Thanks for sticking with my story, everyone! I appreciate all feedback and hope you are reading until the end. Once I publish the last chapter (I plan to go to 35 or so) I'll go back and remove all author's notes except the first and last ones in the story.
To TAAAAAAAACOOOO: Not sure what you mean but there's more romance than that little tidbit coming, if that's what you wanted! Thanks for all your reviews!
To FierceDeityLinkMask: Heh, and that's not even the best of my abilities. :) This story will have multiple plots going (hence the Friendship/Romance genre) but I may consider writing some fluffy oneshots in the future.
Monday – Zelda's POV – Hyrule Academy
Back in the saddle, I suppose. I felt so at home with Link and his friends during the weekend that I forgot how new this school was to me. Speaking of Link, I'm glad he's here to keep me sane. Without him, I would've collapsed long ago. As for that little moment we shared yesterday… well, that was yesterday. Don't ask me what I mean by that.
The more prevalent problem at hand was my schoolwork. I had been having so much fun (and lack thereof, with Ganon) that I had forgotten about schoolwork. What were my parents going to think when their little straight-A student brought home a zero on her second week?!
Hmm. Like I said, Link keeps me sane, so maybe I'll ask him about it.
The shrieking bell pierced my skull with a thousand metal nails, signaling the start of class. That's not an exaggeration, by the way, it really does sound that bad. Mr. Shad, oblivious to our obvious pain at the noise, strode in and immediately began handing back our Triforce history quizzes.
Before I knew it, he was at my desk, slipping onto it a packet of paper face-down. The last time I had seen this was when Link and I were passing notes in class, which seemed like ages ago now.
I slowly slid the paper onto its front side. A red letter "A." Not bad for your first test at the Academy, huh?
Curious, I leaned back to the desk behind mine. Mr. Shad had just placed Link's on his table. "What'd you get?" I whispered.
He peeked under the front of the packet and blanched. "Uh…"
"What's wrong?" I asked, worried.
He said nothing, but simply flipped the paper around and slid it toward the back of my chair. On it was writing a blaring red "F," along with "See me after class."
I winced. "First detention, and now this? You're not doing too hot in Mr. Shad's class."
As soon as the words left my mouth, I immediately wanted to take them back. There was a fine line between teasing and ridicule, and I think I'd just crossed it.
"Oh, it's… it's fine," he said, trying to sound nonchalant and shrug it off. I could hear the hurt in his voice though.
Not knowing what to say, I turned back around. We spent the majority of class reviewing what the next unit would hold and by the end I had completely forgotten about Link's grade.
I made it about halfway down the hall to the courtyard doors when I realized Link wasn't walking with me. Turning back around, I approached the door to the now-empty history classroom. As I approached, I heard voices inside, and decided against my better judgment to listen silently.
"Mr. Shad, I really have no idea what's going on."
"Link, there is no further discussion to be had! You got a bad grade, and that's that!"
"Please," he begged, "hear me out. I know I'm not the best student, and I studied relentlessly for this quiz! At the very least I would have expected a C!"
There was a pause. "I'm afraid nothing we can do now will fix your quiz grade, Link. The only option is to study harder for the next one to raise your overall grade."
"But a grade like that on a quiz will destroy my final marks! You know that!" He sounded really desperate now.
I heard the history teacher sigh. "You're right. You aren't the best student. Frankly, if it wasn't for your usual slacker behavior, I might allow a retake. But I simply don't believe that you studied for this test, Link. You got too many questions wrong."
"I can prove it to you, Mr. Shad," he tried. "Ask me one of the questions from the packet, I'll get it right, I-"
"No, Link. And that's final. If you want to talk about extra tutoring, see me after school."
Footsteps slowly approached the door. I looked the other direction and leaned casually against the wall. Finally, his dejected face emerged from the doorway. He looked worse than he sounded. Honestly, I never would have expected him to care so much about his grades. An "F" is unfair to anyone, but he did work hard. I saw him studying.
"Well? How'd it go?" I asked, putting on a perky façade.
"Not great," he mumbled.
"Oh. I'm sorry."
"I just don't understand!" he burst out about halfway down the hall. "I could swear I knew those answers. But on my paper, somehow a different one is circled!"
I put a hand gently on his arm. "It's okay, I'm sure your parents will understand."
He froze. "Y-yeah," he finally choked out, "I'm sure."
That comment had been meant to cheer him up, but it had the opposite effect. Link without his trademark smile made the whole school seem darker, and it persisted for the whole day. He left early from lunch and I walked home alone, he presumably talking to Mr. Shad once again. I didn't give the "parents" comment another thought, but I did think plenty about how I missed his lopsided grin keeping me company.
Tuesday – Link's POV – Ordon Avenue
Another day had past of dejected failure. I came in the door about 5:30, finding Aryll already preparing dinner. She had gotten a ride from some guy named Kafei that I had seen in the hallway a couple of times and trusted enough to drive my sister around while I was at tutoring. His girlfriend Anju seemed pretty nice, too.
"Hey, big brother," she chimed as I trudged in, looking down at the floor. "You look depressed."
"I am," I groaned. "Everything's falling apart at school, and it's not even homecoming yet."
She frowned, putting her wooden spoon down next to the pot boiling pasta. "I heard about your test."
"Thanks for your concern, mom," I said dryly, "but I can handle my own problems, thanks."
Aryll flinched back. "I didn't mean it that way. I'm on your side in this."
I looked up wordlessly. "I saw you studying all last week," she continued, "and I don't see how it's possible that you failed that badly. My theory is that you were either distracted during the test or had an enemy who sabotaged you."
I snorted despite myself. "I don't think it's either of those, Aryll." Disappointed, she rolled her eyes and went back to stirring the pasta.
Sitting at the bar, I mulled her words over. It was true that I was distracted by the test, I was writing notes to Zelda. What were they about, again…?
A crumpled wad of paper landed on Zelda's desk, startling her.
She unfolded it carefully. What's wrong? She looked up and glanced around the class. She found me stealthily glancing over my shoulder.
I met Ganon in the courtyard, she wrote, and after making sure the teacher was absorbed in his work, threw it, aiming for my clump of dirty hair.
A few seconds later, a reply came back. Uh oh. What did he want?
Absorbed in writing her reply, she didn't hear or see Mr. Shad approach her desk. "Ahem. Writing notes in class, are we?"
He snatched the paper off her desk, read it quickly, and stuffed it into his pocket. "See me after class."
She paled and continued working on her quiz. She could feel the gazes of our classmates, some pitiful, and some antagonizing. She didn't dare look at me.
I remembered it vividly now. Ganon had met her in the courtyard before school, who had told her he wanted to talk. She had refused, but he got to talk to her anyway on Friday at the Hot Spring. Now another memory surfaced in my mind…
My five friends and I watched Ganon lay a hand on Zelda's shoulder and guide her out, Cia's haughty smirk following them. Zant gave us all a once-over and grinned humorlessly. "So, how's you guys' day been?"
He had the nerve! "What does he want?" I growled, still standing protectively though Zelda was already out of sight through the door.
"I haven't the slightest idea."
"Don't give us that garbage, Zant," Darunia said, his figure less towering than Ganon's but still threatening. I wouldn't want to get in his way.
Sheik analyzed the situation, red eyes glowing analytically. Malon glared from the dimly lit pool. "Yeah, frogface, tell us what you know."
Zant's yellowish eyes narrowed. "I wouldn't insult me if I were you. Ganon won't be pleased." After a moment, he added a taunt. "Or do you want a repeat of last Friday?"
Ganon had forcefully infiltrated and successfully ruined our Friday night out. Not long after that incident, I had lunged and tried to attack him and his crony, Zant. Ganon had simply scoffed and walked away, but I remembered seeing the irritation in his eyes at my retaliation…
"I was right," I breathed, realization suddenly striking thunder in my brain.
"What was that?" Aryll gave me a strange look from across the counter.
"I was right," I repeated, louder this time. "It wasn't a distraction or a sabotage that failed my test. It was both."
Suspense! Excitement! Cliff hangers! Dang, I can really get going when I'm writing this story. As usual, stay tuned and review!