Teach Me What I Should Know [Roger/Delroy]

“Well. Shit.”

There came a time when all the previous events finally caught up to Delroy. Standing on the soft carpet of one of the offices in the justice building, he couldn’t help but feel the crushing urgency of what was about to happen to him. They’d plucked his name out of the bowl which meant one of two things: first, that he would go on to represent the Wickershams and Iris Gate not only for the district but the rest of the world which, while he delighted in showing everyone just how he could hold his own, has his stomach twisting into knots; and two, that he’d soon be in a literal fight for his life of which he was neither prepared nor desired to do.

Why was it that when he’d started down the path toward something bigger than himself, it felt as though all of it were being snatched away from him again? Why was it that there would be kids going home that night whose biggest ambitions were getting to drink out in the fields that weekend, forgetting entirely of the devastating hunger and oppressive regime still hanging over their heads?

Not that it didn’t also sting to think about how the other guys in his hall would be out in the fields, sipping from a bottle of shit whiskey toasting him as though he was already dead.

He shoved his hands in his pockets and tucked his chin to his chest. He wasn’t going to be like one of the punks that got stuck in this situation and cry, even as much as the crushing weight started to build in his chest and a lump formed in his throat. His parents would be there soon enough and he’d have to deal with all of that, which meant telling his brother he was going to make it and his parents to know how much he loved them – shit.

He wasn’t ready for any of this, as much as he thought he could fake his way through it.

He had no idea what he was doing, and from the looks of all the other kids since Kass, none of them had, either.

When the door opened and revealed a familiar face, Delroy was still in the middle of pitying himself. He wiped a finger across his nose and cleared his throat.

“Professor Fladgate?” Delroy almost managed a smile. “What are you doing here man?”