UNEASY

Taking a quick huff when he reached the top of the stone stairs, Rubick pursed his lips. Fishing for the piece of paper that Darchrow gave him in his first day, the raven haired student nodded to himself as he memorized the room number. Mentally patting himself on the back when he had withdrew the piece of paper from his old pant pocket before he took a bath, he folded it up and returned it back from the pocket he had gotten it from.

Going towards the grandiose flight of stairs, Rubick gave a quick wave towards the lady at the end of the room; who gave him a warm smile as a response. Ascending up the stairs and drumming his fingertips on the cold metal handle of the stairs, Rubick eyed the paintings that covered the walls of the building. Hand painted masterpieces littered the walls; some bright and colourful, while others were melancholic and bland.

The bright and glaring lights that hung from the ceiling shone a brilliant albeit very unnatural glow, making him squint his eyes a bit. Reaching the third floor and eyeing the numbers that were affixed atop the doors, Rubick reached for the doorknob of his room, opening it slowly and he was slightly surprised to find the room in complete tranquillity.

The room was decorated the same as the room he had class in yesterday. Lit by a single large yellow bulb, the atmosphere evoked a dreadful sense of drowsiness on anyone who entered. Glossy hardwood floors that were deceivingly un-slippery reflected some light back upward, making the floor seemingly shine. Similarly built armchairs were haphazardly arranged throughout the room, and a small weathered looking desk sat idly in front of the room.

Furrowing his brows slightly when the exact same sight beheld him at the back of the room, Rubick quickly broke eye contact and strode through the mess of chairs. Nevermore and Kaolin sat at seemingly the same places as yesterday; two chairs held a sort of ceasefire between the almost palpable hostility between the two prefects. Seeing the short, green haired student from his Chemistry class by the window, Rubick quickly dismissed the thought of socializing with the probably short-fused student.

"Short-fused," pursing his lips while stifling a chuckle, Rubick's eyes lit up at the familiar sight of a bright pink scarf. Taking a seat on the empty chair beside the raven haired female, Rubick straightened his posture and smiled "Morning," eyeing the quaint notebook she always had, Rubick was mildly surprised he didn't dream of her last night.

"Mhm," a small smile curled up her lips, which sent a chill up Rubick's spine "You slept well?" seating the pen in front of her notebook as she closed it, Lanaya finally broke eye contact with her writing apparatus and laid her bright blue orbs on nervous looking green ones. Smiling nervously, Rubick rubbed at the back of his head "Yeah, I hadn't dreamt of you for once," he cleared his throat as a nervous laugh left his lips.

Raising an eyebrow curiously, Lanaya scrutinized his features, mischief apparent on her smile as it slightly tugged upward "So you dream of me every night?" shaking his head and clearing his throat, Rubick reprimanded himself for turning into a puddle of mush in front of this woman "Well, yes. Err, no. Because last night I didn't actually-"

Straightening up in surprise when the door had slammed open, Rubick turned around too look at the noisy intruder "Alright, class, let's get started," Zeus' voice boomed, his small stature a betraying the thunderous might his speaking voice held "I've read your diagnostic tests and am impressed at how well your basic knowledge of Philosophy is,"

Slamming his hands on the table and shaking his head, Zeus sighed in disbelief "And once again, mister Nevermore has done nothing but drew-" raising the paper up so the class could see, Rubick furrowed his brows. Was that a dog? "nonsense on the diagnostic test. Again," a wide grin graced Nevermore's features, and the lanky male shrugged "Hey, pictures say a thousand words, amirite?"

Rushing inside of the classroom, Yurnero greeted the professor in his native tongue before taking a quick seat beside Rubick "You're a very… creative individual, Nevermore. But it wouldn't hurt to shape up once in a while," mockingly pouting and shaking his head, Nevermore earned another sigh from his professor "But then again, you Ozkavosh's are untameable anyway,"

Raising his mask slightly to make his breathing easier, Yurnero slung his bag in front of the empty armchair in front of him and rested his blade beside it "Ohayou, Rubick-san," looking behind his senior, Yurnero struggled not to smile "Ah! Ohayou, as well, Lanaya-san," smiling and waving at the masked student, Lanaya was surprised Rubick was friends with Yurnero; the most reclusive out of the entire junior class.

Philosophy went by without many interruptions; apart from Nevermore's incessant quips and comments, which escalated towards the point where Kaolin had slammed his fist onto his chair and glared at the Dire prefect; who graciously accepted the challenge. Professor Zeus had to reprimand the two to effectively prevent the rumble.

"Alright, that's it for today, class," taking an eraser from the desk and wiping away at the board, Zeus continued "Don't forget to read up on Causality and the branches of Philosophy," saying one last goodbye, the professor left the room, slamming the door behind him.

Taking a quick glance behind him, Rubick was surprised that the two prefects were quite behaved; not jumping on each other the moment professor Zeus left the room "Hai, it was quite strange last night," nodding in agreement, Yurnero closed the notebook he was writing on earlier "It was darker than usual if I'm not mistaken,"

"Exactly," Lanaya smiled "I suppose we weren't the only ones who noticed, huh?" returning his attention towards his seat mates, Rubick nodded "There was something out there, I think?" Yurnero shook his head "It was probably just a stray animal," Rubick frowned "Then why did they enforce a curfew?"

"Unless it was a dangerous animal, of course," a cold breeze wafted in accompanied by a smell reminiscent to that of tar. Shivering in surprise, Rubick furrowed his brows and turned his attention towards the front door, only for his frown to quickly morph into that of terror. A man of average height stood at the door, sporting a dark purple suit and tie. His black undershirt and slacks seem to suck in all light, giving it the illusion that he was just a floating torso.

Pale skin was accompanied by slicked back dark purple hair. A small smile graced the man's features, but what really invoked terror into Rubick were his eyes. Small, but not small enough to be slits, his irises seemed to be completely black; as if they were hollow holes "Good morning, class," the man slurred, his voice sending an unsavory shiver down Rubick's spine.

"I will be your substitute Psychology professor for now," taking a marker from his pant pocket and turning around, the man emanated an unnerving aura "My name is mister Atropos," he turned around, an eerie grin on his face "I hope we all will have a pleasant time together,"