The StudentāBook 1, Chapter 2
The Student / The Grounds Keeper (2) / The Nurse (3) / The Student (4) / The Grounds Keeper (5) / The Nurse (6) / The Student (7) (You're here!)
ā... Hm.ā The cafeteria buffet looks like an allergy nightmare. Was I supposed to bring my own lunch? Shit⦠ā... Excuse me, are there any gluten-free options? I have an allergy.ā
The response is predictable. āUm⦠lemme askāChet! Chet, do we have any gluten-free options?!ā
āI will have that, then.ā I already know Iām never eating here again when I have to ask the cafeteria ghost to change his gloves.
āHey, Raye, get me the grilled chicken! And an omelet! And that jelly-filled bread!ā Grim cheers. āSeriously, go crazy, I want, like, twelve of them!ā
āOkay, hand me a tray and Iāll get it.ā
āMrah? Why canāt you just stick it on the one you have?ā
āBecause wheat flour shreds my internal organs.ā I state with all seriousness. It gets the point across, and the tray is given. āThank you.ā
āOkay, is there an empty table, or⦠?ā
āHey, over here, we got seats!ā Cater waves at us.
āOh, heyyyy, Cater!ā Deuce laughs sheepishly. āItās cool, weāll findāhey, wait, Raye!ā
ā āSup, CayCay.ā I plop myself at the table. Ace and Deuce need the lore drop, and I donāt wanna walk anymore. Also, gotta meet the big brother. āIām Raye.ā
āTrey Clover. Nice to meet you.ā He smiles warmly. āHowās the dorm been treating you all right? Ramshackle⦠Mmm⦠Well, itās a very old building, is all.ā
āItās tolerable for now. But Iām definitely looking for ways to fix it up, so if you hear about any side jobs or have things you donāt want or need anymoreā¦ā Grim tries to talk with his mouth full. āEmpty your mouth first, honey.ā
He does so in one swallow. āHey, so you know how your guysā dorm looks like a castle? What are the other ones like? Are they just as cool?ā
āYouāve seen the giant statues of the Great Seven out on Main Street, right?ā I tune out a lot of the conversation because Iāve played enough of the game to know what all the dorms are like. Itās going to be a lot of fun to see them in person, though! ⦠Up until crap hits the fan, of course.
āLook, there they are now.ā What? Oh, Caterās pointing at the table with the Diasomnia boys. Sans āHorntonā, of course.
āWait, is that a little kid?ā Ace asks.
āTechnically⦠you can skip grade and enroll here young,ā Trey said. āBut no, heās not a kid. Heās in the same class as me.ā
āLilia.ā I jump as I hear his voice in my ear and snap my head around to meet his eyes. Heās hanging from the ceiling like he was in the game. āLilia Vanrouge.ā
ā... Nice to meet you.ā Lilia was cute in the game. He was pretty in the anime.
Heās giving me a near heart attack in person. I thought his eyes were crimson, but now that I see them in person, crimson is the wrong word. Mulberry, maybe.
āLikewise, my fair lady.ā He lands on his feet like a cat, blazer fluttering ever so slightly with the movement. Iām thinking itās totally like him to be so dramatic when he takes my hand and kisses it.
⦠With how chaotic he is, and the lack of women in this series, itās easy to forget heās also a gentleman. I donāt even have time to process his bow-kiss combo before heās moved on to teasing the others about his age.
Of course, they're a little focused on something else the old bat said.
āDude, why'd you call him a āfair ladyā? There's no girls here.ā Ace asks.
āOh, so your pronouns are he/him?ā Cater asks, looking at me.
ā... No,ā I answer after a moment. āLilia did, in fact, gender me correctly.ā
āOh, okay! Side note, how come the Headmage let you stay even thoughāā
āW⦠wait!ā Ace sputters. āRaye, youāre a girl?!ā
ā...ā Deuceās mouth wonāt close. And heās turning redder by the minute.
āOh, that makes sense,ā Trey hums, adjusting his glasses. āI was wondering why you reminded me of my sister.ā
āOh myāI canāt believe I acted like that around a lady!ā Deuce recovers just to hunch over and hide his face.
āWaitāare you three saying only Lils and I knew Rayeās aā?ā
āApparently.ā I sigh deeply. āI didnāt realize this uniform made me look that androdynousā¦ā
āDude!!ā Ace hisses. āHow did you convince the Headmage to let you stay here?!ā
āAnd where am I supposed to go??ā I ask him. āI legally donāt exist in Twisted Wonderland. ⦠Also, Iām not sure he even knows.ā
ā...ā Everyone considers this now. Does he know and didnāt comment, or is he as dumb as some of his students? Honestly, itās a complete toss-up.
ā... Anywaysāā I start the conversation again, turning toāoh nevermind, heās gone. I turn towards the Diasomnia table and wave. āNice to meet you, bat man!ā
I didnāt say it too loudly, but he turns to grin at me and wave anyway. Silver and Sebek both glower at me.
āHow did he move across the room so fast⦠and how did you know he would hear you?ā Deuce asks.
āHeās a fae,ā I shrug like itās obvious, even though I know knowledge of the Fair Folk is probably not common.
āYeah, Diasomnia is full of odd ones,ā Trey chuckles.
āAnd their housewarden, Malleus, is worse, if you can believe that,ā Cater says, and I have to bite my tongue because Iām not supposed to know anything about this sweet baby boy.
Thereās theories on why the Overblots occurred this year. Why I was pulled from my world during this time. Why Grim is here. I have no idea if any of them are true.
But if thereās a person behind all of this, I cannot let them know I know whatās happening.
So I donāt say a word when I notice the dark spots in Riddleās magestone. I couldnāt stop it if I tried, anyway.
I do, however, speak up when I feel the telltale itch in my throat that indicates Iāve consumed gluten.Ā
Shit. ā... Whereās the nurseās office?ā