Work Text:
He yawned. Widely. He couldn't stand this "plants" rubbish; it was utterly exhausting. He yawned again. Photosynthesis? So it's the foundation of life? Sometimes he'd rather not be alive at all. It would at least stop the pain. His eyes glazed over, and he began to dream.
Posner was glancing over his shoulder at his beloved. Now he yawned. Now he stared into space. Now he frantically scribbled down a vital equation. A sharp rap on the head with a rolled paper brought him back to the ecosystems.
He looked forward, watching his dearest, sitting beside Akthar. He kept turning around, presumably to see Dakin beside him. What a shame, the unrequited love he felt. He snickered softly when the roll came down upon his head. It was to be expected, after all.
The soft snicker sent him in a tizzy; it stabbed him through the heart. That he could speak his mind! The pain! that he be suspected for love of Dakin when in fact he loved his most close companion. But really, there was no reason why he should hope for that - his love was devoutly Christian, or so it certainly seemed, and thus, 'twas not to be. Unrequited love required such archaisms.
Scripps wondered about the geography of the heart. It was covered in plants, beautiful ones, that would burst into flower at a moment's notice, but the air and water they required was heartbreak and pain. And mountains the size of Olympus - evey single one, so the heart became impossible to traverse. That must have been what the classics thought. He smiled bitterly.
"My heart leaps up when I behold" that glint within his eye, thought Posner. He began to hum, a simple, poignant, and joyful song, without any joy.
Scripps caught the melody in the still classroom air. Their ecosystem was dreadful; all ecosystems seemed dreadful, until he heard that note. He joined in, a painful, cruel duet.
Optional ending:
Two in love, not knowing, not daring to dream. The bitter irony witnessed by the others, but not recognized in themselves. Alas, the tragic tale.
Additional optional ending, courtesy of Mary:
Scripps thought it was time for a change. He bought an elephant and christened it Billy. He became the only student in Oxford to have one.