Sound of an object colliding with the tiled floor echoed throughout the research building from the direction of biology lab No. 33. However, no one paid any heed to the sound due to the fact that time had passed midday and the building was almost empty — except for a few students who couldn't hear what was going on outside their respective labs because they had more important things to do than responding to something that happened almost every day. In short, no one cared even the slightest bit.
Thankfully, those few students didn't include a man in black suit who ran frantically into that lab only a second after he heard the strange sound. In fact, it was the first thing he heard right after he stepped inside the building — how pitiful indeed.
"For Luna's sake!!!" The name of the Moon Goddess escaped from his mouth when he opened the lab door, finding a boy lying on the floor on first sight, unconscious. The laboratory was very messed up, much like a shipwreck, especially with dozens of rats in the cages that didn't stop squeaking, making the atmosphere even more precarious.
"Arto!!" He first put the boy who weighed less than a sack of flour on his back and carried him out of the room. He couldn't believe that this was happening again — this was already the 10th time in this month.
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"Eeungg —" Arthur opened his eyes. His body ached all over, and the argument betweent the two people beside his hard bed didn't help at all. They seemed completely oblivious to the fact that they were inside the clinic.
"What in the world is this!! Dehydration, malnutrition, lack of sleep — did you not pay attention to his body condition at all??" shouted a female doctor with glasses which lenses seemed to be thicker than 2 inches. Her opponent was a man in black suit who was drenched in sweat, thanks to Arthur, who he had to carry while running from one building to another.
"I'm not his parents, Mrs Evans! To be honest, I thought he would be fine. This isn't the first time —"
"Precisely because it is not the first time, Mr Gulchin!"
Arthur who overheard the conversation decided that the best decision was to pretend to sleep again. Being lectured for the same reason all the time was the last thing he wanted when he woke up. However, it seemed that Gilbert Gulchin would not let the 14 year old child carry out his plan smoothly.
"Wow, look who's awake. Good morning, Arthur," said Gilbert.
"Erm — morning," Arthur replied reluctantly while putting on his glasses which were lying on the bedside.
"MORNING?? WHEN IN THE WORLD IS THIS MORNING??" Mrs Evans shouted at a volume that could probably beat the car's horn. "WHAT ARE YOU THINKING, YOU LITTLE BRAT! WORKING WITHOUT ANY CONSIDERATION FOR YOUR BODY. THIS IS THE TENTH TIME THIS MONTH, YOU SHOULD KNOW WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO AT THIS POINT! ARE YOU THAT EAGER TO DIE??"
After hearing the woman's shriek, Arthur thought that perhaps setting up an appointment with an ENT specialist might not be such a bad idea. 'Ma'am, it seems you are more fit to be an opera singer than a doctor', Arthur thought while rubbing his ears.
"Mrs. Evans, please stop shouting! You will disturb the other patients!!" said Gilbert who looked so panicked. Trying to be the calmest person in this situation wasn't his top priority anymore.
"Anyway," Arthur spoke up. "Please don't be so exaggerated. I was only sleeping for a while."
This time it was Gilbert who squeezed the boy's head while smiling in annoyance. It seemed that his patience was barely a drop left. "I didn't know the floor was a comfortable place to sleep."
"You really can't be left alone! I think what you need now is not a specialist, but a psychiatrist!" Mrs Evans glared at the boy, feeling that she had become a few years older after dealing with Arthur.
Arthur turned his head away. If he fought with Mrs Evans, he would definitely lose in argument. The 40 year old woman with two sons was known in the Faculty of Science for her scalpel-sharp words to students who often neglected their health. And of course, rumors about Arthur who was famous as a student suspected of having a hobby of going back and forth the clinics didn't need to be confirmed anymore as it was truly happening to him.
"I'm sorry. Yesterday, a new test subject that was sent to me from Eandalus just arrived and I wanted to quicky begin researching," Arthur said curtly.
"Test subject? You mean the rats in your lab just now?" asked Gilbert. "Which was really noisy to the point where I thought they might be having a squeaking contest?"
"Yeah, that one. I asked Dominic Wilberg to send it last month." Dominic Wilberg was an acquaintance of Arthur from college who now settled in a country west of Virion separated by the ocean called Eandalus. Of course, Gilbert knew him too. He was famous for his obsession of rare and exotic creatures to the extent that it was rumored that he had intimate relations with them.
"That person? Dominic? What business does he have in Eandalus? Does Eandalus have a zoo of strange faunas?"
"If it's about that, he —"
"Ahem," Mrs Evans stopped their conversation which probably would have lasted an hour later had it not been stopped. "Looks like you're pretty well, huh, Rolyn?"
"Who said I was sick!" Arthur shouted.
"No one — unless it's a matter of your sick brain, then I'll be more than happy to agree," Mrs Evans said without an ounce of guilt. "One more visit to this place for the same reason, get ready to pack your bags and leave Virion."
"Heh, that's just a threat isn't it? Your position isn't that high to do that sort of thing," said Arthur while breaking out in a cold sweat.
"You want to challenge me?"
Arthur immediately shook his head and shout loudly in panic, "Never, ma'am!"
"Forget it, Mrs Evans, I'll see to it that this is the last time he comes here," Gilbert then turned his gaze to Arthur. "You also have to think about it, Arthur. I can't keep helping you, what would happen if I'm not here on campus? Your life can be extinguished as easily as a candle."
"Alright, alright. Shut up already," the boy covered his ears tightly. "I'm not a kid anymore, you guys don't have to tell me the same thing over and over again."
The two of them looked at Arthur with dubious looks. How come? The boy with messy auburn hair that looked like it was never combed and emerald green eyes full of bags was simply a 14 year old child in their eyes, both physically and mentally. It was indeed a miracle for him to manage to become a post-graduate student at University of Virion at his very young age — but that would still not exonerate him from the fact that he was just a child, a pubescent teenager to be precise.
"Hff — whatever. I don't care anymore, get out of here. I have better things to do than dealing with a problematic child like you — and Gulchin, don't forget to keep an eye on him!" said Mrs Evans. She then sat back down in her chair to go back writing something on the papers piled up on the desk, completely ignoring the other two.
Gilbert then turned to the boy. "Come on, Arthur. Let's go."
"Yeah — yeah," Arthur said nonchalantly.
The two then left the old and dirty clinic building. Arthur staggered beside Gilbert who had to watch over him in case he fainted again.
"You don't have class?" asked Arthur. Gilbert who graduated together with him was now still staying at University of Virion, working as a lecturer. It was a bit odd to see him walking around freely in a place like this when there should be classes going on.
"You never saw my schedule, did you? I'm off today."
"Is that so? I thought you changed your job to be my babysitter."
"At this point, ensuring that you are still alive may indeed have become my regular job — and this all happened because of that thesis that you are obsessed with," said Gilbert. "The requirement for a Master degree in Virion is the completion of three theses with a maximum deadline of four years. Normally people will do their first thesis having a less difficult topic. But it seems you aren't one to follow the common sense, right, Arthur?"
"None of your business."
"You really are obsessed with researching everything related to this topic, I wonder why,"
"Can you stop asking about that?" Arthur said in a soaring voice. "You don't have any other business right? Go away!"
"Unfortunately, you can't shoo me away. I came to your laboratory today not because I don't have any work to do, but because I do have business with you," Gilbert said, showing a letter in a brown envelope with a dark blue seal on which was printed Virion's symbol in a form similar to a crescent moon. "Sheesh, looks like Virion only thinks of me as an errand boy rather than a lecturer."
"Is that a letter for me? Give it here!" Arthur jumped to reach for it, but Gilbert held the letter high so Arthur's short frame could not reach it. "Gilbert!!!" Arthur shouted jumping up and down like a cat trying to reach for food.
"Later, I'll give this to you after we finish eating," Gilbert said. "Let's not run away immediately,".
"Tch," Arthur clicked his tongue while stomping on Gilbert's foot because he was annoyed for not being able to reach the letter. "Alright, alright."
Gilbert then put the letter back into his pocket with a smile.
*******************
The canteen of the Faculty of Science, which was located at 300 meters from the main building, was more suitable to be called a restaurant than a canteen. The place was clean and beautiful, and the service is really on par with a five-star restaurant. It was no wonder that even people from other faculties preferred to eat here, and even then the food prices are quite reasonable.
Arthur watched Gilbert who had not stopped putting sugar in his tea from ten seconds ago. He wondered why the 22 year old man who had refused to look for work outside of Virion had not yet suffered from diabetes until now.
"Wot de ma'er? 'Urry it 'or 'ud!" Gilbert said with a mouth full of potatoes. "I've even booked a place far away from the crowds so we won't be bothered by freshmen wanting to meet the oh-so-famous Arthur Rolyn — and don't worry, I'm paying for all this food," he added after swallowing everything in his mouth.
"Seeing you eating makes my appetite disappear."
"Eat! You can't have an empty stomach, especially when you're still growing! You ask why your height never goes over 4 feet and 7 inches, right? Here's the answer!" Gilbert grumbled.
"Yeess, mother," Arthur said before he reluctantly shoved a spoonful of mushroom soup into his mouth.
"Haa, I don't know what to say. It's only been half a year since we graduated from Virion," Gilbert commented. "Aside from that, I wonder why you immediately took Master degree right after graduation. If I were you, I'd slack off for a while. After all your living expenses are still being borne by that rich family right? Excluding Virion's tuition fees of course, even the money from that family may not be enough to pay for your hedonistic college life."
"I'm not the kind of person who can stand doing nothing, Gilbert. And I happen to have a scholarship to continue my studies, so why not?" Arthur said while cutting the bacon with his knife.
"Oh yes, come to think of it, I've seen several invitation letters to teach at some seminars lying on your bedroom table. Do you accept them?" Gilbert asked, recalling the time he had visited Arthur's room to bring him food last week.
"Well, they mostly just want to see the face of the youngest person to graduate from Virion. They don't really care about the topic I brought," Arthur replied. "And the pay is also not much. Do they think I can be fooled that easily just because I'm still a teenager?"
"Haaa — this is the reason why your reputation as an anti-social is getting worse, kiddo," Gilbert was increasingly worried about this child's future. The possibility of him being able to live outside his beloved library and laboratory was very low.
"Heh, do I even care? Gilbert, once I finish this thesis, a professorship at fourteen is not out of the question," Arthur said with confidence even more higher than Virion's highest tower of science.
"Well, looking at the content of your thesis, it looks like it's possible. Unfortunately —
"What is it?"
"Nothing. Finish your food first."
"Tch, alright."
10 minutes later, when the dining table was only covered with dirty plates, Arthur held out his hand to Gilbert, as if demanding the letter Gilbert had promised, which was supposed to be addressed to him.
"Okay, okay. Here," Gilbert said as he handed over the letter.
He then tore off the top of the envelope and took out a letter written in black ink. Arthur had no qualms opening it in public, because the seal on the envelope — which was blue instead of black told him it wasn't a secret letter.
Arthur read the letter slowly. What was stated in the letter was not very long, in fact it can be said to be really short for an official letter.
*******************
January 12th 1945
In regard of this letter, we from the University of Virion hereby has decided to stop granting thesis research assistance which is included in the scholarship fund group for the student with a master's degree program in biology named Arthur Rolyn. The reason for that is because we can no longer see any merit in the thesis you are currently working on for University of Virion. If you wish to receive back the funding for your thesis research, you are expected to submit another proposal with a new title and topic. We hope for your understanding.
Sincerely,
Head of Virion University's Faculty of Science
Melissa Angelo
****************
Silence came.
A second later, there was a sound of paper being crumpled.
Two seconds later, the sound changed to that of paper being thrown on the floor.
And three seconds later, the sound turned into someone's scream.
"My thesis is almost done! I just need to attach the evidence and everything will be done!! But why — !"
"Well, it's not their fault. From a bystander's perspective what you are researching is like wanting to prove what's in a cartoon," Gilbert said as he took the letter that Arthur threw and tried to return it to its original state.
"BUT IT'S REAL! I AM ITS LIVING EXISTENCE!!" Arthur screamed, loud enough to make the other diners wonder what was going on.
"Okay, okay. Calm down, kiddo," said Gilbert who was panicking because everyone's attention in the restaurant was now on them. "Listen. If you want to protest, you can just go to Professor Angelo's office, I heard she's on the campus today."
"That's true," Arthur immediately stood up before grabbing the crumpled letter which was now in Gilbert's hand. "You'll pay for the food, right? I'll go now. Thanks."
"Wait a minute! Don't run around after eating, you might vomit — ! Ah, he's gone," said Gilbert, who couldn't stop the teenager anymore as he sighed helplessly.
*****************