CHAPTER 20: "Extra Credit If You Know?"

*Barbara Gordon (Batgirl), Gotham Academy Library

The library's silence was a calming aspect, save for the occasional cough, computer typing, or page-turning. Enjoying the silence was Barbara as she work to finalize some of her last homework before the upcoming winter break. She sat in one of the many rows of rectangle tables that dominated the center of the library, with rows of books crowding the sides. A pile of books that ranged from calculus, chemistry, and AP European history were scattered at her table.

A major point of pride for the Gordon family was Barbara's intelligence and opportunity to enter an accelerated program to graduate from high school early, potentially at just 16. Her father the Commissioner had embarrassed her at several police parties with his loud bragging about his daughter's academic achievements. Barbara had tried to be humble about it, but at times she could not help but poke fun at Dick or Zatanna who in return would huff and remark what a nerd she was.

In fairness, she was.

Looking over her work she checked her study list and gave an annoyed groan. She thought she had finished all the lectures for the AP classes she needed but it turns out there was one more she needed for European Studies that day.

'Greeks and astrology... how tedious,' she thought.

She had wanted to wrap up her homework for the day before joining her father for dinner and then go out on patrol. Things had been tight with keeping an eye on Gotham since Robin had joined a new program under the Justice League. At first, she had thought it was because Batman wanted to give Robin the opportunity to leave his shadow, but considering Robin's obsession over the Blackwater Chief, it might have been a way to just get him out of Gotham.

That left her to pick up some of the extra slack left behind, though Batman had promised that a new member could be joining them in the future, some kid named Todd.

Rubbing her eyes she checked the time for the lecture and saw she had at least an hour before it began.

'Enough time to review the chapter on Greeks I suppose,' she mused opening the AP book and flipping through the pages to find the section.

Behind her, a voice cleared its throat, "Excuse me."

Looking up and turning she saw a young man around her age, tall, fit, with loose black hair that covered partly a light scar on the left side of his head, good-looking but not someone who would stand out in a crowd. Except perhaps for his eyes, they were brown and held a hint of humor and nervousness emphasized by the slight smile he gave her. Perfectly innocent yet... for some reason she felt something was off about his eyes, though it was probably nothing.

"I am terribly sorry to bother you but," he motioned to the front desk, "they said you happened to have grabbed the last AP European Studies book, I was hoping I could borrow it for just a few minutes to review before my lecture?"

Barbara raised an eyebrow at that, "You also attending Professor Pershing's lecture?"

The young man nodded sheepishly, "Unfortunately," he sighed, "I may have forgotten that this was the last lecture before the winter break."

Barbara laughed, "Well then join the club, I am also in a similar boat."

The young man's face took a downtrodden look at that, he must think she would not share. Barbara though decided to be a little charitable and gesturing to a chair next to her, said "I also need to review and left my book at home so I borrowed the library's, we can share and review together."

She finished talking with a smile, which after a moment of hesitation and perhaps nervousness the young man returned before sitting down.

"Thank you so much, I am on a tight budget right now and have to use the library's copies. I appreciate this." He said with genuine gratitude.

Nodding at this, she put her hand out, "Barbara, sophomore Gotham Academy."

The young man shook her hand, "James, homeschooled and proud of it," he said jokingly.

"Homeschooled? You mean you don't go to this school?" Barbara asked.

James nodded, "I use to go to Kane Elementary over at Eastside but... my aunts decided it would be better if I just studied at home which looking back was a godsend."

"Oh I see, but then why are you here going to a lecture?"

James hummed as he glanced at the textbook, motioning for permission Barbara gave it and he brought the textbook closer as he read through the first few paragraphs.

While reading he said, "I am actually trying to get my GED done by the end of the school year, while working on it I was told I could take some college credit, and since I liked history I decided why not."

He looked back up at her, "A few online exams and a requirement to attend at least 3 lectures, and wah-la I get some credits. It also helps they are so cheap, I have college mostly covered but every little bit helps to lower my tuition costs."

Barbara was impressed, "Getting your GED done by the end of this school year is impressive. It is like you are in an accelerated program."

James snorted, "I think I would rather die, I am not that smart, and the only people in those programs are insufferable Einsteins or socially unbearable weirdos."

She couldn't help but laugh at that, "Oh, and have you met a few of those?"

Shrugging he said, "Admittedly no but I have a feeling I could spot them."

"Really, you can spot them?"

"Of course, they have telltale signs."

"I don't think you can."

"You underestimate my power..."

"...your overconfidence is your weakness."

She couldn't help but laugh at James looking taken aback by her out-quoting him. He seemed to of been thinking of a counter-quote when a new thought seemingly entered his head. It was quite comical to watch the wheels begin turning in his head. She could almost imagine his thoughts being, 'She has AP books, attending lectures, was teasing me about my ability to spot them... oh shit.'

He coughed slightly and looked sheepish, "Then again there are exceptions I am sure to the rule..."

Raising her eyebrow Barbara teased, "Oh? And what brought about this very sudden change in opinion?"

James then looked down embarrassed back at the book and gave some muttering that sounded suspiciously like, "Damn book worms."

Looking back up at her, "I don't suppose you would accept an apology?"

Barbara had to give him credit, looking at his embarrassed face she could tell there was sincerity in what he was saying. So she decided to spare him a little, no harm was done and they had been joking anyway. Plus she found him a little cute, in a shy boy kind of way.

"Don't worry about it," she reassured him, "My friends have said similar things in the past."

She scooched her chair closer so she could get a better view of the text, "How about we get this review started."

James looked reassured but still shook his head, "I always stick my foot in my mouth."

Giving him a serious look, she couldn't help but say, "And that is why you fail..."

_______________

Barbara was surprised, to say the least. What started out as her just being polite turned into a pleasant conversation and study review.

Due to her background as the daughter of the Police Commissioner most treated her with careful respect or plain-out brown-nosing. Making honest friends was quite difficult these last few years with such a powerful parental reputation behind her.

'It also doesn't help you are picky as well,' her inner voice said mockingly.

That was... also true. While in public and at social events she could do the part of an extrovert, being charming and making surface-level friends. Her close friend group was rather selective, and the truth is, most were vigilantes themselves or children of other police officers. Her intelligence and Batman's training had made her trust and willingness to invest in such relations much more focused, she did not want to misplace her trust.

So it was a surprise to find herself enjoying the company of this random homeschooler, James. He had proven to be a little bit of a dork but a funny guy to be around as they reviewed for the upcoming lecture. He was quick to tell self-deprecating jokes, and make obscure sci-fi or music references, but was also not afraid to poke fun at Barbara herself. He treated her like she was an old friend, which at first threw her but eventually she grew to like it, it just was the way he was with people.

She had seen that firsthand as they had left to go to the lecture together. As he returned his books he talked up the librarians, cracking jokes and saying hi to a few.

When she asked him how he knew so many of them he said, "Honestly, most of them I have only talked to once in my whole life, but a little kind word here, and remembering a name there and they will help you out in reserving books, classrooms and doing a favor."

It was an interesting paradox she found with James. He had the personality of an introvert, naturally shy, and more comfortable on his own. He had even admitted that he preferred being on his own, and socializing was something that took personal effort but one he had trained because he knew it was important. They shared some similarities in that regard, though Barbara at times could enjoy the social events, James indicated his dread of them.

Making their way to the lecture hall they made small talk about their lives. A comical moment arose while talking about Barbara's family, naturally, talk of her father came up. And when casually mentioning his work as Commissioner his eyes widened in shock and surprise. He sputtered for a few moments connecting James Gordon GCPD's acclaimed commissioner to his daughter Barbara Gordon. To his credit, his surprise quickly evaporated with him complaining that she led him into a trap with that one.

In a way, he had passed a test with his reaction. After hearing who her father was, besides the surprise, he treated her exactly the same as he had before, even daring to poke fun at her father in what he called was probably, 'the epitome of hurt my princess and see what happens.' His lack of care for who her father was made him slightly more endearing. He really seemed not to care at all about her father's position.

James talked about growing up on Eastside and some of the colorful people you could meet there. When she asked if he had been affected by the fires from a few months back he got very quiet.

"Yes... and lost too much," sadness in his soft reply.

Deciding to move away from the obviously sensitive subject she decided to distract him with questions of what his hobbies were. That seemed to perk him back up as he jumped into being a cinephile and enjoyed reading, he was also partial to star gazing though astronomy like most sciences was something he could not wrap his head around.

That led to an intense but friendly argument over the merits of science and the importance of the various studies of it. Barbara after all could not allow the honor of science to be disparaged by this barbarian! Especially since her favorite subjects tended to land squarely in those fields.

Their friendly banter continued well into sitting down in the lecture hall until to their embarrassment the professor gave a loud hmph.

Glaring at them slightly the professor said, "Now that the class is settled we will begin our discussion on the Greeks and the importance of constellations and their later influence on our own astrological naming and references."

James leaned over to her and whispered, "Good job getting me in trouble with the professor already Barbs."

She rolled her eyes and whispered back, "Don't call me Barbs and secondly, I had to put a philistine in his place for daring to dismiss the value of science classes."

He just merely grinned at that before giving his full attention to the lecture.

'What a punk,' she thought with no little amount of amusement.

Perhaps she had made a new friend.

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*Gotham Academy, Lecture Hall 2b

Professor Pershing stared across his lecture hall as students began making their way out. The class had been subdued as they discuss Greek astrology and its effect on modern astronomy. It was the lecture he least like to give to the AP high school students, it just lacked the interest needed to engage them.

Going through the various Greek names of gods and titans tended to make things a little blurry. Discussion about the constellations did pick up some interest as some of the students began talking about how they were 'Piscis or Libres' etc. But that quickly died down as they moved on to the more scientific and practical aspects of the lecture.

In fairness, he could not blame the majority of the high schoolers. Most of them were taking this AP credit simply to cover a college requirement and not because they were passionate about it. He could live with that, he was practical, and doing these few lectures during the year was not really the worst thing.

But he did try his best to encourage participation, even at the end while they were discussing the constellation of Aries or the Ram he tried to entice them with an extra credit question.

"Extra credit to the one who can correctly answer what Greek name or Greek deity was the original point represented in Aries or the Ram for the Greeks."

A few raised hands gave answers such as the Golden Fleece, to Jason and the Argonauts, which while technically correct was not quite the answer he was looking for. A few even threw out Ares the god of war which was quite wrong.

'But at least they tried,' he thought as he glanced at the clock.

Seeing how it was time to end he said, "Thank you for joining me today, next lecture will be held after the break with Professor Jensen on Roman expansion and spread of philosophy."

The bell rang at that very moment and everyone began picking up their books and making their way out of the hall. The professor sat back down in his chair to watch the class depart, once they left he would be able to go home and start his own winter break vacation.

Off to the side, the boy and girl who had interrupted his class at the beginning seemed to be exchanging numbers. Waving goodbye, the girl left but the boy came up to him.

Politely the boy said, "Excuse me Professor I had a question concerning the lecture."

'Hmm, well maybe at least someone was interested,' he thought happily.

He leaned forward on his desk, "Of course, how can I help."

"It is about your extra credit question, about Aries and what myth it connected to. I am partial to history and mythology and so I know that oftentimes the answer to Greek myth can be multiple answers"

The boy hesitated before continuing, "Some of the answers about Jason or the Fleece were correct yet you seemed to indicate that they were not. I am just curious what the real answer you were looking for was?"

"Ah," the professor responded excitedly, "Glad to see some interest in that, I find it personally fascinating."

Leaning back he asked, "What exactly was the question I asked?"

The boy frowned for a moment to think, "What was the Greek name or deity represented in Aries..."

"Not quite," the professor interrupted, "The question was what name or deity was the ORIGINAL representation of Aries, the Ram for the ancient Greeks in their mythology."

The boy looked confused by that, he could see the wheels turning in his head as he tried to run down the list of mythological figures.

"I did cheat and trick the class a little in a few regards to the question," he finally said, bringing the boy's attention back to him.

"The answer I was looking for does not often come up in the classical tale of the constellation but in the constellations themselves and the deity who originally took the ram as its symbol. I will even give you a hint... the word Aries is Latin for a ram, what is the Greek word for it?"

The boy frowned as he considered his words, "The Greek word for a ram, used it as its symbol originally, and is connected to constellations... not a hero... probs a god..."

The professor smile a little as the student muttered his thought process.

"Last hint," he said, the boy's eyes trained on him, he could tell that he was close to the answer.

"The deity you are correct to assume is not a hero, nor is it a monster... it is also not an Olympian," the professor said with a little bit of amusement. The boy really was right there.

That last clue did get a reaction from the boy as his eyes widen and he gave a little laugh, "That does make sense."

Nodding in satisfaction, the professor stood up and began putting his laptop and other tools into his bag, "With all the clues I gave you I won't give you the extra credit, but if you write me a 2-page essay on it I will give the credit to you."

The boy though seemed a little distracted by figuring out the answer and only gave a nod and murmur of agreement. The boy made his way out of the lecture hall, but not before the professor heard the boy muttering to himself.

"The answer was in the name... should have remembered... the Titans... Krios..."