Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ 100 Views of Dorothy ❯ How To Waste Time In Class ( Chapter 2 )

Theme #2: Success

 

Word Count: 995

 

Rating: PG/K+/P

 

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing. The rest is mine. This is written on the 100 themes at beat_of_destiny @ LiveJournal for Dorothy.

 

Quote: She sat in the classroom looking for it.

 

 

How to Waste Time in Class or Success!

 

She sat in the classroom looking for it. She scanned the area where she immediately thought it landed. She did not see it right away, and the professor raised his voice to make a point. She took her eyes off the area long enough to make sure she was writing on the lines and in a blank space. Now, where was that spot? She glanced and could not find where she left off. She re-searched the area. It was not there. She expanded her search and looked everywhere in front of her. She did not see it right in front of her, and she looked under the chair directly in front of her. Nothing was there.

 

Dorothy had a nasty habit of taking out an earring and rolling it and its back in her fingers while she took notes. Occasionally, like now, she dropped it. This time, she had dropped the back. She set the earring on her desk so that she would not drop that as well. There were complications, however. She still had to take notes. Her professor kept lecturing about the economics of the Earth Sphere Unified Nation, and she still needed a grade in the class. Also, the earring back blended in with the carpet. She knew around where it had landed, but she had not yet located it.

 

The professor was stressing another point. She sighed inwardly and listened to the analogy of a lemonade stand to some country's economy. She jotted down a few notes to remind her of the story. He started writing on the board and making wild hand gestures. She wrote down his comments on inflation and on how the price of resources affected it. He continued into another analogy and worked himself up. His face reddened up with passion, and he unbuttoned the top two buttons of his shirt. He got into free trade, imports, exports, supply, and demand. One student raised his hand and inquired about the almost-crisis the L-2 Colony Cluster had in the 170's. The professor's eyes lit up, and he seemed to be holding back the kind of energy a child has when faced with opening Christmas presents.

 

Dorothy rested her chin in her hand with her elbow resting on the desktop. She glanced to the side casually scanning for the earring back. Where could it be? She scanned the entire side, but she eventually got to the end of her vision. To view more, she would have to turn around and look back. It was not quite what she wanted to do. She leaned to the other side and glanced on that side. She took a moment, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. There was no reason to get worked up over something this small. She could feel the frustration building up in her, and honestly, if it came down to it, she could find another earring back.

 

She spotted it! It was right under the chair in front of her. How did she miss that earlier? She glanced up and hurriedly jotted down the diagram on the board, keeping an eye on her treasure. She still did not need to look off-task, so she stretched her arms and legs. As she stretched her legs, she flexed her foot in hopes of rolling the back within her reach. She could not get it, so she sank in her chair. She kept taking notes and her eyes on her professor, but her foot kept trying to grab the back to her earring as she glanced occasionally to make sure her foot was pawing the right place.

 

A few people glanced her way, and she sat up. It was bad enough she lost it without having to answer their insistent questions at the end of class. Plus, she was starting to admit that it was out of her reach. She took a small sigh and resolved to keep her eye on it so that she could grab it when class was over. Her professor started walking down the aisles handing out a worksheet for them to finish at home.

 

Her eyes quickly darted back to her earring back. The person sitting in front of her tucked her feet under the seat. The shoes were close to it; they could knock it closer to her or farther away at any moment. Her classmate moved her feet this way and that, erratically and jerkily. What the hell was her problem? Was she trying some new footwork in her spare time? She watched the feet dance around it. They were getting closer and closer. Yes! One of those crazy feet knocked the back into the left aisle—within her reach even! She smiled and shifted in her seat to grab it. A shoe suddenly stepped up and kicked it past her suddenly. Damn it!

 

“No!” she whispered in an almost-growl, her eyes wider.

 

“I know, Miss Catalonia,” her professor agreed as he handed her a worksheet, standing next to her. “The current situation is detestable! Most people aren't aware of it.” She followed the leg up and tried a weak smile on her professor. He returned it with a hearty one of his own and moved on with his story and to the next person. She followed him with her eyes as an excuse to search for the back's new resting place.

 

She found it again and kept it on the corner of her eye as she had to watch the professor who took the front of the classroom once more. He gave the class instructions on how to start their worksheet and encouraged them to fill out the first two items at that moment. Fed up with the situation, Dorothy took her pen and tossed it back to where the back was, not bothering to make it look like an accident. She hopped off the chair and grabbed the back, putting the earring on as she took her seat once more. Success!