isoceles | coley, wyatt, and sylan | Hunger Games: The RPG

mat
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isoceles | coley, wyatt, and sylan Mar 27, 2023 14:40:16 GMT -5

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Post by mat on Mar 27, 2023 14:40:16 GMT -5

I take a handful of the trail mix from the bowl and eat quietly. My eyes check the clock again, it's now 4:15 – no, 4:16. They're late to our session, but living with Sylan and Wyatt for eighteen years, it doesn't come as much of a surprise. They feed off of each other's chaos and disruption. When Cheng asked me to give them a tutoring session before the retest for last week's exam, I privately wondered if it would turn into a painful babysitting job. Both of them are playful and love to joke as any two best friends would, and it makes me nervous that we'll get nothing done tonight. And considering they were supposed to be here sixteen– seventeen minutes ago, I'm beginning to think I was right.

I brought snacks and drinks, too, as a buffer between suffering. Being attentive and studious is the sign of a martyr here. The professors try their best to build connections with the students, but when they're unable to get the material across themselves, the next best thing is another student. One that they trust. Cheng said 'Coley, you aced it, why don't you go through the exam with them step-by-step? You'd be doing me a favor.' I smiled and said yes as the fear of disappointment had I said no loomed. I've shown signs of being the teacher's pet since I was little and wouldn't leave their side.

I got three blank copies of the original exam from Professor Cheng and I've been sitting on the corner sofa of the lounge since classes let out for the day. My personal copy is filled with notes in the margin of each step to keep myself on track. The other copies are on either side of the table along with the bowl of trail mix and a couple of bottles of juice for Wyatt and Sylan. I hope they like pretzels, chips, nuts, and crackers all mixed in one because that's all the cafeteria would let me take without having to pay up.

And here they come, walking together like the infamous duo they've built their reputations in the academy on. I glance at the clock again, only eighteen minutes late! I smile and wave them over before spreading out the papers, pencils, and calculators. Everything's in order for now, but we'll see how long it lasts before the foundation of my plan as the one in charge falls apart.

"Hey Sylan, Wyatt," my body compresses a bit as they sit on either side of me. I erase the anxious doodles from the corner of my test. "You guys ready to ace this shit?" I talk as if I'm in their circle, one of the boys. I've always wanted to be close to them. I want to be close to everyone, really, but the thought of rejection is a rubberband snapping on my back. I crack my fingers and wipe the pencil shavings off my page.

Time to act like I have this all under control.

charade
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Thinking

isoceles | coley, wyatt, and sylan Apr 2, 2023 22:46:47 GMT -5

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Post by charade on Apr 2, 2023 22:46:47 GMT -5

w y a t t .

"I’m not important, and neither are you
So let’s do whatever we wanna do
Bask in our cosmic insignificance
Soak up this blip we’re livin’ in
‘Cause nothing matters anyway
Isn’t that great?"

It’s a fact of life that when you’re shitting the bed, you find the person that stocked up on toilet paper. Which I guess is why I agreed to take some tutoring from Coley. Why we did, I guess. Maybe, maybe some part of me feels guilty and hell, Sy getting a grade bump is good for him. Just like I’m bad at being his friend.

And not thinking about Viola.

We’re late, but it was for a good cause. We set up a couple pranks in the hallways; the old bucket in the doorframe is a classic you know. And look here, Coley brought snacks. Glad to see he understands what’s truly important here.

“Yeah, we’re like ready and stuff.” I say as I take the seat to his left. Sy takes the seat to his right because we’re mindreaders. We know what the other dude is thinking.

Most of the time anyway.

I take a handful and munch and then gag.

“Oh n-no peanuts. My allergies. What did y-“

I dramatically gasp for air for a few seconds before chuckling and slapping Coley on the back. “I’m just screwin’ with ya man, don’t have a heart attack.”

But seriously, hasn’t he ever heard of Anabananaletical shock or whatever? I swear we learned about allergies in Health Ed last semester and it was like don’t mix foods that kill people with foods that are normal like crackers. Nuts have the thing in them that causes a reaction.

What was it again?

Oh yeah, gluten. Nuts have gluten. I think.

Yeah.

It’s first grade stuff Coley, thank God one of us paid attention.

Off goes the top to a bottle of apple juice and I take a swig as the cap rolls off the table, bounces and vanishing into the void under the nearest bookshelf. Same place that socks, tacks and the good pencils go when you aren’t looking at it close enough.

“Nice of Prof.Cheng to give you the exams. I was half convinced she was going to trap my soul in one her figurines for scoring so low again.” As I say that I grab a calculator and tap it a few times before sliding it across the table to Sy. Eight, Zero, Zero, Eight, One, Three, Five. Classic.

Ah damn, now I’m thinking about Viola, and I was doing such a good job avoiding that. I grin, all lopsided and whatnot at Sy and—it just doesn’t feel the same.

Oh well. There's math to do, I guess.

elegant

16 Jul 12, 23:43
GB: I bet you just sit at your computer with a tea cup and a monocle

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isoceles | coley, wyatt, and sylan Apr 19, 2023 12:08:51 GMT -5

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Post by Deleted on Apr 19, 2023 12:08:51 GMT -5

"What's that?"

"Oh, that's just my 4pm alarm."

"...for what?"

"Uhh- oh to skip tutoring with Coley."

"Bro," they just look at each other for a second before Wyatt goes, "why the hell would you set the alarm for when you have to be there?" It might look dumb on paper but that's a good reason behind it, okay? "Oh, I didn't want to go," he explains curtly, "the reminder is just a formality, y'know, respectfully skipping."

"Man, what? I've got to be there, too!"

"Damn."

"Damn your forehead, come on," Wyatt says before rushing him down the corridors towards sigh Coley. That guys a giant nerd, of course Ms. Cheng sought teacher's pet after them both. Sylan didn't even have time to finish propping a bucket full of baby powder before they were rushing out, the sound of it clattering against the ground ringing out behind them as Sylan trails behind Wyatt. He doesn't look at Coley until Wyatt starts joking around with him, something something snacks.

"Oh n-no peanuts. My allergies. What did y-"

"Man, how'd you not know?! He's deathly-

Wyatt drops the joke quick and Sylan's left hanging, aw c'mon, he was totally gonna fall for it! He shrugs it off as he takes a water and picks out individual raisins, popping them in his mouth before he's even taken a seat. You see, his grades are doing alright, Sylan's just here to make things a little difficult for everybody involved. It's a talent - that's right, multitalented Sylan over here, you guys better catch up. He only agreed because he thought Cheng would be here, oh how wrong he was. Wyatt passes over a calculator that repeats what's on Sylan's mind already, squeezing at the air with a smirk before leaning back in his chair.

"You're fucking dumb, dude! No wonder you need this," Sylan says as if he's any more mature. As he settles into position, he gets the sudden urge to leave - "so how long's this gonna take, Coley Pollie? I got a date with a hot rod coming up," you might be thinking Viola, but Sylan's thinking completely of his bike. So much so that he hasn't thought once of the material they're about to cram, an exam he wouldn't be struggling to pass if he would just focus in class.

As if that'll ever happen, he taps on the calculator as he leans to his left, tossing it back to Wyatt with 5304 on its screen. Wyatt's got jokes but does he have hoes? Not at all! Sylan rolls his eyes as all he's left with is the disappointing exam sitting in front of him, "man, I'm tired of geography. Who cares this much about what size a rhombus is anyways?"

mat
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isoceles | coley, wyatt, and sylan Apr 20, 2023 10:39:37 GMT -5

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Post by mat on Apr 20, 2023 10:39:37 GMT -5

Things are going fine for a total of five seconds before Wyatt starts to gag and mention a peanut allergy. I throw myself up from the seat, "Crap!" I'm ready to hurdle the entire table to get help, but he and Sylan are already starting to laugh. It's just a joke. Because of course it is, what else should I expect from them? "I'm just screwin' with you man, don't have a heart attack." Wyatt's slap on my back lets out a long exhale. I fall back onto the couch, sinking back into the chair. They only mess with me because they know I'll react. I don't think either of them intends to leave me stressed, but their reckless and comedic personalities don't always care to think before they prank. And that's okay– I need to learn how to take a joke even when I don't know it's coming. I take a few of the surface-level nuts out of the bowl and eat them, just in case.

Sylan and Wyatt slide their calculators back and forth across the table. "You're so fucking dumb, dude! No wonder you need this." I lean up in my seat to see what they were doing on the calculator. 8008135 It's… just a number. What's so funny?

I start to underline a few key parts of the first question as Sylan keeps going. Coley Pollie. There's something in that nickname that makes me shudder. Roley Pollies are these little bugs that come around outside during the summertime. When any of the little kids get a little too close or try to grab them, the roley pollies curl up in a ball and play dead. A defensive mechanic. Ironic, given the arch in my back and my elbows huddling into my waist as I try to focus.

Sy passes the calculator back to Wyatt. I catch another number as it passes by 5304. What the hell are they on about? 8008135… 5304…

Boobies? Hoes? Seriously! What are we, twelve? My free hand pokes at my temple.

505.

"I'm tired of geography. Who cares this much about what size a rhombus is anyways?"

I finish copying down the last formula for the question and lean back. "Well, Sylan, geometry is important for a lot of reasons. If your bike track has a tight corner, it might help to know the distance and angles so you know how fast you'll need to go to clear the turn." I draw a rhombus on the corner of the page, within it a turning around, one rounding the corner and the other crashing into the wall.

"And for you, Wyatt… um…." Does comedy have any need for geometry and trigonometry? Probably not. "You need to know this so you can make accurate nerd jokes with puns."

"It makes things a lot easier if everyone passes. That way, everyone's happy and nobody gets in trouble." I point to the first question. A right triangle with two of its three sides labeled.

"We need to find the cosine of Angle A. What's the mnemonic device for sine, cosine, and tangent?" SOHCAHTOA. How they choose to remember that using mnemonics and words is probably going to terrify me.