my_b7_fic

Roj sat in the chair swinging his legs, and sucking his thumb, all big eyes and tousled curls. He still didn't understand why his teacher had caught him by the hand and dragged him, half-running, to the prefect's office. He didn't even know what a prefect was.

"Now, Roj," the man said, "you must follow the rules. They're good rules." He pulled a little blue-backed pamphlet out of his desk. "You should read the student handbook."

Roj pulled his thumb out of his mouth to protest, "But, thir, I don't know how to read yet." He brightened. "I can count to seben, though!"

The man frowned at him. "You must concentrate on your studies, young man. I will read the relevant passage to you. It states: 'Displays of affection should not occur on the school campus at any time. It is in poor taste, reflects poor judgment, and brings discredit to the school and to the persons involved.'."

Roj frowned in confusion, a line forming briefly across his little pink forehead. "Thir, what does that mean, thir?"

"It means that you are NOT to run around the play yard kissing the other children! Most especially, you are not to kiss the boys!" The prefect spoke sharply and slapped his hand on his desk, making Roj jump.

Roj's huge, honey-colored eyes filled with tears. "But, but, they're my friends!"

"You are an Alpha! Alphas do not have friends!" The prefect nodded to Roj's teacher, who pulled Roj across his lap and gave him three strokes on his bare pink buttocks with the Approved Correctional Device. Roj cried all the way back to the schoolroom, rubbing his sore bottom with one hand and sobbing messily as he was hauled along again.

He sat in his seat, looking down at his desk, and snuffled. None of the other children spoke to him, but when the teacher was bending over Tynus's desk to scold him for drawing bugs outside the lines on his coloring-in assignment, Roj felt something pressed into his hand. He looked up, and saw little Kerry smile at him before returning to filling in the black on a trooper's uniform. Roj sniffed, unwrapped the grubby sweetie and popped it in his mouth before the teacher could see him. He smiled.

---

The next day, Kerry chased Roj all over the play yard, and pulled his hair. They had a glorious battle before the teacher hauled them both in to the prefect. This time he smiled and gave each of them a gold star for conduct. "Now, you see, Roj, that is how life is. No one is your friend. You can depend on no-one except the Federation itself."

Roj nodded dutifully. When he got home, he took the tiny teddy bear that Kerr had slipped into his shirt during their tussle, kissed the bear and put it under his pillow. "I love you, Kerry," he whispered as he fell asleep.