The College Prep (IS BACK!)
A Fairy Tail Fanfic Created By Shaturu
Disclaimer: Hiro Mashima is the rightful owner of Fairy Tail and all characters and concepts associated with it.
Important Note: Hi everyone, long time no see! I apologize for the sudden deletion of the story. Many things, good and bad, have been happening lately and keeping me extremely occupied. But the good news is that I have decided to reupload the first two chapters of this story. The third installment will be released sometime this weekend. And for those new to the story, enjoy!
Chapter 1: Impressions
"Here we are, son" said the plump middle-aged man residing in the driver's seat of the sporty Honda Odyssey Minivan as the gray vehicle pulled up and came to a stop along the outer perimeter of the sidewalk bordering the front of the main campus.
College freshman Jellal Fernandes sighed and reluctantly cocked his head to the left, peering out his respective window to get a glimpse at the new school he would be attending for the next several years.
What he discerned through the transparent glass was the comprehensive student-infested courtyard of the prestigious Magnolia University. The wide, rectangular area was coated in a layer of cobblestone, and complemented with strips of shaven grass and other shrubbery. Coextending equidistant from either side were broad, slab structures, expressed by columns of double casement windows and interconnected by a tall, equilateral building reminiscent to that of a Roman Catholic Church at centermost point.
"Ah… college," Mr. Fernandes said nostalgically with a satisfied expression, squinting out the window and making a series of piggish snort sounds as he continually held back the mucus in his nose. "I remember it as if it were only yesterday." Snort.
"Sure you do," Jellal replied sarcastically, hurriedly unbuckling his seat belt and reaching his arm for the door, swinging it open and stepping out into the sunlight.
"Honey, wait up!" shouted his overly enthusiastic mother, who hopped out of the vehicle from the passenger side, her brunette hair swaying in rhythm with her hot-pink purse all throughout the process.
Jellal looked at the embarrassing figure he called his mom from across the vehicle with a "we already talked about this" sort of look, and placed his fingers around the ridge of his nose and sighed a breath of irritation as his tubby father departed from the van as well.
"Just what do you two think you're doing?" he asked, annoyed.
"Honey, were just going to help you carry your bags with you to your dorm" She said reassuringly, walking around the back-side of the vehicle while the father rubbed his slimy nose against his Hawaiian button-up shirt with a snort.
"Mom, I thought we already went over this," Jellal said as he waved his hands around in correlation to his speech, while his mother was taking the liberty of opening the trunk, ignoring her son's plea. "You two agreed not to leave the vehicle once we got here."
"Pfffffft!" she replied in full while waving her hand dismissively, "that's just insanity," the coupon fanatic went on, digging through the back of the vehicle and pulling out a medium-sized leather suitcase. "Now here."
"God," Jellal groaned, reluctantly accepting the suitcase from his mother while Mr. Fernandes, who was mumbling things to himself, bent over to pick up a smudged penny he spotted on the ground with an audible snort.
"Oh quit being such a whiner," his mother mocked as she slammed the trunk shut with a click."What are you, embarrassed of us?" she asked, placing her hands around her hips.
Jellal looked back and forth between the two buffoons who claimed to be his parents. His eyes first met his butterball of a father, who was squinting up at him through the sun with his arms folded beneath his man-boobs and his feet awkwardly positioned against the cement. He then looked over at his empty-headed mother and her flamboyant stilettos while she glared at him expectantly, tapping her right heel with a clack across the ground.
"What is it?" asked Mr. Fernandes. Snort.
The soft expression on Jellal's face radically shifted and transformed as he tried to hold back a burst of laughter creeping up his throat, which soon got the best of him. "Hahahaha!" He laughed in a pitch comparable to that of a young girl, hunching his back and squinting his eyes in amusement while he darted his index finger at the two clowns before him.
His mother shot him a cold look in response, her brows furrowing and the rate of her heel clacking against the ground increasing in speed. Clack Clack Clack
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry" Jellal sniggered, "I couldn't help myself," he giggled.
"Let's just go," his mother growled.
The dormitory hall was a fairly narrow passageway, striped shades of citrine and tones of sienna, which were better illuminated by the decking of various mounted foyer lights that were suspended from the dark ceiling. Alongside the hall from left to right were several thick-bordered doors, each accompanied with an artistic tile and labeled with an emboldened number indicating the respective dorm room. Atop the tiled floor of the corridor, students and parents alike busily traveled in and out through the nexus of rooms, carrying boxes, cases and bens of sorts.
"And here we are…" said Jellal, accompanied by his parents before the door to his assigned room, "room 008" he read aloud, then proceeded to draw his free hand towards the knob just until his mother spoke.
"You sure this is the right room honey?" Mrs. Fernandes asked, looking up and down the bustling halls with worry.
"It was on the paper," Jellal replied robotically, his hand lingering over the bronze door knob.
"You should double-check."
"Mom, I assure you this is the right room."
"Son, do as your mother asks." Snort.
"Jesus Christ you two should just─"
And his voice trailed off as the door made a clickand opened before them. A tall, slim man sporting a bright yellow-amber dress shirt and embellished in a pair of long black slacks stood in the doorway with his arms folded beneath his chest. His dark, mysterious eyes came into contact with Jellal's; creating an extended moment of awkwardness as not even a word was spoken. The dark-skinned man pushed his black bang to the side, furrowing his spiked brows before opening his mouth to speak.
"Are you the freshman?" the rather handsome adolescent asked, lifting a hand slightly in Jellal's direction.
"Yes. Jellal Fernandes. Pleasure to meet you," he said with a firm smile, holding out his hand respectfully (a real-world skill he had developed into a habit throughout his various job interviews in the past years).
"Ren Akatsuki at your service," replied the dark-haired man with a slick smile and a nod to his head, accepting Jellal's offer of friendship and extending his arm out, shaking his hand.
Jellal nodded courteously, oblivious to his father, who waddled ahead of him and butted his round, layered head into the room from aside Ren, peering suspiciously into its depths.
"No drugs in here I hope," Mr. Fernandes said with a loud snortas he sniffled a glob of mucus trailing from his right nostril, Ren looking daggers at him.
Jellal's eyes widening, he rushed forth towards his father. "Wow! Dad, dad, dad" Jellal repeated in a persistent tone, stepping forward and reaching his arm out and around his lumpy father, pushing him back out from the doorway "Go with mom and get the bags."
"But son─"
"Go, go, go, go, go!" Jellal urged, abruptly shoving his father, who caught his foot on the floor, stumbling over and flapping his arms around like a penguin as he was thrown into the center of the hall in which his mother stood with a bemused expression.
His parents tripping and tumbling down the hall in the direction of the edge of the dormitory, Jellal returned his attention to Ren, who nodded and led him through the doorway and into the bedroom.
"Now, let me properly introduce you to the other two," stated Ren, pushing the door against the wall and stepping aside for Jellal to enter before him.
Ah-Hem, he started with a raised fist before his mouth, just before beginning his introductions.
"This," he began, directing his eyes in the northeastern corner of the room in which existed a blondie equipped with a pair of large headphones and seated at a personal computer station slurping from a cup of noodles within his lap, "is Jason," he said.
"Alright," Jellal said with a nod to his head, making out familiar lyrics to a popular rock song emanating from the headphones.
"Jason," Ren repeated, this time in a slightly higher tone.
"I got that," Jellal responded, wondering for a split second if Ren had short-term memory loss.
Cough"Jason!"
Suddenly the blondie shot upright with a spill of his hot ramen, spinning 90 degrees to the right in his desk chair and facing Ren and Jellal while removing his head phones. "Huh?" he responded loudly.
Ren made a er-hem sound as he pointed his left index finger directly at Jellal.
"Oh!" Shouted the blondie in an unnecessarily loud voice upon grasping the situation at last. "Hey man!" He greeted with a quick wave of his right hand. "Name's Jason!"
"Nice to meet you Jason, the name's─"
"Kevin, right? From Oshibana Town?" he cut in, bluntly lifting his right index finger.
"Um no, it's─"
"His name's Jellal," Ren interrupted, making brief eye contact with Jason, who sat casually in his desk chair, proudly displaying his black Iron Maiden t-shirt.
"Oh that's right… Jellal," Jason enunciated with emphasis, leaning back in his seat. "You're that kid from South Gate right?"
Jellal nodded, setting down his suitcase.
"Cool, man!" Jason replied with excitement in his voice, readjusting his headphones and spinning his chair once more, returning his attention to his techie computer projects.
"Anyways, that's Jason," Ren spoke. "He knows just about everything there is to know about computers: Java; HTML; Flash; PHP; Action Script; C+; My SQL; you name it; he knows it," he continued, sweeping a bang to the side and folding his arms together. "He's your typical comic geek. He reads them all: Superman; Fantastic Four; Green Lantern; Dragon Ball; Dr. Slump; Buso Renkin; Knights of the Zodiac," he listed, turning his head in Jellal's direction and adding "Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan" in a very well enunciated tone, which gave him a bewildered look. "That's right; I know a thing or two about comics myself."
"Alright…" Jellal replied.
"Oh, he's also got a weird thing for aliens," said Ren, who was leading Jellal passed the blondie, whose desk was decorated with a collage of star trek posters. Don't believe a word he says, or you might end up like him yourself," he warned.
"Got it."
"Lastly, we have this guy," stated Ren, who was now standing over a mattress containing the sleeping body of a student at the west side of the room.
Jellal gave the sleeping stranger a very odd, peculiar look, before asking: "Who is he?"
"Midnight," Ren answered swiftly, looking down at the black-haired fellow. "At least that's what we all call him. No one knows his real name. It isn't even recorded in the school's computer network. We just decided to call him Midnight because he's always wondering around campus at that hour, doing God-knows-what."
"Weird…" Jellal muttered, glancing up and down the intimidating figure of the college junior.
"One thing you should know about him though," said Ren.
"What's that?" Jellal asked in response, his eyes glued to the oddly clothed man, who resembled that of a sort of gothic street punk.
"Never wake him up," he stated flatly. "Ever," he added. "It's tabooed," he said, making direct eye contact with Jellal. "Worst mistake of your life," Ren continued, jabbing his finger towards Jellal's nose in a warning gesture. "End of story."
"Alright then…." Jellal said in a bewildered tone and with raised, curious brows, turned away from the bed just in time as the chunky figure of his father appeared in the doorway.
"Son, get out here," urged the red-faced, panting Mr. Fernandes while directing his thumb in the direction outside the room and hunching over slightly. "Your mother… pant… needs your help." Snort.
Jellal and Ren turned at each other and made eye contact once more, before Jellal, with a series of complaints, reluctantly joined his klutzy father in the main hall.
"Honey!" Mr. Fernandes called out while reaching his hand out, scrambling to keep up with his wife, who skipped along through the main hall of the dormitory as if she were a small child, tripping students and knocking over supplies. "Honey!"
"Dad!" Jellal shouted in irritation, who was leaning against the wall near his room door as he watched his parents, with embarrassment, take the spotlight in the dormitory.
Mr. Fernandes, who was clearly exhausted from the small amount of walking he had been doing, then spun around in his direction (nearly falling over himself in the process), giving up on chasing down his wife.
"I gotta get the rest of the bags," his father said while flapping his left hand up as he began walking in Jellal's direction. Snort"Just go and─"
"Just don't talk to me right now thank you," Jellal interrupted quickly, raising his hand before his face as his father continued down the hall towards the back exit.
Jellal tipped his head downward; peering down at the blank floor as an ordinary female student strode passed him. "Awww sad face," she teased with a cheery smile and a giggle, continuing down her path.
He lazily lifted his head with half-closed eyes. "Wow you are soannoying," he said irritably to the stranger with a roll to his eyes, leaning up against the wall and staring up towards the ceiling at this point while the girl disappeared amongst the mass of students further down the hall.
A moment later, Ren appeared, carrying a thin red book, from within the depths of Room 008, passing by the mopey Jellal and motioning him to the center of the hallway. "We call it the Hot Freshmen 55," he began, moving aside for a student to pass by and opening the book before Jellal. "Lucy Heartfilia; Bisca Connell; Cana Alberona" he listed, swiftly flipping through the pages. "And 51 other hot babies," he added, his eyes following a well-endowed female passing them from the right.
"Oh my God, it's her!" Ren exclaimed all of a sudden, freezing and stiffening in place as his eyes met the stare of a voluptuous black-haired girl in a white lace tank top and tight jeans reaching no further than her knees at the far northern end of the hall. "Tell me she sees me; she sees me!" he went on; using his left arm to support himself against the wall aside Jellal to create a 'cool' look for himself. The woman's mystifying eyes met Jellal's as she slowly began to approach the two of them, her heels clacking against the floor.
"She's tied for number one on my to-do list, so don't steal my thunder you hear me?" Ren warned, just as the woman came before them.
"Hi," she said in a sensual tone with an enticing smile, her eyes scanning Jellal's physical features from bottom to top with exciting pleasure.
"Welcome. Master Ren Akatsuki at your service," cut in Ren with a slight bow of his head.
"I'm Ultear," replied the attractive dark-haired woman; paying no attention to Ren while she focused her gaze on his blue-haired counterpart.
"Jellal."
"I'm Ren," he broke in again.
"Hi Jellal."
"Hi," Jellal replied softly with a plain expression, a faint smile becoming present on his face.
"He has a girlfriend," Ren interrupted, catching the woman's attention.
"No I don─"
"Lucky guy," said the girl with an astounded look, her curvy lips parted.
"He's in a rock band," Jellal lied, looking up at Ren, who replied with confusion.
Ultear gave Ren an odd, uninterested look. "It was lovely to meet you guys," she said, curving her smooth lips into an attractive smile. "Jellal," she added with a nod just before turning around and walking off, looking back at him once more before departing from the hall; her hips swaying the entire way.
Ren's facial features tightened and swelled up in frustration. "It's on…" Ren muttered to himself, clenching his fist and turning to face Jellal and jabbing his finger into his chest several times. "I will cutyou!" He threatened, at the brink of tears at this point, and leaving before Jellal could respond.
Jellal remained standing in the center of the hall, looking back at him with a horrified look.
Continue on to Chapter 2!