[Milliways]: Final Exam

The day has been so long in coming that Posner can't quite believe it's actually here. He wakes up much earlier than he needs, and he can't help sitting down with his books, going over a few things just one last time. When he can't put it off any longer, he heads downstairs, deciding to forgo breakfast all together. Just the thought of eating makes him nauseated. His mother fusses, and his father sits nervously, fiddling with his spoon. In the end he gets a long hug from one and an awkward one from the other, and even his uncle calls out, "Good luck!" as he heads out the door.

Both he and Scripps are uncharacteristically quiet on the ride into school. Posner doesn't even bring his Walkman.

When they arrive, the auditorium has been cleared out except for eight desks in two rows, a table set up on the stage in front. They sit, exchanging nervous smiles, shedding their jackets, several of them already rolling up their sleeves. Before Posner even has time to settle in, the exams are handed out and Mrs. Lintott is telling them to begin. Seconds later, Posner hears a soft, "...shit," from Rudge just behind him.

He silently echoes the sentiment.

For the first few minutes, all Posner can think about is the ticking of the clock. For a brief moment, he stares at the first essay, and the words swim on the page, fuzzy and indistinct, and he wonders if it mightn't be in a completely different language, alien and unfamiliar.

And then it settles into coherence, and he sets pen to paper.

And then it's over.

The exams are gathered, and David takes a deep breath. He's made it through, and he' s done his best, done what he believes he needed to in order to get through, to stand out.

He's annoyed with himself and with the system, but he doesn't regret it. He can't. Not if it gets him into Oxford.

There's a series of sighs rippling across the room as they all stand, gathering their things, slinging jackets over shoulders or pulling them back on.

In front of him, Timms is telling Totty, "Bit hit or miss...Miss."

Posner pulls a face as he passes her. "I was so nice about Hitler," he admits. "A much misunderstood man."

And behind him as he reaches the exit, he hears Akthar's voice, "Queen Elizabeth, Miss. Less remarkable for her abilities then the fact that, unlike so many of her sisters, she got a chance to exercise them."

Mrs. Lintott's, "That's the stuff," is lost in Posner's musing that 'singing the praises of the Empire' is not too far off as a description.

He suspects neither of them will tell their parents what they wrote about.


[ooc: All dialogue comes from the Fox Searchlight film The History Boys.]

[Milliways]: Milked in Oxford

It's always odd to be at school and out of uniform, even more so to be out of uniform and yet still wearing a jacket and tie. Posner carries an overnight bag with him as they file out the front doors. He supposes he'll get a real idea of what student life is meant to be like this time, dorms and meals and all.

"Hope they don't mind the trainers," says Lockwood in front of him. "They're all I've got."

"It's not an examination in footwear," Timms opines.

"Somebody told me when you go to the bogs, it's about four miles," Posner offers, opening the door to one of Cutlers' ridiculously un-posh vans. (He doesn't actually speak from experience. He and Moist didn't make it quite that far.)

"Listen," Timms says from his place by the other van. "Do you want to go to Oxford, or do you want to go somewhere with a shit degree that has toilets en suite?"

"What I say," says Rudge, "is if they don't like me, then fuck 'em."

"Oh, Peter, I wish I had your philosophy," Timms says as Crowther shuffles him into the van.

"What'll you do?" Scripps asks Dakin. "Flutter the eyelashes as usual?"



[ooc: Opening dialogue comes from the Fox Searchlight film The History Boys.]