Misc.

the hunchback of notre dame 14

phoebus de martin was exhausted.

his bones ached and there was constantly a slight pulsing in his head, a relentless headache that never seemed to go away. he hated wearing his glasses, but had been wearing them day in and day out for the past week to combat the pain behind his eyes. 

he hadn't slept in two days, too busy with schoolwork, if not worrying obsessively over his courses the next day. 

and then esmerelda went home, taking a train back to her house in a completely different part of the country, too overwhelmed with the state of things on campus. phoebus had kissed her head and hugged her close, sad to see her go. he needed her, but the last thing he wanted to do was not let her be independent. 

he lay in bed, blinking up at the ceiling, another sleepless night past with only an hour or two of light rest that did absolutely nothing for him. he found himself shaking when he went to pick up breakfast and couldn't stomach more than a piece of toast and some coffee before feeling nauseous at the prospect of doing anything else.

the young man dragged himself to his independent study class.  he kept reminding himself that he needed this experience, that this was an insane opportunity he'd be a lunatic to opt out of, that it would all be worth it in the long run, but with every passing day he was becoming more and more doubtful.

"ah, phoebus, right on time. come sit, i've just boiled the kettle. would you like tea?" an unfortunately familiar deep and bass, but cold and sharp voice asked, snapping phoebus out of his daze.

"uh- no thank you professor. just had breakfast."

"you look troubled, son, anything you'd like to speak about?" frollo asked.

"no, professor, just caught up with schoolwork." phoebus replied, evading the question as much as possible. he knew exactly what frollo was doing, he'd been doing it for months now, trying to trick phoebus into speaking about his personal life, divulge details about his friends, crack him open like an egg and scramble him as much as possible.

"yes, midterms, speaking of which, i have another assignment i'd like to discuss with you today. to conclude our study of the influence of catholicism on the burgundian wars, i'm going to ask for a five thousand word essay speaking about your comprehension on the subject. I've printed out a more detailed sheet for you." frollo said, handing a piece of paper to phoebus. 

the student felt a stone drop in his stomach, and his heart sank, glancing over the paper.

"five thousand words, professor?" he asked, hesitantly.

"i expect it finished on monday next week." 

"sir, i would never want to question your teachings, but you have to understand, i have three essays due in other classes. i have to study for an exam this coming friday, and i have numerous other assignments i have to finish, many of them for this class," phoebus tried explaining to frollo, trying to stay as professional as possible.

he would be a fool to give up this opportunity.

"boy, if you complete this course you will have credits you can use for the rest of your life. besides, dropping out now would ensure failure to graduate at the end of the year, not to mention the rejections from all of those graduate schools you applied to, or the interferences with your educational plan. i will drop the word count to four thousand since you are clearly so apprehensive of what should be a simple assignment, but i suppose as long as you get it done it will be alright. now, enough chit chat, the burgundian wars." 

they'd only been speaking for about 20 minutes, with frollo drawing a chart on the whiteboard, pointing to certain ideas as he needed with a long ruler, and phoebus began to doze off. his eyes itched and his brain wasn't processing anything, and sleep lured him into a restful pond.