#tfttla

When he was eight years old, Theta Sigma, like most young Time Lords, was sent away to school. This wasn’t just any school, however, this was the Academy. The Academy was a rather imposing building from the outside, with towers that pierced the crimson sky. Theta took a shaky breath. Counted to ten. Then to ten again. Then…

Someone slammed right into him, knocking him forward.“Oh! Sorry, mate, didn’t see you there,” a boy said, a few years older than himself. When Theta didn’t reply, the boy just gave him an odd look and continued his way in.

The world seemed so vast at that moment. The school was huge, surly there was no way he wouldn’t get lost. And everyone was so much taller than him, even most of the kids his own age. How he longed to be back home with his mother, and his father, and...

Just as his anxieties began to get the better of him, he felt a comforting, familiar hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see his older brother, Irving Braxiatel. Braxiatel to most, Brax if you were among his inner circle of friends. Brax smiled warmly to Theta. “First day jitters?” he asked.

“I, uh… yeah, I guess so,” Theta responded.

“You worry too much, little brother,” Brax said, pushing his glasses up. “There’s an entire year of people the same age as you. And think of how lucky you are. You have me, don’t you? You already know somebody here. A lot of people don’t even have that.” Brax pulled his brother into a quick hug. Brax never being one to show much affection, Theta treasured even the second of embrace. “Come on, I’ll even show you to your room. How does that sound?”

“Please?” Theta asked, causing Brax to laugh.

“I already said I would. It’s right this way,” he said, walking off, Theta dragging his bag behind him. That was certainly a plus of being a Time Lord: You never had to worry about running out of room in your bag. It was, after all, bigger on the inside.

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