room he was going to be in for his first university English class but he still had his doubts. What if the office changed the room last minute? What if he found himself in the wrong English class? That it was English 200 as opposed to 100?
He felt his grip shaking as he held his books a bit tighter. What if he became that student that was in the wrong class his first day? And everyone so forth called him names based on it? It was too much. He should just drop the class and avoid the embarrassment.
“Excuse me?” He nearly jumped out of his skin as a female voice came from behind him. “Are you waiting for English 100?”
“Y…Yes.” He said, trying not to sound so nervous and frightened. His eyes locked with sparkling blue ones and he felt himself blush. He never was good at communicating with girls.
“Oh, perfect!” She piped up, flashing him a big grin which made him fidget. “I was so-o-o-o worried I got the wrong fucking class! And then I would look like a fucking fool! You know?” She gave a laugh and he nervously laughed back. At least he wasn’t alone with that thought. “Can you imagine? How embarrassing that would be!”
“V-very.” He nodded and she laughed even more. She was starting to frighten him.
“Well, hey, at least if this is the wrong class for English, we’ll be embarrassed together!” She smirked and he gave her another weak smile. If that was the case, at least he wouldn’t be alone. It comforted him a bit. He looked down at her and her smile faltered before she slapped her forehead and made him blink. “Oh, fuck, where are my manners? Hey, I’m Samantha.”
She held out her hand and he took it for a moment, shaking it. “Ludwig.”
“Hey, Ludwig.” She grinned before the sound of a door clicking caught their attention. Both moved aside as the class before them began piling out, the teacher behind them calling for them to remember ‘Monday’. The blank faces moved past and to his right he noticed more students coming from the hall, standing around aimlessly as they waited for the others to leave. At least he knew there was definitely a class going to be in here.
The teacher of the previous class filed out, a student already trailing him to ask a question and the bodies began piling in, separating off to claim seats. The back filled up right away. Ludwig nervously walked to the front, stopping for a second as a student took off his bag and claimed the end seat on the second table, and took a seat. He looked over his shoulder, watching the rest of his assumed classmates not go anywhere near the front and he sighed. He hoped at least someone would sit up at the front table. Then he wouldn’t feel so much like a nerd.
“Hey!” He was pulling out his glasses when Samantha flopped down in the seat next to him, her grin wide as she watched him put them on. “Up at the front, eh?”
He gave her a meek smile and began to mumble about bad eyesight. She shrugged it off. “Naw, I get you. Hey, so, can I borrow a pen?”
He already knew he probably wasn’t going to like her.
“Sure.” He relented, pulling out an extra pen from his bag when the door slammed behind them, making both of them jump. All eyes turned to stare at the one who caused the disruption and they were met with the back of a man’s head, his silver hair seeming to shine under the bad lighting. Samantha let out a scoff.
“Great, a geezer.” She muttered but her jaw dropped as the man turned around. Actually, everyone’s in the class seemed to, including Ludwig’s. The ‘geezer’ wasn’t old at all but looked barely above the age of some of the students in the room, despite his hair color. He was in a simple long sweater, holding a laptop but it was already clear he was their authority figure. He looked around and gave a shrug. It seemed to make the class relax.
A Major in English is the finest Degree [2/?]
(Anonymous) 2012-02-01 02:26 pm (UTC)(link)His comment got a few scattered laughs and he made his way up to the front, the atmosphere cooling off from its previous tense state. Ludwig watched him, wondering how a man so young could be a teacher when his eye caught Samantha’s. She was practically drooling.
“Oh wow!” She nudged Ludwig in the ribs and he frowned, scooting a bit away from her. “Man, I hope that hottie is our teacher!”
“…Mm.”
The man placed his laptop down on the desk at the front and grabbed a bunch of cords, fiddling with them for a minute before he hooked up the device. A few seconds the projector in the room was whirling and the words ENGLISH 100 came up on the screen. Ludwig nearly let out a breath of relief. Well, at least he was in the right class.
“All right, let’s get started, shall we?” Their teacher spoke up, coming out to sit on the edge of the table where his laptop was. “Welcome to English 100…” He paused as the door opened and a few students trailed in, forced to sit at the empty seats at the front when none seemed available at the back. “Introduction to Literature.”
His eyebrow went up as a shuffling noise was heard and a student quickly got up, racing out of class. The man smiled, his chest rising as he gave a little laugh, his teeth showing through his grin. “Happens every class. At least one new student got the wrong door.” More chuckles came from throughout the room and Ludwig felt himself rest a bit easier. At least it wasn’t him. “Anyways, beside the point. I take it that you’re all here because this is an elective and you need it to pass University.”
There were scattered mumbles but one hand raised. He pointed absently to it. “I’m here because this is my major.”
His eyebrows rose once again. “A fine major you’ve chosen then! English, as you’ll come to find out, is really the stupidest language ever made.” His statement got an awkward silence. “No, it’s true. What other language in the world has so many rules and words ripped from other languages? German, French, Indian, Japanese… English takes them all, muddles them up and spits it out back at you. It’s stupid!”
A few eyes went to the girl who was majoring in it and she was blushing, almost embarrassed she said anything. Their teacher merely grinned.
“But! That’s the beauty of it! People have taken this utterly shitty language, bent it all up to create something so complex it gets its own major in University. Those who take this major and go through it will get knowledge not many people in this world know anymore – since the invention of phones and chat speak. You will gain the knowledge of how to understand a language that, in all accounts, should not have been able to exist as a dominating force. I congratulate you on that.” His finger pointed again and the girl looked a bit more relieved but still embarrassed. He seemed to sense it and smoothed his hair back, scanning the room before he started again.
“Anyways, I digress. But I am your teacher through this dreadful language, Dr. Gilbert Belischmidt. I prefer for you to use Dr. Belischmidt but I won’t kill you if you use ‘Mr’.” He smirked. “My office hours are from one until two-thirty on Monday and Friday and from one to two on Wednesday. My email address is… here, I’ll write it on the board.” He slid off the edge of his table and made his way to the board, scribbling it down messily. Ludwig immediately copied it along with this office hours. He hoped he would never have to use them but just in case he did it was better to have them down.
“You can contact me through this or wait for my office hours. If these hours don’t work, talk to me and we’ll make an appointment.” He went back to his position sitting on the table. He waited as he saw a few people furiously scribbling before he began his introduction again. “In this course we’ll be going through short stories, poetry, and finally novels. I will not be doing Shakespeare this year and damn proud of it.” He crossed his arms in triumph. “Our English Head, Dr. Kirkland insists we do one every year but I find those boring plays usually make up the worst two weeks of teaching so I’m scraping it.”
A Major in English is the finest Degree [3/?]
(Anonymous) 2012-02-01 02:27 pm (UTC)(link)He paused, his jaw moving before he turned back to look at the screen. A moment later he frowned before he slapped his hands on his thighs and scanned the room. “And… That’s about it. Buy those books, read the first chapter on Reading a Story and be prepared on Friday to talk about it.”
No one in the class moved except for Ludwig, who furiously was scribbling down the assignment. He underlined ‘Get Books’ a few times before he gazed up with the rest of the class. Dr. Belischmidt shrugged again and patted his thigh.
“You can all go, you know.”
His words were immediately met with the sounds of bags being collected. Ludwig looked back down at his paper, reading his scribbled words when he heard a bag rustle next to him. Samantha was packing up her things. He felt relieved in witnessing this.
“Awesome! I can tell I’m gonna love this class!” She smiled at Ludwig and turned to Dr. Belischmidt. She gave a giggle and he smiled at her before she kicked her chair in and turned to Ludwig one last time. “See you, handsome.”
He felt his cheeks burn brightly at her words and began slowly packing up, his mind already whirling on how to get away from her next class. He needed to secure a seat somewhere else. Maybe behind him.
He slung his bag over his shoulder and looked up to Dr. Belischmidt, watching him unplug his laptop. He hesitated for a second, wondering if there was anything he should ask him before he decided not and headed out.
He had done it.
He survived his first class.
--
The cafeteria was a loud buzz of voices. Ludwig winced as he walked by it, his bag now heavy with five classes worth of books. He had nearly wept when the bill came up on how much he owed but he had enough to cover the expense. It just meant his food budget was now going to be greatly reduced.
He winced when he caught a whiff of greasy pizza trailing from the cafeteria. It was if the universe was taunting him for choosing to go to a University.
A few minutes later he was outdoors, his chest relaxing as it took in the early fall air, the sound of traffic filling the air. He looked up at the stone building that made up his campus and felt a bit of pride well up inside of him, a smile crossing his face. Even though he was probably going to be eating a mixture of potatoes and rice for the next year, he couldn’t help but feel a bit proud that he had made it into University. He was finally making something of himself.
He wondered if his grandmother would be proud if she saw him.
“Hey, Ludwig!” A voice called behind him and he paused, turning to see a blond man running towards him. The smile disappeared from his face and he calmly waited as the man caught up, doubling over a minute to catch his breath before he leaned up and gave him a thumbs up. Ludwig only shook his head.
“Good afternoon, Alfred.”
A Major in English is the finest Degree [4/?]
(Anonymous) 2012-02-01 02:28 pm (UTC)(link)“Maybe you should stop eating a diet of only hamburgers.” Ludwig chastised as he began to slowly walk, waiting when Alfred fell behind. His friend didn’t seem to care for his criticism.
“Ludwig… Your body runs on protein. If I cut that out, how would I get that intake? Are you advocating I cut out an important building block in helping me live? I think not! I just need to hit the gym a few times.” He waved him off and Ludwig rolled his eyes. He should have figured out by now any words of advice on his friend’s diet would not be taken but he still felt obligated to give it. Just in case he ever did consider it.
Alfred fell into stride next to him and the two began towards the dorms where they conveniently shared a room, talking about their classes. Ludwig immediately found himself lamenting, something he thought he wouldn’t do until second year.
“Psychology isn’t what I expected.” He sighed, frowning as Alfred pulled a burger out of his pocket, taking an abnormally large bite. “Take slower bites.”
“Yes, mom.” Alfred rolled his eyes. “What’s wrong with Psychology? I loved that class.”
Ludwig shrugged, looking down a bit guilty. “We’ve already got a test coming up next week. I flipped through the book and I don’t know if I can handle the course. It’s an awful lot of information for an introductory course.”
“Yeah. I do remember it being fucking hell, but fun.” His friend replied, taking a moment to digest his ‘food’. “What else do you have? Did you take Statistics?”
“No. I didn’t sign up in time. But I got into Sociology and History. Coupled with English and Anthropology…” Ludwig paused for a second. “I’m going to die of an overload.”
“I told you to space out your social sciences!” Alfred waved his hand, crumpling the wrapper up. “I don’t know why you insisted on taking them all so early!”
“It’s easy for you to say. You know what your major and minor are.” Ludwig said, frowning. Alfred seemed to beam at his comment. “I still don’t know what I want to do.”
“Dude, it’s been one day. You’ll figure out what interests you!”
“Yeah, I guess.”
“Hey, when’s your next class?” Alfred’s glasses reflected the sunlight for a moment before Ludwig saw his blue eyes staring at him with mischief. He frowned, almost afraid to answer.
“I have History at four.”
“Excellent!” His sleeve was grabbed before he could react. “Come on! The Boozehound has ten cent wings starting at two!”
“Alfred!” Ludwig began to protest but he was already being dragged across the sidewalk towards the intersection where a bunch of students were crossing, heading towards a bar.
“Come on! As a treat, I’ll let you buy me a plate!” Alfred paused for just a minute, his eyes lighting up as he looked at his miserable companion. “Welcome to University, Lud!”
--
A Major in English is the finest Degree [5/?]
(Anonymous) 2012-02-01 02:29 pm (UTC)(link)“Did you read today’s stuff?” She asked and he only gave a nod, looking down into his book with a hard expression. Maybe if he pretended to read, she would leave him alone. “What’s it about?”
“…If you read it, you’d know.” He mumbled lowly, trying to focus. Ironically, Psychology wasn’t his worst class now. It was English. When he was stuck with this girl.
“I don’t have a fucking book!” She complained loudly, her hand hitting the table. “The fucking bookstore was sold out! Not my fault!”
“There’s a copy in the library.” Ludwig said, a bit more sympathetic. She only scoffed at his suggestion, making him narrow his eyes.
“Please! Take out books? Who does that?” She snorted, leaning back up to scribble on the desk. Ludwig wished he wasn’t raised so strictly by his grandmother to never harm a woman because he wanted so badly to punch the girl next to him. He still didn’t understand why she was even there but before he could ask the door opened and he stiffened, looking over his shoulder as Dr. Belischmidt strode forth, laptop in his hands. He grinned at the class, looking down to the ones with open books.
“Glad to see a lot of you secured copies.” He commented, setting his laptop down before grabbing the familiar cords. “I heard the bookstore was short due to an overlap of English 104 using the same material as us.”
Samantha, with her annoying voice, immediately chirped up. “They’re still sold out! Some of us haven’t had a chance to get a copy! It really is affecting our success in school!”
Ludwig rolled his eyes. The only thing she was successful at was being a bitc-
“Not to worry, Samantha. I put a copy on hold at the library under my name for this class. You can sign it out for three hours to get your reading done while we wait for another shipment.” He smiled at her and she straightened in her chair, beaming.
“Oh, thank you, Gilbert!”
“Dr. Gilbert, if you please.”
Ludwig wanted to vomit. He buried his nose in his book, re-reading a sentence on prose for the one hundredth time when he felt an elbow jab his ribs. He looked at her with disdain.
“He is wonderful, isn’t he?” She asked in a dreamy voice. He shrugged and went back to his books. Slowly, he slid away from her. She didn’t seem to notice.
“I’ll remind you, next class your personal summaries of a short story from the book is due. I expect it handed in at the start of class. Please, don’t put any under my door.” He emphasized the ‘don’t’ quite heavily in his statement. “I share an office with several colleagues and one has high heels that will pierce and destroy papers on the floor that get in her way.”
The class giggled but Samantha’s rang out louder than anyone’s which caused Ludwig to chew his cheek, as he was prone to doing when he was displeased or stressed. He wondered if he could transfer into another class.
“Dr. Belischmidt.” A girl put her hand up in the back and his eyebrows lifted, indicating she could speak. “What if we’re having trouble with the assignment?”
Samantha turned to Ludwig and rolled her eyes. He glared at her, mentally hoping she would get the hint that she should fuck off before he turned back to his book. Why did she think they were friends?
A Major in English is the finest Degree [6/?]
(Anonymous) 2012-02-01 02:30 pm (UTC)(link)“Point of View.” He repeated the topic. “So, what can you tell me about Point of View?” His red eyes turned to scan the crowd and Ludwig buried his face in his notes, trying to write slowly. He hated how Dr. Belischmidt did this – pick on people at random. It didn’t feel like teaching, more like torture.
His gaze narrowed in on a boy sitting at the back, imitating Ludwig’s motions on how not to get noticed. “Andrew.”
“Uh.”
“Tell me, what are the different types?”
Silence met his ears. The class shifted as the boy grabbed his text and began to rifle through it. Dr. Belischmidt’s eyebrows rose. He waited, patiently, until the boy got to the right page and listened to his answer of ‘Total Omniscience, Limited, Impartial, Editorial and Objective.’
“Good.” Was his only line of feedback at first. “Though it’s pronounced ‘Omnis-cience’, not ‘Omni-science.’” The boy flushed at his words and nodded. Defeated, Dr. Belischmidt let out a sigh. “Did anyone even read the material? I know it’s boring as shit, but come now.”
Ludwig contemplated raising his hand when he thought better of it. All throughout high school he was teased for being a nerd and a teacher’s pet. Now in University, he had a chance to blend in, to cast off the label of being a bookworm dork and be accepted for more than being the guy to go to when you wanted answers for homework. He sighed, staring at his notebook when the familiar high pitched voice began to speak.
“Ludwig read the material.”
Well, he closed his eyes, biting his cheek as hard as he could. So much for that.
“Ludwig.” Dr. Belischmidt seemed to coo, walking to the front so he could see him. Ludwig looked to him, his face pink, his eyes staring angrily every once in a while at Samantha. He hated her. “Can you give us the definitions – In your own words, of course.”
Ludwig let out a sigh and nodded. For a second he swore he saw Dr. Belischmidt gloating at his discomfort and embarrassment but he knew it was just his anger at Samantha acting up. He took a breath and began.
“Total Omniscience is when the narrator knows everything about the characters and story. Limited Omniscience is when we see into some characters minds but not all. Impartial Omniscience is when… there’s no bias on the actions the characters do. Editorial Omniscience is when we do get judgment on the characters actions and Objective point of view is when it’s seen from a third person and we don’t hear character thoughts.”
Dr. Belischmidt stared at him for a moment, his red eyes seeming to gleam for a moment under the light before he muttered out something. Ludwig frowned, looking at his book before his teacher cleared his throat, straightening. “Very good, Ludwig. So then, what would you say was the point of view used in A Tell Tale Heart?”
He winced a little. “Uh… Limited... I think?”
“Yes, very good! Anyone, other than Ludwig, know why?” His attention turned to the rest of class and he finally let out an exhale of adrenaline. He hated being put on the spot like that, especially when it wasn’t his choice. He looked at Samantha, who was staring dreamily up at Dr. Belischmidt and he shook his head in annoyance. The next time this came up, he was going to call her out. See how she liked it.
“Alright, good!” Ludwig snapped back to what was going on in class, completely missing a part of the discussion. “So, I want opinions now! What did those of you who read it think of The Tell Tale Heart? Hm?” His eyes scanned the room and everyone went silent. Ludwig looked over his shoulder, wondering if anyone was going to speak when he turned back and his eyes locked with Dr. Belischmidt’s. He almost whimpered. He knew he was trapped.
A Major in English is the finest Degree [7/?]
(Anonymous) 2012-02-01 02:31 pm (UTC)(link)He remained silent for a few minutes, fidgeting. Dr. Belischmidt picked up on it and strode over, his thigh rising so it could rest to the right of Ludwig’s hand, his body leaning on the table, eyes staring down at him. Ludwig started playing with the cap of his pen. “Come now, what did you think? There is no right or wrong answer with this, it’s merely opinion.”
“Right.” Ludwig muttered under his breath before his voice found him before his brain had time to process. “I-I didn’t like it.”
He saw his teacher shift. “Why?”
His body went rigid. He should have said he liked it, curse his stupid tongue! “I… thought it was boring. And predictable.” He could feel all eyes on him and sweat began to form at the back of his neck. “I-I mean, I… really didn’t find it… shocking that he confessed. I…” He chewed his cheek and suddenly Dr. Belischmidt’s form pushed off from the desk. He saw his hand raise and a voice cut through the air.
“I liked it.” It wasn’t Samantha’s voice, but by the tone it sounded like an equally lovesick girl. “I thought it was so thrilling the way the narrator was dipping into madness over a sound in his head! It really made me think about what madness is about!”
“I agree!” Piped in another voice and Ludwig felt his face grow hot. He felt Samantha’s gaze on him for a second and he busied himself with his notebook. He should have said he liked the stupid thing.
“Interesting.” Dr. Belischmidt said before he turned and looked to the clock. He checked his watch before he walked back to his laptop, unhooking the cords. “Well, we’ll pick up this next class, alright? And come prepared with those personal summaries!” Chairs began pushing back and the sounds of bags being rifled through filled the air. For once, Ludwig began packing up his stuff hastily when a voice broke through his concentration. “Ludwig, do you mind waiting a minute? I’d like to speak to you.”
Ludwig looked up but his view was blocked by the girl who spoke at the beginning of class. He looked at his stuff and found himself absently look to Samantha. She only covered her mouth and gave him a look of pity. He hated it.
“See you, handsome.” She went off, her blonde curls bouncing and he sighed, rearranging his bag before he slung it over his shoulder and went to stand awkwardly to the side as he waited. The girl was frantically writing down Dr. Belischmidt’s advice.
“Just email me with any more questions, alright?” He said casually and she nodded, thanking him. Another girl came forth, asking a simple question and Ludwig stared at the board, shuffling his feet. He wanted to leave. His next class was starting soon.
“Ludwig.” He jolted as he turned to see Dr. Belischmidt packed up, nodding to the door. “Come, let’s vacate. There’s another class waiting to get in.”
“S-Sure.” He mumbled and he followed him out, noticing how short he was to him. It was only a few inches but for some reason Ludwig reveled in how he towered over him a bit. It made him feel less like a failure.
“So, Ludwig.” Dr. Belischmidt looked over his shoulder and smiled at him. Ludwig only stared, cheeks flushing for reasons he didn’t even know why. “You hate The Tell Tale Heart?”
His mouth immediately began to babble an apology. “I-I’m sorry. I-I should have liked it! I mean, it’s written by one of the greatest-“
“Ludwig, calm down.” Dr. Belischmidt’s voice cut in and Ludwig looked up at him, flustered. He didn’t understand. “Look, I’m not saying you shouldn’t hate it. By all means, I’m not.” He flashed him a friendly grin and despite himself, he smiled at it. “I mean, just because most people think Poe is a genius and a godsend to the earth doesn’t mean there can’t be people who see his works as shit. What a boring, stupid world we’d live in if we all agreed that everything written by a singular person was amazing beyond all reason!” He turned a corner and Ludwig followed, his eyes locked on the back of his teacher’s head. He didn’t understand what his point was.
“Are… you saying you hate him… too?” Ludwig asked quietly and Dr. Belischmidt looked over his shoulder and smiled.
A Major in English is the finest Degree [8/?]
(Anonymous) 2012-02-01 02:32 pm (UTC)(link)“I… understand.” He mumbled out and Dr. Belischmidt grinned once again and winked. It made his knees feel a tiny bit weak when he did it.
“Great! Now then, if you’ll excuse me, I have another class.”
With that, he seemed to disappear in the flow of students leaving Ludwig behind to flush and run to class at a break neck speed. As he did, he couldn’t help but grin.
Maybe English wasn’t so bad.
--
As soon as he walked into their dorm room he couldn’t help but sigh in frustration. His foot had met with a piece of underwear on the floor and a line of clothes seemed to stretch down the small hall towards their two beds, collecting in a pile in the middle of the room. He absolutely hated coming home to this.
“Alfred, how many times have I told you!” He began to bark, dropping his bag on the closet door handle before he entered where their beds were situated. “Keep your clo-“
He didn’t finish his sentence as he came face to face with a dark-skinned naked girl, her black hair spilling out from two pigtails which were a bit askew. She didn’t even seem bothered by Ludwig’s presence, her focus on something more trivial.
“Seriously, Alfred!” She brushed past Ludwig who had flattened himself against the wall, a hand across his eyes. “That iPod was a gift!”
“It’s probably on the floor somewhere!” He drawled back, his attention focused on his Biology book when he looked up to his friend, who was having a heart attack. “Hey, Lud. What’s up?”
“….A…A…A-Alfred!” Ludwig sputtered, trying hard not to stare at the girl who was now on all fours peering under his bed. “Y-You c-c-could at least w-warn me!”
“About what?” He frowned and the girl made a noise before she sat up, a small device in the palm of her hand.
“Found it!”
“Hey, there you go.” Alfred said lazily before he focused back up on Ludwig. “Warn about what?”
Ludwig’s face merely turned red and he nodded down to the girl. She didn’t even notice. Alfred knit his brows, trying to decipher when he realized what he meant. He merely let out a laugh and went back to his book.
“Ludwig, you’re in University now! Seriously! If you can’t handle the wonder that is a naked female form then you should quit now before you embarrass yourself!”
A Major in English is the finest Degree [9/?]
(Anonymous) 2012-02-01 02:33 pm (UTC)(link)“J-Just… let me know next time!” He shouted behind him before he rushed out, slamming the door. He winced as a couple talking near the window looked to him but continued on his way to the common area, his ears now feeling like they were on fire. He was looking forward to seeing Alfred, to tell him about his day. Now the only thing he could think about were the curves of the girl he slept with and how inappropriate it was for him to see.
Women were too bold these days.
“Hey.” He looked up and flushed as his eyes met those of the girl Alfred had obviously been intimate with. She was clothed now – if you could call a baggy sweater clothes – and staring at him with a curious look. He merely avoided her gaze and stared at her feet. Her toenails were painted blue.
“Sorry about that.” She shrugged, sitting down on the coffee table in front of him, her panties unknowingly exposed to his eyesight. He flushed and jerked his head up, not taking his eyes off hers. It was better than seeing between her legs. She noticed his discomfort. “Yeah, usually the norm is to put a sock on the door but… I’m not even supposed to be here so I didn’t want to attract attention.”
He nodded as if he understood. He paused, taking in a breath before it exhaled into an awkward sentence. “I’m sorry I saw your genitals.”
She started laughing at him and he flushed, his eyes angrily focusing on the ping pong table near the corner. He really did not like the opposite sex.
“Hey, it’s alright.” She undid her pigtails and with a few motions of her hand tied her black hair into a ponytail, her expression soft as she gazed at him. “Like I said, sorry you came in. Next time, we’ll let you know if we’re using the room, OK?”
“…Thanks.”
“Sure.” She shrugged before she got up, her toes wiggling on the carpet. “Oh, and I hope you didn’t mind, I took one of your drinks.”
“It’s alright.” He assured her and she smiled before going to the stairs. It took him only a minute before he was back in his dorm, screaming at Alfred for what had happened. His roommate didn’t seem to understand and brushed him off, calling him a psycho.
“You know, we only did it on your bed once! I don’t see what your problem is!”
--
Sex was banned from their dorm room.
--
(So, er, first parts done..aha. Well, I hope this is somewhat what you would like, OP!)
Re: A Major in English is the finest Degree [9/?]
(Anonymous) 2012-02-01 08:03 pm (UTC)(link)Is Samantha an OC or a genderbent?
shame on me for missing hints if there were someAnd I learned something new today which is very relevant to my interests, thumbs up for that!
Re: A Major in English is the finest Degree [9/?]
(Anonymous) 2012-02-01 09:02 pm (UTC)(link)And Samantha is a combination of everyone annoying in all my classes. So technically an OC but she's just there for my frustration of classmates you can't avoid sometimes.
Re: A Major in English is the finest Degree [9/?]
(Anonymous) 2012-02-01 08:32 pm (UTC)(link)Re: A Major in English is the finest Degree [9/?]
(Anonymous) 2012-02-01 09:04 pm (UTC)(link)OP
(Anonymous) 2012-02-02 02:32 am (UTC)(link)I love this fill so far, and you are such a good author I love it!!!
Samantha reminds me of every annoying girl and boy that I ever had the misfortune of knowing in my classes. I hated those people and constantly wanted to throw them out the window.
I love the start and the building relationship of Gilbert and Ludwig. Although I have to wonder is the grandmother an OC like Samantha or is she someone else?
Please keep up the good work and I very heavily look forward to the next part. Thank you once more for starting to fill this. <3
Re: OP
(Anonymous) 2012-02-02 11:23 am (UTC)(link)This anon at first thought it was papa Germania genderbent XD I'm as clueless as you though, OP.
Re: A Major in English is the finest Degree [9/?]
(Anonymous) 2012-02-02 02:03 pm (UTC)(link)From my hypothesis above, I find a number of certain things disappointing:
1. You use quotations completely improperly. You need to use a comma with dialogue. Observe: "This is how to use quotations properly," he said. There are several more rules and I suggest brushing up. Perhaps pick up a book and see how they are used.
2. Your writing gives no evidence of a command of language as might be suspected from a university English major. Abrupt sentences, no evidence of literary devices, no wittiness.
3. Your Prussia seems to despite the English language. Why exactly is he a teacher, then? I found it unbelievable that a university professor would act in this manner. I was hoping for a Prussia that was a little more witty than usual.
4. Also wasn't a big fan of Germany's characterization. He's always organized - so why would he be worrying about getting the wrong classroom. You could have at least written something along the lines of "he had checked his syllabus multiple times, he had printed a map of the campus and studied it before his first day. But despite his precautions he found himself irrationally worrying about whether or not he got the classroom wrong." Also, the suggestion that he would be remembered as the kid that was lost on the first day would most likely not hold true in university on account of 1st year classes being composed of over a hundred students, in most universities.
5. This OC Samantha seemed like a female version of Prussia. Maybe you should have some variety in characters. Not too many girls I know swear profusely like that, especially to people they don't know.
I apologize if anything I said can be debunked by later occurrences in this installment but I only read the first two parts or so before I had to step in and say something. As a university student (but not an English major), I felt that someone had to step up and say the picture you are painting of university is entirely flawed. I think it would have been best with your assumptions about teacher's behaviour to have set this as a high school fanfic.
Re: A Major in English is the finest Degree [9/?]
(Anonymous) 2012-02-02 09:59 pm (UTC)(link)In regards to Germany's characterisation, I think it's pretty believable. Sure, maybe he's always organised and would have double checked every detail a thousand times, but I'm willing to bet he'd still be nervous about being in the wrong class on his very first day of Uni. Hell, I'll be the first admit that I'm still worried about doing halfway through each semester.
And about girls swearing profusely, I have no idea where you live, but where I'm from, there are chicks with vocabularies a hundred times worse than Samantha. This is the 21st century. Women do say "fuck" these days, you know.
Re: A Major in English is the finest Degree [9/?]
(Anonymous) 2012-02-02 10:52 pm (UTC)(link)I could have left a succinct, less harsh comment such as: hey, I can tell you're applying high school logic to a university setting, maybe you should change it? Maybe then you would not have misconstrued my points. I never said anything about it being weird to be afraid to go to the wrong class on the first day. But you're deluded if you think you'll be remembered as "the kid who went to the wrong classroom." University is much bigger than high school. Also, I never said women don't swear, just that it's more rare, and as a fanfic that never specified if both Prussia and Germany were both going to be male, I initially thought Samantha to perchance be fem!Prussia. Then I thought it was unoriginal to include an OC character that resembled Prussia's behaviour.
And silly me, for holding higher expectations for someone claiming to be an authority on both university and English majors.
Anyway, could have been short and sweet, but that wouldn't have driven the point home. Besides, I'm a strong opinionated woman. :)
Re: A Major in English is the finest Degree [9/?]
(Anonymous) - 2012-02-03 19:04 (UTC) - ExpandRe: A Major in English is the finest Degree [9/?]
(Anonymous) - 2012-02-04 03:44 (UTC) - ExpandRe: A Major in English is the finest Degree [9/?]
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(Anonymous) 2012-02-03 02:24 am (UTC)(link)And Samantha isn't a female Prussia. I honestly have had classes with girls like this in a lot of my Social Sciences but I apologize if it came off as if that was the case because it really, really isn't.
As for the rest, I do think my intimate University experience has clouded me since my relationships with my teachers and classmates are very personal but I'll study the bigger ones to see what they're like. And I'll try to improve my sentences. I am very rusty and it helps to be reminded.
Re: A Major in English is the finest Degree [9/?]
(Anonymous) 2012-02-03 01:30 pm (UTC)(link)Don't know how you came to the conclusion that not using commas with quotations is acceptable. I have never seen: / "Hello." He said. / EVER in a novel. Read "Elements of Style" by Strunk and you'll see what I mean. Yes, there are cases when commas aren't used, but that's when the action doesn't directly relate to the dialogue being said:
"Use commas when saying words like said and spoke and mumbled," she asserted. (Yes, asserted relates to the dialogue being said. Note that "She asserted." is not a full sentence on its own because immediately the question WHAT did she assert? comes.)
"But if the action doesn't relate then a comma isn't needed." After saying this, she could only hope the author might study up on the proper usages without being stubborn.
Also, for constructive criticism since you seem willing to improve, which is why I even bothered to write the review, as I know that you aren't writing for for money (which must come to a surprise to that anon that stepped in who felt the need to point it out to me):
Best things I find are to have foreshadowing so the story seems well-planned and tied together, throw in some literary devices, use strong verbs over common ones... and I think your writing could stand to be more descriptive. The most important, though, is putting the voice of the character in the narration usually separates a story from all the mediocre. So my introduction that I wrote about Germany in my first review contained is a decent example. Rather than just stating "Germany was worried whether or not he got the wrong classroom" you could have described his meticulous preparations because he's like that and his observation that such a worry was irrational. People may all think "oh shit I am going to be late" at points in their life but they all express that sentiment differently.
Also, you could have had Germany think about the university a little which would have cleared up some details like: "It was a very small university that built its reputation on its tight-knit community. He had practical reasons to go there: it was close to home, near the capital city, but in the end he chose to go there because he preferred to be treated as someone more than a number, someone to be talked with as opposed to lectured at. Of course, the intimate quality of the university added to his stress on the first day of classes where if he did anything foolish he could be sure to leave negative lasting impressions." And then add what I wrote earlier about his printing the map and checking the syllabus and it's all nice and flow-y.
Hell, you could have cleared the Samantha issue up by having described her a bit: "Are you waiting for English 101?" the girl asked. She had brown hair tied in pigtails and despite her question her mischievous bright eyes did not appear to be nervous in the slightest. Ludwig immediately felt she must have a rambunctious personality... a personality type he wasn't good at handling.
Hope this all helps. Won't be bothering you anymore on further chapters so don't worry 'bout lil old me anymore.
Re: A Major in English is the finest Degree [9/?]
(Anonymous) - 2012-02-03 13:50 (UTC) - ExpandRe: A Major in English is the finest Degree [9/?]
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(Anonymous) 2012-02-13 12:38 am (UTC)(link)I think it's just a matter of each university and each faculty has differing styles and ways of doing things, but personally I found your story realistic in this sense.
I found no problems with your story and just basically thought it was great
Re: A Major in English is the finest Degree [9/?]
(Anonymous) 2012-02-03 04:56 pm (UTC)(link)I have to say that I can feel myself falling for this fill; it's refreshing and fun to see a student/teacher relationship in a University setting rather than a high-school for once (not that I don't love those still)! And, taking into account the critique from the anon above/below/wherever, whilst they raise good points, I personally still think you're doing wonderfully despite them. Even if the setting isn't true-to-life for 100% of Universities, there is still a clear distinction (for me) that it is set in a much more relaxed, mature, educational environment than I have ever experienced,even in my present college years.
British!Anon is BritishAnd Samantha oh my God I agree with the other anons that say that she is like a combination of every annoying person that I know. With a helping of frustration on top.
As an anon who is currently trying not to freak the hell out over the fact that she'll be starting University for herself come September, it's fun to be able to read a comical take on it all ♥
Re: A Major in English is the finest Degree [9/?]
(Anonymous) 2012-02-07 11:13 am (UTC)(link)Sorry for the block of text, but I couldn't stand the thought of you being discouraged or mislead by previous comments! This is far better than the average fic I read here and on other sites, and you show clear evidence of personal style and voice. That's not to say that there isn't room for improvement, because as a fellow writer I know there's ALWAYS room for improvement, and it's worth striving for, but you are off to an intriguing, enjoyable start. I absolutely can't wait to see how the teacher/student relationship develops!
I hope this was helpful. All the best with your writing!
Re: A Major in English is the finest Degree [9/?]
(Anonymous) 2012-02-07 04:02 pm (UTC)(link)That so called 'critique' was really rather sloppy and they clearly can't write for shit themselves because their attempts at description were long-winded and drop-dead boring. Author!Anon, I love your style and I love this fic, don't be discouraged because one anon decided to spout rubbish.
Can't wait to see what happens! <3
Re: A Major in English is the finest Degree [9/?]
(Anonymous) 2012-09-21 03:08 am (UTC)(link)