Robin was up and away the most unreliable teacher she ever had.
"What are we even doing?" She asked, as she held up the lance. It was a legitimate antique that Robin kept on her bedroom wall.
"Sparring, silly!" Robin said, as she held up her weapon of choice... A short sword shaped like a lightning bolt, which she affectionately referred to as 'Levi.' "Exercise is good for you!"
"But I don't know how to handle a wea-"
Robin brought the blade up to her face and kissed it. Much to Cordelia's shock, the blade began to sparkle with a electricity. "Well, you better learn then!" Robin chirped. She then tapped her leg with the blade.
Cordelia gave a sharp yelp as the electricty coursed through her. "What are you doing?"
"Teaching." Robin said, as she jabbed her again, ignoring Cordelia's yelp of pain. "You better learn qui-ick."
She leaned forward, this time a little more slowly, to attack her again. Cordelia stepped backward, brandishing the lance out in front of her.
"Widen your stance a little." Robin said. "Okay... that looks good. Now... Here I come!"
...
A few hours later, Cordelia found herself aching as she stepped out of Robin's shower.
"Wasn't that fun?" Robin asked cheerfully as Cordelia entered her room.
"I feel terrible." Cordelia moaned.
"I'll take that as a yes." Robin said, nodding. "We're actually having a nice dinner tonight... Stick around!"
"I'm not even sure I can stomach it..." Cordelia said. "I really do think I should just go home and lie down."
Robin's expression softened. "I'm sorry I was so hard on you, Cordelia." She said, as she moved to sit beside her. "I guess we can't all be into getting electrocuted, huh?"
"I'd be fine with just going for a run." Cordelia admitted.
Robin groaned. "But I hate running...! Okay... you suffered today, I suffer tomorrow."
"I hate running too." Cordelia admitted. "But that's what this is all about, right? Covering my weaknesses?"
"Exactly." Robin said, nodding. "I'm glad you listen, at least."
She groaned. "Listening isn't good enough." She said.
"I agree." Robin said. "If you want to win Chrom's heart, you're going to have to be fast..." She jabbed her fist in the air. "Aggressive...!" She moved her weight on top of Cordelia, sitting on top of her. "Passionate...!"
"I get it, Robin." Cordelia said. "Now get off me."
...
"What's he doing?" Cordelia asked in a whisper, as Robin toyed around with her little telescope.
"Hush." Robin mouthed. "He's with Frederick."
"Frederick?" Cordelia repeated, alarmed. "He's not in trouble, is he?"
"No, I don't think so." Robin said, frowning. "They're just talking..."
They parted ways shortly after that. They sat in silence as Chrom made his way around the school grounds, greeting everyone he passed.
"He's such a nice guy." Robin noted. "No wonder you want him..."
"Isn't he, though..." Cordelia sighed. "Oh, he's so wonderful..."
Robin turned to face her, opening her mouth to say something... when something ducked behind a nearby tree.
Robin frowned. Making a whirling gesture with her hands, she mouthed something and pointed to a tree behind them. Cordelia looked around. Nothing was there.
She turned back to face her, quizzically, but Robin shook her head. "You know, Cordelia," Robin said, loudly. "You're right. He is pretty wonderful."
Her eyes were not on Chrom, but on the nearby tree. Cordelia eyed the tree as well curiously, as she looked up at Robin again. "What are you...?"
"There he is!" Robin said, jumping up. Cordelia whirled around, and in a flash, the boy in blue who had been watching them dashed away to the other side of the school.
"Wow." Robin said. "What a creep."
"That was the guy who spoke to me the other day... Marth."
"That weirdo with the mask?" Robin asked. "That one that Lissa likes?"
She sighed. "Yes."
"That's awkward." Robin said, humming.
"Yeah." Cordelia said, nodding. "Worse than that, even. I mean, who would spy on someone, just because they liked someone?"
"Losers, that's who." Robin said, as she placed the telescope back to her eye. "Hey, he's talking to some guy."
"Who is it?" Cordelia asked curiously.
"I don't know..." Robin said, frowning. "Let's see... red hair... kind of short..."
"Red hair?" Cordelia asked curioiusly. "You don't mean Gaius, do you? His is more of... an orange."
She scowled. "No, I don't mean Gaius." She snapped. "I mean... here, look for youself."
She tossed the telescope over to Cordelia. Surprised, she nearly fumbled the telescope and dropped it. Making sure she had a tight grip on it, she moved herself over to where Robin was sitting and put the telescope up to her eye.
"Where are they?" She asked, as she moved the telescope around the crowd of people. "I can't seem to find them..."
Instead of answering, Robin grabbed the telescope and readjusted it.
"Oh, okay." She said, frowning. "Thanks."
Her frown deepened. "Robin..." She said slowly. "That's not a guy."
"Huh?" Robin asked. "What are you-"
"That's Sully." Cordelia said, annoyance welling up inside of her. "One of Chrom's... oldest friends.
Cordelia stiffened as Sully let out a loud, uproarious laugh and slapped Chrom on the back. "She's not very feminine." She offered, in an attempt to placate Robin's clear surprise.
"Was that really a girl?" Robin said, sounding awed. "She, like, grabbed Chrom from behind and yanked him off the ground..."
Cordelia scowled. "Yes." She said, trying to keep calm. "That's Sully, all right..."
Robin looked down at her, eyebrows raised. "How well do you know her, Cordelia?"
"Well... we've all gone to school together all of our lives." Cordelia said. "I know her well enough, I suppose... I mean, we're not close, if that's what you're asking. Sully's always been a bit of a tomboy."
Robin cupped her cheek in her hand. "I see..." She said thoughtfully.
...
Later that day, Cordelia found herself, once again, regretting her choice of lab partner. "Sumia, maybe I should handle the liquids..." She said, her voice soft and cautious.
"No, I've got this!" Sumia said brightly, as she swung around in her chair. "I just need to dump this... here... and move this... here... and then..."
In her haste to help, her hand accidently knocked over the vial that was sitting over the heater. It hit the floor, and with a loud crack, exploded in their faces.
"I'm so sorry!" Sumia said, her face in tears, as nearly everyone in the room turned to glare at her. "I swear I didn't mean it-!"
Leaning over, she made as if to begin cleaning up the mess... only for the sleeve of her sweatshirt to make contact with the liquid, and catch fire.
"Eeeeeeeeeh!" She shrieked, as she barreled towards the sink, her gaze locked on the faucet. Of course, she did not notice the open cabinet door, which she barrelled straight into, causing her to sprawl across a nearby table.
While the rest of the class were busy trying to put out the fire, Robin's focus was still on her experiment... or rather, on her partner.
"Aren't you going to help?" She snapped at her partner for the day.
He shrugged. "You seem to know what you're doing, Bubbles." He said, as he reached for another piece of candy. "I'd hate to get in your way."
She groaned. "I'm not asking you to do it for me. I'm just asking you to help."
He leaned back in his chair, dangerously balancing on two legs. "Well, maybe if you made it worth my while..."
...
"If it was Gaius you were in love with, I'd probably have to punch you." Robin informed her, as they sat down at their table. "I mean... honestly. He's unbearable."
Cordelia laughed. "He's not that bad." She said. "He's just a little... opportunistic?"
"I like Gaius." Lissa said thoughtfully. "He's actually fairly good friends with Em. He's always been really nice to us."
"Em?" Robin inquired. "Who's that?"
"Oh, my sister." Lissa said. "Gaius helped us out when our parents died-"
The conversation, however, came to an end the instant Maribelle approached the table.
"I don't believe it!" She said, her voice even more high pitched than usual. "The absolute nerve of him!"
She sat her carefully packed lunch delicately in front of her before sitting down. She was clearly not herself, Cordelia noted.
"Uh, Maribelle?" Robin said. "What are you on about this time?"
She looked up at them. "I don't think this concerns you." She said, her voice cold. "I would like to speak to LIssa, please. Alone."
Robin scowled. "Fine. Whatever you want. Come on, Cordelia."
"See you later!" Lissa chirped, as the two of them headed off.
"I'm not sure why they're friends, to be honest." Cordelia admitted. "LIssa is so friendly, and Maribelle is..."
"Lonely." Robin said shortly. "She thinks so highly of Lissa because Lissa is is the sort of person who cares about everyone... but in the same way, she's horrified at the idea of anyone taking away their time together.
Cordelia didn't know how to respond to that.
"She needs new friends." Robin said thoughtfully. "I don't think she's a bad person, Cordelia... we probably shouldn't judge her. Maybe she really did have something important to say to Lissa."
...