Betawolf395

Elton sat uncomfortably on the small chair outside the professor's office, staring grimly at the trophies in the display case across the hall. A lot of my effort could go down the drain here. I've got to make a good decision. He exhaled quietly and glanced out of the corner of his eye as another student walked dejectedly out of the office. Sauntering up with a sigh, Elton entered the stuffy room. His professor, Dr. Chalcott, was seated in a heavily worn black leather swiveling chair. The dusty relic must have been 60 years old. The chair was probably older. The balding man peered through his glasses and slapped a file folder jammed with packets and transcripts onto his desk. "Son, do you know why I've called you in here?" The young man responded with a curt nod. The professor cleared his throat and lowered his voice. This was serious. "Our department can not afford to have students running about and setting up employment contracts with political groups. Our budget is constrained as it is, and some of the higher-ups have had serious spats with a few operatives within Team Eternity as of recent. You know and I know that Eternity keeps the peace. And that's a good thing. But the administrators here would not hesitate to take their grudge out on us. They've been involved in some under the table dealing, and have been on their toes ever since Eternity got involved. Any attention placed the matter amounts to scrutiny, in their eyes. In short, I need you to cut all this nonsense about working with Team Eternity and just focus on your studies." Chalcott straightened up and offered the student a sympathetic look. "Listen. I know it might be tempting to strike a deal with them, but you've got just three semesters left. Keep your head down and ride things out."

Elton absorbed the information and frowned a bit. He weighed the potential benefits against the negatives in his head. "Alright... Fine. As I'm sure those documents have confirmed to you, they offered me an advance position working for them... I'll turn it down." Having made his decision, Elton left the office with an approving pat on the back from his professor.

- (2 Years Later) -

Having packed his gear together in preparation for another excursion, Elton gritted his teeth. He thought back to the day in which he had chosen to reject Team Eternity's offer. If he had gone through with it, he may have been able to quickly advance to a high position within the organization. Instead, he was stuck working as a standard field operative. It doesn't matter. All I have to do is adapt. Patience rewards itself. Even with this reassurance, a thread of doubt remained in his mind. He would be determined to get to where he wanted to be, but the decision made two years ago set him on a very different track than he would have chosen.