Under the Same Sky [BOYXBOY]

Chapter 61

Leo slammed his books down with a furious thud causing several heads to rise. He pulled a chair from the table and sat down angrily.

Cam didn't look up from his book. It was the middle of the day and most of the third years were holed up in the library as they studied furiously for their upcoming finals.

Leo frowned. He shifted his chair, causing it to scrape noisily on the floor tiles. Cam didn't look up. He shifted his chair more loudly this time. Cam, however, still didn't look up.

He was about to shift his chair again when someone cleared their throat loudly behind him. He looked up to meet the stern face of the librarian who glared down at him.

He grinned awkwardly and mouthed an apology. The librarian gave him one last glare before stalking off to harass another unfortunate student who had had the misfortune of letting out a small cough in her hallowed halls.

'Are you happy now?' Cam asked, his face still buried in his book.

'No, I am not. That's the point!' Leo complained.

Cam raised a pointed eyebrow. 'Do you want to get kicked out?'

Leo gave a furtive glance behind him to make sure Mrs. Pierce was out of earshot before turning back to Cam. 'I am not happy, that's the point!' he said, this time in a much lower voice.

Cam sighed and finally looked up from his book. He marked his page carefully before closing it. 'Fine, since whatever it is so important to interrupt my reading, why don't you just tell me what it is?'

Leo was elated to be finally getting the attention he deserved. He settled himself properly before launching into his tirade.

'Our teachers are sadists!' he began. 'How could they give us this much homework? Plus, we have to study for all those tests next week and we have to write our essays on top of all that! It's madness! It's criminal! It's inhumane! What do they think we are? Robots? Animals? This is child labour!'

Cam stared at him. 'Is that all?'

Leo considered it for a moment. 'Well, yes, I guess so.'

'Good,' Cam said. He picked up his book and continued where he had left off.

'Hold on, hold on,' Leo protested. 'What about me? You can't just leave me like this?'

Cam sighed and looked up. 'What do you want me to do about it?'

'I don't know, but we have to do something. We can't just let it go on like this. We have to stand up for our rights!'

Cam gave him an incredulous look. 'You do realize that we have finals, right? The work is for your own good, and if you had gotten started on them like the rest of us instead of complaining, you wouldn't be so overwhelmed.'

He shook his head and went back to his book. 'But what do I know, you never listen to me anyway.'

'But,' Leo began but fell silent when Cam glared at him over his book. He kept his mouth shut. He may be hot-tempered and Cam, slow to anger, but he knew better than anyone that when he got there, Cam's temper was fiery enough to match and even surpass his.

He decided to get back on Cam's good side by following his suggestion and getting started on his work. He worked in silence, the only sound between them coming from the occasional wrinkle of paper as Cam turned the pages of his book.

He looked up hesitantly after a while. He had reached a particular question and didn't know how to answer it.

'Cam,' he said carefully, testing the waters.