Dedicated to supersushicupcake (again) because; 1. She loves muffins, 2. She figured that Elliot never makes a move in other stories
Welcome to Dodo Academy for the Gifted!
Going to the Zoo!
"..."
"...Hrrmm..."
"..."
"...Hhrrrrmm..."
"Get out of my freaking spot, Boris!"
Julius glared nastily at the purple-head who was 'thinking deeply' in the navy-head's desk. Boris glanced at him with a frown and started to whimper. The two succeeded in ignoring Ace, who had been whimpering and whining and rolling on the class' floor since morning.
"First of all, give me the reason why you must sit in my spot." Julius crossed his arms.
Boris came to his feet. "Our little princess! She's betrayed us!"
Ace came rolling and then grabbed Julius' feet as well. "Master Julius the Wisdom! What did we do wrong!?" he whined.
"Get off my feet." Julius deadpanned and tried to shook the brunette off him.
"That doesn't explain why you're still sitting in my desk."
"Oh, well, because you're the smartest here, I think sitting in your spot will rub some of your smartness on me, then I can think straight!" Boris answered clear and loud.
"Second, pay $1 as a fine for tresspassing my property." Julius murmured.
Boris groaned and pouted as he took out his month's last pocket money and half-assedly dropped it on Julius' palm.
"Alright, now, get out of my spot and start talking." Julius sighed and shooed Boris from his desk.
"Okay..." Ace and Boris nodded and moved so Julius could use his desk, then they started rambling on.
"Waaah so yesterday we saw Alice blah blah waaah waah blah blah waaaah!"
"If you're trying to make me deaf, I'll slit your pipethroat." Julius threatened coldly.
The two shut up and swallowed.
"I'll tell it! I'll tell about it!" Ace bounced, half-crying. Boris rolled his eyes and nodded. "So, we've all agreed that, since Alice is the only girl in our school, we'll treat her like a little sister, right? Right? Right?"
Julius groaned and frowned at the brunette. "Then what do you want to do about it?"
"Wait, wait, wait, wait! I'm not finished yet! Not finish—"
"Will you stop repeating words and get on with it!?"
"Okay, okay! So, I think because of that, Alice feels that she need someone to treat her like a girl! That's why, yesterday, when Boris and I went to her house, we saw Elliot was inviting her to the Hallowe'en Ball—"
Julius was startled. "He what!?"
"—And she accepted! And—and she was all like; ehehe! Awesome~ Elliot you're da best~! Teehee~! And—And she hugged her! Aaargh!" Ace and Boris simultaneously pulled their hair.
"That freaking March was hitting on her!?" Nightmare grimaced in wrath.
Julius twitched at him. "Since when did you get here...?"
"The point, IS, she accepted it!" Boris slammed his fists onto the desk.
"...Wait, accept what again?" Nightmare and Julius cringed.
"THE DANCE-PARTNER INVITATION YOU LOOT!" Boris impatiently banged his fist onto the desk multiple times.
"SHE DID!?" Nightmare and Julius were shocked.
"So, what do you think!? She's like our little sister, right?" Boris asked his classmates with a serious frown. "We should protect her! What if that Elliot rich prat has some kind of nasty motives for getting close to her!? We have to do something!"
"U-U-Um...UM!" Pierce chirped in from across the classroom. "I'm...I-I'm sure she'll be fine. I-I mean...we sh-shouldn't b-be creep-p-ping around he-her per-p-personal life..."
"Oh shut it, Pierce! You're still a kid!" Ace yapped, hands on hips. "This isn't about having personal life! This is about brotherhood and it's our responsibility to protect Alice! She's our Princess, and we're her Knights! We have to protect her from pain, wounds...and worse..." he glared horrifiedly around the classroom.
"...From Heart-breaks..." he muttered seriously.
Julius raised his eyebrows, then glanced away. It wasn't like he cared that deeply, but somehow...he just did. It wasn't that long, around two weeks after Alice Liddell arrived into their school, but she's already an important part for...them.
Nightmare glanced around, watching his classmates. It wasn't long since he came here with Gray, but...somehow, he had been close with these prats, as if he had known them forever. It was because of Alice, too.
That little girl had brought them together. As brothers. She's the little sister.
...Well, that's what they currently thought of her.
"Yaaaaawwnn..." everyone glared at Gray who came into the class while stretching his arms.
"So...Alice, huh?" he murmured while taking a seat. "Yeah...maybe she's going with March because she wants to be treated like a girl..."
...
"I mean...uhh...we've been treating her with no difference...because we're insensitive and stupid prats."
...(insert Heart-stabbed SFX here)
"And...Elliot March was a prince...uhhmm...he's handsome, he's blond...he's a Prince...he's gentle...he's kind...umm...have I said that he's a Prince?"
...
"Plus...maybe if she really likes him...Alice can always move into Richford Private's..."
...(shocked)
"...And Alice was a girl, after all...it's natural that she wants to dance with a prince...Zzz..."
...(gasps)
"That's it!" Nightmare flicked his finger.
"Wh-What is 'it'?" Pierce stuttered out.
"From now on, we should treat her like a girl!" Nightmare nodded with a determined scowl to Boris.
"Hmm, let's see...ah, I have the perfect book for it." Julius took out 'How to Treat a Girl for DUMMIES' from his locker (he had every kind of books). "Treat her like a girl...First, give her daily compliments: compliment her eyes, her hair style, her clothes...if she's an artist, compliment her work...Second, whenever you see her going to do something, offer any help you can..."
"Julius, slow down!" everyone chorused while furiously taking a note.
"Give her feminine things like flowers...pink stuff, and whatever she liked. Fourteenth: always thank her after she gives anything or do anything to you. Fifteenth—"
"Uuurgh...I can't believe this, I can't even wake up earlier than Gray!" Alice stomped into the class gruffly, rubbing the back of her head, then grinned at her friends. "Yo, morning, my people!"
...(everyone was taking a deep breath)
"...?" Alice blinked in confuse.
"Alice...Uhh...you're...uh..." Boris started out lamely.
"Princess, you look beautiful today!" Ace jumped off his seat and took the girl's hand. "May I escort you to your assignated desk, dear? My, have I ever told you that your eyes were as beautiful as deep ocean?"
Everyone twitched.
"Ace, my desk is just two meters away, and...no, I guess you've never told me about my eyes. You're weird."
HE'S A NATURAL CHARMER! The other boys thought.
The rest RPU Boys glared and gaped at Ace, their eyes might roll out from shock.
"A-Alice..." Pierce stuttered. "D-Do you...n-need s-someone t-to keep y-your n-net?" he eyed the girl's hunting net.
Alice blinked. "Uh, sure." She handed the net with no suspiscion at all, but then glared. "...Protect it with your life."
Pierce whimpered, but nodded.
"Um, let me pull your chair." Nightmare rolled his wheelchair and pulled the girl's chair.
Alice then froze, and finally glared at the whole class.
"OKAY NOW, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU PLOTTING!?" she yelled, "...I see...You're having a rebellion against me, huh!? ISN'T IT?"
"No, no, not at all! NOT AT ALL! Hahahaahaha...haa..." Boris laughed nervously. "W-We just thought that...that..."
SHE SENSED SOMETHING WRONG JUST BECAUSE A GENTLEMAN'S GESTURE!?
"Okay." Alice shrugged, and then giggled. "Hehe, I'm just shocked! No one except my Dad be a gentleman to me! Thanks, Nighty." She beamed at Nightmare, who quickly rolled back to his chair and curled up in embarrassment.
The boys stared at her for a while, while she was busy taking out her doodle tools.
Hmm...Gentleman, huh?
Gray was rather interested in watching his 'brothers', and he couldn't help as he concluded;
This 'treating Alice like a girl' will turn out into a big mess...I just knew it.
~.X.~
The following day...
Mr. Gowland was humming all the time since yesterday. Hmm, how to put it? The boys got very weird! They were more level-headed than usual. Especially when Alice was close. Whenever she's gone out from the class, the boys would start to bicker at each other, and shut up, smiling at each other again the second she came back.
"Unicorns, have you bring necessary things I've told you yesterday?" the teacher asked with a warm smile.
"Umm..." Nightmare looked into his bag. "Water, lunch, tissue, camera and sketch book...done!"
"I've baked muffins!" Ace announced proudly, and his friends gasped. "Everyone love muffins~ With rainbow sprinkles!"
"Can I bring books to read?" Julius asked.
"Can I bring...pillow...?" Gray sleepily asked, showing off his pillow.
"No, Gray, sorry."
"Zzz..."
"I also bring extra drawing tools!" Boris grinned, and turned to a certain blonde, "You can borrow from me anytime, Al!"
"Okay!" Alice grinned back, and turned at Pierce who had been poking her shoulder.
"C-C-Can I b-bring y-your n-net and...b-bag, A-Alice...?"
"Is it okay with you?"
"Um!"
"Uhh...okay, I guess."
"Okay?" Mr. Gowland put his hands on hips and swiped the class with his eyes. "Are you kids ready?"
"Ready, Mr. Gowland!"
"Alright! Off to the Zoo!"
~.X.~
"Is it okay if Einstein coming with us?" Alice asked to the gatekeeper.
"E-Einstein?"
"My monkey." She pointed at Einstein who had been shrieking and prancing.
"Uhh...sure. Just make sure he's not making any trouble."
"Okay! Mr. Gowland! It's okay~!" Alice dashed to her group, who had been lining to enter the Zoo.
It was a sunny Tuesday, so the Zoo wasn't too crowded. That day, Mr. Gowland want them to draw and write about their favorite animals. After putting their bags onto a reserved bench and taking out their tools for the project, Mr. Gowland gathered them for a briefing.
"Alright, I'm sure you're all smart enough to not make too much troubles. Don't litter, and if you get lost, try to find that map," he pointed at a big, colorful map of the Zoo, "Don't feed the animals, and don't try to put in your hand into the cage...okay ACE?"
"Why it's just me!?"
"I'll see you again here on Noon sharp. Off you go kids!"
The kids ran off, except for Ace who sulked and stomped as he walked away.
"It's not fair! He's always on me!"
"Maybe you should stop doing stupid things then." Julius muttered as he eyed around the Zoo. "Man, I have no idea what I'm going to do..."
"Why don't you write your favorite animals? I'm going to write about Wookie!" Ace bounced.
"Wookie is not real." Julius snapped.
"GAASP..." Alice and Ace were on the verge of tears, fell on their knees dramatically. "J-Julius...Wookie's existence and life depends on humans' belief! Oh God! Ace, sing it!"
"I do believe in Wookie! I do! I do!" Ace yelled through the Zoo.
"I do believe in Wookie! I do! I do!" Alice followed suit whole-heartedly.
"And off they go doing stupid things..." Nightmare twitched as he carefully walked using crutches.
"Are you okay using that...? Why don't you just bring your wheelchair?" Julius frowned.
"Uh, no, I'm trying things, testing my feet. Plus, it wasn't mine, Elliot lend it to me." Nightmare shrugged, and then glanced at the Wallflower. "So can you give me any idea what to draw?"
Julius hummed, but then Pierce came while clutching Alice's net.
"Wh-What if we ask th-the master, th-then?"
"Good idea. Hey, AL!" Boris was the one yelling. "What are you going to draw!?"
Alice stopped running and yelling with Ace, and came to them. "Uh? I'm going to draw my favorite animal, of course! They don't have Nyan-Cats, and rabbits are too mainstream to be here, so I guess I'll go for the closest resemblance; Kangaroos!"
"Hmm...makes sense." The boys nodded.
"So yeah, me and Einstein are going there!" she pointed to a direction, "See ya guys later!" she waved and dashed away.
"Favorite animals, huh?" Boris nodded. "I'm going to draw a snow leopard!"
"Where's Gray?" Nightmare just realized this.
"H-He's...al-already g-gone to th-the Re-Reptile House...!" Pierce shivered. "Oh no! What do I do then!? Everything is so scary! Wh-What if...wh-what if someone forgets to lock the cages properly and a dangerous animals went off!? Wh-What if it gets to me and eats me!?" he started hyperventilating.
"Uuurgh...I'll get your medicine..." Boris rolled his eyes and went back to Mr. Gowland's place.
"I'm going to draw a Komodo! It's close to dragons!" Ace announced.
"No one asked you." Nightmare and Julius deadpanned.
"I guess I'll go to see the birds, then." Julius sighed.
"I'll come with you. It's close to the Insect's house. I think butterfly is good." Nightmare nodded, and off they went.
~.X.~
"Hey! Spare a piece! Alice hasn't eaten yet!" Ace slapped away Gray's hand from his muffins and glanced around. "Where is she anyway!?"
The boys had returned and had started to eat their lunch, but Alice wasn't back yet. The kangaroo's exhibit wasn't that far from their first position...
"Guys! Guys!" Oh, there she was. Alice was crying as she dashed to them. "I lost Einstein! What if he gets into a cage and gets eaten!?"
"A-Alice...you sounded just like Pierce just now." Boris shivered.
"W-W-We sh-should tr-try and find him..." Pierce stuttered out, irritated by his cousin's statement.
"Oh, but you haven't had your lunch yet!" Ace yelped.
"My monkey! My monkey! My monkey!" Alice shook Ace's shoulders frantically. "Oh God, if he's gone, then whom will I marry!?"
...
Wait...WHAT!?
"Just kidding..." Alice laughed nervously. "I'll pass the lunch!"
"No! You can't! I've baked this rainbow muffin only for you!"
"Gray!"
"Omnomnomnom..." Gray did as he told, eating the muffin, and Ace was screaming with wrath, and started to kick off trashcans.
"Aaargh! Why did you do that!? WHY! WHY!? I've woke up so early! Only for you! And you fed it off to this...this sleepy prat! AAARGH!" and the brunette was on rampage, as he started to throw around trashcans.
"Oh crap! He's on rampage mode!" Boris grimaced.
"Brace yourselves!" Julius warned off.
"My monkey!" Alice kept whining.
"Rrraaargh!"
"OUUUCH HE STEPPED ON MY FOOT!" Nightmare cried hysterically.
"We have to stop Ace!"
Gray was stomped by the brunette, but still sleeping. Next, Boris and Julius tried to tackle him down to the ground, but Ace was too strong and fast. The brunette then angrily charged for Alice, who grimaced and started to run, but then Pierce got into the way and caught him with her hunting net.
"Ace, stop! Don't hurt her!" Pierce yelled, pulling him down with Alice's net.
"P-Pierce!" Alice gasped, eyes widened. "No, Pierce—stop!"
CRACK
...
...
Pierce shivered as he took the net off Ace's head. It was broken. He horrifiedly turned to the owner, who had ran off.
"Alice...!? Alice, I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" Pierce cried miserably as he ran to follow the girl.
"Dude, leave her alone!" Boris held his cousin's shoulder and hugged him in a comforting gesture. "Sssh, sssh! Stop crying, idiot! You just broke her precious net...She might not want to see you ever again."
"Waaah how's that supposed to cheer me!?" Pierce whined, hitting Boris' chest.
Ace looked down onto the shattered net with a guilty frown. It was all just because of his muffins...He just wanted her to eat his muffin...but then again, he shouldn't force her. Alice was panicking, she lost her monkey-friend, after all.
"Eeeep! Eeep! Ooo! AAA!"
Everyone froze and stoically turned to the Gorilla exhibition.
There was Einstein inside the cage with the big monkey.
Prancing around and shrieking.
The boys shivered as they stared at the gorilla.
"Aw, crap..."
~.X.~
Actually, Alice didn't mind her net at all. She was walking fast while calling out Einstein. What if Einstein met a girlfriend and wouldn't want to go home!?
She then sighed and stopped, staring emptily at an empty exhibition. There was a big ice floating, surrounded by cold water. Maybe it was for penguin or polar bear...but they're out for lunch?
Alice then flinched as she felt something was nuzzling her foot. She turned and...
"..."
A baby polar bear gazed up to meet her eyes.
"..."
Alice knelt and hugged the baby polar.
"You're my servant, now..."
~.X.~
"Attention to all attendants of Zapper Zoo, a gorilla and a polar bear had escaped their exhibition areas. Please calm down and exit the Zoo as soon as possible...I repeat..."
"WE'RE GONNA DIEEE!"
"OOF OOF OOF AAARCK!"
"SOMEBODY CALL THE POLIIICE!"
"At least we've got Einstein." Gray shrugged while holding the monkey in his hands.
None of his friends care. Boris was shivering as he was holding Pierce, who had fainted. Nightmare was completely stiff, sulking in the back of the group, growing mushrooms. Julius was trying to keep Ace from running off and 'catch the gorilla'.
"Lemme go! Lemme go! I'm gonna take down that stupid giant monkey! Lemme go, Jule!"
"Goddamnit Ace, stop it!"
"Kids!" they saw Mr. Gowland running to them, and froze as he noticed something.
He noticed the door that had been opened wide behind his students.
"Did you...D-Did you...I mean—were you the ones who...unlocked that door?"
Gray yawned. "Uhh...yeah, sir. Einstein was there, so to get him out, we entered the gorilla cage. But then, the gorilla think it's about time for freedom, so he decided to come out and started a rampage. At least he's thankful enough to not beat us, though."
Mr. Gowland gulped and quickly dragged his students. "Just shut it, and act like you don't know anything."
"SIR! YOU THERE!"
Mr. Gowland flinched and froze.
"Why aren't you out of here yet!?" a guard yelled. "This is dangerous! Get out before anything happens! Especially you're with kids...and what's with the monkey!?"
"It's not this Zoo's monkey. It's ours." Gray explained.
"Whatever! Anyway, get out of here!"
"We can't." Julius realized. "Alice is still here somewhere!"
Mr. Gowland gasped and quickly counted his students. "Oh God, one of my students is still here! We've lost her!"
"Don't worry, we'll find her before—HEY! PRATS! GET BACK HERE!"
Three boys were already gone. Leaving only Gray who was holding Pierce. Nightmare, who wasn't capable of running, just watched where the three went off.
Ace was running eagerly with his friends. "We have to save her!"
"Of course we have to!" Julius rolled his eyes. "It's the last rule on How to Treat a Girl for DUMMIES!"
Boris laughed. "Number 100: Save her when she's in trouble!"
~.X.~
Alice was always unfazed. She was a crybaby, but that was when she's panicking. When she's worrying too much. Like, when Einstein was gone. It was just for a moment. At other time, she's very unfazed.
Like that time, when she stood before an angry adult polar bear, roaring.
She was eyeing the baby polar behind its mother.
She's unfazed, because...
"There she is!"
She really didn't know what to express. She was standing before an angry polar bear. Maybe she was scared, but maybe not. Rather, when that bear was ready to claw and bite her off, she felt as if it was something she had been waiting.
Was it a suicidal tendency? No, it wasn't.
She wasn't afraid of dying.
"What the hell is she doing there!?"
"Alice, snap out of it!"
BAM
Alice blinked as she felt a pile of weight on top of her. Ace groaned on top of her, Boris lumped on him, while Julius was on top of all them, quickly standing up and yelled at them to run as the polar bear roared and ran to chase them.
"He's coming! Let's go!" Julius yelled.
"Alice, come on! What the hell is wrong with you!?" Boris yelled.
Ace dragged her harshly and they ran as fast as they could, but they were too late. The polar bear was too close to them!
BANG!
"We've got it!" the kids stopped and turned to see a groupd of tranquilizer guards came with their guns, and the bear had fallen. Then they saw Nightmare was panting, half-dead, he was paler than usual.
"I've...I've...Oh God..." Nightmare breathed out. "I just...I went to call the guards..."
"Bro...you're my hero!" Boris cried and hugged the silver-head.
Ace laughed hysterically and patted Nightmare's shoulder. "Duuude! I thought we're gonna die!"
Julius just sighed and smiled, wiping his forehead. He then glanced to Alice, and noticed she was just watching with her usual expression.
"Are you okay? Did you get hurt anywhere?" Julius asked while checking her anywhere.
"Nope." She shook her head.
Julius frowned and crossed his arms. "Well, don't you think you need to say something?"
Alice turned at Julius and tilted her head. "I didn't ask you to help me."
...
...
"WHAT WAS THAT AGAIN!?" Boris yelled angrily, about to yank the girl and knock some senses into her thick skull.
They came just for her, saving her from a goddamned angry polar bear, and this was what she said!?
"Alice, don't be stupid! You could've died!" Nightmare scowled.
Alice hummed. "I'm not afraid of dying." She simply said.
The boys fell silent when she said this. Julius was shocked. She's just ten years old! Why'd she have that kind of thought!?
"Dying isn't so scary..." she shrugged. "It's just that, you fall asleep and never wake up anymore."
SLAP
The girl flinched. Ace had came forth and slapped her hard, he was looking down, bangs covering his eyes.
"Don't be so stupid!"he yelled angrily. "Don't you ever think how I might feel...!? I was so scared, dammit! I thought...I thought I won't ever see you again, Alice!"
Alice bit her lower lip and looked down. "I'm...it's just that..."
"I don't want to hear it." Julius deadpanned. "If this hasn't been knocked into your skull, yet, then I'll say it. Alice, you're our friend—a very important person to us...of course it's scary." He frowned at her sadly. "Now apologize and thank us for saving you or I'll charge you $500."
Alice breathed out and smiled sadly to her friends. She stared at Boris with guilt and bowed.
"I'm sorry guys, I'm being stupid...Okay, I'm stupid. And...thanks for saving me. I'm actually surprised that you'd come for me..."
"Of course we would!" Ace yelled angrily. "You're our princess!"
"I thought we've agreed that she's like our little sister!" Nightmare yelped, blushing hard.
Alice just laughed. Yeah, they're right. She had friends. So dying had to be scary, right? Because if someone died, those who were precious to her would be sad...
"Guys...let's go home...I'm sleepy..." Gray called, he was carrying Pierce on his back, while Einstein ran to hug Alice.
"But you're always sleepy anyway!"
'Having friends is a burden...' Alice sighed in her mind. 'But...I'll stick to them for a while... It's fun.'
Familiar with the motto about Wookie? "I do believe in Wookie! I do! I do!" Actually it was inspired from Peter Pan's movie, LOL. (I do believe in fairy! No, I do believe in ICE CREAM)
Alright guys, the odds aren't up. I'm still torn about the interviews! Make it right! Who's the prat you're picking!?
Mind telling me your favorite part?