What a (Not so) Strange World XXVI
A.N: Hi...It's been a while, isnt'it? I don't really know how to put it, but writing this series has become quite tiring for a while, I guess I just lost interest for a bit, so I wasn't motivated to keep on writing this and instead I focused on other projects.
Even this chapter, it's not one of my best, maybe because I am tired, or maybe because I tried to change the tone a little, knowing what comes after. I don't know.
It's shorter than usual, I'm sorry about this, but I hope you'll still like it, even a little bit, soo, let me know what you think?
The Human world, it's a mess ( if only that)
You slammed your head against the table. Again.
By now, that table edge had taken on the shape of your forehead.
You wondered how long it would take for one of them to break, given the force you put into every movement, but there was nothing you could do about it.
You hoped it would be the table that broke; you still needed your head in one piece.
You were exhausted, mentally and physically.
Ever since the Headmaster had kindly asked—threatened—Yuu to resolve the problem he himself had caused the year before by allowing Azul to go unchecked, you hadn’t been sleeping or eating enough.
You had already expressed your displeasure with the way Crowley treated Yuu—and Grim, by extension—and you really couldn’t understand how someone like that could have become Headmaster of a school.
His academic achievements and magical power could not justify his attitude.
Even you, who had been raised by those considered Villains in your world, had been treated better.
Asking a student to fix the mess he caused himself.
Besides, how could he—out of all the students—have chosen Yuu, a first-year with no magic, to be the one to stop Azul's perfect plan?
Because he probably didn’t have the same leverage over the other students as he did over Yuu.
Given his behavior, you wouldn’t be surprised to find out that Azul was his favorite student; they had the same mannerisms, after all.
(Except that Azul was more elegant in carrying it out.)
That was pretty much child exploitation, wasn’t it? It had to be.
Neither Trein nor Crewel had been able to give you many answers regarding Crowley’s behavior, and from what you’d managed to find both in the library books and online, it didn’t seem like there were many people you could discuss this with.
But there was one. You just had to figure out how to contact them.
You were so absorbed in your thoughts that you didn’t even notice someone had approached you; you visibly jumped when you felt that person breathe into your ear.
You almost fell off your chair.
Beside you, hanging upside down, was a smiling—and probably amused—Lilia-sama.
Even recording his presence made you jump.
He seemed even more amused as he took his place on top of the table, not even pretending to be uninterested in the texts you had opened.
“Child labour? He tilted his head in a way that almost reminded you of a curious child. “Someone is overworking you?”
“It’s not… incorrect to say so.” You hadn’t been looking for information for yourself, but Yuu’s exploitation indirectly affected you as well.
And besides, it wasn’t appropriate to share sensitive information about someone else. Especially with a Fae, no matter how kind and cooperative Lilia-sama might have been in the past.
“So that explains why Sebek’s been so grumpy these past few days. More than usual,” he looked at you with an amused twinkle in his eyes as he continued, “He was muttering things like, ‘Humans really don’t know how to look after themselves.’ He seemed pretty worried.” You couldn’t imagine Sebek saying something like that in a worried tone; the only tone you’d ever heard him use was a scolding one. “It’s not like I wanted to listen, you know, I just happen to have good hearing.”
You nodded.
You still remembered your first encounter with the Fae quite well.
“I’ll… try to do better, so Sebek won’t have to worry… but, what should I do if I wanted to—”
“Report someone who’s exploiting his position of power against poor ordinary students?” He smiled in a way that, for a single, fleeting moment, reminded you of Maleficent. “Are you asking for my help, Little Human?”
You stiffened, doing everything you could to avoid meeting his gaze.
Asking him a question wasn’t the same as asking for his help—you were pretty sure of that—but Lilia had anticipated what you were going to ask, and not only that, he’d also asked you directly what you wanted from him.
It was a precarious situation. Lilia had been quite friendly, and didn’t seem to care much for the usual Fae customs, but asking such a direct question implied an equally direct answer.
It wasn’t that you couldn’t have turned away—you could have—but you just had this feeling that it wasn’t the right thing to do.
You felt your heart race when you heard him laugh.
“No need to be this serious. What kind of Fae do you take me for?”
Scary. Lilia-sama was a scary kind of Fae.
That’s what you found yourself thinking as you ran toward your potionology class.
Some of the students you bumped into had yelled at you, but you were too busy trying not to trip—and not to accidentally hit someone with the books you were making levitate behind you.
You dropped your bag on the floor as you took your seat, trying to catch your breath.
“I’d like to remind each of you that to be considered a good puppy, you should arrive on time for class, unless you want to be punished.”
It wasn’t uncommon for someone to be late to class, but it was the first time it had happened to you: you were mortified by the embarrassment.
Even those with anemones on their heads were more on time than you, and from what you’d gathered, Azul made them work themselves to the bone.
Ahh, this situation was really getting out of hand.
Crewel made you stay a few minutes after class to figure out why you were late and why you looked so pale.
You weren’t acting like a Good Girl at all.
(And if you hadn’t done something, he would have taken care of it)
After dragging yourself to the cafeteria, you ran into Jack and Yuu, who apparently had decided to skip class to spy on—or rather, observe—Azul and find his weak spot.
You were surprised Jack had decided to skip class.
And you were also offended and a little hurt by their choice not to include you.
You felt like the third wheel. It wasn’t a nice feeling.
It wasn’t as if Jack was taking the same classes as Yuu, so you didn’t understand why you hadn’t been included in the plan either.
It would have been easy for Yuu to tell you: you lived under the same roof, for Seven sake!
(But Yuu wasn’t totally sure you’d help them. You were nice to them, but you didn’t seem to really like his other friends, and you didn’t seem really worried about what Azul might do to them.
You seemed to have it out for Azul, but it was as if you blamed the guys more than Azul for the situation.)
Honestly, it had been frustrating to see how Azul seemed to excel at everything, when the only thing that would have really helped you was having one of his damn contracts on hand.
You were sleep-deprived, hungry, and tired: the perfect recipe for a bad mood.
As soon as you spotted the Problem Children, you felt your brow furrow.
It didn’t bode well, especially with your mood getting worse
(You ignored the voice of Frau Grimhilde in your head reminding you to relax or you’d get unsightly expression lines)
“Ffgna… I’m dead tired from being pushed around by Azul…”
“He’s been making me run around, cleaning Octavinelle, waiting tables at the lounge, and buying supplies”
“He made me come to work at 6 this morning”
“Hump. Lay in the bed you made.” Jack’s words made you smile, but they also gave you something to think about.
It wasn’t the first time the consequences of their actions had come back to haunt them.
“We’ve gotta do something for them quickly…”
You turned to Yuu, wondering what—besides Crowley’s blackmail—was driving them to go to such lengths for those three.
You cared deeply about Yuu’s safety because they were at a total disadvantage: surrounded by troubled kids with no way to defend themselves, in a place they didn’t know well.
But Yuu must have a heart of soft butter to go to such lengths for Ace, Deuce, and Grim.
They were friends, sure, but that didn’t mean turning a blind eye to their bad choices, right?
Vil wouldn’t have done it. Jack wouldn’t have done it. Trey had done it with Riddle, but you believed the situation in that case was different.
Trey had turned a blind eye because Riddle’s actions were—no matter what Ace said—somehow justifiable and understandable.
But the three Problem Children really had no valid reason to go to Azul other than their own egos.
Your social skills were still terrible.
@mewchiili, @jessiegerl, @razonay (Letme know if you wanna be tagged)
dividers by @sweetmelodygraphics
