Deuce poked at the food on his tray, sighing.
"I know, right?" Across the table, Clawd bit into a cheeseburger with gusto, splattering ketchup and mustard onto the tray between his elbows. "It's like that time the girls went to Scaris."
"Yeah, except we don't know when they're coming back." He pushed the tray away, sulking. "How can you eat like that?"
Clawd licked his lips, blinking. "Dude, you know my gut and my brain aren't on speaking terms. Besides, I know what's going on with Lala now. Her dad's made her go nocturnal again."
"Ouch."
"Yeah. So I figure I'll just fang around the courtyard after dinner, and we'll catch up. With the school falling apart like it is, it's not like I have to make sure I'm well-rested for games or tests or anything."He took another bite of the burger, reducing it to a mouthful held in two fingers, and licked his claws. "It's actually kinda nice."
Deuce rolled his eyes. "Yeah. I guess."
"Uuhh!" Ghoulia slouched into the seat at his side, reaching into her pocket.
"Hey, Ghoulia. Looking for Slo Mo? I think he's out sick today or something." Deuce frowned, glancing around the cafeteria. "Come to think of it, there aren't many zombies here at all."
She nudged him, shoving her iCoffin towards him, and Deuce looked at the screen. The display showed an image of Cleo, and an active call. He put the phone to his ear. "Hello?"
"Deuce! Darling!"
He sat up, grinning. "Hey, Cleo! What's up?"
"Oh, it's perfectly wretched here. Nefera has been insufferable these past few days. Are you all right? You're not eating junk food, are you?"
"Uh.." Deuce gave the tray full of cafeteria food another nudge, and Clawd, eyeing it, snatched up his untouched burger with a muffled "Thanks!" "No. No junk food, Cleo. School's gotten weird, though. Like nobody's here. Um.. did you talk to your Dad?"
"About that. Listen, I need you and Ghoulia to do me a teensy tiny little favor. Do you think you can manage it?"
He glanced at Ghoulia, who smiled and nodded, giving him a thumbs-up. "Sure," he said, puzzled. "What do you need?"
"It's a little bit technical, so you might need Ghoulia's help.."
"Little bit technical," Deuce grumbled, plugging in the last of the A/V cables. "Ghoulia! You ready to rock?"
From the lighting booth above the clawditorium, Ghoulia groaned, nodding down at him.
Deuce scrolled through the contacts in his phone, dialing.
"Hey, you're on the air with Cupid. What's your problem, love?"
"Cupid. Hey, it's Deuce. Uh.. Deuce Gorgon?"
"Yeah, casketball team, I know." She laughed. "You guys got slaughtered on Friday."
"Right. Listen, are you broadcasting right now?"
"Nope. Headless Headmistress has declared radio silence until further notice. I'm actually studying for a trigular clawnometry test right now. Ugh."
"Great. Then you won't mind helping me out with a little problem?"
He heard a heavy book slamming shut and the squeal of Cupid's metal chair as she sat up. "Is it about your love life?"
"Uh.. kind of, yeah."
"I am at your service. What do you need?"