Chapter 6


Loki had been attending mortal school for nearly one month now, and he was really getting the hang of things. He was becoming very much attached to the company of Andelyn, Thor hadn't gotten himself in anymore fights, and he was making A's in every class, besides gym.

Unsurprisingly, gym was not his best subject. In fact, he considered it to be his worst.

He was not a bad athlete. No, he wasn't bad at all. His problem was that he refused to push himself.

Athletics were never of any interest to him. He preferred to focus more on his studies instead, leaving him little to no time to pay any attention to stuff of the physical nature.

This was precisely why his gym teacher hated him with a very strong passion. He was convinced of it.

Thor laughed it off when Loki brought it up, dismissing it entirely. "You think everyone hates you brother. You even think Sif hates you! I think you are just paranoid."

'That is easy for you to say Thor... The teacher loves you... The only class you are managing to pass right now is gym...' Loki thought with a scowl.

And he knew that for a fact. Coach Barnes had said so herself earlier that day.

They had been running a mile outside because the temperature was unusually warm for the season and the coach felt like the students could use some air.

She stood there with her clip board in hand, shouting either uplifting, encouraging things at the fast runners, or rather rude things at the slower kids.

Loki naturally fell into the latter category because he simply didn't care. Ande was jogging along side of him, but he knew she was only matching his speed so he wouldn't be alone. She was more of a speedy runner-type herself. So far, every time they passed Coach Barnes she would say something rude and it was really wearing on Loki's nerves.

Sure enough, as the two turned the corner of the field and passed Coach Barnes, she shouted, "Hurry up you two! Odinson, can't you be more like your brother? Get a move on!"

That really did it. Just her saying that sentence made his vision tint red. His hands clenched into fists and he felt angry magic start to flow to them. Without realizing what he was doing, he halted dead in his tracks and spun to face the coach.

He needed to control himself, before something bad happened but it was so difficult to... 'Deep breaths,' he thought, trying to calm himself down.

"What's the matter with you? Get going!" She shouted when she saw him stop. "Apparently athletics don't run in the family... Probably adopted…" she muttered, but it was loud enough that Loki could still hear.

It succeeded in setting him off. All attempts to calm his anger were abandoned, and he wielded the magic that had been building. He brought his hands out and made a movement that looked like he was trying to swim through the air.

The coach was suddenly knocked off her feet by a sudden, very strong, gust of wind. She flew back several feet before sliding to a stop in the dirt. Loki, in his uncontrolled rage, prepared to do it again and cause more pain to her, but as he reached again for the magic a hand grabbed his forearm and stopped him.

He looked over to find Ande glaring at him.

"Calm down, Luke. Whatever you just did, don't do it again. You are in enough trouble as is. Calm down," she said slowly and quietly.

He stared at her for a moment, comprehending what she had just said. And he slowly nodded his head in understanding. Loki came back to his senses that had previously been corrupted. He felt his heart rate drift back to normal, and he could see clearly again.

"WH-what was that? Go to the principal's office! Now! Hanson, you go with him," Coach Barnes barked as she rose shakily to her feet, brushing dust and dirt off her gym trousers. She was practically seething with fury.

Loki glanced around at the few stunned faces that had witnessed what had just happened. Because mortals had a difficult time understanding the mysterious, he wasn't sure what they had seen. He wasn't sure he wanted to know, either.

"Come on," Ande said, and she started pulling him away from the scene.

They walked briskly to the nearest door of the building and went inside to the empty hallway.

Loki was in no desire to go to the principal's office for it would stain his flawless record, and he was glad when Ande stopped him from walking any further. Any delay to when he would have to go there was welcome, until he saw her expression.

It was one of disbelief, shock, and slight anger. Her eyes were narrowed, and she had her arms folded across her chest.

"What just happened?" she asked him. Her tone told him that she would accept no nonsense.

Loki cleared his throat, quickly spinning a tale with the use of his silver tongue. "Absolutely nothing happened. You saw it yourself, Coach Barnes tripped and then she blamed it on me," Loki lied smoothly, hoping to convince her that was what really happened. Mortal minds were easily bent to his will.

She snorted in disbelief. "Luke, I know what I saw. She didn't trip. You did something to her. What was it?"

Apparently hers wasn't so easily confused.

He thought for a moment before answering, deciding to stick with the truth this time. "I... I cannot tell you. I am sorry."

Ande considered him for a moment, grey eyes analyzing each word, before sighing. "I know what that feels like, not being able to tell someone something. It's fine. Let's get you to the principal's office."

He was relieved that she had understood his problem, and they set off again in the direction of the main offices.

Andelyn left him at the door to the room with a "good luck", a quick hug, and she dashed back to gym.

A hug. Loki had never gotten a hug from a girl before, excluding his mother. He stood there for a moment, dazed and surprised, and then entered the office.

"Ah, Mr. Odinson, have a seat," Mrs. Faldings began, gesturing to a chair. Loki sat and tried to appear innocent.

"I've dealt with your brother before. I was hoping you'd be less of a trouble maker, but after your actions today, I'm not so sure. Apparently, you pushed Coach Barnes and caused her to fall to the ground," -so that's what the mortals saw...- "Is this true? Assault is a serious business, Mr. Odinson. Would you care to explain in your own words exactly what occurred?"

"I did not harm Coach Barnes, ma'am. She was shouting at me to run faster and tripped over her own feet. Of course, she accused me," Loki lied, snapping his fingers.

A bemused expression then came over the principal's face. She nodded her head as if in a trance.

'Well, that was easy', Loki thought with a slight smirk.

She let Loki go without any punishment and gave him a piece of sweetened sugar mortals called a lollipop. It was delicious.

He walked out the door of the office, the smirk still residing on his face and a new spring in his step.

0-o-Ψ-o-0

Thor had discovered something. Something wonderful. Something amazing. Something time consuming and completely pointless.

Thor had discovered television.

His fake mortal family had installed a television in his and Loki's bedroom sometime in the middle of November, hoping they could use it to entertain themselves. Loki had no interest in it, using it rarely to watch specials about history or science. Thor didn't see the fun in that.

He preferred something mortals called Reality TV. It was so fascinating to watch mortals compete in ridiculous competitions for amusement. He especially loved "American Idol" and "Toddlers and Tiaras" in particular.

He watched it consistently, and because of it, his grades were suffering an all time low. They had never been great with his academics to begin with, but he had at least managed to scrape a C at first term. But as it was mid-December now, the semester's end was fast approaching, and it was near impossible that he could pull them up from an F.

Thor had already tried asking his brother, the Walking Library, for assistance, but Loki would just become frustrated and angry at the older boy's incapability to understand basic concepts.

He was running out of time, and their father had specifically said that he must make a C average grade or another month would be added to the punishment. And Thor refused to let that happen.

Thor was becoming more and more desperate, even starting to spend his lunch in the library, something that bothered Loki to no end. Every time Thor would approach him to ask him a question or to help him understand a word or to help him find a book, he would be met with an icy glare.

"Is your brother alright...?" he overheard Loki's friend (Thor could never remember her name) ask him one day. "He looks stressed."

"It's his fault. He hasn't spent anytime at all studying up until two days ago. His grades have plummeted. He's been too busy watching television," he heard Loki reply snarkily.

"Have you tried helping him?"

"Yes, and it did not end well." Thor could practically hear the eye roll that he was sure accompanied the statement.

There was a brief pause, and then-

"... I'm going over to help him. This is just sad," the girl said and Thor heard her chair scoot back.

"I pray that your head doesn't implode when you realize how incapable he is concerning learning," Loki said, tone dripping with contempt.

Thor quickly looked back down at his book he was pretending to read when he heard her start to walk over. He couldn't let them know he'd been eavesdropping.

"It's Trevor, right?" she asked as she approached.

He looked up and faked a surprised face. He nodded.

"I don't think we've met. I'm your brother's friend, Ande Hanson."

"I know. My brother talks about you constantly!" Thor said loud enough for Loki to hear. He noticed Loki's cheeks burn red. Thor chuckled.

"Um... I couldn't help but notice that you seem a little confused with these books. Do you need any help?" she asked, but her face was slightly flushed with pink as well.

"I would love help, but where am I supposed to get any?" he said, clueless as ever.

"I can help you," she said slowly as if talking to a five year old. "If you want."

Thor blinked. "Sure."

Ande smiled and sat down in front of him, reaching for a book and flipping open to a certain page. She started to read aloud.

Thor paid attention for as long as possible, but soon his eyes drifted over to where Loki now sat alone. Thor could tell his brother was trying to appear nonchalant, but there was no mistaking the apparent jealousy in his eyes.