Chapter 32: Nasos & Hilda: Canteen Chatting by warelander (& kirbymanx/huskynator)
Lunchtime. What a beautiful time of day for every student of Primp High.
Never was there a better time to unwind and refuel and hang out with friends.
And possibly get your face smacked into a plate full of food by the bullies.
In the long line of students waiting for their food to be served were two pinkheads. Local best friends of Senior grade, Hilda and Nasos.
''I'm telling you, Hilda! I saw it again, it was there, but went away before I could take a picture!'' Cosmology enthusiast Nasos ranted towards her friend.
''Not like I don't beli-heeheehee~~ve you Nasos, but why would you forget about it?''
''I don't know! That's what's so frustrating about it! There is no reason why I shouldn't remember it and yet I forget every stinking time!'' She continued to vent.
''Yo, dudettes! Everything fresh?''
Gogotte
Dude, What?
''Pfft~ Gogotte, you are helping out in the kitchen!?'' Hilda broke into a laughing fit while saying this. One that would likely come off as rude to anyone not in the know about her curse.
Not that he seemed to mind. Then again his eye-obscuring hat made it tough to tell if there were any hard feelings beneath that goofy, happy-go-lucky smile.
''Ess' pops and teach told me I could do it if I passed an exam. I did and now y'all get to have a deliiiish mushroom soup!''
The boy proudly resembled a pot containing his own creation. A soup with a strange brown-ish color and the occasional mushroom drifting by.
The...indescribable smell did nothing to make it any more appetizing. A single glance at each other was all Hilda and Nasos needed to affirm that they were thinking the same thing.
''We'll settle for just some chicken with rice.'' Nasos gently and politely turned down the offer.
''No prob, but man, you're missin' out. Just look at how much Rad Drac likes it!''
The pinkheads turned towards the table Gogotte was pointing to. They could make out the cheerleaders all gathered at one table. Amitie, Ally, Jaan, heck, even Raina and Ess could be seen with very concerned looks on their faces as they watched Draco gulf down the questionable dish without a care in the world.
''Heheheh~ We're good.'' Hilda confirmed their order,
They grabbed their plates and got a relaxed bye from Gogotte, returning the gesture while on their way.
"So really dra-hawha-wing a blank?" Hilda followed up. "Heheh, nothing, what if I said space snrk cloud? Does that hahaha ring any heehee bells?"
Nasos looked down at her food. Though her thoughts were just on what she thought she saw. She shook her head. "Nope, doesn't ring any bells…" She said in a sullen tone, sounding a little concerned about her memory.
Finding an empty table didn't take too long and the two were soon munching on their lunch.
Silence settled in between the two, though by necessity. Hilda needed to eat slowly and in silence to not risk choking on her food if a laughing fit were to come in at an unexpected time.
She never liked everyone having to account for her like this, she wanted to break the silence. Slowly she put the plate aside and spoke up with the first thing on her mind.
''Do you want me to help look for that thing aga-hahahhaha!-ain?'' Hilda asked, visibly surprising Nasos.
''I mean sure, I'd love that, but aren't you still on a job hunt?''
''Been meaning to put that on the side for no-pffft! To spend more time with you all aga-hahahaha!'' The last laughing fit was an especially strong one, it took a bit for Hilda to catch some breath again and get back on track.
When she did though, her face noticeably dropped a bit which was not lost on her best friend.
''Besides, it's not been going well…'' She admitted, audibly defeated by how she still hadn't gone anywhere.
This wasn't the first time Hilda was open about being frustrated about it. But this time it really felt more bitter.
''It's not a big deal. Most here at school don't even bother with side-jobs.'' Nasos tried to reason with her.
''You know I know, but after what that one-hehehehhe! time slacking off did to me, I really don't want it to get even worse by slacking ag-hahahah!-ain…''
Nasos knew exactly what she meant, and if on cue, the spectral image of her haunt showed itself above Hilda's head. The clown-ish, goofy looks may have made it seem harmless, but it was a truly malicious creature.
Oh, how badly Nasos wanted to punch that stupid thing for what it did to Hilda, for everything it put her through. Sadly, there was no way to do that or get rid of it by force. She could only help in smaller ways.
''Hey, don't beat yourself up over that again. It happened and it sucks, but I'm here for you and so are the others. You know that, right?''
A smile quickly crept back onto Hilda's face and not a curse-induced one either. She waited to let a giggle fit pass before responding. Nasos understood, that was just the easier way for her to talk.
''I do and you're right. Sorry for being so down about i-hehehe-t.''
''I get it, but let's not think about that and instead discuss how we can figure out what that thing up in the stars is!''
Both girls broke into a (genuine from both sides) giggle, having derailed things into a lighter direction again. This restored good mood was noticed by another student, who decided that now was a good time to make her move.
''Uhm, e-excuse me?'' A timid voice spoke up.
As it turned out it belonged to nobody else but a shy girl that both of them were already well familiar with by now.
''Ah hey, Lidelle! Wanna sit with us today?'' Nasos patted the spot next to her, gesturing to the younger student that it was okay for her to join them.
This clearly went by quicker and easier than she expected, but she lightened up and sat down.
''You and Nasos really hit it o-hohhohho-off I noticed. Glad you found someone so quickly.'' Hilda empathetically noted to the clearly timid kid, who took her comment as positively as it was meant.
''Y-Yeah, it's nice with her. Oh! A-and uhmm you too of course"' She quickly added, trying to not accidentally come off as rude towards Hilda who raised her hand in a good-natured manner.
''I know! No need to worry.'' She calmed the smaller girl, thankfully able to save the laughter for later.
''Try to relax, we're all friends here.'' Nasos also told Lidelle, putting a hand on her shoulder for emphasis.
Lidelle nodded, relaxing a bit as she began taking a bite out of her own meal. Comfortable with the two senior students.
"Uhm..." Lidelle subconsciously leaned towards Hilda…'s shoulder.
"Hmm?" Hilda looked at the little green girl in confusion, though she was less confused when she followed Lidelle's line of sight to. "Oh…" Hilda let out an annoyed laughter.
"O-oh, y-you can see it too?" Lidelle could barely see it though, it was very transparent to her. "I d-didn't wanna be rude and say you got a clown b-ball behind y-you."
Hilda laughed, but as usual, not because it was natural. "You-ououou get used to it being around me." She said optimistically. "I-hihihi won't..." Hilda said bitterly, angrily looking at her food until it was safe to eat a bite.
"Is that her curse manif-"
"Eheheh, Liddy." Nasos nervously interjected. "I think Hilda already reached her quota for wanting to talk about her curse today. Am I right?" She asked her friend to be safe.
"Yeah…" She wheezed a little after that.
"Oh, I'll ask you later th-then."
"...Don't e-eheheh-ver invite me to a bir-hurhurhur-thday with a clown..."
''Hey guys.''
Suddenly, yet another voice entered the scene, this time it belonged to Marvett with Sig right next to her. Lidelle tensed up just a little, but Nasos quickly gestured to her that things were fine, helping her to regain her composure.
''Hahaha~ Hey you two joining as too!?'' Hilda perked up, sincerely happy to see the two.
''If it's okay. Lags and Arle are arguing.'' Sig said, blunt and to the point, not really sparing much for details.
Lidelle took a look at Nasos and Hilda to notice that neither are surprised or concerned from hearing this. Seems like they were strangely used to it.
''What is it this time?'' Nasos asked, no hint of emotion in that statement other than being mildly baffled.
''Lagnus admired Raffina doing a good cosplay and Arle got the wrong idea. Sensing a new break up.'' Marvett said rather casually while sitting down next to Sig, who in turn, sat next to Hilda.
At this point the little green-haired girl was sitting on the other side of the table.
''Hey there, what's your name?'' She invited her to an introduction.
''L-Lidelle.'' The junior student introduced herself, a little timid, but willing to make a step, as long as Nasos was next to her.
''That's a nice name. I'm Marvett and that's Sig.''
''Hey.'' Sig waved to her and she gave a shy wave back.
''I-I heard a lot about you two from Hilda and Nasos and about Arle too. They told me you were all nice.'' She mustered up the courage to continue the conversation much to the surprise of a proud-looking Nasos.
''Trust me, the two don't bite.'' Nasos assured her little friend in a lighthearted manner, helping her stay calm.
''And Arle is great too.'' Sig added.
This set off alarms in Hilda and Marvett's heads. Arle was a quick subject to make Sig look and act like the equivalent of a lovesick puppy. Surprisingly though, his composure did not shift one bit, he remained stoic, calm, yet friendly as usual.
Seems like their talk with him really did stick. Hilda especially could not resist the urge to wrap an arm around his shoulders and pull him close until their heads met. Not that Sig minded, in fact, he visibly enjoyed the gesture.
Lidelle took note of how close the two seemed to be, it was the kind of relationship she hoped to find with someone else.
Then, for the first time, she really paid attention to his right hand. It was red, totally different from his normal left hand. One normal, one strange. It was unlike anything she had seen on anyone else in school.
''Lidelle? You okay?'' Nasos swiftly brought the girl back to reality. How long was she staring at him? This was more than a little embarrassing.
''S-sorry! I was just curious about your hand there.'' She explained looking to Sig, who quickly knew she meant him.
Not like this is the first time he heard of it.
''Huh, oh yeah.'' He said, briefly looking at his hand before going back to his food.
''She wants to know about it-pfft!'' Hilda pointed out to Sig. She found it adorably doofy, but he didn't exactly say much with that.
''Ah, sure. It got like that one day. No idea why or how to change it back.'' Sig explained matter of factly, not really showing signs of distress or anything.
''Doesn't it bother you…! I-I mean not like there is a-anything wrong with it or-'' Lidelle was cut off by Nasos gently patting Lidelle's arm, gesturing to her that she didn't need to be apologetic.
She just couldn't help it, but even then, Sig showed no signs of being offended by it.
''S' fine. I got used to it. It's just how it is now.'' He said with a mild shrug, remarkably accepting of it.
''It doesn't hurt or anything, he's dealing with it well.'' Marvett added to explain his attitude a little better.
Lidelle nodded, that was good to hear at least.
The group sat together for the entirety of lunchtime. They chatted, laughed and even Lidelle sometimes got confident enough to speak up a little and was always welcomed into the conversation.
Lidelle really did enjoy herself. There was clearly a lot of history that she, as a new student, wasn't familiar with yet and she did really wonder why Hilda, Sig, and Marvett had those spirit things following them, but it was a fun time.
It was nice for her to be part of a group for once, especially with Nasos by her side.
This was something she could get used to...
Authors' Notes:
WARE: We are finally getting more into Hilda. She is my favorite Quest character to look forward to a lot of her, going forward.