*dring dring* *click*

[bubosquared]

"You have reached Melle's brain. Unfortunately, I'm not here at the moment; I'm frolicking through the College AU. You can leave a message after the beep. Or here, have a snippet.

"For fuck's sake, Justin, it's just a simple system of linear equation! How hard can it be?" Chris was starting to lose his patience. They'd been at this for hours and Justin still didn't understand it.

"I told you, I suck at algebra!" Justin was obviously frustrated, too. He'd never snapped at Chris like this before.

"Look, for a second, forget you suck at algebra and open your goddamn mind for this, okay?"

Justin sighed. "Yes, Chris."

"Okay. Now, the basic system is simple. There are two nominals in this equation: x and y. Still with me?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, just checking. Now, first you solve one of these to x."

"Which one?"

"Either one. Doesn't matter. Pick whichever one looks easiest."

"Okay." After a minute or so of scribbling, he looked up again. "Okay, done. Now what?"

"Solve the other equation to the other nominal."

A short while later: "Done."

"Good. Now, since both sides of the equation are equal, you can replace the x in the second eqation with what's on the other end of the equation mark in the first. Still with me?"

"Yes, Chris."

"Okay, so do that."

It took him all of five minutes, but finally, with a brilliant, triumphant grin, he looked up at Chris. "I got it! y = 5/8!"

"That's right."

"And now I replace the y in the first equation with that, right?"

"Absolutely. Congratulations, Justin, you finally fucking get it!"

Justin threw his arms in the air in a strangely out-of-place mimic of his basketball victory cheer. "Woohoo! I can do math!" He stood up and hugged Chris. "Thanks, man, you're the best."

Chris snickered and hugged back. "Any time, Jup." He tried not to think about his nice, how right Justin felt in his arms. He's eightteen, he told himself. Barely legal, way too young and innocent for you, and you're his tutor! It wasn't really helping. Then he noticed the clock. "Oh, shit!"

"What?" Justin squirmed free of Chris' embrace, looking confused and slightly scared.

"Joey's got a gig in less than ten minutes and I promised him I'd be there. You wanna come?" As soon as the words left his mouth, he wanted to take them back. This was a time to be away from Justin, not spend more time with the kid! But the way Justin's face lit up made him forget his doubts.

"Sure thing."

"Well, hurry up, then, before we miss it!"

---

They only just made it to the bar in time for Joey's first gig. "What the fuck took you guys so long?" JC whispered.

"Sorry, got caught up in algebra," Chris whispered back, sliding into the booth beside Lance. Justin slinked in on Chris' other side.

"Algebra, hm? Is that what they call it these days?" Lance grinned. Justin turned an interesting shade of red.

Chris glared. "Don't make me kick your ass, Bass."

"Shh! It's starting!" JC hushed them both. On the stage, Joey walked up to the microphone.

"This is, uh, a song I wrote for a very good friend of mine." Lance raised his eyebrow.

A couple of guys at the bar snickered, and one of them called out, "What's her name, Joe? She any good?"

"Oh, fuck off, McLean," Joey said good-naturedly. "Anyway." He started to sing. A third through the song, Lance glaced over at Justin and caught him looking from Joey to JC and back again. Lance grinned to himself. Looked like Justin got it. He was gonna like this kid.

Onstage, Joey was still singing. "I can't promise forever but baby I'll try / Yes I'm ready to fall in love tonight."

The management is not to be held responsible for the math talk in above snippet. Remember kids: algebra is sexy! The management is also not to be held responsible for any On The Line references that snuck into this snippet, and chooses instead to blame Joey Fatone. Or maybe have sex with him. Or both.

*beep!*"

Comments

[gal-montag.livejournal.com]

OMFG! A college AU that's actually like college! What a novel idea! *hugs Melle*

Thank you!

Because I seem to be all about basing reality in reality...

Re:

[bubosquared.livejournal.com]

As opposed to college AUs that aren't like college? o_O

And thanks! I've never really spent much non-class time at uni/college, let alone at a US college, so I wasn't sure if I could pull it off. ^_^

Re:

[gal-montag.livejournal.com]

There are a few, written by people who have never been to a college and imagine it to be like on TV and it so isn't.

And you did very well. And the math lesson, brings back memories. ;D

Re:

[bubosquared.livejournal.com]

o_O Well, um. I dunno if I'm not writing the TV version of college. <g> What's the difference? What should I avoid? :)

Re:

[gal-montag.livejournal.com]

Pointless drama. College students spend mote of their time studying, partying, and going to class. They might take in a free concert put on by some local band, get drunk every weekend, use all kinds of drugs. Join a campus orginazation, things like that.

They don't spend a lot of time on sexual ingriegue, they don't got out of their waay to get revenge on other classmates, most aren't laying their professors for good grades or anything else, they don't blackmail one another or their teachers...

Things that just don't seem like things that people do in real life.

Plenty of room for some good action without all the soap opera stuff, just that a lot of people don't seem to realize that.

Re:

[bubosquared.livejournal.com]

Aaah, I see. Well, hell, who needs sexual intrigues anyway? I mean, Chris is having a moral dilemma because he's supposed to be tutoring Justin in maths, not in making out! And Joey! And JC! And neither of them wants to be the first to say anything! And Lance is a snarky bitch! :D

And also, wheee! I get to write about Joey singing, and about maths (am a dork, shaddup) and about all kinds of dorky fun! Who needs intrigues and shenanigans? They're no fun to write, anyway. :D