Title: Lessons They Never Taught Me In School

Authors: Red_921 (darkredbeloved@...) and Lady Saddlebred

Archive: when finished to MA please!

Category: Qui/Obi, Angst, Alternate Reality, Drama,

Rating: eventually NC-17

Warnings: first time writing graphic scenes…

Spoilers: none

Summary: School presents a place for people to gather and share information and
ideas. For some people, they share even more. But what could the IT guy have in
common with a Biology Professor?

Feedback: PLEASE FEED THE BUNNIES!! On or off list is fine
~*~*~*~

He pulled out another handful of wires and stared dully at them as they lay like
dead snakes. No one seemed to understand the idea of "Efficiency Through
Order," thus leaving Ben to clean up the literal and figurative messes others
caused. He had been at this job for ten years now without so much as a "good
job"
or even a "thanks for the help" after he had fished this whole university out of
the
pit it had created for itself before he got there.

If it hadn't been for the benefits, Ben was sure he would have just quit and
found
a new job long ago. Stars knew he could get one practically anywhere, and this
place was starting to look more and more like a dead end.

He had relocated to take the job at "The Academy" as it was known locally. The
School for the Academically Gifted was, in Ben's mind, nothing but a school for

snobs. He himself had attended Brighton Plains, on the other side of the city.
It
had been near enough to his parents' home that he had walked to school. Here, it
was assumed you had both a car and an expensive apartment. That, plus the nearly
triple tuition had meant Ben had no chance of getting in, even with his 4.0
grade
point average.

"Were you planning on fixing the problem physically or with your mind, Mr.
Kensington?" The deep voice of the Dean of Students, Mark Winters, cut through
any line of thought Ben had had. He looked up, wires still in hand, to see the
dark
man standing over him. Winters never looked happy, but somehow he looked even
less so now, with Ben elbow-deep in one of his walls.

"Just trying to figure out the best way to approach the problem. A little time
now
could save money and time later." Ben hoped that was enough to cover for his
lapse in attention to the snakes' den in the wall.

"Very well. We will need this classroom in a week for midterms, so make sure
that time is saved." With that, the tall man turned and walked away.

One would never have guessed from that exchange that the Dean was in fact
beloved by the students. He was honored every year with a cabaret-style show
mocking all the other professors, but paying homage to him. Not that Ben was
ever invited to such events. He was only ever there to deal with the tech
problems
that were sure to arise halfway through the show.

A gaggle of giggling coeds stopped at the corner of the hall, whispering and
pointing in Ben's direction. One would think with all the nubile young flesh on
campus that he wouldn't hesitate to take full advantage of the innocent young
things, but something about children with too much money and way too high
an opinion of themselves did not for good romance make. That was all he was

looking for: romance. For all his technological expertise, Ben still dreamed of
finding romance. Someday.

He glanced up as a pair of girls walked over and stopped inches from where he
was
kneeling on the floor.

"I was wondering, since you're so good with all this computer stuff…" The dark-
haired girl hesitated and looked at her friend, blushing. The other girl elbowed
her
and flashed her a look that clearly said, Get on with it already! "See, my
parents
kind of found all the test sites on my computer, so they know I've been… well,
you know, cheating. They say if they catch me doing it again I lose the car and
the
phone." She pouted prettily. "So, hey, could you kind of hide them for me?"

Ben stared at her, mouth agape. It took a second to regain any train of thought.
"I
don't really do that kind of work…"

The very idea that he would help her cheat just so she could keep the car Daddy
had probably given her at 14 and the fancy phone whose bill she didn't even
have to pay made Ben's head throb. All the work he had had to do to stay a good
student, and now this- this… floozy of a girl wanted him to help her cheat?!? If
not for his innate sense of ethics, he would have cheerfully hacked her computer
and programmed it to print in binary! He shrugged and gave her a small smile. "I
guess you'll just have to study harder, huh?"

This was clearly not the answer the girl was expecting, and she tossed her hair
and flounced off, scowling in disbelief. He shook his head as they walked away
muttering to themselves about the "lack of decent help around here," and "who
does he think he is, anyway?" He was letting these arrogant snobs get to him.
Again. He'd sworn he would stay above this pettiness, but after so many years,
it
definitely started to wear on a man.

Ben pushed his hand back into the wall, pulled out a second pile of wires and
began wading through them. He was definitely going to need a drink after dealing
with this mess.