DEATH CITY WEEKLY
Shin Moriarty
February 12, 2026
DCW: "Welcome back! How've you guys been?"
Soul Eater: He gives us his signature cool grin. "We've been good, right guys?" There's a collective nod between the band members.
BlackStar: "It's been fucking awesome! Who knew that after all this time, we'd still be this busy?" By this point he's absolutely vibrating with excitement.
Death the Kid: He smirks. "Who knew that after all this time, you would still be this energetic?"
Crona: They laugh. "Don't act as if you're not as neurotic as when we first met you!" The whole room erupts into laughter.
DCW: "From what our archives tell us, Soul Resonance's first interview was here! So, we called you back as a sort of celebration for your upcoming 10-year anniversary. How do you feel that Soul Resonance is going to be 10 years old?"
Soul: "Oh shit, that's coming up?"
Kid: "Why else would we be busting our asses so hard as of late?"
Soul: "My bad." He holds his hands up in mock-surrender. "When you've been doing something, you love for so long, you sorta lose track of time."
BlackStar: "See, I knew it was coming up! But when you say Soul Resonance is gonna be 10 years old, I feel old as hell." The rest of the band nods their heads in agreement.
Crona: "You know, when I really think about it, I actually can't believe we're still doing this!" The rest of the band looks at them in disbelief. "No, hear me out! When we started this off- this was just because we were bored and had a lot of time on our hands!"
Kid: "You're right. If it wasn't for this, I'd be a school administrator right now." He gives a horrified shudder.
DCW: "So, you all never intentionally meant to become famous musicians?"
Soul: "I wouldn't say all that. Before Soul Resonance, we all already had some sorta musical background. We just didn't think our garage band was gonna blow up like it did."
Kid: He hums in agreement. "I honestly think if it weren't for BlackStar, Soul Resonance would've died after our sophomore year."
BlackStar: "I knew we could get big! Even at 16, I knew we were bitchin'!"
Crona: "If it weren't for BlackStar, a lot of things would've probably died after our sophomore year." They put their arm around BlackStar. "He's the heart of our band."
DCW: "Could you, perhaps, better explain how boredom and lots of free time led to where you guys are now?"
Crona: "All I can say is I'm glad that mess is fucking over."
11 years Earlier
September 17, 2015
Shit. Shit. Shit. Crona ran out of the house as fast as he could. He knew he couldn't rely on Ragnarok for anything. His brother knew that this was a big day for him, and he still went out of his way to make it as stressful as possible. He quickly got on his bike and pedaled as fast as he could to school. Today was his first day of school. Not just any school. He was going to Death City Academy. From his understanding this school was supposed to be top tier. Whatever that meant. Crona had never been to a real school before. His mother hated the school system and had decided that since it was inadequate, she would teach him herself. He always thought it was unfair how Ragnarok could go to regular school while he had to stay home. However, since they moved in with their dad, he had to go to public school.
His father was the head doctor at the hospital. He was too busy to watch after both him and Ragnarok(not that he needed watching). That meant he had to deal with his brother's pranks and harassments. For instance, Crona's hair was now a pinkish/lavender color. He hoped that he wasn't going to get in trouble for that. His father didn't seem to mind it, in fact he smiled and said it was "a good way to express his individuality". Since moving in with their dad, he and Ragnarok had been granted a lot of freedom. Way more freedom than their mother ever let them have. Crona wasn't sure how to deal with all this freedom but, Ragnarok really seemed to enjoy his newfound freedom. He got a new look and a tattoo. Their father said he didn't really care what they did as long as they were responsible and checked in with him every now and then. Since Ragnarok had graduated school the only catch was that he had to either go to college or get a job. So, he's been working at the local garage. Crona thought it was strange because Ragnarok was so smart. He could go to college or do something way more productive. Why would he want to spend his time getting gross and sweaty? Crona shook his head out of his thoughts. The school building was in sight! He was going to make it! He could see the school gates! He rode in like a bat outta hell. After locking up his bike he walked to the office.
Crona was so worried about being late that he hadn't really thought about anything else. Before entering the office, Crona did a once over. He looked at his school uniform. He pulled at his pants. Wearing pants felt weird. His bottoms were khaki pants and his shirt was a white polo with the school emblem over his left chest. His backpack with his notebooks? Check. His pencils and erasers? Check. His phone and earbuds? Check. Crona took one last breath and begged his heart to slow down. Breath in. Breath out. Remember what Dad said. Finally, Crona stepped into the office. He walked to the front desk.
"Can I help you?" asked a girl with dirty blonde hair.
"Uh, I'm a n-new student?" Crona managed to spit out. The girl gave him a bored look.
"Name?" She asked while turning to a cabinet file.
"Crona? Stein?" he replied. The girl turned to him sharply.
"Are ya tellin' me or askin' me?" She asked harshly.
Crona held his hands up in surrender. "I-I'm telling you!" he said hurriedly.
The girl smirked then turned back to the cabinet and then turned around to face him. The name change must have taken affect then! Crona hated his birth name. He wasn't too fond of his name now. It wasn't any better than his birth name, but his birth name felt like a bitter reminder.
"This is your schedule. We've contacted someone to be your tour guide of sorts. Just take a seat and your guide will be here." Crona nodded dumbly then turned and took a seat. He looked at his schedule. He then took a pen and scribbled out his name. Sometimes he wished he had a normal name. He hated standing out.
He looked at his schedule again. His first class was English. This was good. Crona really enjoyed English. He did a lot of writing during his free time. He also noticed that his fifth class was music. He frowned a bit. He recalled his father saying that this school had not only an amazing STEM program, but a really good music program as well. His mother loved music. He wondered what she was doing right now. He didn't miss her very much. She was cold and cruel, but a part of him still wondered about her. A small cough interrupted his thoughts. When he looked up, he was greeted by a really pretty girl. She had flaxen colored hair and meadow green eyes. She gave Crona a friendly smile. His face went warm.
She held out her hand and said in a kind voice, "Welcome to Death City Academy. I'm Maka. Nice to meet you!" Crona stared at her hand and then shook it.
"I-I'm, uh," he started. At this moment he realized he didn't have to be Crona. He could be someone else! Did he want to be someone else? He just wanted to be normal. He really should've thought about this beforehand. "Craig." He finished lamely.
"If you hand me your schedule then we can be on our way." She said. Crona nodded then handed her his schedule. "Cool! Follow me." He did.
As Maka showed him around he noticed how big this school really was. The architect style sort of reminded him of Hogwarts except there were lockers. Maka was talking and he really did try to listen to her, but he was in awe. This was his school? Ragnarok used to tell him about public school. He said it sucked and the campus was ugly, and his teachers were basically stupid zombies. He also said his classmates were academically stupid. Crona looked at Maka again. She didn't seem stupid. She seemed smart. Crona smiled stupidly. She seemed almost perfect.
He heard loud footsteps from up ahead. "Fuck. Fuck. Fuck." said a white-haired boy. He ran up to Maka. "Maka! Have you seen your dad around here? Me and the guys were in the middle of pulling off a really cool prank and he saw us. We split up but I haven't seen him." Upon closer inspection Crona noticed the boy had red eyes. An albino. He'd never seen one before.
"Sorry Seth. I haven't seen him. If I do, I'll send him on a wild goose chase to the west wing," Maka told him, "That means you three idiots have to stay away from that part of the school. Got it?" he nodded and gave her a smile.
"Thanks, Maka! You're the best." he said as he ran in the opposite direction. As he ran, Crona managed to make eye contact with him. The boy gave Crona a smirk, then turned away. He turned to Maka waiting for an explanation.
"That's Seth. We've been friends since forever. He and his friends like to get into trouble. My dad is a security guard here. That's why he asked if he saw my dad." she said. Crona only nodded. The rest of the tour was uneventful after that. He was showed the cafeteria, library and the auditorium. After getting his books, Maka showed him his locker.
"Well," Maka started, "that concludes our tour. I hope you had a good time. Oh! If you want, I could give you my number so if you have any questions you could just text or call me." She got her phone out and held it to Crona expectantly. Was giving her his number really a good idea? He was surprised she even asked. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad? He nodded dumbly and then exchanged numbers. "I can't have lunch with you today because I have a student council meeting, but I can tomorrow. Sound cool?" Crona nodded and smiled. "Great! Enjoy the rest of your day!" She exclaimed walking away.
Crona looked at his school schedule and checked the time. It was now time for his history class. Luckily, his history class wasn't that far from his locker. When he arrived sat by the window. He noticed a girl with pink hair. Her pink was more of a bubble gum color compared to the soft pink that was his own. He was glad he wasn't the only one with dyed hair. Luckily, this class was also uneventful. It went by fast. Crona noticed he was the only student that took notes. Note taking was something his mother had enforced. How was he able to recall or retain information if he didn't write it down?
Now it was time for lunch. He wasn't sure how the food here was made so he made his own lunch. Ragnarok used to complain about how school lunches were absolutely terrible. As a favor Crona would make him a lunch to take to school. Ragnarok never said thank you but he hadn't minded. It's not like Crona had anything better to do. He actually enjoyed making and preparing food. Maka had said that he didn't have to eat in the cafeteria so, where should he eat? When walking down the hall he noticed the crowd ahead of him parted in half. What the hell?
"Move! Move outta the way!" someone shouted.
"Get back here you two!" another voice shouted. In hindsight, Crona should've moved. Someone was shouting move and the rest of his classmates did, so it only made sense. To this day he will never understand why his stupid monkey brain didn't comprehend the situation at hand. He didn't really have any time to think before he was mowed down by an intense force.
"Son of a bitch!" he heard a voice say from on top of him.
"You idiot! I told you we were going to get caught! Oh shit, we just knocked someone out. Are you ok?" this was a different voice. Crona couldn't see anything other than stars at the moment.
"Hey! Stop! Both of you!" cried another voice.
"Oh shit!"
"Ben pick him up quickly! I got his backpack!" Crona tried to stop whoever picked him up but he simply let out a groan. He was thrown over someone's shoulder and then carried away. When Crona came to he looked up and saw a boy with black hair and gold eyes carrying his backpack.
"What's going on?" he cried.
The black-haired boy gave him an apologetic smile. "We ran you over. Sorry about that!" he shouted over the noise. "We're being chased by campus security and we didn't want to risk you getting caught in the crossfire!"
"Um?" was all Crona managed to get out. He was so confused.
"Quick! Ben, go to the parking lot! Seth said he's ready!"
"Roger that Gabe! We takin' Pinky with us?" shouted the person carrying Crona. He turned to look at the person carrying him. He had blue hair and from what Crona could also conclude was also rather short.
"I guess so!" replied the golden eyed boy. After two sharp turns and a quick cut through the auditorium they were out in the parking lot. They ran to an old beat up Jeep.
"Seth, open the door quick!" the blue haired boy whispered loudly. Crona was shoved in the car. When he looked at the driver, he realized it was the albino boy from earlier. "Floor it, man!" Crona didn't have his seatbelt on and was thrown into the black-haired boy.
"I'm so sorry." Crona said. The other boy just laughed.
"Hey! You're that kid that Maka was showin' around, right?" asked, if Crona remembered correctly, Seth. He nodded. "I'm Seth. The blue haired dude is Ben and the other dude is Gabe."
"M-My name's, uh, Cro-Craig!" he said quickly. His mind was whirring. He was just at school and now he's in a car with three strangers. His anxiety shot up. What the hell was happening?
"What the fuck happened that this dude is in my car now?" Seth asked Ben and Gabe.
"We were runnin' down the hall and then this dumbass was in the way. Gabe said to grab 'im so I did." Ben responded casually.
"Oh, I'm sorry! We mowed over some unsuspecting person while we were being chased. There was a lot of adrenaline going through me and I panicked!" Gabe replied defensively.
"Uh, I could go?" Crona squeaked. He didn't want to be a burden and he also wanted to go back to school. He wasn't supposed to be here! There was a small silence and then laughter. He blushed.
"Are you serious?" Seth asked in disbelief.
"Well, I m-mean, I don't want to be a bother. I should probably go back to school anyways. L-Like I said, I don't want to intrude." Crona said. There's a pause and then the other boys laugh. "W-What?'
"Dude!" shouted Ben. "I-I can't breathe. Holy shit you're so funny!"
Seth looks at Crona from the rearview mirror. "Man, we kidnap you, probably scare the shit out of you and you think you're intruding on our plans?" he asked in disbelief.
Crona looked at Gabe, then Ben, and then back at Seth. "Well, y-yeah, I mean, it's my f-fault that I'm here. You would think that seeing the crowd part like the red sea would be a clue to move out of the way." Crona said quickly. He reached for his backpack in a hurry. "You can just drop me off at the next corner. I can walk, we're not that far fro-"
"That really isn't necessary." Gabe interjected. "Like Seth said earlier we kidnapped you."
Crona looked at Seth. "Yeah man, if you don't have anything better to do then just stick around," he said nonchalantly, "We're just gonna get lunch at The Reaper's Den. That cool with you?" Both Ben and Gabe looked at Crona, waiting for an answer.
"I guess so? Are we going to get into trouble for this?" All the adrenaline left Crona's body and he was now filled with dread. Was this a regular thing students did? It couldn't be. He hadn't seen other students leaving for lunch. Ragnarok used to get in trouble for leaving campus. Shit. How much trouble was he going to get into?
There was a long pause before Ben replied, "Nah! We do this all the time! Just stick with us Crona and you'll never be in any real trouble."
"Uh, I'm not sure if that answered my question." Crona said. Seth pulled into a parking lot that he never noticed before.
When they entered, Crona was greeted by a wonderful smell. His mouth watered. He followed the other three guys to a booth. He took a seat next to Soul. A girl with long black hair came to take their order. She gave them a smile.
"Hey guys!" she exclaimed while pulling out a pen and notepad.
"Hey Tsubaki!" Ben shouted back. Seth smiled at her and Gabe waved.
"The usual?" she asked.
"Yeah and whatever our new friend wants." Seth said tossing his head in Crona's direction. Tsubaki looked at him curiously.
"Who's your new friend? What can I get you, hun?" Tsubaki asked nicely.
"This is Craig!" Ben said excitedly. "And he'll have-" his head turned quickly to Crona- "Uh, whatcha want, dude?"
Crona blushed when he realized everyone was looking at him expecting an answer. "I, um, I'm fine. I packed a lunch already. Besides I don't have any money."
"Nah, get what you want," Seth said, "We kidnapped you and dragged you here. Get whatever you want. Besides it's the least Gabe could do for you." he cackled at Gabe's face.
"Me?!" he nearly shrieked.
Ben bellowed out a laugh. "C'mon Gabe! It was your decision, 'sides we know you have extra cash anyway!" he pointed out.
"Please get whatever you want, Crona. It isn't a big deal." Gabe said while giving him an encouraging smile.
"Are you sure?" Crona asked. All three boys nodded. "I'll just have a burger with fries."
Tsubaki wrote down his order. "Anything to drink?"
"Water?" Tsubaki scribbled in her notepad again.
"Coming right up!" She said and then turned to leave.
Crona looked at the three boys. Ben's hair was not only blue, but it was also spiked up. He noticed that the two buttons on his polo were unbuttoned. Crona also noticed a tattoo of sorts peeking out from underneath his right shoulder sleeve. He turned his attention to Gabe. Gabe was actually really pale. His skin seemed smooth and free of blemishes. His eyes were not actually gold but a really warm honey color. Everything about him seemed neat and pristine. Finally, he looked at Seth. He was surprisingly tan for someone who was supposed to be albino. His white hair was spiked as well. Seth noticed Crona observing him and gave him a crooked smile. His teeth were sharp, which made his smile look sly.
"What school did you go to before, Craig?" he asked Crona.
"Hmm?" he hummed while coming back to the situation at hand. He really should remember that's how he was going to be referred to as. Should he refer to himself that way too? "Oh, I didn't go to any school before this. I was homeschooled." he said quietly.
"What?!" Ben shouted. "Is it true all homeschool kids are weird?"
Gabe smacked him in the head while Seth kicked his leg. "Don't be rude." Gabe muttered.
"Why were you homeschooled? You have, like, a sickness or somethin'?" Seth asked.
"No. My mother strongly disliked the school system," Crona started, "She claimed it was full of idiots and buffoons. She swore she could probably do a better job. So, yeah..." he trailed off quickly.
"That is a little offensive considering all of our parents or guardians are teachers or staff at DCA." Gabe said nonchalantly.
Crona's eyes widened in horror. Great, the first people he attempted a conversation with, and he offends them. You fucking idiot Crona! Why don't you ever think? Ragnarok's right you actually are stupid!
Seth and Ben both laughed. "Gabe's joking with you. It's not really offensive. In fact, we too think that they are idiots. Most of the time, anyways." Seth said while Tsubaki put down their drinks.
"Is that why you guys like to get into trouble?" Crona asked without thinking.
"Trouble?" Ben asked loudly. "Who said that we like to get into trouble?"
Crona stiffened. "T-That's just what I heard from Maka."
"Yeah, well fun and trouble mean the same thing to Maka!" Ben said defensively.
"She can be cool sometimes." Seth said trying to defend his longtime friend.
"Seth's right," Gabe agreed, "Her work ethic is admirable. She's a really good person to study with."
"So, you guys… don't get into trouble?" Crona asked. He was still confused.
The three boys looked at each other and then laughed. "Well, we never go looking for trouble." Gabe started to say.
"We go lookin' for fun." Seth states cooly. "Trouble just happens to find us a lot of the time." Crona wasn't sure how to deal with this situation. Was befriending them really a good idea? They seemed to get into a lot of trouble and the last thing he wanted to do was disappoint his dad. However, they did seem really nice. They even made Crona feel included in their lunch, even though he wasn't actually invited.
"So, what do you do for fun?" Ben asked him. Tsubaki came and put down their food in front of them. The other boys began to eat while he thought about it.
"Well, when my brother and I lived with our mother she didn't let me go out much. I did a lot of reading and writing. She really loved music, so I learned to play a lot of instruments. When she did let me go out, I didn't have any friends so I would just go to the park and just watch everyone else. It was interesting." Should he be telling them this? Would they use this against him? No, you idiot! What would they gain from that? "We just moved in with our dad, so I haven't had a lot of time to do anything."
"You know," Seth started, "you can relax around us." He must've noticed Crona's anxious demeanor. "You don't have to act like we're gonna jump you at any moment. We're all cool here." Crona blushed but nodded.
"You have a brother?" Ben asked while stuffing his burger in his mouth.
"Y-Yeah. He graduated last year. His name's Ragnarok and he's kind of a jerk." Crona said.
"He picks on you?" Seth asked.
"Yeah. He's responsible for my hair color."
"Man, I was wonderin' about that." Ben exclaimed. "What's your real hair color?"
"It's blonde."
"Really? No way!"
"Was your father upset that he did that to you?" Gabe asked seriously.
Crona's nose scrunched up in irritation. "No. I didn't actually tell him that Ragnarok did it. He assumed I had some urge to be spontaneous. My dad was actually really cool about it. He said it was a good way to 'express my individuality.'"
"Wow!" Ben said in awe. "Your dad sounds really cool!"
"I guess." Crona said while shrugging and sticking the last of his food in his mouth. "What do you guys do for fun?" It was his turn to ask right?
"I don't really know." Seth started. "Pull harmless pranks."
"Hang out at my place." Gabe put in.
"Drive around town in Seth's car. Oh! Sometimes we go to the skatepark!" Ben added.
He and the rest of the boys sat in content silence. "Thanks for letting me be part of your guy's lunch plans and for being really nice to me." he said softly. "Sorry if I'm being awkward."
"It's not a big deal dude." Ben said.
"Yeah man. You turned out to be cool company." Seth said coolly. "I'm glad Gabe kidnapped you"
Gabe's face turned red. "I'm sorry about that again. However, I do have to agree with both Seth and Ben. Your company turned out to be enjoyable." Crona turned red at all the compliments.
"You guys ready to go?" Seth asked. They all nodded in agreement. After paying the check they all loaded into Seth's car.
"What class do you have for fifth period?" Ben asked.
"I have Music next period." he replied.
"Bitchin'!" he cried out. "We all have next period together. Well, whatever's left anyway."
Crona gaped. "What!?" He shrieked. "HOLY SHIT! HOW LATE ARE WE? SHIT! I CAN'T BELIEVE I MI-"
"Hey!" Gabe shouted interrupting Crona from his rant. "Craig, I promise it will be alright. We've done this many times and hardly faced any consequences. Trust me when I say there is no reason to panic." Crona nodded. He was still anxious but at least he didn't feel like he was going to throw up.
"If you say so." he replied softly. Gabe gave him a reassuring smile.
After returning to the school campus and parking, Crona followed the three boys to a fence. "What are we doing?" he asked.
All three boys held a finger to their lip. "Keep quiet." Seth whispered to him while pushing one the fence. "Since class is still in session and we don't have a pass, we have to sneak our way into the music room." He had a moment of ah-ha when he found the loose part he was looking for. He lifted the bottom part of the chained link fence and motioned them to go. After ducking underneath, the fence, Crona followed the boys into the school's library. He noticed his new friends were wearing hoodies. This was odd because it was September, which meant it was almost 100 degrees in Death City. Crona just brushed it off.
"Why're we going through the library if the music room is on the other side?" he whispered to Gabe.
"Well," Gabe started off. "Death City Academy is actually an old castle. My great-great-great-great grandfather turned it into a school way back when. They changed most of it to make the castle rooms into classrooms and other useful rooms. However, there are still hidden rooms and hallways that are actually quite useful. For instance," At this point they walked into the farthest corner of the library. Seth walked up to a bookshelf and then kneeled to the bottom of the shelf. To Crona's surprise all the books came out in one piece as if they were all glued together. Ben crawled under followed by Gabe. Seth motioned for Crona to follow. He felt his heart race again. He took a deep breath and then followed. After crawling in he felt someone's hand grab his shoulder. He flinched.
"Be cool, Craig." Ben said quietly. "It's just me. You can stand up now." He did. Both Ben and Gabe were using their phones as flashlights. From what he could tell the corridor was pretty narrow so, Crona was going to have to walk sideways. Gabe and Ben began to walk forward. Crona felt unsure about this. Maybe it wasn't too late to turn ba- No it was. Seth pushed him softly as if to say, "Any day now, dude." He began to crab walk forward.
"How'd you guys find this?" Crona asked softly.
"Ben did actually." Seth replied just as softly.
"Yeah. I was gonna hide nudies in between the books. I pulled a book out and noticed a breeze." Ben said proudly. "After that we kinda made it our mission to find all the secret corridors and stuff." He stopped suddenly causing Crona to bump into him. "Get ready to duck again." After Ben knelt down Crona followed his actions. He followed the light outside and came out...a cubby? When he turned around, he saw Seth put a large instrument case in front of the opening. He noticed there were larger instruments and cases blocking off this section of the music room.
"Shit." Seth said looking at Crona. "We forgot to tell Craig about the dust." He looked down at himself. His once white polo shirt was now gray. He watched as the rest of the guys peeled off their hoodies. They threw them in a different cubby.
"I have another hoodie in my cubby. Just wait here." Ben said. The other three nodded. When he returned, he tossed it at Crona, who caught it with his face. He put it on. Even though Ben's torso was significantly smaller than Crona's own, the hoodie still fit big. He failed to see the purpose in wearing it since the collar of his shirt was still visible.
"Alright, now to make it back to the back of the class undetected." Seth quietly. Crona followed their lead. He so was focused on trying to be stealthy he hadn't noticed when Gabe stopped suddenly. He bumped into him and then looked up to see why they stopped. In front of them stood a man dressed in tan slacks and a blue button up. He looked like an older, less intense version of Seth.
"We're busted." Ben said. Crona's nerves shot through the roof. He was in trouble? No way! He looked around. Where was the rest of the class? Had it ended?
"What are you doin' here Wes? Where's Ms. Mjolnir?" Seth asked.
"Did you guys forget about the mandatory assembly today?" Wes(?) asked cooly.
"Shit." They all said at the same time.
"Alright all of you are coming with me. You too new kid." He said motioning to Crona. He felt his throat close up. As they walked down the hall all three boys threw Crona apologetic glances. "Did they rope you into this?" Wes asked him.
What should he say? They had. It was their fault he was in this mess. Crona so badly wanted to tell this man that they had, but at the same time he felt like doing so would be a betrayal to them.
"No. I asked if I could go with them." he said quietly. He couldn't believe himself. He was just going along with this? What am I doing?
"That's a shame." Wes stated. "I hope you guys had a good time though." At this Crona gave the man a confused look. He turned to Seth for an answer.
"My brother." He mouthed to him. Crona nodded. It made sense. Finally, they walked through two large doors. In front of them stood a man with red hair. He looked incredibly smug that they were there. Sitting behind a beautiful, large desk sat a man with dark grey hair. He had the same warm honey colored eyes as Gabe. The next thing he noticed was his push broom mustache. It was quite comical actually and if it weren't for the circumstances Crona would've probably laughed. The name plaque on his desk read: Mr. Morté.
"Hello boys." Mr. Morté said. Crona clenched his teeth. This man's voice was incredibly high pitch. It was cartoonish! How was he supposed to get through this? "Is there a good explanation as to why you were not at the mandatory assembly?"
Gabe cleared his throat, "We were showing Craig around and we got lost track of time."
"Try again you sneaky bastards!" The red-haired man screamed. "My Maka was showing him around earlier!"
"Spirit!" cried Mr. Morté. "Please control yourself." After the red-haired man readjusted himself, Mr. Morté continued, "He is correct. Ms. Albarn did show Mr. Stein the campus earlier. What is the real reason?"
None of the boys made an attempt to answer the question. "Mr. Stein since this is your first offense, I will grant you a week's worth of after school detention." Mr. Morté said looking at Crona. He then turned to the other three boys, "You three however, will be looking at 2 months' worth of after school detention." Gabe nodded and Seth sighed in irritation.
"What?!" Ben screeched. "Two months?! That's not fair!"
Mr. Morté head snapped towards Ben. "Not fair? Not fair?!" he shouted. "My boy, I have been more than fair to the three of you for the past year. I let you get away with these shenanigans your freshman year, but I cannot tolerate them any longer!"
"Shenanigans?!" Ben roared back at him. "What shenanigans?!" Mr. Morté pulled out a thick folder.
"October 6, 2015," Mr. Morté began to read, "Seth Evans, Gabriel Morté, and Benjamin Hoshimoto serve detention for switching the signs on the boys and girl's bathroom." Crona gave them a confused look. "October 31, 2015, served detention for airing a fake air raid over the intercom. November 12, 2015, served detention for peeking in the girls locker room-"
"Oh c'mon! That one was outta context!" Ben cried.
"Don't interrupt me boy!" Mr. Morté exclaimed even louder. "You three have done everything from internet games to defacing private property! It is barely your second year as students. It is a wonder why I haven't given you a harsher punishment sooner!" He takes a pause to allow himself to breath. "This is the last straw. I can-"
"It's my fault!" Crona said suddenly. What am I doing? He gripped his palms and begged for his heart to slow down. "I-I don't really trust school lunches. I saw Seth h-had a car and I told him, i-if he drove me to buy lunch, I would buy him and his friends l-lunch too." What is wrong with me? Am I stupid? What am I doing? Please don't notice I'm lying. Please don't notice.
Mr. Morté peered at him. "It was your idea to use the secret corridors as well?"
Act stupid. "C-Corridors?" he asked.
Mr. Morté smiled, "That is right. You're a new student how would you possibly know about them?"
"Why d-do you keep bringing up corridors?" Crona asked trying to keep his cool.
"Why else would your white polo shirt be grey?"
Shit. "I, uh, fell?" Crona tried.
Mr. Morté stared at him for a long time and then he smiled. "My boy, that was quite brave of you to try to take the blame for students you hardly know." Then the amusement from his eyes vanished. "It was also incredibly stupid." Crona felt his soul leave his body. "The stupidity you four demonstrate is appalling. You have no sense of responsibility or ambition. You have proven after school detention will not be a sufficient enough punishment. So, I have come up with another one." All four boys' bodies stiffened. Mr. Morté moved from behind his desk to stand in front of them. Every step he took made Crona's heart beat faster. He stared at them.
"Death City Academy will be hosting a ball in December. We need entertainment of sorts. Music to be exact. Since the school is focusing on decor and food, our budget for entertainment is low. I want you four to come up with a cheap form of entertainment. The catch? If the band or person or whatever it is that you hire isn't successful, you four will either be suspended or expelled. I haven't decided yet." Mr. Morté glare seemed to get colder. "Do I make myself clear?" he asked slowly. Both Crona and Gabe nodded. Mr. Morté turned to Seth and Ben. "Mr. Evans? Mr. Hoshimoto? Do you understand?" They both nodded slowly.
Mr. Morté gave them a big smile, "Now get to your classes. Mr. Albarn will write you passes." Crona walked stiffly to receive his pass. After they exited the office Crona let out a breath. He was glad that was over.
"Sorry we got you into this mess, man." Seth said.
"Yeah. On your first day and everything." Ben said softly.
"Father was especially harsh today. I wonder if something else happened to put him in a foul mood?" Gabe asked out loud. Crona's eyebrows shot up.
"That was your dad?" he asked.
"Yes." was all Gabe said. Seth pulled out his phone.
"Could we get your number? I mean, we are going to be spending the next 3 months trying to figure this entertainment thing out."
Crona looked at Seth's phone and then back at him. He wasn't sure how to deal with this. Two people asked for his number all in one day. No one ever asked him for his number. He didn't talk to many people and he liked that. Out of all the lessons his mother taught him, the one that really stood out was how unreliable mankind is. Man was complicated and ever changing. He knew who he was, and he could count on himself to be the same old Crona. That was stable; it was safe. Crona liked safe. If he got too close to these people, would it come back to bite him?
"Uh?" Was all he said.
"What's the matter?" Ben asked. "Don't ya have a phone?"
"Maybe he doesn't know his own phone number?" Gabe tried.
"N-No I do!" He shouted and scrambled to pull it out. "I'm just n-not used to giving people my number is all." They all exchanged numbers. Crona really hoped he wasn't going to regret this. After this whole punishment thing blew over, Crona wouldn't have any real reason to keep in contact with them. That sounded good to him.
"Can we talk about Crona's stupid ass decision to take the blame?" Ben asked boisterously.
Crona blushed hard. "I'm not sure why I did that." He put his face in his hands. That he definitely regrets.
"I don't care what Father said. That really was the bravest, craziest thing anyone has done for three strangers." Gabe said warmly. Crona blushed again.
Before parting ways Seth asked Crona, "Do you want a ride home?"
"It's ok. I rode my bike here." he said.
Seth just clicked his tongue. "It's cool man. We'll just throw it in the trunk."
Crona smiled awkwardly. "Are you sure?"
Seth gave him a cool smile. "It wouldn't be a big deal, man."
He nodded. "O-Ok then."
Soul waved. "See you after school then." He walked to class.
When he arrived to the last 20 minutes of his math class Crona noticed he received a message on his phone. It was from an unknown number. It said: didnt cu the assembly. ru okay? its Maka btw.
Crona thought about it. Was he okay? He was tackled, put out of his comfort zone, and got into major trouble. He was exhausted from the roller coaster of emotions he felt today. Then again, Crona also felt an unexplainable feeling of inclusion. A camaraderie of sorts. He didn't have any experience when it came to social interactions personally. He always observed them from afar. He felt a surge of pride in himself. He'd gotten through a lot of social interactions today and he was still alive to tell the tale! However, now he was faced with a different dilemma. Was befriending those three a good thing or a bad thing? Crona was hesitant to find out. All in all, today wasn't the worst day he'd ever had. He opened his phone to reply to Maka's text. He texted her:
Yeah. I could be worse.
Author's Note: I hope you guys enjoyed this first chapter! It's been a long time since I've been on here. I'm going to try to pace this as well as I can. Please, please, please forgive me for any grammar mistakes. Please review!