Career Consideration by Pent Ghelsburg
Disclaimer: The characters depicted in this work are purely fictional. Any resemblance to persons alive or dead is purely coincidental. They are the original and rightful intellectual property of their creators. I use them with permission and respect. This work involves underaged characters. You have been warned.
It had been a few weeks since the carnival had left Town. The crew the school had hired had efficiently broken down and shipped off the various pieces of equipment that had been rented. It was a multiple-day process and one where the school had to shut down the area around it to keep students and other people away from the work site. With it now all gone, school life had returned to normal and the decorations around it had been pulled down.
Xavier woke up to the sound of his alarm clock going off. The chipmunk teen groaned as he looked at the clock that showed it was Monday. He was feeling a little sore from the weekend since he had a lengthy Lacrosse practice in addition to going to the community pool with his family. The chipmunk hadn't seen his boyfriend in a few days as Pent had been recovering from a minor illness.
The rodent slowly got out of bed and rubbed his eyes of the crust that had accumulated overnight in them. He stretched and yawned as he stood there briefly trying to wake up. His body ached a bit but he knew he had to bear through it as he slowly walked over to his closet to get his school uniform. Changing out of his pajamas and into the stiff khakis and his favorite color polo.
The chipmunk could smell something in the air as he finished getting ready. The scent of something somewhat unfamiliar wafted around his nostrils. It made his stomach rumble a bit, reminding him that it was breakfast time. The teen made his way down the hallway. As he did so, the scent became stronger. He was all but certain his parents were making something different than they usually did.
He stepped into the kitchen and saw his father strolling about. On the table just behind him was a large plate of cinnamon buns. The baked goods were glazed with frosting and topped with some strawberries.
"Morning, Dad. This looks really good. Thanks for making it." The boy said as he passed by his father to grab something to drink.
The older male looked back towards him. "Oh, it wasn't me. Your mother made it before she left for work. She said you deserved it after your hard work on chores this weekend."
"Sweet, I'll have to thank her later." Xavier poured himself some apple juice.
The boy sat down at the table and picked himself two cinnamon buns. He hadn't had the treats in quite a while but the ones his mother made were always good. Sticking the pastry into his mouth, the baked good was soft and decadent. It was so sweet that it tickled his taste buds and made his lips curl a bit. Xavier enjoyed every bite of it as he chewed down the soft nougaty center where his mother had dabbed a bit of brown sugar.
It was far sweeter than most things he ate. It gave him a bit of a sugar rush after he finished it. Not quite enough to make him hyper but he could feel a bit more energetic than usual because of it. The chipmunk finished the rest of his meal, chomping down on a pear and washing it all down with a swig of juice. Xavier cleaned up the table once he had finished his meal and the food had settled in his stomach.
The chipmunk's father was still busying himself with getting ready for work. As usual, he planned to drop off his sun and then head over there. He quickly yelled over to the teen to let him know to get ready to head out soon. Xavier grabbed his back and put on his socks and shoes before making his way to the door. Already his father was waiting for him by the door with a small brown bagged lunch for himself.
They walked out to his vehicle. It was still somewhat dark outside but there were enough street lights to keep it illuminated. Xavier made his way to the passenger side of the car and buckled in. His father started the car before long and they began the short trek to the academy. The older male turned on the radio so there was no awkward silence exchanged between them.
His father was a big fan of classic rock while the teen was a fan of more modern stuff. Xavier's favorite bands tended to be on the softer side of the spectrum with his favorite group being Indochine. The radio blared out a tune he hadn't heard before as it was an older song. When it ended some advertisements began to play. One of them began to talk about a concert coming to his area.
"Coming to the Bell Centre in a few weeks, the popular Band Alvin and the Chipmunks. Alvin and his bandmates will be at a few shows at the venue. Those interested may purchase tickets online as soon as this Saturday. Options include VIP behind-the-scenes, box tickets, and suite options. Don't miss out!"
This was something that the young Chipmunk boy was not expecting. Alvin and the Chipmunks was not a band he was fond of. Alvin, the titular star frontman, was someone that was far too high-strung for him. However, his boyfriend on the other hand loved the band. The group was one of Pent's favorite musical acts even if it was meant for a younger age group the fox had never outgrown it.
Xavier wondered if the fox had heard about it. Pent hadn't mentioned it recently. The chipmunk had no idea how long it had been advertised for. But the fact of the matter was that it was happening soon. The teen decided he would mention it to his boyfriend and see what he thought about it. He began to think about what it would be like to actually attend a concert with the other boy as it was something he'd never done before.
They arrived at the school after a short while. It was starting to drizzle so many of the students were heading inside to avoid getting wet. The administration had no issue with letting them in early so long as they kept away from the younger student's halls. The most common area to hang out during inclement weather. Xavier waved goodbye to his father and grabbed his bag.
Rushing to the inside, he couldn't help but wonder where Pent would be hiding today. He knew the fox avoided big crowds when he could. It wasn't that he was afraid of crowds but Xavier was well aware that the other teen preferred isolation when possible. The chipmunk decided to text his boyfriend to see where he was rather than guess.
"Hey, Pent. Where are you hanging out in the school?" He typed away into the device.
A short delay followed before his phone dinged. "In the labs with Mr. Bernard."
The brown-furred teen laughed to himself. He should have known that. Pent spent more than enough time in the school labs. So much so that the school's Science department had afforded him special privledge. After all, the teachers were well aware of the teens affinity to the subject. They were doing what they could to foster his interest and involvement in hopes of him spreading his love of Science.
Xavier headed over to the area of the hall where the various Science labs were. This time of the morning, the halls were much more vacant. Only a few other students hung around with most of them stringing along the walls. The chipmunk headed toward room 3D, which was the room where Mr. Bernard's Science lab was assigned. Sure enough, the fox teen was there with the elder rodent.
"Greetings, Mr. Noyer." Mr. Bernard waved to him as he entered.
Pent smiled at his boyfriend. "Hey, Xae. I didn't expect you to come here to hang out. I would have met you somewhere else."
"It's alright. The cafeteria is probably packed and we don't have much time before the first bell anyhow. How are you feeling?" The bigger boy said as he stepped toward a more personal distance.
The rat teacher made his way over to his desk. "If you'll excuse me I have a few things I must take care of before class. Feel free to use the space as you like."
The fox nodded. "Thanks, Mr. Bernard. I'm feeling much better. How about you?"
"I'm feeling good. Pent, you won't believe what I heard about on the radio on my way over from school." The bigger boy wasted no time in getting right to the point.
The white-furred teen looked at him curious. "Hmm. What did you hear about?"
"Well. I know you're a big fan of Alvin and the Chipmunks, right?" The rodent said while pulling out his phone so he could find show information for his boyfriend.
Pent smiled at him. "Yeah, I like them. What about it."
"They will be at the Bell Centre in a few weeks. Maybe we could go together if you want?" It wasn't something Xavier would do alone but he knew the other boy would appreciate it.
The smaller teen's tail wagged behind him. "Really? I thought you didn't like them? You'd want to go with me?"
"Sure, I know you like them. It isn't always about me." Xavier was glad his boyfriend was going along with the idea.
The fox grinned at him. "Totally. I would love to. I'll have to tutor some more cubs for money."
"Cool, let's make it a date then." The chipmunk boy hugged his boyfriend tightly.
The two shared a short embrace before they were interrupted by the older male. "Sorry to barge in but I will need you two to leave now. I have to get this presentation set up. I will see you in electives, Pent."
"Okay, Mr. Bernard. Come on, Xae." Pent broke the hug and tugged on his boyfriend to follow him.
They returned outside the classroom. Now that it was closer to classes starting there were a lot more students out and about. The fox and chipmunk walked over to a nearby open area, somewhat away from the other students. Talking about nothing specific until the first bell rang. Pent waved to the bigger boy as they parted ways and headed towards their first class of the day.
The door to his History class was already open and the middle-aged red panda greeted him as he went past her. The chipmunk noticed that Milo was sitting alone today. A rarity to see him like that so the rodent took advantage and sat next to him. The rabbit smiled at him as the chipmunk took the seat next to him. They didn't have much of a chance to catch up before the woman closed the door and took to the center of the room next to the podium.
She took attendance before she began to speak.
"Today we will be doing something a little different than usual. I will be giving you a career interest survey. We will be having a career fair this afternoon and the survey will place your interest in like jobs for when you are adults. The survey does not obligate you to visit the career booths at the fair but it will give you some ideas. Please answer honestly as it will give you the best results."
"Career Day" as it had been called by the school was something that the secondary school did for its older students. It was much different than the one held at the primary school. The goal of it was not to roleplay but rather to explore different career opportunities. After all the students were older and thus closer to the job force. Some of the students already had part-time jobs and the school was well aware of it.
The woman went to her desk where she turned on the projector. Displaying the desktop of her computer, she showed some of the surveys. The idea of it was for the students to pick things they liked on a scale of 1 to 5. The points would add up to a score that would rate their interest in multiple categories. The final tallies would then rank them and recommend their job matches with only 5 provided but a full profile of their placement interests.
Xavier and the other students got the school laptops out of the desks. It was somewhat rare to have paper assignments anymore. Almost everything they did was on the computers now. Only math and science were where it differed as the teachers still preferred them to show their work. But even in those classes, many assignments were given to them electronically and students were allowed to work on computers even when it wasn't.
The chipmunk waited for the machine to power up. The teacher had set up a digital class platform on the school's website. It was the same place where they got all their electronic work. He accessed the work from the network. It took a few minutes before it populated. A pop-up soon followed with what appeared to be a test. Very simple prompts lined the screen with each of them asking questions about scenarios, tastes, and a number of open responses.
Some of the questions were what one would expect from career aptitude. Xavier had never seen something of the like before. The rodent read through each of them carefully, trying his best to honestly answer each of them. He was curious about what his results would be. The chipmunk had never given much thought to a job. His parents had mentioned it a few times but it had never gone into much detail since he was still young.
Xavier went through the entirety of the test. It was relatively long and it took him a little over half an hour to complete. When he finished, he was presented with a pie chart. The chart placed his interest in several areas. Underneath was a description of the 5 biggest chunks of it with some career suggestions and details of each of them. The chipmunk began to read and analyze them.
The chipmunk found most of his interests lay in the sports realm. The test suggested things to him like being an agent, coach, personal trainer, or reporter. No mention of being an athlete was made but the test had excluded such things due to the rarity of how few made it professionally. Xavier wasn't surprised by the sports and entertainment suggestions but what he found below it somewhat caught him off guard.
His final suggestion fell into the category of "Marketing." Xavier had never thought much about it before. The idea of promoting something to sell it didn't appeal to him much. The chipmunk decided to ignore that particular suggestion. He was certain that it was a mistake. Just reading about it sounded boring to him. Still, the test had given him four suggestions to reach out to during the fair later that day.
For the remainder of the class, Xavier spent reading into some of the suggestions. Of course, he had an idea of what most of them did. The only ones he wasn't entirely certain of were being a personal trainer or reporter. He had no idea how much was involved in some of them. They had many more responsibilities than he expected. After looking into it, he decided that he wasn't as interested in personal training and had narrowed it down to just three things to look into later.
The students were released to their next class. Literature was Xavier's and the class was nothing different. They had just finished the modern take on Dracula and were watching a movie to go with it. The movie was a dramatic romance flick between the fanged villain and a young woman who falls in love with him. Falling pretty to him, the woman becomes his thrall and the two become a big problem for the town.
The class was over quickly and many of the students didn't pay attention to the movie. It was a poorly made film with very few action scenes. Xavier was much the same but he didn't act out because of it. Instead, putting up with it and just enjoyed the downtime before one of his least favorite classes of the day. Already he was dreading math and he was certain they would cover something new.
When it was time for Math class, the rodent was always slow to go over. He trudged out of the room and back into the halls. Milo waved to him as the two shared the class. The rabbit was with Chloe now, the same girl he had been with for the last few weeks. As usual, the girl was hanging tightly to him. Xavier decided to keep his distance as he didn't want to infringe on their time.
Inside the math class, he sat beside Santiago's younger sister. The squirrel girl was much like her older brother. She was in peer counseling and was an up-and-coming member of it. The two of them were familiar with each other and had been friends since the beginning of the school year. The girl smiled at him as he approached her. Xavier sat down and took out the book from under the desk.
Math was one of the few classes that still had a physical textbook. The teacher was old-fashioned and still relied on physical text for some of the work. They weren't quite a mizer but had found it hard to completely move away from the books they'd used over the last few years. Xavier opened the thick text and waited for the teacher to come into the room. It wasn't long before the older male appeared from a staff break room sipping some coffee.
The grey-furred lynx was a teacher that very few students liked. He was brash and blunt. Telling students to their faces about every little mess-up they made. Some of the younger students were afraid of him. He was a no-nonsense style of teacher who showed no solace for students slacking off. The administration liked him because of all the teachers, he had by far the fewest amount of disciplinary issues in his class.
The man fixed his thick glasses, stepping over to his smart board. He tapped it a single time with a plastic smart pen that turned the thing on and began his lesson. Going into the specifics of quadratic functions. It was a concept they'd visited before but they were now delving a bit more into detail about it. Xavier tried to listen and understand the explanation but much of what the lynx said went over his head.
When it was time for the assignment, the man tapped the board causing it to turn off. "Turn to page 141 and do problems 1-20. Homework will be 21-50."
His assignments were more often from the book than not. The students all sighed as they opened the books in front of them. Xavier looked over at the squirrel girl next to him, and she looked just as clueless as he was. The chipmunk tried to troubleshoot using the guide on the pages. The teacher went around making sure everyone did their work and only offered help when students asked, which rarely happened.
Xavier struggled through the assignment. Knowing that his boyfriend would help him later was often an out for him. Still, he tried but math had only gotten harder for him since entering the class. He did what he could to get by but there was no doubt math was not his strong point. Regardless he was able to get by with effort, and a little help from his boyfriend still managing to get a decent grade to please his parents and keep them happy.
The class ended before long and the bell for his next class sounded. Xavier had Science next. It was the one class he wanted to better understand more than any other. Simply because his boyfriend was what he called a "Science Nut". His own class was much less advanced than the foxes as he was still in "Earth Science", a class that covered the mere basics of Geology and Environmental studies.
Science class was a bit less intense for Xavier. It was field day which meant they weren't in the classroom. Instead, they were taken outside to do some sampling. The students were tasked with finding each type of rock. The expedition was a simple one where they would be participating in excavation. The teacher and her assistants had set up each of the rocks at a dig site so they could be properly identified. It was a hands-on opportunity to experience what a Geologist might do.
The next classes went by much quicker than math did for the Chipmunk. Even his language class went by quickly as the teacher was out and he ended up having a substitute. This led to some busy work being assigned at the last minute. Towards the end of it, his stomach was already rumbling as he was anticipating going to lunch. It wasn't much longer before the bell rang signaling the middle of the day.
Xavier did not rush out, keeping with the middle of the crowd. Maintaining pace with them so he wasn't trampled. He was eager to discuss the whole career thing with his boyfriend, though he had an idea of what the other boy had gotten. After all, Pent's interests were more narrow than his were and his skills were much more slanted towards academics than anything else.
The chipmunk made his way into the lunch room. Already the lunch
room was congested with other students. The smell of whatever they were cooking that day was thick in the air. The constant chatter, the plastic thud of lunch trays, and the patter of footsteps was raucously repeating. It seemed much more full than usual and it didn't appear to have as many empty spaces as usual.
The rodent filed into the line and out of the corner of his eyes he caught the school vice principal stepping up to the stage. The lean bearded dragon was a muscular man who many knew for his time in the school's gym. Despite working for the district, the man was known for being down to earth and many students liked him. As he approached the microphone and tapped on it some of the background noise died down.
"Good afternoon, students. Can I have your attention for a moment, please? I hope you don't mind that I crashed your lunchtime today. The administration has an important announcement to share with you and it only has to do with the senior classes."
More of the background noise continued to get lower as he mentioned it was specifically regarding the seniors.
"As you will notice, today is a bit more crowded than normal. This is because both divisions of lower senior classes' lunches have overlapped. After lunch, both divisions will make their way to the school gymnasium. There you will find the career fair that will accompany the aptitude test each of you took earlier. There will be no gym class today for either of you. We hope you will take advantage and that you will enjoy it. Thank you for your attention. Senior division 2 you are dismissed back to your classes."
The bearded dragon left the stage and the older students got up to head out. They had only stayed behind to hear the announcement. This thinned out the crowd substantially and there were many more empty seats now. The chatter soon picked up again as the usual hubbub of lunchtime continued soon after he left. Xavier looked around to find Pent and found the fox sitting by himself over in the corner.
Xavier waited his turn to grab his lunch tray and was served the food by one of the assistant servers. He could see the young Rhino man in the back but it seemed he was busy with cooking something. The chipmunk took hold of his plastic tray and made his way back towards the main part of the cafeteria. The rows of seats alongside the tables were beginning to fill up again but there was still plenty of space.
The rodent headed back to where Pent had hidden himself. It wasn't abnormal for the teen to self-isolate. They weren't allowed to go outside that day due to the career fair people coming through the school. Many of them had to travel back and forth through the rear portion of the building since the gym was toward the back of it. It didn't bother most students since many didn't take advantage of going outside.
The brown-furred boy sat down next to his boyfriend. "Hey, Pent. How were classes?"
"They were good. Chemistry got into the dialysis of chemicals and how it's used in treating kidney problems. How about you?" The fox smiled at him.
Xavier began tearing into the juice box. "Math was a pain. I have homework again. Do you think you could help?"
"Yeah, if your parents let me. They have been more difficult about it lately." The smaller teen nibbled on his meal.
The chipmunk rolled his eyes at the fact. "I'll talk to them about it tonight. What did you get on the career thing?"
"Alright, just let me know. I got Astronomer, Chemical Engineer, Doctor, Research Scientist, and Professor. What did you get?" Pent looked over at the other boy.
The rodent chuckled at him. "I got mostly sports stuff. Sports Agent, Coach, Personal Trainer, Reporter, or Marketing Specialist. I didn't like the sound of Personal Trainer or Marketing Specialist."
"I could see you being good at those for sure. Are you just going to visit the other three booths then?" The white-furred boy went back to finishing his meal.
Xavier did the same. "Yeah, what about you?"
"I will probably talk to a few of them. I don't think I could do all five. I might skip the Doctor since it's easier to find one to talk to about it."
The brown-furred boy nodded at him. "That sounds like a good plan to me."
The two teens continued eating their meals moving the conversation onto something else. Talking amongst themselves until the bell rang. Lunch was always shorter than it seemed as the time always flew by. The vice principal and a few other members of the administration were hanging over by the door. The students were being filed out more slowly as more students than normal were in the halls to go to the gym.
The chipmunk and fox got into the line leading out of the cafeteria. The line out of it was much longer than usual. Slowly it fed through the steel doors into the hallway. The hallways were even more congested. Wall to wall was filled with students. More members of the staff lined along the walls to maintain as much order as possible. Despite the number of students, there wasn't much pushing or shoving.
Pent and Xavier filed into the group and made their way toward the gym. Just like going out of the cafeteria, it took longer than usual. They kept their hands locked together so they didn't get separated. Continuing at a snail's pace towards the large open doors of the gymnasium. On the front of it a tattered sign that read "Career Fair" was taped to both sides of it. The students were being fed into it to the fair itself.
Once inside, the two teens found that things were much more spread out than they expected. The bleachers in the basketball arena had been removed and the hoops had been stored away in storage. The entire area had been left open with all sorts of booths set up along the walls and around the perimeter of the court. Overtop them were signs as each area of the arena had been set up for different job types.
The chipmunk and fox separated at that point since they had to go to different areas of it. Xavier headed towards the sign that read "Sports and Entertainment" and Pent went towards the sign that said "Science and Technology." The fox made his way through the crowd, trying his best to not knock into anyone. He was far from the biggest teen so most of the other students were larger than he was.
The white-furred boy headed back to the rear of the arena. It was much more spacious around the Science and Tech area. Only a few other students were walking around, all of them were older than he was. Pent made his way over to one of the booths where a younger woman wearing a lab coat sat next to a placard with some pictures on it. In front of her were some pamphlets and a volunteer sign-up sheet.
The teen felt a fit of nerves bundle up inside him. He was never great at introducing himself let alone starting a conversation. He'd gotten a little bit better at it with Xavier's help but he was still nervous when it came to new people. He stopped himself a moment until the woman taking care of the station noticed him.
"Hello, there. You can come over. I promise I don't bite." She said in a soft and inviting tone.
Pent hesitated a moment more before he approached it as he was familiar with the company that was hosting it. "Zap Chemical" was a fairly large business in pharmaceuticals. They were involved in just about every medicine that was made both in prescriptions as well as over the counter. He stood in front of her as she craned her neck down at him. The giraffe was quite tall, even sitting down and she looked rather bored. She smiled at him as he was the only one who had come to her table so far.
"See it's not so bad is it What's your name?" She said with a Congolese accent.
The fox boy looked up at her. "My name is Pent. Can you tell me a little bit about what you do for work?"
"To put it simply, I make chemicals. We make everything from medicines and treatments to tonics and supplements." The giraffe pushed forward a small slip of paper with the company's public projects listed on them.
The white-furred boy read over it. Some of them were medicines he heard of but there were a few he didn't.
"Do you spend a lot of time in the lab?" The teen looked at the pictures of various workers at the facility.
She shook her head. "Not particularly. I spend most of my time in Research and Development."
"What is involved in that?" Pent was somewhat familiar with the term but had never looked much into it.
The giraffe smiled at him, glad to see he was interested. "Research is what it sounds like. Development is taking that research and putting it into practice. Think of it like this. We have a new test antihistamine that we recently produced. We invited volunteers to try it. We test the product and try to improve it."
"That's neat. What does a volunteer position entail?" The fox asked after briefly looking at the signup sheet.
The woman smiled at him. "It would depend on your experience and knowledge of the subject. Most teenage volunteers shadow our seniors. Your responsibilities would be limited and watched over by them but they vary depending on who you are assigned."
"I'm interested. Is it something I can just do on Sundays?" Pent signed his name on the sheet and provided his contact email.
The giraffe nodded. "That is correct. You may come whenever you like. There is no obligation. You only need to have your parent's permission and a ride to the facility."
"Oh, okay. My foster mother probably won't care. I can just bike there. Where is the facility?" The teen needed to make sure it was in a close enough distance that he could ride to.
The woman thought about it for a moment. "The closest to the school isn't that far. We do have a shuttle for employees if it becomes a problem so just let me know."
"That sounds good. Thanks, I look forward to it." Pent started to walk away, deciding to see what else was available.
Walking through the various booths,
there wasn't much in the Science and Tech Area. A few hospitals had set up booths with nurses from various practices talking to a small select few older teens. Pent passed by them, finding his way to another booth where he saw a familiar publication that had set up a space. A well-known research magazine known as "Scientific Canadian."
Pent hadn't considered stopping by this booth before but he decided to check it out. There was one of the editorial writers, an older jaguar taking care of the station. The man looked at him but didn't move much as the younger teen approached him. On the table in front of him were a few of the articles they had published. They didn't do very many print magazines anymore and had moved to a mostly digital platform.
He briefly looked over it. The articles were ones he had read over before. Pent believed the magazine had been watering down its content. As he'd understood more of the concepts they covered, much of it seemed to be a Layman's approach at best. For someone like him, it didn't meet his expectations. The fox thought about it a moment and decided to not look into it further instead he figured he would check on his boyfriend.
He walked over to the other side of the fair where he saw the Sports and Entertainment section of it. The fox wove through traffic, avoiding the other students so he didn't bump anyone. He continued walking until he was at the section where there was a lot more students. The booths were much larger and more extravagant with intricate displays to attract attention. After all there was much more competition and the exhibitions were well aware of it.
Pent continued walking through the crowd. Finding Xavier was harder than he anticipated. The chipmunk was bigger than he was but he was still smaller than most of the other students. Neither of them were tall for their age. He made his way back to the booth where one of the largest broadcasting firms was recruiting volunteers. A lanky porcupine man stood wearing a dark blue blazer and wore a lapel with the company logo on it.
In front of him was Xavier and a number of other students that Pent didn't know. The chipmunk was talking to one of the assistants and appeared to be taking an interest in what they were offering. Pent approached him from behind and waited for him to finish.
"Ah, yes. We do have a few more spots available for boys. The girl's spots filled up rather quickly. Would you be interested in trying it out? We always need junior reporters." The woman in front of him said.
The chipmunk nodded. "Yeah, I would like that. It sounds neat. Can I report on Lacrosse?"
"Certainly. We do not currently have anyone covering the Rocks or the Thunderbirds. Do you have a preference?" She followed up.
Xavier shrugged. "Not really. I like the Thunderbirds but I tend to watch the Rocks since they are on the local channels more often."
"That works. You can do both if you like. You can shadow Mavis Poneau. He has been looking for help." She handed him a tablet to sign up with his information.
The rodent typed in his information before thanking the woman and walking away. He noticed his boyfriend was nearby and seemed a bit surprised to see him in that area of the fair.
"Oh hey, Pent. Are you done?" The brown-furred boy walked towards him.
Pent shook his head. "Nah, I only checked out two. I wanted to see how you were doing."
"I'm doing good. I signed up for the Myers Broadcast Junior Anchor Program. How about you? Did you find something yet?" Xavier asked as his ears perked up in curiosity.
The fox nodded at him. "I signed up to be a volunteer on Sundays at Zap Chemical."
"Oh, that's cool. I don't think I've heard of them." They started to walk together toward a less crowded area of the fair.
The smaller one looked over at him. "It's a pharmaceutical company. They make medicines and chemicals for experiments."
"That sounds right up your alley. I want to hear about it." The chipmunk put his arm around his boyfriend.
Pent smiled lightly. "I will. I can't wait to see you on TV. I bet you'll be great. Are you nervous?"
"Nah, it won't be bad. I'm not afraid of speaking in front of people. I have to do it sometimes since I'm the captain of the team." The brown-furred boy was confident in his ability even if the challenge was slightly different.
The two of them continued to walk around together. Seeming content with what they had found but still checking out a few of the other booths. Spending time in both the Science and Tech area as well as the Sports and Entertainment one. Both of them were able to find one more volunteer opportunity. Xavier decided to try out his hands at coaching while Pent figured he would rotate the Zap opportunity with a field study group.
The rest of the career fair was a bit of a whirlwind. Many of the students were rushed. The older ones knew they had to find internships. It wasn't as simple as "volunteering". They had to qualify and be recruited. Of course, it was still easier than finding a job but for many of them, it was their first time trying to appeal to potential managers. The school had incentivized the selection process, making each of them get a small kickback through a provincial tax break program.
There was an announcement towards the end of school. "Please proceed to get ready to leave. Each group of the section will be dismissed in groups. Division 1 you may begin heading out."
As with before the various members of the administration had staged members of the staff around to make sure things remained orderly. Pent and Xavier waited until Division 2 was called. They filed out with the rest of the crowd. Movement was slow and students pushed forward through the congestion. It took quite a while before they reached the front of the building and the rest of the students took just as long.
In front of the building, the two teens stayed idle for a bit. It was still a short while before the final bell and several minutes passed before it rang. Students from the gymnasium were still filling out. The additional crush of students from the younger cubs only added to the slowness of how things were running. Even still, it remained orderly and the administration did a good job of making sure nothing happened.
Pent and Xavier hung out in front of the building, waiting for the fox's younger brother. Samaliel appeared to find the two teens holding hands. It was something he'd seen them do plenty of times so it wasn't like it was surprising. The salt and pepper fox waved to them as he approached them.
"Hey, Sama. How were classes?" The older fox asked his brother.
Samaliel looked up at him. "They were good. Just two assignments for homework. How about you guys?"
"Classes were fine. We didn't have electives because of career day." Xavier answered for the two of them.
The white-furred boy nodded. "Yeah, they closed off the gym for it."
"Oh, is that why they cut off the gym after you guy's lunchtime?" The younger boy hadn't been aware of it outside of his schedule being changed for the day.
Xavier pointed to the back of the school where the various representatives were now leaving the building. The school had never intended the event to last for more than one day as it was the easiest way to not interfere with the non-involved groups. Despite it being shorter, it had been successful. Many of the students had landed volunteer gigs and the older ones had mostly gotten what they needed for internships.
The chipmunks parents soon arrived, somewhat earlier than they usually did. He heard his father's voice. The rodent hugged his boyfriend before making his way over to the car. Leaving Pent with his brother. The two fox boys hung out and waited until the bus showed up. The older boy showed his career test results. Samaliel wasn't surprised by what his brother got but then again neither was anyone else for that matter.
The bus showed up after a short time and the driver was a different one than usual. A hefty hippo woman now sat in the driver's seat. She scowled at each of them as they entered the vehicle, avoiding their gaze. It was apparent she wasn't in the mood to be there. Pent and Samaliel filed onto the bus and sat in the first seat available.
"Hey, do you think you could help me come up with a Science Project this weekend? Our teacher is making us participate." The salt and pepper fox said with a sigh.
Pent looked at him. "Yeah, of course I can do that."
"Any ideas off the top of your head?" The younger boy assumed his brother would have something.
The white-furred boy hummed. "We could do something with the catalysis of cold packs."
"French please…" The smaller cub had no idea what his brother meant.
The older fox chuckled at him. "Basically experiment with how well they work and how quickly they wear out."
"Oh, yeah. That's not a bad idea. Maybe we can do that." Samaliel scratched the bottom of his chin.
The bigger boy smiled. "I still want you to look into more than that. Regardless of what you decide, I will help you."
"Thanks, bro. I will. I knew I could count on you to help me." The younger brother started to play a game on his phone.
Pent decided to read a book and for the rest of the ride, they didn't say anything else to each other. It wasn't a long ride to their apartment so they didn't have much time to do what they were doing. The bus pulled in front of the complex and there appeared to be some other furs in front. The two foxes had seen them around before but to see so many at once was uncommon. They made their way out of the bus and toward the parking lot of the complex.
Going past the small group of people, they couldn't help but overhear the conversation. It seemed to be an argument about an undone repair. Pent and Samaliel decided to ignore it and move on since the conversation did not involve them. They continued on their way up the stairs
to the second floor. The older fox let them in and his brother rushed inside without much of a delay.
"Make sure you do your homework. No games until you finish. I want to check it." Pent said raising his voice a bit so the other boy could hear him.
The salt and pepper boy raised his voice back. "Yeah, I will. I promise."
The older boy knew his brother was far from the best at maintaining his priorities. Samaliel often rushed his homework to get it done. His grades were average at best and he didn't much care to improve them. Despite several conversations about it, the younger boy hadn't changed much. Still, Pent stayed on top of him. Ever persistent that his work ethic would eventually rub off on him.
The fox took off his shoes and headed toward the front room where his computer was set up. He decided to not check up on Samaliel at least for now. Instead of tackling his own assignments and helping his boyfriend with his. The white-furred boy powered the thing on and kicked back into the flexible office chair. The thing squeaked a bit as it adjusted underneath the shift in his body weight.
Pent did his homework while he waited for Xavier to log on. He knew it took a bit longer for his boyfriend to log on. After all, the chipmunk lived a bit further from the school than he did. His assignment wasn't particularly hard. He had finished most of it in class and it was just a matter of checking his work. The fox was just as keen as always to get perfect marks, no matter what class it was.
It wasn't long before the rodent popped on. His familiar screen name and icon plus the sound that Pent had set up notified him immediately. By that point, he had finished what was left of his assignment. Pent decided to let the other boy message him first since he wanted to let him settle in. A few minutes later the brown furred teen sent him a message.
"Hey, Pent. My parents said you could check my work when I'm done. They want me to do it without your help. Can you come back later?" Xavier said shortly over the messaging app.
The fox figured that would be the case. "Sure. I'll check back on you before bed. I can just check it on my phone."
"That sounds good. I'll talk to you then. I need to get to work." The chipmunk signed off soon after.
The white-furred teen got off as well since he needed to check on his brother. The fox turned off the computer and grabbed his bag before heading back towards his room. Sure enough, Samaliel was sitting at the desk typing away at whatever he was doing.
"Are you working on your homework?" Pent asked as sometimes the other boy got off track.
The younger boy was caught off guard. "I just got started so no."
The bigger fox looked at the screen and caught a glimpse of what he'd been doing. The younger boy had just been forced to quit a game. He knew that because he had just closed the window and the window icon hadn't gone away.
"No more games. I know you were playing something." The white-furred teen looked at his brother with a stern gaze.
Samaliel sighed. "I won't. I promise."
"If I catch you again then I will take it away. Is that clear?" The older boy could be strict when he wanted to.
The salt and pepper cub looked at him. "Yeah, I know. I won't do it again."
"Good. Get to work. What do you want for dinner?" Pent put his bag on the floor to the side of the bed.
The younger cub thought about it a moment. "How about shrimp pasta?"
"Sure, I will make that." The teen didn't mind making seafood since occasionally he ate it for protein.
The older fox made his way back out of the room and towards the kitchen. Turning on the stove and range tops so that he could prepare the food. Pent looked through the pantry and found some noodles he could use for the pasta, wondering if he could make stir fry out of it instead. Mixing in some veggies and fish along with the noodles he put in some hoisin sauce to give it a bit more flavor.
Pent put it in some water, deciding to turn off the stove since he didn't need it. He figured his brother would like it since it was still sort of pasta. He worked on making it for the next few minutes. Rotating between it throwing some rice into the water and putting it in a steam cooker. He wanted it to be as authentically Asian as possible, even if didn't know everything that was involved in making it.
The food didn't take long to create so he shouted back down the hallway to his brother. Samaliel sped into the kitchen as he wasn't one to wait for food. The younger cub rushed into the kitchen.
"What's that smell? It doesn't smell like pasta." Samaliel said as the aroma was one he wasn't that familiar with.
The older fox poured some drinks into two cups. "It's stir fry. I figured it would be a nice change from just regular old pasta and marinara sauce."
"Oh, that sounds good. You're a good cook, Pent." The smaller cub sat down at the table.
Pent smiled at him. "Thanks. It's ready I just need to serve it up."
The white-furred teen worked to deliver the food and sat aside his younger brother. The two of them ate with not much said between them. In his mind, Pent was already thinking about helping Xavier but he knew he needed to check on the younger cub again. It hadn't been long since he'd checked before but he wanted to make sure that his brother was back on task. They finished the meal before long and as usual, Samaliel took over cleanup since his brother had taken care of cooking it.
Pent headed back into their room. He checked on the computer and saw that his brother had made some progress on the assignment. Reading through it briefly, it did seem that the younger fox was trying. The older boy decided to check on his boyfriend to see if he finished and sent him a quick text.
"Are you done? I have a bit of free time now to check your work." The fox typed it into his phone.
A few minutes passed before there was a response. "Yup. I just sent the assignment to your email. Can you please check it?"
"Yup, sure can. Give me a bit." The teen sat down on his bed and scrolled through his phone to find the email in question.
The fox stopped texting and opened the email to download the attachment. Xavier's assignment was nothing more than functional transformation. It was a simple concept, at least for him. The work wasn't overly complex with a few graphs included that Xavier had to coordinate and line up properly. He went through the assignment and corrected the problems he found and included some notes for his boyfriend to review. It didn't take him long to finish it.
"Xavier, I finished. I went ahead and sent you back the work. Just review it and you should be good for whenever there is a test." Pent sent a text back to him after sending the email with the assignment.
A short while later the rodent responded. "Thanks, Pent."
"No problem. Good night, Xae. I love you." Pent responded glad that he could help.
"I love you too." The chipmunk texted back quickly.
Pent grabbed his pajamas from the wardrobe and made his way to the bathroom to do his usual routine. Stripping off his clothes so he could take a shower. Rinsing his body and soaping himself up before shampooing his thick fur. The inside of it smelt like the aroma of the wash and it tickled his nose a bit. Stepping out to dry himself and change back into his pajamas to wind down for the night.
Returning to his room, he grabbed a book for the rest of his night. Samaliel poked his head into the room after taking a shower himself and already his brother was buried in another book. The salt and pepper fox shuffled his way back to the computer to finish what he was doing. He didn't bother his brother since he was confident he could do it himself. Spending a bit longer to finish it so that he wasn't chastised by the older teen again.
It was a short while later before he finally completed it. Samaliel played a single round of a game before turning off the computer. Spinning around, he padded over to the wardrobe to grab. Pent was still face first in the book he was reading. Completely absorbed in it and unaware the cub was looking at him. The book was about something in Microbiology which was his brother's latest fascination.
Samaliel climbed up the ladder as he didn't want to bother his brother. He figured eventually that the older fox would stop. The younger fox toned down while the teen continued to read into the content-heavy book before him. Losing track of time, the fox yawned before he realized it was getting late. Putting down the book, he looked out the window briefly and realized it was pitch dark outside.
Pent got up to put it away and climbed up the ladder to kiss his brother's forehead. Already his brother was asleep and didn't budge at all from the light show of affection. The older fox turned off the lights and padded back to the bottom bunk. He yawned and stretched briefly as the fatigue from the day was finally catching up to him. Turning into the bottom bunk, he covered himself with sheets and a thin blanket as he got ready.
The rest of the night was a quiet one for the two boys. Pent's mind was restful that night as he'd overworked it once again. The constant indulgence in information and curiosity sometimes got to him. Though that certainly didn't stop him as his thirst for information was boundless. It didn't take him long to fall asleep. Neither of them would be visited by dreams that night as both of them were over-tired. Both of them ever eager for the next day to experience new things and see what came with it.
