IGNORANTIA (Dark Academia!Wesper AU)

twee

Jesper waves me down in the hall, that stupid grin on his face.

"Wylan van Eck: the man of the hour!" he says, slapping me on the back. "You're going to Intro to Chem, right? Can I walk you there?"

"I don't see why not."

"That's the spirit!"

He bumps into my shoulder playfully, and I nearly fall into another student. They glare at me when I pass them, and I mouth a silent apology. Jesper just laughs that stupid laugh of his, throwing his head back like he just heard the funniest thing in the world. I elbow him, which does not get the reaction I want. He grabs my arm, pulling me in; a mischievous twinkle in his eye.

"No need to be so feisty, van Eck," he says, the words a low grovel.

My face can't help but flush up. I try to babble out something coherent, but I give up and screw my mouth shut. Jesper lets go of my arm and pretends nothing happened. His hands fall into the pockets of his tweed trousers, his silver necklaces clinking together rhythmically. I want to wipe that grin off his face, though with affection or violence, I'm not entirely sure.

"Has anyone told you you're a bit insufferable?" I ask.

"Oh, all the time," says Jesper. "But that's also what makes me so charming, don't you think?"

Definitely, I think, but I keep that to myself. Instead, I say, "You have any classes this way?"

"Nope," he says. "I just love walking halfway across campus with smart people. They make for the best conversationalists."

That's been a new thing between us recently. Ever since our big talk two days ago, Jesper has been determined to brainwash me into thinking I'm smart. It's like he's keeping a quota of how many times a day he can compliment me. He does it when I pass him on campus, when we go down to the dining hall, and even once when I was in the shower. I screamed and threw my soap bar at him because I thought he had come in by accident. Eventually we both realized I needed that soap back and... well... that's not exactly my proudest moment. I try not to think about it too often.

"That Shu boy's in your class, isn't he?" Jesper asks.

"Yeah," I say slowly. "Why?"

"I heard he's a genius," he says, grinning madly.

"He's not that smart," I try to dismiss, but Jesper just rolls his eyes.

"They gave him complete access to the labs after one class session; he's got full access to all of the science equipment and a full-ride scholarship. If that's not impressive, I don't know what is."

Before I can say anything else, Jesper stops walking. I have to backtrack to stay beside him.

"And here we are," he says, leaning against the door. "Have fun at school, Wy."

He slaps my back and walks back into the crowd of students gathered in the commons area. I watch him leave, wishing I could just skip class and stay in my dorm room. It may be small, but at least it's secure. People can't gawk at me in there. They can't sneer behind my back and call me names all because I'm Jan van Eck's idiot son.

It seems like everyone here seems to hate him to some capacity. And to that I say "Welcome to the club!" I should start making pins or something for all of us to wear.

I step inside the classroom, and take my seat near the back. Here the professor can't tell if I'm writing down the notes or not, plus I get a lovely view of the botany classes gardens from here. They've been experimenting with genetic breeding on jurda, the thick green stalls blowing gently through the breeze.