~* Similes *~

Summary: A 16 year old Arnold Nefarious is doing his Work Experience 'experience'

at Veldin Orphanage, where he meets a young orphan Lombax by the name of Ratchet.

With similar pasts with bullying, Ratchet begins to trust the first person he has in a long time.

But is it worth it?

/A.N. This won't be a very long story, I don't think. It's a little 'what-if' that Nefarious wanted to be a pediatrician, and did a kind of work experience 'experience' at Veldin Orphanage, where he meets Ratchet x33 However neither of them really remember it happening when they are future enemies~ This chapter is written from Nef 'Arnold (lol) Nefarious' 's point of view =U=/

I, admittedly, am a very nervous person.

Anyone would be really, if you'd had to endure the constant torture of being anywhere within 3 kilocubit's radius of Copernicus L. Qwark, known simply by 'Qwark' to his fans. And enemies.

And pretty much everyone else too.

3 Kilocubits was the distance I had to keep away from him, lest he send some spiteful remark that would make me die a little inside, much to the amusement of the others.

I'm taking my exams soon. It's not doubtable that Qwark is going to copy from me, but I'm so used to it by now, I couldn't particularly care less. Either way, I'm finally going to get rid of him!

Eventually.

Anyway, in the meantime, Mrs Alder has organized some sort of individual trips, similar to work experience, not based on choice, but on our grades and personalities. It's a good thing she is one of the few teachers who actually likes me. I had decided a while ago that I wanted to become a doctor, more specifically a paediatrician. I had confided this in her one day when I was thirteen, and she had told me which subjects I needed to take with a smile and an encouraging word.

For my work experience 'experience', she had handed me a small envelope during biology about three weeks ago, winking at me. Eager, I ripped it open- I was to spend a few days on the desert Planet Veldin with the children in Veldin Orphanage, get to know them, and get used to being around them. It was a nice idea, I guess. I liked kids, and I guessed the basic idea was for me to get used to being around those who were not necessarily sick, but vulnerable.

Soon after I found out that Qwark was going to a Gadgetron Testing Laboratory, which made me happy- those were dangerous places…

I was in good spirits to go to say the least, and three weeks later I was there.

I scuffed my shoes against the dusty floor that was the Planet Veldin, and raised an arm to shield the sun from my face.

Holy Zoni, she wasn't kidding when she said this was a desert planet…

I walked for ages.

And ages.

And ages.

I honestly felt like I could pass out, it was so warm. It didn't help that I was dragging a case along. I avoided the rocky inclines as much as possible, but unfortunately..

One blocked my path.

Damn it.

I tried to haul the case up with me, but to no avail.

Sighing, It was eventually decided that I would have to take the long way round.

The very long way round.

By then it was early evening, it was hotter than ever, and a strange breed of midges were annoyingly flying around everywhere.

Trudge..trudge…scuff…trudge..scuff…

After a long, long, time, I finally saw something. It looked like a tree! I prayed desperately that it wasn't my mind playing tricks on me, and crept up to it. I set my case down, and sat on it, beneath the small but refreshing patch of shade it created.

I heard sniffling. My heart skipped- was there someone there?

The sniffing came again, followed by a couple of clicks and the sound of metal against metal.

I craned my neck upwards in curiosity. There, sitting among the crusty old leaves, was a Lombax cub- the first and only had seen in about eight years. And…he seemed to be crying...

"Uh, Kid?"

"Gyaaah!" The cub shrieked, dropping whatever he had in his hands in surprise. It bounced off of the dusty ground and rolled a few cubits away.

"Sorry, I didn't meant to scare you," I said apologetically, picking up and handing it back to him.

He sniffed and gave me a weak smile. "It's'kay. I was gunna come down and get it, anyways." He slid the oversized wrench I realised he was holding into a holster on his belt, then with catlike grace, leapt from the branch and landed neatly.

I blinked at him. "Are you okay? I thought I heard crying.."

He looked panicked for a moment. "N-no! I wasn't crying! I just… have a cold!" He looked away, and I barely caught the quiet murmur, "A permanent one..."

The kid looked too small to be any older than five- why was he alone in the middle of the desert?

"Kid, aren't your parents worried? It's kinda late." I asked him gently. His forest green eyes darkened and he didn't answer, tail swishing. That probably wasn't a good sign…

"Dunno.."

I sighed, and mentally facepalmed myself- it was obvious I had hit a touchy subject from the kid's body language. I tried another tactic, partly for my own benefit, but mostly for his, simply to change the subject.

"Kid, d'ya know where Veldin Orphanage is? I'm meant to be starting my work experience there, and I'm really lost. Can you help me?" I asked him, trying to sound friendly. His ears perked a little.

"I live there, so, yah sure." He smiled again, and gestured for me to follow him.

Oh that's why he was so touchy about the parents subject. Shit.

"Thanks, kid." I said gratefully.

We walked in silence for a bit, before the kid's quiet voice broke it.

"I think Miss Spinster told us about you, but I can't really remember. I don't really like the social workers who come and see us sometimes. They pry too deep." He said thoughtfully. "You seem nice enough though."

"I'm not training to be a social worker, kid." I smile at him.

There's a brief silence. "What are you gonna be then?"

"A paediatrician." I replied,

"What's that?"

"A doctor. For children."

"D-doctor?!" His eyes widened with fear, and his left ear flicked. "Don't they like…cut people open?!"

"No, not me. I just like kids and making them feel better."

"Oh."

Silence again.

"Here it is." The cub pointed to the bleak building in front of us. It had huge wrought iron doors, and 'Veldin Orphanage' written above the door in faded black letters.

The little kid knocked the door, and opened it.

"Miss Spinster, there's someone for you! He says he's starting his work experience thing here! Hw's quite nice!" I heard him say as he ran into the kitchen.

A few moments later, a tall, elderly, plump-ish Veldinian woman wearing a loose cotton dress sailed towards me, and shook my hand warmly.

"Hello there and welcome to Veldin Orphanage!" She smiled, and I couldn't help but return it. "You are Mr. Arnold Nefarious, right?"

"Right!" I showed her my confirmation papers, inwardly cringing from my intimidating surname. She scrutinized them for a moment, pushing half moon spectacles further up her snout, before nodding and gesturing for me to come in, to which I complied.

The kid, who was standing near the staircase, waved goodbye, smiled briefly, and ran up the stairs.

"I see you've met Ratchet!" She smiled. "He says you're 'nice', and that's a huge compliment! He usually stays out of the way of anyone who comes to visit, and rarely does he even talk to them, let alone compliment they're 'niceness'!"

"I'm touched!" I chuckle slightly. "How did he end up here?" I asked her, still staring at the empty space where the kid had been.

Miss Spinster's expression drooped. "His father showed up here one day, covered in blood and crying. He gave the tiny thing to me, told me to look after him well, then left. I've haven't heard from his since. It's not surprising really, poor kid…"

"Why not?"

"No-one has! His entire species is gone, no-one's heard heads nor tails of them for nearly 9 years.."

Well that was a huge shock to me…

Wait, something clicked.

"Wait he's 9?!"

Miss Spinster nodded with a sad smile. "Nearly. I can see why you'd think otherwise, and so do the other kids, especially Mort and his friends." She sighed. "No matter what I do, they won't stop teasing the poor thing, no matter what I try to do."

My heart ached for the little guy… At least I would be able to escape Qwark soon…

"Mr Nefarious-"
"Arnold. Call me Arnold- I hate 'Nefarious'. It makes me sound like some kind of mad scientist."

"Ok, Arnold," She grinned. "Would you like to join us for dinner?"

I suddenly realised how hungry I really was. "Yes, of course, thank you." I nodded gratefully. She gestured me to follow her into the kitchen.

I looked back at the stairs, to see a vaguely Lombax-shaped person sitting there. He gave me thumbs up and a smile, before scrambling back up the stairs.

It's only my first day, and I think I've made a friend.

/A.N. x333 R&R!/