A Queen and Her Kings

The Mark Felt Around the Universe: Part Three

Divus Crewel was not getting paid enough for this shit.

Huffing, the underpaid alchemy professor sifted through the pre-assessments he had his second and third years do, his right hand itching to hold his cigarette holder and his lungs itching to take a draw. Remembering he was trying to cut back on his bad habit, Divus returned to scoring the assignments with practiced ease. The monochrome haired man soon took notice of a few of his more memorable students as he laid their papers out before him.

Mr. Rosehearts had gotten a 92 with two questions wrong, as expected from the perfectionist. Mr. Ashengrotto had gotten a 98, also expected since he was the top of his class. Both Leech twins had gotten 90's, which honestly scared him. The last time Floyd had scored above an 80 on anything was... well, never.

Raising an eyebrow at the anomaly before him, Divus continued to score the papers.

Mr. Clover and Mr. Diamond had gotten a 94 and an 88 respectively, not the greatest score for Cater, but he still had made quite a bit of progress from last year. Mr. Bucchi had gotten a 90, which made him smile. He knew of the boy's financial situation and was proud of him for working so hard and taking his education seriously despite everything.

'Speaking of Ruggie...', Divus picked up Mr. Kingscholar's paper, and his smile soon turned to a frown as he saw the score.

78... he swore, if that man didn't shape up he was going to be held back again. And it wasn't as if he was actually struggling! The boy was quick as a whip, he just had to apply himself. Rubbing his temples in annoyance and resisting the urge to growl like the creatures he loved so much, the professor took off his coat and loosened his tie. It was already two, but he had the feeling this was going to be an even longer night.

Moving on, Divus took a look at the assessments of Scarabia's dorm head and vice dorm head. A 72 and a 70 respectively. The teacher wasn't surprised by Kalim's score, the boy was such a sweetheart, albeit not the sharpest tool in the shed. Jamil, however...

Crewel narrowed his eyes at the two papers. Over the years, he had begun to notice a pattern in the two's assignment scores; Kalim would score a 70-78, and Jamil would always score just two points below him. If it had just happened a few times, he wouldn't be suspicious, but it had happened on every assignment he had given the two. It was almost as if Jamil was scoring so low on purpose...

Divus began to think. Why would Jamil do that? He knew the boy was bright, you could tell from his eyes; sharp, intellectual and calculating, like he was trying to figure out how much you were worth to him. The boy was good at acting, but you couldn't keep your true self out of your eyes. Years of watching his dear Aunt Cruella deal with the cut-throat sycophants of the fashion industry taught him that much.

Divus felt the wheels turning in his head. Someone must be making him, but who? It couldn't be Kalim, the boy didn't have a mean bone in his body. Perhaps the families of the two boys? Divus was well aware of Kalim's social standing and Jamil's position, he wouldn't put it past someone in either family to put pressure on them to look and behave a certain way. It should be expected, really.

If that was the case, he needed to speak with the two. He needed to know if something was going on at home and how he could help. Crowley may be willing to turn a blind eye for a few grand, but Divus most certainly was not.

He would need to be subtle, though. He wouldn't want Kalim to feel like he was being interrogated, and he didn't want Jamil to panic and do something drastic. It would take a while, possibly months, but he would find out what was going on and what to do about it.

Resolved, Divus moved onto the next papers. A 100 for Mr. Schoenheit, of course, and a 96 for Mr. Hunt, also expected. Mr. Shroud, who had taken the test online and had sent Crewel a paper copy via Ortho, had made a 96. Nothing out of the ordinary there.