Happy Holidays and Happy New Year, everyone!~ ;3 And sorry for the late return, but you know how the end of the year is - busy to the brim! There's just too many distractions like school projects over the break, studying for exams, various birthdays, Christmas, taking care of my baby sister everyday (she's 4 months old so she is an immediate priority), and New Years. Heck in the midst of it all I had forgotten one last important thing to do: Celebrate my own birthday! Haha. xD Yup, the other day on December 28th, I finally turned 16. Man, time really does fly... Sadly, I didn't get any special treatments/presents of any sort during my sweet 16, but that's okay. :D Besides, I'd enjoy knowing that I'm uploading one last Chapter before 2009 hits 2010.
So here's Chapter 4 for you all in commemoration to all my awesome regulars that have stuck with this story, reading and reviewing from the very first chapter. Thank you all for your input and motivation to continue this story! And hopefully in 2010, I'll be back and writing quicker than my pace of now. ;D
Disclaimer Time: Symphonia is not mine, nor will it ever be no matter how much I dream…
Richter: *Pops-up out of nowhere.* Courage is the magic that turns dreams into reality!
Cwister: … Some things, Richter, no amount of courage will make it a reality… I've tried. xD
Ch. 4: New Faces, First Impressions ~ Through Sapphire Eyes ~
[Wednesday]
Cafeterias, food courts, restaurants - people all come for the food at these places. What really makes them stay though is not what they came for, but for the groups of people endlessly chatting about. The food was just an excuse for gossipers and socialists alike to congregate together. Information is what the people truly want.
Everyday on the Symphonia Academy campus food court it was like this; silence was never to be found.
Genis, on the other hand, sat alone, not favoring talking with random strangers. He kept to himself as he ate, using the food court as it was originally intended - to feast at.
"-- and the whole field was on fire! I swear, I was a foot away when the guy sent flames my way! I could've been severely burned, or even worse, been killed! But I dodged out of the way just in the nick of time, and all the girls thought I was awesome like some kind of action hero, wooing and all! I would've also restrained the pyro-guy, but the professors came before I could knock some sense into him."
"Oh, man! Still it's hard to believe that some insane, berserk pyromaniac would try to attack you like that. I can just imagine you fighting back and pummeling him in the dirt for it! Do you know who it was?"
"Naw. I didn't catch the name--"
"Ah-choo!!" sneezed the silverette. Wiping his nose with a clean tissue, Genis cleared his nasal passage way. "Geez… I better not be getting sick so soon in the first semester." He placed the used tissue aside, and picked up his spoon, chowing down on his freshly cooked Miso Soup that he had made a few hours prior.
"*Benedicite!"
Rising from his soup, "Oh. *Salve, Colette. *Gratias!" Genis thanked her and returned to his meal.
"*Nihil laboris est," Colette replied with her known smile, sitting down in an empty seat and placing her food on the table. Lloyd, who followed at her heels, did the same.
"Genis, I didn't know you spoke Ancient Angelic," Lloyd said, biting into his sandwich. With his mouth stuffed, he muffled out, "I thought you knew Elven."
After taking a few more spoonfuls, Genis explained, swinging around his spoon, "Yeah, I do know Elven, but Ancient Angelic and Elven go hand in hand. Since Ancient Angelic was the first ever verbal language of Aselia, it had become the basis of other languages that came after it. The language of the elves just so happens to be one of those branches. So it's not that uncommon for me to know a slight bit of Angelic."
Lloyd swallowed, clearing his mouth. "I'm about to say, you either read some book to learn another language over spring break or something 'cause it's such a strange and complicated language to just know right off the bat." The brunette rubbed the back of his head, remembering the class. "The lesson we learned today was supposed to be easy, but I ended up barely understanding a thing."
Colette, putting a comforting hand onto Lloyd's shoulder, said, "It's fine, Lloyd. The first few days are always difficult, especially when it's your first time learning about--" A loud student at a table across from theirs interrupted Colette. Their voice booming for all to hear.
"The pyromaniac during Artes class people keep talking about… I hear he could be a half-elf!! Just think, what if that student originally came to our academy to complete a suicidal mission of burning down both the school and the city?!"
"Don't say that! It's scary enough to think half-elves are living in the same world as us… I'm glad that this city doesn't allow their kind in; those sadistic monsters don't deserve to live in such grace!"
The pointy, sensitive ears underneath Genis' spiky, silver hair easily picked up the gossipers' words. In response, he immediately started choking and spewing the soup that he was in the midst of drinking all over his tray and the table. His spoon that he held fell from his grasp and clattered on his tray. His hands tapped on his chest, trying to get his air pipes flowing with oxygen.
His friends before him wore concerned faces. Both of them wanting to speak out but were interrupted by a hoarse Genis, "I-I'm fine… Soup went down… wrong pipe…"
Silence fell upon the trio, all three of them fixated on their food as the students around them continued to gossip.
"--- and this is why half-elves shouldn't be able to use or learn magic! They can't control mana well enough which make us pureblood elves seem like shit!! I swear if that guy really is a half-elf, he will not only get a beating but a death sentence as well."
Breaking the silence, Colette asked, "Pyromaniac? Wasn't that during your Artes class, Genis?" Her body leaning forward in her seat with curiosity.
Quietly, Genis nodded in response. He wiped his lips with the back of his hand.
"Oh, yeah! I forgot you had Artes class today," Lloyd admitted and then continued. "You mind filling us in what all this talk is about anyhow?"
"W-well, uhhh…" Genis hesitantly spoke. He bit his lip and adverted his gaze from their info seeking eyes to his reflection in his now untouched soup. "I-I d-didn't see a-anything… so I c-can't say…" The silver-haired boy then began to sink his head downward and slump further into his seat as if trying to hide.
"Really?" Lloyd questioned, eyebrow raised in disbelief. "For a rumor of a fire starting person of sorts, you'd think it wouldn't be too hard to miss."
"Y-yeah… I-I had to run t-to the restroom, and I-I m-missed it."
Colette looking him over, "Uh… Genis? Are you okay? You seem nervous."
"N-no, no! I-I'm fine, r-really!" Genis assured them by forcing a dim smile despite his stuttering.
Lloyd, not being so easily tricked, poked at his friend for the truth, "C'mon, Genis! We know something's bugging you. You sure you don't want to talk about it?"
"T-there is nothing to talk about." Taking his tray, Genis rose from his seat. It was obvious that he had enough with the game of never-ending questions. "Anyways, I-I have to go. I'll talk to you both later." He turned and made his way to the trash can to throw away his stuff, weaving though all the tables filled with students.
Behind him he could hear his friends' words fading in the distance, "Alrighty, if you say so!" "Bye, Genis!"
With his heart slowing, Genis reached the trash can, throwing away his trash and then abruptly exiting the food court soon after, "Next time, I have to be more careful and watch my actions and my words…"
~ S.S.D. ~
The elevator hummed its same tune, rising a few floors. Genis, its lone passenger, found the sound comforting. It was much better to hear that than some rambunctious teenagers rabidly chatting about events, especially when those events could relate to you.
Ding! the elevator chimed and its doors opened instantly following. Stepping out, Genis strolled down the empty halls glad that the other students were occupying the food court instead. Not only did it eased his mind, but it eased him physically as well. He had been tired of tilting his head to the ground and hiding in hopes of people not recognizing him.
When he finally reached his destination at Room 72, he slid his card through the slot and made his way into his dorm. Genis was about to tumble down face first into his blanket covers, but he noticed another presence in the room.
"Mithos?" Genis called, looking to the blond who sat on the edge of the bed. His head buried into his hands.
The blond, raising his head and lowering his hands, answered, "Hello, Genis. You're back from the food court so soon."
"I decided that I'm not all that hungry after all… " Genis said while making his way to his own bed and sitting down. "I guess you weren't either?"
"Not really. I actually don't like going to eat out, so I stay inside this dorm. Conversing with strangers and listening to their talk isn't something I'd like to participate in."
"Heh-heh," Genis forced a laugh, his gaze falling to the floor. "I know what you mean one-hundred percent. Everyone was talking about what happened during our Artes class at the food court… It really annoys me how nosy people are."
"Ah, I see. But I don't understand something… Do you mind if I ask?"
"Huh?" Genis met Mithos' line of sight. "Uh, sure. Go ahead and shoot."
"… Why? Why did you cast those flames onto the field?"
Genis' sapphire eyes were pinned downward to the floor again. Despite scurrying off from Lloyd and Colette to the confines of his room, it seemed the question game would continue on whether Genis liked it or not. Drowning his wishes of staying silent on the matter, he took a deep breath before explaining, "To be perfectly honest, I didn't mean to cast Fire Ball in the first place… It's just that I got angered which most likely caused me to perform a spell subconsciously… Before I knew it, a spell circle surrounded me, and I couldn't cancel the spell. Then, bam! The field was lit on fire and people started screaming and running in chaos. And I stayed standing where I was, hapless." He finished by running a hand through his silver locks.
"And what caused you to be so full of rage to cause you to go and cast a wild spell?" Mithos tossed another question.
"Mr. High and Mighty," Genis mumbled out coldly. "Ever since yesterday when I met him, he has not only questioned my abilities and my skills, but he has criticized me by saying things such as elves are failures and how lowly I am compared to him mentally and physically. He also keeps bellowing how I'll never be first in class." Genis rose his hands in front of him, closing them tightly as if trying to crush something. "… I will definitely not lose to someone like him!"
"With a goal like that in mine, I wouldn't go too overboard. You wouldn't want to get expelled for another accidental stunt like the one today." Mithos got up, rising from his bed, and walked over to the window that overlooked the campus. "You know how cautious people are when news gets around that a potential half-elf is lurking around their safe haven. It's even more preposterous that they'd even try to falsely accuse someone as a half-elf just so they can feel protected." He took a brief pause, still starting out the window. "I mean, all these people in Symphonia, they believe in harmony and unity, but how can that be even possible when they don't even allow half-elves to live among them?… Humans are so hypocritical! They are the ones who are truly monsters!!"
Shocked hearing Mithos' words, Genis turned to his right, seeing the blond youth stare outside. His earth-green eyes were filled with fury and sadness. His teeth were slightly gritting and forming a frown. Genis took a chance, daring himself to ask the question, "Mithos are you… a half-elf?"
Slightly jumping and facing away from the window to face the silverette, "H-half-elf? I-I'm not a h-half-elf; I'm a pure-blooded elf!" Mithos denied such accusations.
"It's fine," Genis said, standing up from his bed and turning to his dorm-mate with a hand resting on his chest, "because I'm a half-elf myself."
Confused and non-believing, Mithos shouted back at him, "Y-you're lying! Why would you admit that you are a half-elf? It's to lure me into admitting and leading you to tell the administration so they can take me to the emperor and sentence me to death!!"
"But I'm telling the truth!" Undaunted, Genis continued, "See, I still have my charm from when I was a resident of Exire." After searching through his pockets, he had found a small chain with a single charm and he held it out for Mithos to see.
Mithos stumbled backwards, stunned. "T-the mark of Exire?! Impossible…" He too took out a similar charm and held it out before him.
"I've always held onto this to always remind me who I truly am even though I must hide such a fact," Genis admitted, eyeing the charm. His own cobalt eyes shining of sympathy and understanding. "So you don't have to hide it from me Mithos, I am a fellow half-elf and I will never tell this secret to anyone. I promise."
"… You truly promise?" said a hesitant Mithos.
Extending out a hand, Genis reassured him, "I swear on it."
"Then I promise as well," Mithos said, taking Genis' hand. Their charms jingled as they collided in the handshake.
"Heheh," Genis chuckled, a smile growing on his face, "I, Genis Sage, freshman and half-elf, am glad to finally meet you."
Mithos reciprocated, "I, Mithos Mortis, freshman and half-elf, am also glad to have finally met you." Letting go, they ended the meeting. "You really are an analytic person; you know that, Genis?"
"I hear it from time to time," Genis replied, still grinning.
"I believe this is the start of a beautiful friendship," Mithos stated. He began to smile as well.
"Haha! I definitely agree with you there!"
"And just like that, the loneliness I had felt before today was now gone, absent from my life. It's as if my world expanded in meeting Mithos. He not only had become a close friend through this connection, but he had taken away the loneliness that haunted me." Genis sighed a deeply in relief. "…Finally, the scars… They have begun to completely heal."
"Oh, hey, Mithos," Genis added quickly, "now that we're on an understanding and are clear with one another... You mind if I asked you a question?"
"Not at all," Mithos said with a slight shrug and then repeated Genis' word from before. "Shoot."
"Um, well…" Genis started awkwardly, unknowing of how to phrase his question. "You know that first day we got to Symphonia; how I arrived to the dorm after you."
"Yeah, did something happen?"
"Eh, well, you see, when I tried held onto the knob of our dorm room a fury of mana attacked me. The pressure was so vast and great that I jumped backwards and my hand trembled for quite some time after… Was it you who was the cause of the mana surge? Of course, I'm not trying to be racist or anything considering half-elves can't fluctuate mana too evenly or act as if I'm better in any way," Genis explained a bit too quickly. His words being somewhat slurred together in his speech.
Expecting a yes, Genis braced himself for the possible reasons why to accumulate so much mana. Although as Mithos answered, the young silverette's expression grew from anticipation to bewilderment. "Mana surge? I didn't feel no mana surge, nor was I the cause of it," Mithos honestly replied, his head shaking. "If it was enough to make you jump back in total alarm, I'm pretty confident that I would've felt it… It might've just been a dream, Genis."
"A dream, huh?" Genis muttered to himself, thinking long and hard of that first day.
"It couldn't have been a dream; it was all too real… Mithos wouldn't be lying to me, especially not after a few minutes ago and his tone of voice and answer was genuine… If it wasn't him, who could it have been?"
~ S.S.D. ~
[Thursday]
The following day, Genis pushed the thought of yesterday's events to the back of his mind. It would be in his way for the new day anyhow, so why bother? Waking up, Genis got ready as usual; going through his set regime of tending to his bed, heading to the showers and dressing up, and then heading off to the food court for some breakfast before his morning class begun.
With a piece of toast hanging from his mouth, Genis trotted down the large halls to his class, his satchel in hand. He was set on following his words; he would not lose to Mighty. He planned to do anything he could to outshine the glasses wearing blond even if it meant sacrificing a bit of his morning meal to arrive early, but that wasn't going to be much of a hassel.
As he bit into the final piece of bread, Genis entered his place of destination, the Engineering room. The silverette, upon entering, noticed how expansive the room was. Large metal tables stretched in rows from all the way to the walls to the center aisle which allowed traffic to flow up and down the room. Other than that, it was a packed class filled with machinery lined up in the back and out-dated computers that were set on a separate long desk in the back corner. In the front was another long metal table, presumably known as the teacher desk. It was quite cluttered and uncared for with various parts scattered about and blueprints to different machines lying about.
The owner of such a mess sat at the teacher's desk. The short man bore a dome-like robe and wore small amber spectacles that rest on his nose. His hair, like his desk, was quite uncared for as well, obvious from the fact he simply styled it by having the purple-locks spike down his back.
Seeing a new presence, the man looked up from his spectacles and his work, eyeing Genis.
"Morning, Professor," Genis greeted with a half-smile and a shy wave, trying to appear friendly.
The professor merely let out a "Nggh" in response, his gaze returning back to his work of reading and more scribbling of calculations along pages upon pages of notes.
"Someone must've slept poorly last night," Genis thought. The boy walked passed the professor and looked down the rose of seats before selecting an aisle chair in the third row. When he got there he set down his satchel and took out a notebook and a pencil, placing both on his desk in an orderly manner.
"Alrighty, I'm ready and set," Genis glanced at the clock, smiling in his mini triumph. "8:40 a.m., I'm ten minutes ahead of my early schedule." Thinking it would be okay, he was about to start reading through his Engineering book; however, the next person to walk in prevented him to.
"Good morning, Professor Rodyle," Mighty said as he went by Rodyle's desk, trudging by without even a smile or a wave.
Genis gave a small "Pfft" thinking that the professor would still bare his cold and careless demeanor, telling Mighty off in a similar fashion as he. But the outcome of this particular morning greeting would be far from what Genis had thought.
"Ah, a good morning to you too, Mighty," Professor Rodyle replied with a small smile, taking a break from his busy work to rise and face the passing student and acknowledge him. His tone more lighthearted and much more respectful.
"What the… ?" poor Genis thought. He drooped and buried his face in his arm barricade. "Not even in this class am I favored?!"
"Well, if it isn't, 'Genius'," teased a very familiar voice.
Slowly rising from his arms, Genis peeked out and saw the blond, eye-glass wearing boy sitting right across the aisle from him. He groaned in his thoughts, "Is it necessary to be annoying this early in the morning?"
"If I were you, I'd just stop trying to fool the world around you."
Hearing those words, the silver-haired's ears perked up, "W-what do you mean?!" "This guy may be the brightest apple out of the entire bunch, but there is no way he could've meant my secret… right?"
"You may have the name Genius Sage, but a name doesn't mean anything; words and actions, on the other hand, do."
Inside, Genis sighed with relief. "Don't worry, you'll see why they chose to call me Genius in the first place."
Mighty scoffed, turning to face the front of the class, "Can't wait to see that."
In a few moments time, students rolled into the Engineering class, claiming seats and chatting with one another before the bell. Colette and Lloyd were one of those among them.
"Morning!" Lloyd and Colette cheerfully said in unison, both running and jumping in the empty seats behind Genis.
"You two seem full of happiness today," Genis noted, turning around in his chair to face them.
"Yeah, guess what?" Lloyd asked, ecstatic. He never let his friend answer though because he soon added, "Yesterday, Colette tutored me a bit on Ancient Angelic, and I finally understand some of it!" The brunette flashed a wide stretched grin.
Surprised, "Really? That's good then! I'm a bit shocked though. How can you, Colette, teach this thick-headed guy anything, especially another language?" Genis asked, appalled.
"Actually, it was quite easy!" Colette admitted, smiling. "You just have to put it in terms for Lloyd to be interested and wanting understand."
"Hmmm, well then, Lloyd. How about saying something in Angelic for us then? Show us what you've learned!" Genis commanded jokingly.
Lloyd took a while to think it over before blurting out, excited. "Ooh~ I've got a good sentence. You ready?" The duo nodded in response. Seeing this, Lloyd took one last pause. "Ehem, ehem," he cleared his voice and… "*Ubi Sub Ubi!" he exclaimed, grinning goofily.
Both Colette and Genis, sunk their heads down to the floor. They were letdown by such an answer.
"Where under where, huh?" Genis said. "I can see what you meant by keeping him interested, Colette."
Colette chuckled. "Well, for Lloyd, the small things in life are pretty amusing."
Brringgg! rang the bells in the Engineering room; the sound echoed off the walls. All the students, including our teen trio's chatter, stopped. Their eyes and ears focused on the man sitting at the front. The purple-haired man rose and then slowly stepped around his desk and went before the class.
"As you may know by now, you are in Mana Engineering 1 with me, Professor Rodyle. In this classroom, you all need to follow only one simple task: I expect each and every one of you in here to be productive from the moment you enter all the way to the bell or when I dismiss you; therefore slackers will be punished! And with that in mind," the stout professor turned around and grabbed a remote from his desk, clicking a button that was on it, "for the first few days we will cover the principles of Mana Engineering through holograms such as these."
Like Professor Rodyle said, a three-dimensional, holographic figure of a hover vehicle was displayed before the class, amusing those who were not used to such advanced technology.
"What I'm starting off with is a simple rhieard - a device that levitates the user and transports them to their desired location by using mana as the source of energy. It is--" Rodyle stopped his lecturing and scanned his students. "Why aren't all of you writing this down?! Didn't I just say slackers will be punished?! My Martel, I swear you poor beings should follow the example your fellow peer Mighty is doing by being prepared and doing notes without my consent. It's hard to believe the officials actually chose the rest of you to be attending Symphonia Academy if you can't do something as easy as such!"
"Again with the favorites?" Genis thought, shaking his head.
Startled, the entire class took out a writing utensil and paper to write on and began jutting down notes. They all didn't want to disobey the rulings of Rodyle.
Continuing on, Rodyle spoke, turning back to the rhieard model. "Now that's music to my ears! Where was I…? Oh, I remember. Rhieards are the perfect, simple example of our Mana Engineering principles. First--"
Down in the third row, Genis shrugged off his previous fretting and hurriedly continued writing notes. At the same time he took glances to Mighty across the aisle. Both teens competitively glared at one another as they took notes. And even though they weren't speaking, those glares of determination were clear enough to send a message.
"… I…" Genis' thought message was sent on with his glare. He grasped his pencil firmly, scratching the graphite tip murderously on his paper. It was surprising that it never tore through his paper completely.
Mighty was a splitting image of Genis, action-wise at least. His hand vigorously moved across the page as he sent a death-glare to the silverette. Mighty's message was immediately sent along with it, "… will…"
Genis returned the glare again, "… be…"
"VALEVICTORIAN!!" both teens simultaneously claimed in their minds, eyes gleaming with fury and fire during their final glare. At the end, they swiftly returned back to their writing and focused on their work; the death-glare duel declared as a tie.
A row behind them, Lloyd and Colette watched the entertaining spectacle all the while. The two were quite in awe how one could take things so seriously…
Lloyd, seeing his childhood pal like this, had to give a sigh. The brunette shook his head in thought, "Nerds."
~ S.S.D. ~
[Friday]
The next day, Genis felt even more confident. Since History 1 was with a familiar professor, Raine. He knew what to expect and he answered questions flawlessly and in full-blown detail. Even though he could feel the heat from Mighty's glares and own responses, he out-did him with ease. Today he wasn't going to be beaten and by the end of class, Genis had done so.
"With our lesson done early for today thanks to Genis' countless amounts of input," the silver-haired teacher said, eyeing her younger brother for a split moment and then returning to the chalkboard. She scribbled something with the chalk in her hand on the board. "I'd like you all to do this report on the history of your family since this is History 1. This will be due at the start of class when you come in next week. Any questions before you all leave?"
In a quick second after she had asked, a hand shot up.
"Yes, Lloyd?" Raine acknowledged, spotting the student with ease.
"Professor Raine, would you say my dog, Noishe, is my guardian or brother?" Lloyd asked, seriousness and curiosity was apparent in his voice.
Although, his peers thought otherwise. Everyone busted out laughing at his question, some even saying, "He's the biggest fool I've seen!" and "That's our class clown right there!" and "Can that guy get any dumber?".
Raine, sadly, could not answer the question with her students continual outbursts of laughter even though she knew of Lloyd's true intentions. Instead, she sighed and waved a hand toward the door, "Class is dismissed for today. You all may leave."
Once a good majority of the students had gone, Lloyd approached Raine and alongside him was Colette. His expression seemed slightly hurt from his classmates' words and laughter, and his voice was not as enthusiastic as it usually was. "Was it wrong for me to have asked, Professor?"
"Oh, not at all, Lloyd! Asking questions is actually something I want from my students, especially you, Lloyd. It's much better than you sleeping in my class anyhow," Raine assured him with small laughter.
Colette chirped in, mild anger could be heard in her words, "Then why did those students laugh at him? There's nothing wrong in being raised differently, and for them to be so cruel is inhumane!"
Hearing this, Raine sighed, folding and crossing her arms. "Well, you are correct, Colette, but that's the thing. To these high-classed nobles, they think having a creature such as a dog to be considered more than just a companion or a pet is abnormal."
"So does that mean I can't put Noishe in my report?" Lloyd asked, saddened.
"You can if you'd like, but it would be best if you classified Noishe as a brotherly figure over a guardian. If he was your guardian then Noise would technically be a step-father to you, making it seem somewhat strange to your peers."
"Ah, I see thanks, Professor!" said Lloyd, regaining his old, cheerful persona.
Over on the other side of the room, Genis smiled. He had been overhearing and watching the conversation the entire time. "Only Lloyd would want to consider a dog as their guardian." He chuckled lightly to himself at his friend's innocence. Once he finished packing, he made his way over to Colette and Lloyd, but in the process he ran into an unwanted face.
"Why, afternoon, Genis," spoke Mighty. His voice was like toxins to Genis; it burned his ears to listen to him almost everyday. "I can see how much of a fool your friend Lloyd is. It's a shame that he has the IQ of a rock because you know how stupidity is. It may not be a disease but it can rub off and screw with others. And that's what's going to happen to you." Mighty's pale finger became outstretched, poking Genis in his chest with malice. "You'll lose your smart streak." Poke. "Drop to 2nd - the place no one cares about." Poke. "And continue to live life as a loser." Poke. His mouth curled into a devious smile at his final words, tugging at Genis' level-headedness.
Keeping his cool, Genis brushed off the annoying nuisance which was Mighty's hand with his free, non-holding satchel hand. He calmly replied, "I wouldn't talk so highly, Mighty… The race has just started. The talk you speak now could turn on you during the final stretch. You wouldn't want to appear to be the greatest fool in front of everyone now would you?"
"We'll see who has the rights to talk, Sage," he retorted back at Genis before turning around and walking off. His posse following behind him as he left.
"I'm not going to get beaten down by his words," he thought alone. Genis, shaking-off another encounter with his rival, made his way over to his friends and announced to them when he arrived, "Well, I'm ready to go!"
Lloyd, seeing him, said, "Took you long enough. By the way, you should stop getting into nerd fights with that guy. It's pathetic," and jokingly, punched him playfully on the shoulder.
He knew Lloyd's words weren't supposed to sound hurtful and instead be kind and caring as if trying to cheer him up. Genis laughed softly to himself, knowing Lloyd's way of comfort so well. The silverette just couldn't resist a good tease in the end, so he responded, "What, nerd fights and pathetic? Well, that's cruel. I think I might just take what I said back." Genis paused before speaking again. "Lloyd, you are the greatest fool!"
"Eh?! Me - the greatest fool? Nonsense! I'm so not fitted for that title," Lloyd decreed and then shot his hand up. "Better yet! How about 'Arrgh, Me Hearties'?!" His hand curled into a hook like shape and he scruntched up his face, shutting an eye for emphasis.
"What?!" the younger teens said in unison.
"Y'know, I could wear an eye-patch like Forcystus does, have an annoying parrot, have a peg leg, and carry my twin blades around all the time like a pirate!" Lloyd goofily grinned.
"That's pretty farfetched don't you think?" Genis asked, his question being more of a statement.
"Ooh~ There are better titles for Lloyd like… 'Gentle Idealist' for instance!" Colette proclaimed.
The two boys looked at each other before responding, "Nah." And the trio began strolling out of Professor Raine's History 1 class and into the hallway.
"For once, I'll have to side with Lloyd. I see him as more pirate material than an idealist in my book," Genis commented.
"Really?" Colette responded in wonder, "But if Lloyd is deemed a pirate, wouldn't that mean Fujibyashi-senpai would try to kill him since she's a ninja?"
"Wait, Sheena's a ninja?" Lloyd asked, puzzled. "No way!" The brunette jumped up in the thought of finally meeting a real life ninja.
"Who would've thought that someone at the academy was a part of a ninja clan; that's pretty interesting!" Genis said in astonishment. He too perked up at the thought.
"Oh, she never told you two?" Colette replied, eyes blinking.
The two shook their heads sideways in response.
"Ah, whoops!" said Colette, her face soon blushing red in embarrassment and realization. Her hands covered her face as if to prevent more secrets from escaping her lips. "Well, that would makes sense as to why people don't tell their professions to others. It could jeopardize them and their work. Heheh… Something I should've thought of sooner." She sighed, frowning. "Another thing to apologize for."
"Good going, Colette!" Lloyd teased, jokingly. "Now Sheena's going to beat me twice as bad for knowing her secret and because of my pirate-like skills!"
Genis laughed, "Then you two better not tell Sheena that!"
The teen trio all smiled and laughed. Their voices filled the hall. Happiness was all that could be seen.
"No, I won't be beaten down," Genis thought in laughter. "And even if I do, I know my friends will always be there for me to make my days brighter."
Author's Note Time!
And there you have it, Chapter 4 is OVAH! You all can totally shoot me for the terrible last two days: Thursday and Friday. They were rushed thus explaining their short length. Plus I had no idea how I was going to implement seriousness in them like I had originally planned like on the [Wednesday] portion. So they turned out to be more humorous such as Latin related jokes - *Ubi Sub Ubi, death-glare showdown, and the titles convo between the trio. Hopefully someone out there did find it funny… If it wasn't, you can shoot me for that too.
The following words are rough translations:
* 'Benedicite' means bless you.
* 'Salve' means hello.
* 'Gratias' means thanks.
*'Nihil laboris est' means it's not a problem.
* To elaborate on Ubi Sub Ubi: 'Ubi' means 'Where' while 'Sub' means 'Under' in Latin. Even though it reads Where Under Where, when someone says it aloud it sounds like "Wear Underwear". This, therefore, explains why Lloyd found it so amusing to want to learn.
My motivation on 'New Faces, First Impressions ~ Through Sapphire Eyes ~' in total was quite terrible, and I'd like to apologize. Because of it my writing has went down the drain. In all honesty, I found the writing kind of poor in this part, especially since the transitioning from day to day wasn't as good as Part 1. D:
Well, enough of me moping, it's time for the preview!
Preview:
Next time on Symphonian School Days…
It's been two weeks of nothing but classes for Lloyd and the gang ever since they got to Symphonia, and another Saturday is only a few hours away. However, before anyone can relax, things become bleak for our silverette, Genis. Just what could be stressing Genis out so much? Will Lloyd's efforts be able to help?
And will I, the writer, redeem myself from such previous failure?!
Find out in the next chapter, 'To Lose Is To Lose Again?'!
REDEMPTION!! xD
Random Extra?!?!
Zelos: Whoa, whoa! Hold on a sec! What about us, hmm?!
Sheena: Yeah, we had no air-time at all in this chapter what-so-ever! What's up with that?
Cwister: Oh, crap… I was hoping no one would notice. Eheheh… About that, I don't know if I can keep you guys to be constant/frequent on-screen characters, at least for the first couple chapters. But don't worry, by Chapter 5 both of you will be regulars! *Fires cannon of confetti in the air.* xD
Sheena: Well, that's a relief. Here I was thinking I was only meant for my one time scene back in Chapter 3.
Zelos: Miss Beautiful Violent Banshee over there may be satisfied with this, but I am not! I'm the Great Zelos Wilder, aren't I? I should have the lead role and be on every chapter!
Cwister: But the roles are already set… If I changed you to be the lead, who would be the lovable, sexy senpai you'd go to?! T__T
Zelos: *Gasps.* There is no one!! I'm the only lovable, sexy senpai figure! Now, I finally understand my importance of being the second banana. Cwister, I'm happy to say you have made a wise and perfect choice in letting me star in the secondary cast!
Sheena: *Sighs.* Zelos, you must be the most gullible person around here...
A few meters away from them...
Lloyd: They say if you don't continue those chain letters that you will be afflicted with their torture! You know, Kratos? He was almost drowned to death by tomatoes!!
Colette: *Gasps.* That explains so much! It makes sense now why he hates tomatoes. Poor Kratos.
Sheena: … Never mind, I stand corrected.
Cwister: Haha. Well, here goes one extra day to those of you that miss having Zelos and Sheena being around. Mind you this is strictly made in terms of humor, so if your expecting something more serious or dramatic, that won't come till a good 1/5th of the story in. Plus this is my little holiday gift extra to you all! Hope it's decent even though it was rushed. :3
Zelos & Sheena: Enjoy!
Symphonia Extra: Another Day
Beep! Beep! Beep!
Hearing the ever familiar sound of his alarm clock, Lloyd rose from under his bed sheets, yawning loudly to a new day. He swung his hand over to turn off the beeping and adjusted himself to sit on the edge of his bed. The hazel eyes of his were still quite weary and blurry; sleep still rest within him. He rubbed his face and stretched, shaking away the temptation of falling back asleep. With his vision clearer, Lloyd scanned the area before him. The brunette braced himself for the daily routine of a dose of "Good morning, Bud!" and the cheerful face of Zelos; however, this morning was different. Zelos was no where to be seen in Room 53.
"... Odd," Lloyd thought, scratching his bed-head hair. "No morning greeting from the Great Zelos Wilder."
Even so, Lloyd didn't mind. On the contrary, he actually enjoyed the fact he wouldn't have to deal with his senpai this morning. He finally had a moments reprieve from Zelos' antics, which, for some unknown reason, always lead himself to receive the short end of the stick. Whenever Zelos Wilder was around, some sort of unlucky thing would happen to Lloyd. For instance, the first couple days of classes; an aqua awakening one morning and stomach starvation from food theft the next.
As he pondered the thought of Zelos and the dreadful bad luck he brought, Lloyd stood up from his bed and made his way to the closet. He picked out the usual things as he always had done: clothes, a towel, soap, and shampoo. With his stuff gathered, the brunette stumbled out his dorm room to ready himself for another day.
~ S.S.D. ~
The once bed-written brunette boy popped out of the men's shower room, freshly cleansed and clothed with his white and red embroidered academy uniform. Lloyd rustled his hair as he walked out into Dormitory 2-D's central lobby on the first floor, spraying around droplets of water that still lay inside his brown bush of hair.
"Hey, hey, watch it! I may be thirsty, but I'm not that desperate to settle for shower water."
"Huh?" muttered Lloyd. He looked about before spotting the source to the voice. There sitting in one of the lounge chairs that encircled a long rectangular table was no one other than Genis Sage himself, wiping away the stray drops of water that landed on him and his casual clothes. "He's in his regular outfit?" the brunette thought, eying his friend with curiousity. "Double odd... Genis not wearing his academy uniform? He's a perfect student. Why would he ruin his reputation by wearing his normal wear?" Ending his thoughts, Lloyd finally replied, "My bad, Genis. Never thought of it being a bother. And hey, what's up with you?" His hands gestured to the silverette.
"Me? Well, I'm just here waiting for Mithos before heading off to the food court. He forgot something at our room so he double-backed to get it," Genis explained.
"Oh, no. I meant your clothing," Lloyd said, re-gesturing to Genis.
"My clothing?" Genis mumbled to himself, scanning his choice of garb. "Uh, nothing's wrong with my clothes... It's just the same blue shorts, black long sleeves, and blue jacket I've always worn." He redirected his quizzical, sapphire eyes back to Lloyd, crossing his arms. "Is there something wrong with not changing my style in a couple years?"
Lloyd shook his head. "No, that's not what I meant either. I meant you're not wearing a uniform! You being rebellious and breaking the rules is out of the norm. There's no way you'd do that, so why are you doing it now?"
"Uniform? Oh! Now it all makes sense!" Genis exclaimed, parting his crossed arms and rising from his seat.
"W-wait, what?" Lloyd stammered in confusion, brows furrowing with curiosity.
"Lloyd, you do know what day it is, right? Genis asked, his head tilting in wonder.
He immediately responded, answering with confidence, "Another academy day of classes as always, duh!"
In hearing this, Genis softly sighed. "Lloyd... today's Saturday."
"S-Saturday?!" Lloyd yelled, appalled in his realization. "I woke up early and got ready on a day of no classes... great, just great." He deeply sighed, his shoulders sinking.
"Good going, Lloyd," Genis teased, smacking his friend square in the forehead. "You coulda had some smarts!"
[Saturday]
~ S.S.D. ~
After taking a good ten minutes to run back to his room and switch out of his uniform and into more of a casual gear, Lloyd finally made it into the food court and fell into one of the lines. Once Lloyd paid the fee for the meal, he took his food tray in hand and walked across the filled court. Despite it being a Saturday, the food court was still packed to the brim with students. They all may be just youths, but they're youths with a big appetite! So whether it be breakfast, lunch, or dinner, you know they're going to head out to a fast food area to satisfy that hunger. Thus it was hard to tell who was who amongst the crowd, and it took a shout-out and a wave from Colette for Lloyd to recognize where to seat himself.
"Glad to see you finally arrived to join us, Lloyd!" Colette happily smiled, greeting him as she scooted over.
"Hehe, sorry for the absence," Lloyd apologized as he sat down next to her. "I was delayed."
"Yeah, took you long enough to finish dressing out of your uniform!" Genis mentioned from across the table, smirk on hand.
"Genis, just shut it. I've had enough stuff to deal with for one week. I don't need more input to make things seem even worse," Lloyd bluntly stated, chowing down into his pancakes.
Mithos, who sat next to Genis, said informatively, "Well, you would've been able to prevent that if you just paid attention to your clock more often than just hitting the off button on the alarm. It does show the date and the day of the week you know."
"Wow, Genius 2 speaks just like Genius 1!" Lloyd muffled out. His face filled with chewed-up pancake and syrup. "Go figure."
Genis retorted back, defensive, "Hey, don't refer to us like some thing! We do have names, and besides it's not our fault you aren't observative like a normal person."
"Alright, alright." Lloyd raised his hands up, surrendering. "Sorry, it's just that I've been having such an unlucky week of rude awakenings, almost being late for class, starving --"
"Unlucky? Pssh, don't worry. Things can be far worse," spoke an unknown voice.
The four sitting at the table fixated their attention to the side, all of them spotting the purple clothed sophomore who seated them-self next to Colette.
"Fujibyashi-senpai, you're joining us too? That's great!" Colette said, beaming another smile.
"Yup. My morning and afternoon are finally free for once, so I decided to come and hangout with you all," Sheena explained and then added, "and Colette, didn't I tell you enough with the formalalities? Just 'Sheena' is fine."
"Oh, sorry. I'll try to remember that, Sheena-senpai!" replied the blond girl.
Sheena sighed, closing her eyes. "... Well, I have to give you some credit; that's slightly better."
"Sheena, you're more unlucky? I'll believe it when I see it," Lloyd proclaimed, apparently forgetful of past events.
The older sophomore stared back at the brunette, stunned. "Don't you remember the first time we met? Falling into that pitfall? Bashing your head on a rock?" Sheena reached over Colette to smack the clueless freshman in the back of the head.
Receiving the hit, Lloyd winced, rubbing his sore head. "Ow! Y-you didn't have to remind me that way! I still have a bump where I got hurt, you know."
"Wouldn't that just prove Lloyd's luckless then?" said Mithos, taking a break from his own meal of rice to re-join the conversation.
"Geez, I wasn't done yet. You may think Lloyd has a terrible first week, although I can concure. Back last year, I was late to my classes due to a dead battery in my alarm clock, fell down the academy well, ate posioned food, failed a test for not having my name on it, and other unfortunate events that I can't say. Overall, that week was down right disastrous!" Sheena finished her explanation. "Worst part of it is that I'm still quite unlucky as I was back then."
Genis commented with a grim expression, "Yikes. That is pretty bad."
"Well, at least one things for sure, you don't have to worry about dorming with the worse guy in history, Mr. Great Zelos Wilder!" Lloyd said, mocking his dorm-mate by flipping his own hair and fluttering his eyelids. "So that's some luck right there, right?"
"Haha," Sheena briefly laughed and then replied. "At least he doesn't continuously flirt with you! I swear, Zelos gets on my very last nerves with his constant philandering."
"That settles it! You do have an unluckier life," Lloyd admitted, chuckling.
"Speaking of Zelos, where is he? We haven't seen him at all today," Colette mentioned, looking towards Lloyd for an answer.
"I don't know," said Lloyd, shrugging. "He wasn't in our dorm room when I woke up."
Sheena scoffed, "Pfft, figures. That Chosen's probably prancing around among the new freshmen girls, adding more people to his collection of 'hunnies'."
"Heheh. Wouldn't be too suprised if you're right, Sheena-senpai. A guy like him would be spending his Saturdays hunting for girls," Genis said, shaking his head at the thought of it.
Mumbling softly, Sheena spoke to herself, "... You have know idea."
Not hearing Sheena's words, "And to think, a nerd like you isn't studying on the weekend!" Lloyd added, grinning as he chowed back down on his pancakes.
"Ha-ha. Very funny, Lloyd," Genis spewed his signature sarcasm. His sapphire eyes, glimmering of seriousness and mana. "Don't make me change your definition of pancakes here and now, Lloyd."
Unlike Sheena's, Lloyd picked up Genis' message quite clearly, choking slightly on his pancakes at the thought of being struck by a spell of Genis'. Taking a napkin, the brunette wiped his mouth and didn't speak another word on the matter. He didn't want to piss-off Genis any further than this to find out what spell the young mage meant.
"Nice decision," Genis said, taking a sip of his bottle of water. His eyes returning back to normal.
And as if on que, a blur of flamboyant red and pink sped behind Sheena. The figure slowed to a stop as they slid across the tile floor. Once again, the group looked up to see another new arrival.
"Good morning!" called the person.
"Well, speak of the devil..." Mithos murmured softly under his breath.
Sheena turned around to face the new person, only to scrunch her face up sourly in disgust. "Oh... it's just you," she said, turning back around in disinterest.
"Ouch! Why so cruel this fine morning, my beloved Beautiful Violent Banshee! Especially when I went out of my way for you to do you a favor!" Zelos bellowed, hurt. He posed as if being struck through his heart by an arrow.
"Zelos, I told you last year to not call me that!" Sheena exploded, her eye twitching with rage. "And what do you mean 'favor'?!"
"Well, my hunny, I simply wasted my Saturday morning to show this academy your incredible beauty!" Zelos said, basking in his accomplishment. "No need for the favor to be returned, I assure you, my hunny!" He ended with his classical wink and smile.
"Show the academy my what?! And don't call me one of your hunnies! I'm not one of them!" Sheena yelled, her face becoming flushed with anger.
"My, my, my! Don't fret so much! I'll stop... only because you said so, my Beautiful Violent Banshee," he badgered, smirking from ear to ear.
Growling, Sheena didn't want to be apart of his fun and games anymore. "Grrr! That's it, Zelos! Just tell me what you did!"
Taking out a sheet of stationary, Zelos handed it over to Sheena. On the paper wasn't the usual set of letters normally seen on paper. But instead, on that piece of paper was a video clip of a certain freshman brunette and sophomore with violet-black hair. It was a scene Sheena didn't want to see again, and her eyes grew larger as the scene kept repeating over and over. The scene: Monday morning Artes class - The Pitfall Incident. Three easy words would describe it. Full. On. Squishyville.
Shrieking and stuttering, Sheena struggled to get her response straight. "Wh-what?! H-how? W-why?!" Although there was one thing she could say straight no matter what the conditions were, "ZELOS!!!" her voice booming and her eyes set aflame. "You have some explaining to do!"
Zelos eagerly, obliged, "The plan was quite simple; however, it was very technical to actually follow through with it. It took a lot of time, sweat, a shovel, and a perfectly placed camera to do it! Then some genius ingenuity from the mind of a Wilder and presto! Several copies of a Beautiful Violent Banshee for the entire academy to see!"
"Ohohoho~ Don't worry, Zelos. I'll return that favor for you. Real soon actually," Sheena said, standing up from her seat and stepping away from the group table to face the red-head.
"Really? You liked it that much! Why, Sheena!" Zelos cheered, his face pursed in joy. "Is it a present? That's out of the blue!" He smiled childishly at the thought.
"Oh, yes. A real nice present," Sheena teasingly said, approaching the Chosen. "Just close your eyes, and on the count of three, I'll give you your reward."
Obeying her words, Zelos shut his eyes tight, his body bursting with anticipation.
"Okay, one," Sheena began counting.
"Oh, Martel! I can't wait to see what it is!"
"Two." A Crack! flowed into Zelos' ears.
"Huh?!" exclaimed Zelos, alarmed. "Wait, Sheena, did you just crack your knuckles? Wh-what are you--" The red-haired man re-opened his eyes a jar to see what was before him.
"Three!" he saw Sheena holler. And then, with a swing of her leg...
Zelos yelped, "Gauh! ... Cr-cr-critical h-hit t-to the b-boys..." And he fell to the food court floor, writhing in a curled-up ball. His once jovial face was now twisted up in agony, his teeth clamped together to hold in any other screams that could leave the sophomore man's mouth.
Above the downed figure of the 'Great' Zelos Wilder was a triumphant Sheena, dusting off her hands and shoulder. "Hmph! Was that a good enough present for ya?!"
With a sore groin, Zelos shakily and slowly stood up, speaking with a cheeky grin, "A-actually... it wasn't that bad of a present."
"What?! Did I kick you that hard for you to go insane?" asked the puzzled, purple-clothed sophomore.
Grinning even wider, Zelos cooed, "I got to find out whether you're the thongs or panties type." His eyebrows rising up and down at implying such.
Sheena, immediately understanding this, shouted with gritted teeth, "Why you?!" A ready hand of hers rose up and swung about, barring intentions of hitting the perverted man smack in the face; however, Zelos being not so foolish, stepped backwards, dodging the blow.
"So we're even, eh?" Zelos winked seductively.
"Not in the slightest!" Sheena announced, rushing to Zelos and obviously wanting to continue pummelling him around. But like before, Zelos wasn't making things easy, dodging about and swerving to avoid getting hit. Even to the point where they both left the area, exiting the food court completely.
"And there they go," said Colette. The group's attention returning back to the table. "They really have a unique chemistry, don't they?"
Lloyd laughed. "No kidding! The nickname Zelos gave her, Beautiful Violent Banshee, I can finally see why he calls her that."
"Yup, Sheena being beautiful and violent and loud is quite on the spot!" Mithos laughed as well.
Genis sighed and said, "If only that idiot Chosen could see why she is like that in the first place. Then maybe Sheena wouldn't be this so called 'Violent Banshee'."
"True, Genis," Mithos said, his hands cradling his chin in a thinking position.
Even though they were now elsewhere to where only Martel knows, the sophomore duo's voices could be still heard from the gang.
"Now, now! Sheena!"
"Don't you 'Now, now! Sheena!' me! You really did post these fliers everywhere on campus! You know how long this'll take to remove all of them?!"
"Uh, a couple hours?"
"ZELOS, YOU'RE A DEAD MAN!!!"
The gang sunk their heads in unison, all sighing and shaking their heads at the sound of their new friends.
"At this rate, I doubt he'll catch on," Lloyd declared before they all returned back to their morning meals.
Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year to you all again!! Hope you all had a good 2009 year, and see you all in 2010! ;3
