#joining a civic association tomorrow i guess to be loud at meetings which is what i am incredibly good

[bright-and-burning]

have i ever mentioned how much i love working in public service. i love working in public service. i was told for like the fourth time tonight that i should run for office. also got told i sound and look like an italian american from the jersey shore (I AM FROM THE MIDWEST. W A FRENCH LAST NAME.) which would apparently benefit me in running for office in [redacted neighborhood]. do you know how fucking incredible it is to just get drunk w other public service workers and talk about like. street design. public transit plans. constituents destroying bathrooms to get back at transportation planners (???). how we’d fix the housing crisis if anyone had the guts to do it. public trash cans. like omg. i love public service!!! i love the people i know in it!! i love the young gusto and sheer will to Fix Things of the people around me!!!!

[eponinemylove]

les amis in high school!

okay so this idea came out of nowhere and bodyslammed me in the middle of lunch and it’s my civic duty to now share it with all of you!

Enjolras is... how you say... chaotic. He is either a teacher’s absolute favorite or the bane of their existence, and there is no in between

Despite his alarming number of detentions, referrals, and likewise complaints, principal JVJ never suspends him

superintendent Javert is trying to build a case against JVJ to have him removed from that position bc he suspects that he isn’t handling disciplinary actions appropraitely. It drives him fucking crazy that he can’t because there’s no teachers or staff who have anything bad to say about JVJ, and somehow people in high positions keep... vouching for him?

it shouldn’t be possible for JVJ to have that many convenient friends in just the right place to block the investigation, but he does and they all swear he’s a good honest man and is the only competent principal, ever. also he managed to save their ass one time or another and stopped them from getting fired sooo

ANYWAYS back to the amis

Enjolras is what Javert and the school APs like to call a problem child. He will rage at every injustice he sees, systematic or otherwise, which is to say, a fuckton. He starts protests, organizes walkouts, does sit-ins in the cafeteria, and has exactly 0 qualms about tearing a teacher/administrator a new one

He meets the other amis in detention

Joly is there because an AP saw jbm showing (minimal!! barely any) PDA and lost her fucking shit, screaming about how innapropriate they were being. Musichetta is in it for cussing out the AP right back and demanding that she apologize to her boyfriends. Bossuet is actually there for like 3 different things (one of which is just bc he got way too many tardies and got an automatic detention) but the AP didn’t check and sent him anyways, even though he was already going that day. He’s just always in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Combeferre got detention bc he was a sarcastic little shit to a kid and the teacher overhead (the kid deserved it tho). Also he helps Enj organize/conduct the sit-ins and stuff, so he’s guilty by association

Same for Coufreyac, but he’s also too loud/talkative/hyperactive in class and ends up getting in trouble with the teachers

Bahorel and eponine both got in (different) fights that day. Eponine never actually gets detention though so that was pretty much her only interaction with the group

Jehan’s teacher thought he “wasn’t paying attention” in class and being “intentionally unresponsive”. Homeboy was really just overstimulated and couldn’t concentrate properly on the reading, but what can you do

Feuilly absolutely doesn’t deserve to be in detention as much as he is. He’s really tired from work and school and so he misses a couple of assignments and occasionally skips his last class so that he can go home and shower/rest before his shift. That’s literally the only reason he’s in detention. Other than that he’s a great student except for the part where he always joins Enjolras in his demonstrations. No one has caught him yet and connected it, otherwise he’d probably be in detention for that too

Also, Grantaire is just always in detention. He sits in the back and usually doesn’t say much, if anything, to anyone besides Joly, Musichetta, and Bousset. Enj thinks that he has it for the entire year, but he’s not even sure how that’s possible. Enjolras starts a new protest every week and even he hasn’t managed that. He doesn’t ask.

After that key first meeting of everyone in detention, the amis get along way too well and decide to start a “club”. Basically it’s just them meeting after school and complaining about everything the APs and teachers do wrong, strategizing, and organizing their protests. 

The APs refuse to accept their club. Enjolras gets shut down in like .5 seconds

BUT eponine suggests that they take it to JVJ, and so they do. JVJ approves it, and the club stays. They name it Les Amis d’lABC (obv)

Marius accidentally joints the club. Courfreyac has been begging him to come to a meeting and he honestly thinks that it’s SGA. He almost books it as soon as he meets Enjolras, but at this point he’s too embarrassed and so he just decides to join. Enjolras doesn’t like him very much but he’s Courf’s friend and also he’s dating JVJ’s niece, so.

Speaking of, Cosette comes one meeting because Marius does, and oh my god, they love her. Everyone is so confused as to how she’s dating someone like Marius (he’s not that bad!) but they don’t say anything

Seriously though, she’s great. She’s so funny and kind and she’s full of amazing ideas that help their plans. Even Enjolras adores her

Anyways the Amis fuck a bunch of shit up for administration bc they’re not doing their jobs and also the amis all have issues with authority (Javert is pissed)

So at this point y’all are thinking that Enjolras is pretty much a teacher’s worst nightmare, right?

WRONG

It’s Grantaire

Grantaire is infamous among teachers. They tremble at the sight of him. He will start shit just to start shit. It’s amusing to him. He’ll argue with the teachers over anything, the most random shit, and derail the entire class. God help you if he ever gets bored, because that’s when he makes the most mischief.

The thing is though... every time he’s being an asshole and arguing with the teacher about something... he always has a point. That’s the most infuriating part for them

Like, it’s not because he actually cares about the curriculum or policy or loophole that he noticed, because he doesn’t. But he’ll point it out and debate it because he’s antagonistic and this is fun, and he’ll always have valid reasoning and a legit point. Teachers start to think he’s planning this out, but he’s literally not. He just notices all these failings and he strings them together but doesn’t actually say anything about it until he has nothing better to do. And the teachers can’t even really argue because he’s right!! That shouldn’t be happening, or that doesn’t make any sense. Damn it, R, I don’t know why, don’t you talk to Principal ValJean?

When he’s not arguing with teachers, which is rare, he actually gets along pretty good with them. He knows at least 3 by name, and all his teachers call him R. He’s a good student (academically), too. He does amazing in all his classes, excluding math and science (which is basically just Math with explosions), even though he never seems to be paying any attention in class. Like, he’ll literally sleep through a lesson or just completely do his own thing, but he’ll get an A on the test and all his homework gets handed in on time and it’s actually well thought out and written

Most of his teachers hate him, but they can’t do anything about it because he’s right, he’s just really obnoxious. His math and English teacher love him though, and are always talking to him after class and in the halls

Enjolras hears about R a lot, mostly from disgruntled students and staff. He can’t figure out who this kid is but he sounds perfect. He overhead a senior complaining about him in her history class because R called the teacher out for sending a girl home for her ripped jeans. R stood up on the desk wearing the same ripped jeans and went on a rant about how sexist that policy was and how her outfit distracted no one and was not a problem, but the teacher was, and now he was disrupting her education, and he’s a sexist prick, etc etc. Apparently the entire class joined in and nothing got done all period and now they all have 10+ pages of homework and didn’t get the review for the test tomorrow. The teacher agreed to push it back for their period, but R got an automatic F and the senior girl is pissed because now she has 3 tests that day and no time to study and do all the extra homework

Enjolras swoons

He tells the Amis about it after school and Courf laughs so hard he’s wheezing. Everyone is in complete support of R and Enj says something about how they should recruit him for their club

Musichetta says she’ll ask him if he wants to come but Courf said he probably won’t

Enjolras loses his shit because “You guys know him?? Can I meet him???”

Everyone is so confused

“Enj, you’ve met Grantaire. Didn’t you take Spanish with him freshman year or something? And you’re always in detention with him??”

Enjolras feels like the biggest idiot ever because of course R is Grantaire. He’s a dumbass

Meanwhile Grantaire has been harboring the biggest crush on Enj for the last 2 years but Enjolras can’t (seemingly) stand him for the most part and he actually doesn’t get along with him that well so he’s resigned himself to Oh well, I guess I’ll just drool over him in detention

Enjolras just has a killer RBF, he doesn’t hate Grantaire at all and is mortified when he finds out what R had assumed

Anyway Grantaire joins their stupid club even though he doesn’t actually care that much. He argues a lot with Enjolras just to be a dick (poor Enj is so confused bc he knows Grantaire doesn’t agree with the side of the arguement he’s taking so why) but, again, he brings up a couple of good points as annoying as they are

Ok I’m going to stop here let me know if y’all want a part 2