I̴'̵m̸ ̴w̸r̷i̷t̵i̶n̷g̶ ̶t̷h̵i̵s̶ ̷l̶e̵t̷t̵e̶r̴ ̶f̸r̵o̸m̴ ̷t̸h̸e̵ ̸c̴o̴n̴f̷i̴n̵e̸s̷ ̸o̶f̵ ̶a̸ ̷p̴r̷i̷s̸o̸n̸ ̴i̴n̵ ̴N̸e̶w̷ ̸P̴o̷r̵k̷ ̶C̸i̶t̵y̴.̶ ̷T̴h̸i̸s̴ ̴i̶s̶ ̶a̸ ̵w̸a̷r̵n̵i̴n̷g. ̷d̶o̶n̶'̵t̸ ̸c̸o̸m̵e̴ ̸h̸e̷r̷e̷.̴ ̸Y̵o̵u̷ ̶d̴o̴n̷'̷t̶ ̶k̶n̵o̴w̴ ̶w̷h̶a̶t̶ ̴h̶e̵ ̴d̶o̴e̶s̴.̷ ̶Y̸o̵u̷ ̵d̷o̸n̵'̷t̷ ̸k̴n̵o̷w̷ ̸w̶h̸a̶t̵ ̵h̷e̵ ̶p̸l̶a̴n̷s̵.̸ ̷Y̴o̸u̸ ̴c̸o̴m̶e̶ ̶h̶e̵r̵e̴ ̸-̶ ̶y̶o̴u̶'̴r̸e̸ ̷d̶e̶a̵d̴.̵ ̴S̵o̴ ̷d̷o̸n̷'̷t̶ ̶e̵v̸e̵n̶ ̷c̴o̷n̴s̴i̵d̸e̸r̷ ̸i̸t̷.̸ ̷D̵o̵n̷'̷t̵ ̵e̵v̵e̶n̴ ̶c̵o̴m̵e̶ ̷n̴e̵a̵r̷.̶ ̸P̵l̷e̴a̷s̴e̷ ̴-̶ ̴y̵o̷u̴ ̴h̷a̶v̴e̵ ̷t̵o̸ ̸u̸n̸d̷e̶r̷s̵t̵a̸n̴d̴ ̵-̵ ̶I̴ ̶h̴a̸v̶e̵n̴'̸t̶ ̸g̸o̷t̸ ̶l̸o̵n̷g̵ ̸-̶ ̸I̵'̵m̴ ̴b̵e̴i̵n̶g̵ ̴c̴o̴n̷v̴e̶r̴t̴e̴d̴ ̵s̵o̶o̵n̷.̴ ̶J̴u̶s̴t̵ ̵-̶ ̵s̸t̶a̶y̷ ̴a̷w̷a̵y̸.̵ ̶H̶e̸ ̷i̶s̷ ̵u̷n̵s̶t̵o̸p̶p̶a̷b̷l̷e̷.̷ ̴H̷e̸'̷s̴ ̴b̴u̷i̶l̴t̷ ̵a̴n̵ ̷u̷n̶s̵t̵o̵p̴p̸a̴b̸l̴e̵ ̴f̸o̵r̸c̴e̴.̶ ̷D̴o̷ ̵n̸o̷t̷ ̶r̸e̷s̶i̸s̵t̴.̸ ̶D̵o̶n̴'̶t̸ ̸c̷o̷m̸e̷ ̷t̴o̵ ̵N̶e̷w̷ ̸P̵o̸r̸k̶ ̸C̴i̸t̶y̴,̶ ̶a̵n̴d̷ ̸m̷o̸s̷t̵ ̷i̵m̸p̴o̸r̸t̵a̶n̶t̶l̵y̴-̷
Ṉ̷̢̨͈̥̯͓͈͓̮̤̉ờ̸̲̬̮̰͓͕̦̄̎͛̎͗̽̚.̷̖͓̘͎̖̫̺̖̈͋̓͌͘̕̚
̶̧̭̮̳̤̣̥̔͋͋͂
̴̹̤͖̏̍̏̈̊͂̌̕͝͠Ǹ̸̫͈͇̜̭̲̗̂̇͜o̷̰̰̜̟͍̳̰̭͎̝̾ ̸̮̺͕̏̈̍́͒̆̽͘͝-̴̡̛̛̹̱͙̟̹̎̈́͒͗̅̈̔̔̋ ̵̛͔͇̍̂̈̃́̑̓͂̍ņ̷̨͈̬͎͍̮͙͕̞͙̿̕ơ̶̧̨̨̹͍̖̗͈͚̱ ̶̗̈́̍͆̄̏̾̈́̾-̸̧̄̀̓̇̒͗̒̂̚͘̚
̷͉͎̻̻̊͛̊̒͜͝Ṅ̵̦̹̺̣̒̂̀͑̅͐͗̄̈́̊̕O̷̺̖̰̭̪̖̩̼͕̞͂͆̅́͐̀͜ N̴̨̡̢̧̺̮͙̜̥͇̼̲̙͕͓̣̯̭̪̘̰̲̫̱͉̯͎̼̅͌̓͂̑͆̔͒͆́̽̂̇͗̊̇̀̔̽͆̅̓̃̇̄̃̉͌̏̀̕͘̕͜͝Ö̶̯̥̤͔̫̝́̉͊̓̈́͐̽̅͂̊̍͂̑̅̇̐̑͆̂̊̾͒͊̂͂̃͗͠͠
̷̡̡͇̖̊̇͐̋̅͑͆̕͝͝Ä̸̛͔̘̞̦͇̤́̅̅̎̀͛̊̆̈̔̚ͅ
̶̡̭͎̜̜̟̣͕̊͛̃̍̒ͅ.̷̧͚͓̹̞̠̘͓̓̓͜.̴̨̤̟̬̖̈̆̍͛͗͋̉͑̏͗͑
̷̯͍͓̱̱̉̆.̵̢̩̼͕͔̹̦͇̥̿̎̄͜͜
̴̘̥̞͕͙̘̗̯̯̂͆̆̑͑̐̈́͠.̴̲̩̩̪͍͙̖͇̺͗̇̋͌͂
̴͙̳̟́̀͋̒̉̿͛.̸̡̗͇̣̻̭̠͍͉̔̇̈́̃̕͝͝ͅ
̴͍͆̓̈́̈́͒̒̔̚
Praise him.
.
.
.
~~o00o~~
Chapter 9 - Money is a Memory
(Ness)
~~o00o~~
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I wake up in a cold sweat.
Yet another nightmare. More fire. More burning hands. The Face, chasing me once again, only now with the grave thrown into the mix.
It's getting tiring at this point.
There's blood on my pillow - I tense, before remembering my wounds from yesterday. That goddamn tree. I check myself in the window, and a long, red, three-pointed scar glares back at me, patterned like a stitch. Yet another tool for singling me out, I think bitterly.
The room is already infested with sunlight. What time is it? 8 a.m., blares the big clock on the wall. Great. We're already late for breakfast.
Lucas's form rises and falls under his covers, still perfectly soft in his sleep. I stand to wake him, but there's a crunch as my feet meet shards of wood. I hop with momentary pain, glowering as I remember yesterday's injustices.
I shake Lucas awake, trying to keep my temper in check.
"It's light," he observes, stretching.
"That's what happens in the mornings, you goof… We missed breakfast."
He groans.
We dress, moving efficiently down the stairs. There's not much time for chatter, or much to chatter about. Today is going to be ordinary, I decide. It's about time we had an ordinary day, without discovering mysterious secret passages in the school, meeting awful monsters, or being attacked by a mysterious face.
But just as I think that, I slip my hand in my trouser pocket, and I find the wooden Lucas figurine. I resist the urge to pull it out; not with Lucas right beside me. He can't know about this. I need to figure it out myself.
I need to keep my best friend safe.
So, Thursday. What lessons do I have today? Art, Maths, Double Business and History, says my timetable. I suppose that's alright… but not ideal. Double Business will be a misery, of course, though maybe it'll be nice to talk to Bayonetta again.
We hurry into the main hall. Fortunately, there are still one or two people eating, and the kitchen staff haven't finished packing up yet. I spot Toon Link, Villager and Red sitting on our table, so we grab a quick bowl of cereal, and head to sit with them.
"At last!" Toon Link exclaims, as soon as we sit down. "Wow - you look like death!"
"Thanks," Lucas says flatly, his eyes grey. "That really boosts my morale."
"It's true, though. Anyway," Toon Link puts his hands on the table, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Villager told me that Meta Knight and Olimar messed up your rooms. So whilst we've been eating… I came up with the perfect revenge."
"Revenge?" Lucas pales. "That's not a great idea..."
"It is a terrible idea!" Red exclaims. "You should express only dissatisfaction without escalation!"
"How rude!" Toon Link folds his arms in mock outrage. "You haven't even heard my plan yet."
"We don't need to," Villager says, eating a quiet spoonful of his porridge. I notice significant bags under his eyes. "We already know it'll be insane."
"We should let the professors deal with it," Red agrees firmly.
I sense the growing tension, and I try to be decisive for once. "How about we see what Headmaster Hand does, and then if he does nothing, we see what Toon Link's plan is. Fair?"
Everyone nods in agreement. Problem solved. I internally congratulate myself, and soon enough, breakfast is finished, so Lucas and I head to the art room to be greeted cheerily by Professor Shulk.
"Good morning! Now, I spoke to Headmaster Hand. He wants to see you after the lesson about the events of last night, y'know, the destruction of your rooms, and-"
"Alright," says Lucas, before Shulk can go off on a tangent. We hastily take a seat for the lesson to begin.
"Good to see you all, class!" Shulk claps his hands together, taking the front of the room. "Right, so I have some new newspaper headlines if you want to start your next piece of work, or you can continue your piece from the last lesson. I haven't got much more to say… so go ahead, good luck!"
There's a scramble over to the paints and the palettes. I grab my canvas, and as many different bottles of paint as I can find.
"Let's see what disasters are in the news this time," I grimace, as Lucas and I walk over to the table.
As it happens, quite a few:
Virus Fears Increasing Incrementally
Worries over the newfound virus in Onett are increasing, as over 50 people are confirmed dead. Geldegarde Monotoli, politician and spokesperson, described the situation as 'dire, chaotic, and altogether disastrous'.
Businessman Porky Minch has suggested closing the city, a decision that mayor B.H Pirkle and his government will be debating later today. The Sharks, a renowned hard-line gang and splinter group, have criticised this idea, leader Frank Fly declaring that 'The economy would be in tatters'.
Captain Strong, leader of the Onett First Brigade has stated that Onett forces plan to commence the neutralisation of Tazmily as soon as possible. He informs our reporters that the area will potentially become a quarantine site...
I jump, as Lucas's voice comes horrified from behind me.
"They can't do that!"
"I know!" Nana appears, nodding with furious agreement. "It's outrageous!"
"It's illegal!" Lucas actually hops from foot to foot in distress. "They can't do that to my home. They wouldn't - they couldn't!"
I sigh miserably. Sometimes, I'm not proud to come from this city. "At least they're keeping it inhabitable."
"But the Tazmily villagers - Duster - Fuel - there has to be something we can do..."
Nana looks down at the ground. "The world is such a cruel place sometimes."
"I agree!" Lucas nods with vigour, grabbing the article from the table. As he scurries off to paint, I scour the other newspapers for anything that may catch my eye.
New Pork City - A Safe Haven For All
Businessman and inventor Porky Minch has recently opened his new city, New Pork City, to the North of Onett. Mr Minch, closely allied with our great home Onett, has declared the city as a 'safe haven for all children, women and cowards,' in the circumstance of war. As civilians of Onett, we should already be grateful to Mr Porky Minch for his kind donations to the city council, and ecstatic at this generous offer of peace. And don't worry - we are definitely not telling you what to think...
I look up worriedly. So that's what he's been up to recently. I'll bet it won't end up good for anyone who goes there. High taxes with a side order of slavery, I reckon.
I'd be stupid if I didn't recognise just how smart Porky is. He has that uncanny ability to play the media like a puppeteer. He has stakes in so many different financial sectors, a foothold in every industry. He's always up to something, never resting. Always diligent. Hard-working. But unmistakably evil.
I'm pretty certain what I'm going to paint. Lucas is already working on his new masterpiece, having finished a beautiful Tazmilyscape last lesson. I spy that he's selected a purple-brown colour palette this time. It's hard to make out what he's painted so far, it's all a mixture of dark, shadow-like shades, all festering like fog on the canvas. But festering precisely. Lucas always knows what he's doing.
I spy Nana starting a new piece of work on the other side of the room - no prizes for guessing what she's doing. Another fruit. A lot of yellow. I think it's a banana this time, and I wonder vaguely if she paints anything other than fresh produce.
Meanwhile, I lay down a pink oval in the centre of the canvas, along with an intersecting black circle. I surround my dark border with grey spikes, aiming to continue the abstract themes somehow, even if my painting ends up looking like something out of Frankenstein.
"What are you doing?" Lucas asks me, curiously leaning over. I spot that his shadowy mist has formed peaks, purple blobs sitting on their heads.
"Figure it out." I grin.
"That's not fair!"
"Too bad."
"Well, I'll tell you what I'm painting," Lucas says, pouting.
"And what's that?" I turn again to look at his canvas, and he gives me an evil grin.
"You!" He swipes a paintbrush over my nose, coating it in green paint.
"I'll get you for that!" I dab my thumb in pink, pressing it onto his cheeks. It looks like he's wearing a ton of dreadfully applied make up, and I burst out laughing.
"Shush! Keep it down!" Someone hisses. I internally groan. I forgot how particular art students are about noise; apparently they all have to work in complete silence. Lucas rolls his eyes at the heckler and continues working on his piece. From what I can tell, it's shaping up like a city of some sort, but the purple blobs in the sky are now dripping, clinging onto the skyline like clouds of jellyfish.
I start to add ears and a nose to my pink circle, which is of course becoming a big fat pig, representing good old Porky Minch. I smile to myself. I like this version of him a lot better.
Shulk comes over to observe.
"Lucas! That's stunning, and really interesting, what is it?"
"I'm painting Onett." Lucas shows him the article about the virus, pointing especially to the final paragraph. "All the buildings are infected with a virus. It represents the toxicity of the government."
"Impressive!" Shulk nods, pleased. "But don't put that on display anywhere, or you might get arrested. Ness… what's that?"
"It's abstract, Professor," I explain. "The pig represents the - uh - higher powers, and their hold on the earth and the cities. The dark border, that represents a feeling of enclosure. That the rich put upon us." I make it all up on the spot, but I think it sounds convincing enough.
"Very good!" Shulk appraises, before meandering over to obsess over Nana's banana.
"The pig looks more like a representation of Porky," Lucas comments, staring closely at my work.
"That's because it is," I say, grinning.
Lucas laughs. "Is it really?"
"Yeah, have a read of this…" I hand him my article. His face grows with concern.
"When did he get a city?"
"I guess he can afford one," I shrug. "It'll be a total flop, though."
"You bet," Lucas confirms. "He sucks. Everyone will know he sucks when he turns out to be an awful mayor."
"At least that means Porky isn't in Onett anymore," I realise. "That's got to be a weight off our shoulders."
"It is."
We continue to paint, and by the end of the lesson, I have a pig and a half-formed city sphere. Lucas isn't finished either, he still has a mix of grey and purple all over his canvas. I trust he knows what he's doing though, I'm sure he'll add some defining shapes next time.
"Don't forget, you've got to go see Headmaster Hand," Shulk reminds us, as he waves us out.
I'd forgotten. I realise with a prickle that I'm not looking forward to this, especially after the telling off I received last time we met. But when we knock on the ostentatious door to his office, and it swings open, we're left with no choice but to step inside.
"Ah, Ness, Lucas, greetings," nods Headmaster Hand. "Do take a seat."
We obey in silence, sitting beside Villager and Red. Headmaster Hand wastes no time in looking down over us. "So, boys. Professor Shulk informs me that your bedrooms have been... disturbed, by somebody."
"That's right, sir," I say. "And we think it was Meta Knight, and Olimar, and-"
"I see." Headmaster Hand interrupts me with a small shift of his gaze, and I am not surprised by the question he asks. "Do you have any evidence of this?"
"Nothing concrete, but-"
"Then, is it not highly unwise to accuse?"
"Well, yes, but-"
"That is the end of the discussion," Headmaster Hand says, with such an air of finality that I turn away in shame.
Villager shifts in his seat. "How are you going to find out who did it?"
"Villager." Headmaster Hand gives a long, weary sigh. "Every year, every term, things like this happen. I tell you all the same thing, we have no way of knowing who did it, we only have ways of ensuring it doesn't happen again."
"And what ways are those?"
"Well." Headmaster Hand clicks his tongue, giving Villager a sharp look. "Professor Shulk, being your hall monitor, has volunteered to keep an extra eye out on your dorms."
"Okay," I say reluctantly. It sounds like a pretty flimsy plan, but it's unimportant. "There's something else," I say hurriedly, as Headmaster Hand begins to stand.
He sits back down. "Oh?"
"I was in a cupboard," I hastily make up a lie. "I was getting some broomsticks for the caretaker, but I found a passageway. It led outside, into the forest. I thought you should know."
"You found a passageway to the outdoors?" Headmaster Hand says with alarm. "Which cupboard was it?"
"The one on the right - in the entrance hall. There were a load of other routes," I add quickly. "I don't know where they led."
"Thank you for telling me about that," Headmaster Hand says, with an air of a man trying to be calm. He stands back up again, walking briskly to the door. "I won't keep you any longer, then. You should all head to class… and I'll need to look into that passageway." His gaze lingers momentarily on Lucas. I think he's lost in thought.
"Thank you, Headmaster."
We leave. Headmaster Hand's an unusual man, I reflect, but at least he's got his priorities in the right place. At least he's willing to investigate.
"What subjects do you all have now?" Villager asks, leaning against the wall.
"Business," groans Lucas, heavy with the realisation. "I'll be told off for being late."
"Oh great," Red complains. "I have Business too."
Villager checks his timetable. "Well, I have Maths."
"Me too!" I cheer. "But good luck, Red and Lucas..." I hug my small blonde friend, before he scurries away in Wario's direction.
"Thanks," Red says dryly, following suit, leaving me and Villager alone.
"Maths is dull," Villager comments, as we walk. "Marth is a dull teacher."
I wring my hands. "I wish we could skip..."
"Marth would report us missing. We can't."
"I guess you're right," I sigh.
There's a slightly awkward silence as we head into the classroom. After the sincerity of last night, we're not sure how to regard one another.
"Boys!" Professor Marth says brightly. "Why are we late, hm?"
"We had to visit the Headmaster," I explain.
"Ah yes, of course." He nods as we sit. "I heard about the incident last night." His eyes rake the scar on my cheek, and I have the disconcerting feeling that he suspects more than we let on. But he quickly returns to his chipper self, brandishing his chalk. "Alright, everyone! We're doing Differential Calculus today.."
I have no idea what that is, but it sounds horrible. I wish Maths wasn't a mandatory subject. I could be taking almost anything else, and it would be so much more fun. Trades would be exciting. Theatre would be enjoyable, even if I'm self-conscious about acting. Music though, that would've been the dream... I was forced to learn the harp as a kid, the one good thing Father did for me , even if the harp is pretty much my polar opposite. The harp is nice and gentle, and I'm a spirit of chaos.
"...And that's how you do it!" Marth finishes brightly. Now, complete this question on the blackboard…"
Of course, I zoned out. I lightly slap myself on the cheek.
Villager turns to me. "Do you have any idea how to do this?"
"Well…" I ponder. "I think you take the number, and the graph, and the curve, and the gradient-"
"That's just a load of maths terminology."
"Okay." I hold up my hands. "I have no clue."
"Well, given we probably can't complete these questions..." Villager looks around, shifting in his place. He lowers his voice. "Should we just mess around for the rest of the lesson?"
"Sounds good," I say, closing my maths book. For some reason, I'd been expecting him to say something more serious
"We'll have plenty of time to look it up before the end of the term," Villager says confidently, drawing a grid. He puts a nought in the middle.
A few games of noughts and crosses manage to kill five minutes or so, but I'm starting to get hungry again, so it's hard to focus on much other than what's for lunch? It's usually bread and soup, which is fine, but sometimes there are great days, where there is meat, chicken, steak. I hope that today is one of those days.
"Okay, here's an idea." Villager brandishes some more grids. "Battleships?"
"Sure." I decide to put all of my ships in the top right corner. Sadly I'm busted, and he manages to win.
"Alright, boys!" Professor Marth comes over. "Let's see your progress on the questions."
Villager and I exchange a hasty glance, and I flash some sums from the last lesson in Marth's direction.
"I didn't really get it," I explain hurriedly.
"Then why didn't you put your hand up and call me over?"
"Well, I-"
"I don't want to hear any excuses. Now, in calculus, the differential represents the principal part of the change in a function y = f(x) with respect to changes in the independent variable. The differential dy is defined by dy=f'(x)dx where f'(x) is the derivative of f with respect to x, and dx is an additional real variable, so that dy is a function of x and dx."
"Oh, that makes sense," Villager lies, so convincingly that even I'm tricked for a second.
"Great." Marth gives a rare smile. "Now I'll want to see your progress on the work by the end of the lesson, okay?"
"Okay," I reply.
Marth walks away.
"Damn it." Villager wearily puts a hand to his head. "Was that explanation even in English?"
"No, it was in Maths," I joke. "Bowser isn't teaching us."
"God." Villager swats me with his book. "Please, do not do comedy in the play."
"The play?" I frown.
"Didn't you know? Headmaster Hand says the school is going to start 'honouring creativity', and has opened auditions for a play. Toon Link is going to be involved, apparently."
"When is it?"
"Professor Steve said it's Friday next week."
I think. A play… what would I do for such an occasion? I'm not great at acting. But I'm very puzzled - it's most unusual for Headmaster Hand to call a spontaneous event like this. I wonder if there's an ulterior reason?
"That reminds me." Villager lowers his voice. "Something did happen while you were asleep in the forest..."
I listen closely to his story about seeing Headmaster Hand. It fills me with concern to hear how ragged and worn down he looked. I wonder what he was doing out there? Hunting? Jogging?
"And he didn't say why?"
"Not a word."
"Weird…"
"Yeah…"
There's a small quiet.
"We should do the work so we don't get told off," Villager says, opening his maths book again. "Come on."
"Right," I agree, clumsily following suit. "Let's go."
I copy down the question from the blackboard:
Determine where, if anywhere, the function f(x)=x^3+9x^2−48x+2 is not changing.
I feel frustration boiling in my gut just looking at it. I don't get maths. Letters and numbers swim wildly through my mind, twisting through my thoughts. I feel so stupid when I stare at it all, trying to find meaning in what's in front of me. Can I simplify this? No. Can I factorise it? I don't know how.
Villager isn't having better luck. What had Marth said differential functions were? Hell if I remember. This is the kind of thing Lucas would be good at... I wish he was still in my Maths classes. I'd be able to copy his answers.
Villager seems to have scrawled something down: 3x^2+18x−48, but his handwriting is so bad that I can't read any more. He doesn't seem to have the answer, because he's fidgeting around, and his eyebrows are closely furrowed, like a pair of tiny caterpillars. And suddenly, the clock bell rings, and it's time up, and I have nothing to show. It's the story of my life. I look down at my empty page, thoroughly downhearted.
Marth comes over.
"Well, how did you do?"
I decide to take a gamble.
"The function doesn't change at -8, and at 2."
"Oh, well done, Ness!" Marth gasps with surprise. "You're the only person in the room to get it right!"
I stare, bewildered. "I am?"
"Yes!" Marth nods, delighted. "In fact, I think you'd be perfect to represent the class at the Inter-School Mathematics competition!"
"Uh - the what?"
"I'll sign you up! Brilliant!"
"No, you really don't have to-"
"I insist!" Marth beams. "Don't doubt yourself, Ness, you're evidently a fine mathematician!"
"But-"
"So that's sorted then. I'll put you down. Have a nice day, boys."
Marth rushes off, and I'm left staring agape at Villager, who's fighting back the clear urge to laugh.
"How on Earth did you get that right?"
"It was a complete guess." I hang my head.
Villager laughs even harder. "You're so screwed!"
"I just got one question right! That was the biggest overreaction I've ever seen!"
"Wait 'till I tell the others…"
I sulk. "Well, I hope they'll be good friends, and they'll be sympathetic."
"Hey." Villager gives me a prod. "You know I feel bad for you really."
I raise my eyebrows in an over the top fashion, and he laughs.
"We should head to lunch," he decides.
"Lunch! We'll be late!"
.
.
.
.
Our classroom is so far from the canteen that only a few portions of fish and chips remain when we arrive. I grab mine, full of grey, miserable chips from the bottom of the pile. A bland-looking slab of breaded fish sits next to them. Rock-solid peas.
I sigh, sitting besides Lucas, stuffing the fish into my face.
"Hungry, then?" He laughs, as breadcrumbs go everywhere.
"Mhm," I manage thickly. "How's y' morning?"
"Awful." Lucas groans. "Wario didn't believe that Red and I were seeing Headmaster Hand, so he set us extra homework. We need to have four pages of our business plan done by next lesson."
"We'll get started tonight," I assure him.
"Are you working together!?" Red gasps, scandalised.
"A partnership is a type of business, isn't it?"
Red opens and closes his mouth, but no sound comes out. "That - is very smart."
"Oi! Stop talking about partnerships!" Toon Link mock-shouts. "I was just saying, Professor Sebastian Tute wanted to ask why we weren't at orchestra last night."
Oh, great. Professor Sebastian Tute is our very tiny conductor, and he's the most finickity man in the entire world.
"What did you tell him?"
"I told him we were composing a symphony. Unfortunately, he now wants to hear it."
"You what?!" Lucas spits out his peas. They roll onto the floor. "Do you have any idea how long a symphony is? And hard to compose?"
"Quite long?" Toon Link guesses. "And quite hard?" I resist the urge to make an illicit comment.
"They can last for hours!" Lucas wrings his hands. "And they are very, very hard!"
"Ah, I see…" Toon Link hastily changes the subject. "By the way, did you get back to your bedrooms in time last night? I kept Bowser busy, I hope it was enough."
"Oh, we didn't say," Villager says. "We went back into that cupboard, and there was a strange passageway. It led, well, there were loads of branches to it."
"Excellent!" Toon Link cheers. "You'll have to show me."
But I shiver, thinking back to the cold and the dark. That feeling when Lucas and I separated…
"Wait," Lucas frowns suddenly. "If you were keeping Bowser busy, then what was chasing the rest of us?"
There's a beat of silence, and Villager whistles.
"It couldn't have been anything except a person," Red reasons. "Or it wouldn't have made such a racket."
"Wait, hold on." Toon Link holds up a hand. "You got chased?"
"Yeah." Villager eats a mouthful of his fish. "We ended up splitting up,"
"Splitting up? Isn't that what you're not supposed to do?"
"I was too slow," I admit. "Then I ended out by the dorm stairs…"
"I ended up by the pool," Lucas shrugs.
"Well," Red sighs, spearing a chip with venom. "We ended up on the top floor. There was a giant ladder at the end of our passage, which led to the end of one of the dorm halls. It was quite a task, creeping back down!"
"What's even on the top floor?" I ask. I've never needed to go up there.
"Not much," Villager says. "There's a big circular room with glass all around the outside, and a big domed roof - you know how you can see the dome from outside? I think it's professors' bedrooms, mostly."
"How do you even get up there?"
"Up the big spiral staircase on the first floor - you just keep going when you reach floor two, and you end up at the top."
"Spiral staircase?" I'm bewildered. "Are you sure we go to the same school?"
Villager laughs. "I'll show you after the last lesson, okay?"
"Okay," I shrug. I guess I never bothered to explore the whole school before; I only really go upstairs to go to my room, since all my lessons are downstairs. I know there's a common room somewhere on the first floor (well, two, separated by gender) but all the younger kids usually use those. I'd always assumed the rest was just more dorms.
"Did much else happen?" Toon Link asks. "Other than your rooms getting messed up?"
"Not really."
"Good, good. Well, after Bowser had given me eighty hits with the cane, I got back alright."
"Eighty hits?" Red gasps.
"Yeah, he adds one on each time he catches me out of bed-"
"He's caught you out of bed eighty times?" Red folds his arms disapprovingly.
"It's insomnia." Toon Link suddenly appears pained as he grabs his fork, not meeting anyone's eyes. "I can't do anything about it. Walking around helps."
There's a small quiet, and I take the opportunity to continue savaging my fish. Despite its ragged appearance, it's quite good. Not nearly as good as steak, but good nonetheless.
"How was Maths?" Lucas asks me quietly.
"Not good," I groan, remembering the claustrophobic feeling of looking at those sums. "It was so hard, discontinuous calculators - or, or something, I didn't understand any of it-"
"Oh yeah," Villager cuts in, grinning. "He guessed an answer right, so Marth signed him up for the inter-school maths competition-"
"Ness? A mathemetician?" Toon Link laughs out loud. "I don't see it."
"You don't say!" I look around worriedly. "This is a disaster."
"You'll be okay, Ness," Lucas consoles.
I finish my fish just as the clock chimes for the next lesson.
"Good luck in Double Maths," I pat Lucas on the shoulder.
"Good luck in double Business." He hugs me as usual.
I'm late once again, because I drop off the figurine of Lucas in our dorm, concluding it's a bit creepy to still be carrying it around. But fortunately, when I arrive, there's no sign of Wario.
Wario. In the forest. With Bayonetta.
I suddenly feel sick again.
"Ey, Ness." Bayonetta beams, as I sit down. "Good to see ya!"
"Hi," I say weakly, trying to block out the memories. "How are you?"
"Dear me, you sound sick!" She frowns. "I hope you haven't got the virus."
"The virus?" My mind swims. "Oh, yeah, that, no, I don't think so-"
"Fab! I won't get it either then. Seen Wario today?"
"No."
"Shame... Hey, I know we only met a few days ago, but since my birthday is coming up, I'm having a bit of a party at my dorm. I'm inviting as many nice people as possible, so please do come along. Bring as many others as you like!"
"Oh - thanks! Uh, when? And where's your dorm?" I say, hoping I don't sound too weird. I don't usually get invited to parties.
"Wednesday, next week! And, you know how you boys have your dorms, when you go up that staircase and you go left or right?"
"Yeah?"
"If you keep going up the staircase, then take a left - no, a right - no, it is a left - it's the first dorm on the right!"
"I'm sure I'll find it." I manage to get a word in over all the lefts and rights that are already leaking out of my mind.
"Excellent." She smiles. "See you there!"
I don't know how Bayonetta's party is likely to be. Judging by her eccentricity, it'll probably be more raucous than one that any of our group would have. Though, Toon Link has had some pretty chaotic parties in the past. I remember before Christmas, a surprising amount of people had crammed into Toon Link's dorm, and it had been a pretty wild night. Lucas and I had ended up ditching it before it reached its peak; Lucas had gotten claustrophobic, and there had been far too many kisses and tongues for my liking. None of us in our group have ever kissed anyone, but we've all placed bets as to who will be first. Currently, my bet is on Villager.
Wario finally comes in, grumbling under his breath.
"Ooooooo!" Popo calls. "Remember, a pound for every minute, Professor!"
There's a surprised silence. Wario has a thing that for every minute you're late to his lesson, he'll charge you money. Wario marches right up to Popo's desk, slamming his meaty hands down with considerable force.
"Would you like to repeat yourself?"
"Not really, Professor!" Popo maintains a brave face.
"That's what I thought. Detention, see me after class."
"Worth it," he snickers.
Wario stalks back to the front of the class like a cat hunting his prey. Nana turns around and tells Popo off ("You're so irresponsible! What will our parents think!") and Wario glares at us all.
"Money, money, money, money, money, money, money, money, money!" he informs us.
There's a resounding silence.
"Money lives longer than you'll ever live!" He gesticulates angrily. "Money is more important than you will ever be! Your legacy is based on how much money you make! So, get writing your business plans! What the hell are you waiting for? Miserable lot!"
Wario storms into his chair, throwing open a box of papers. I'm not sure what's up with him today. Perhaps he was assessed for street repairs.
"It's so lovely to think that paper and copper is worth more than us." Bayonetta sighs, opening her booklet. "Anyway! Time to begin."
"What's your idea?" I ask timidly.
"Well," Bayonetta beams. "I already sell myself for plenty of money so I can get my heroin fix, and so I can pay the school fee, so I figured, why not just use that as my business plan? Wario really liked the idea."
"Did he, now?" I feel sick again.
"Oh yes!" She nods, and I squirm uncomfortably in my seat. "What's your idea, then?" Bayonetta asks obliviously.
"Oh, me and Lucas, we're going to work together for it."
"Is that allowed?" She frowns.
"It should be, given partnerships are a type of business..." I'm getting less certain the more that people ask.
"Nice! I'd do the same if Samus took this subject. Lucas is like, your best friend, right?"
Yeah." I find myself going red, for some reason. "Why?"
"Well, I was in the forest last night, and I saw him."
"You did?"
"Yeah!" She nods enthusiastically. "He wasn't with you, though. It looked like there was some kind of monster creeping up on him. I went to get a professor, and I'm not sure what happened after that."
"Some kind of monster?" I say worriedly. This is all news to me. "Lucas never mentioned - what did it look like?"
"Well, it was big, sort of shadowy…"
Images of the Face flash through my mind.
"He seemed okay at lunch, though," Bayonetta adds chirpily. "I heard you talking about something - something very long and hard?"
"We were talking about symphonies." I blush profusely.
"Oh, fantastic! And did I hear you say-"
"We should probably start on the business plans now," I say, vying to save myself from further embarrassment.
"Oh, yes. Course! Silly me." She grabs her pen enthusiastically. Ignoring Bayonetta's sudden frantic scribbling, I stare down at the blank page in front of me. The first step - an idea. What's something that both Lucas and I like? I try to think. It's not like we'll actually be putting this business into place, so who says it has to be realistic?
Art! We both like art. Well, him more, I sort of follow him, but still! We could sell paintings. Pretty pleased with my thinking, I note it down. Now for a name. But I hit a big brick wall; try as I might, no combinations of our names sound right together; not Nesscas, not Luness, nothing. I frown, leaving the title blank. I'll have to come up with something else later.
A logo. I try drawing me and Lucas, but it looks horrendous. I instead opt for a kind of colourful spiral, and it does the trick. And soon enough, the double lesson disappears in a haze of vague ideas, including me drawing out a floorplan for some reason. I resolve to talk with Lucas later, since he's been set it for homework. I think his business lessons seem to coincide with my maths lessons, so… second period tomorrow. That's pretty dreadful luck. Wario is so unfair, putting that amount of stress on Lucas. Has he no empathy? No feelings of good grace?
These mutinous thoughts carry me out of Business and into the corridor, where Lucas waits.
I hug him, grinning like a child. "How was Maths?"
"Pretty boring," he hugs me back. "I didn't get selected for any Maths competitions."
"Dammit! I was hoping I wouldn't be alone."
"I didn't understand the work," he reasons. "No way he'd pick me."
"Neither did I!" I protest.
"No - but you've got good luck," Lucas says, giving me a smile.
I'm puzzled. "I do?"
"Yeah!" He nods enthusiastically. "You always get out of difficult situations."
"Really?"
"Of course you do. C'mon, Ness, you got lucky when you were born."
I'm bewildered by his praise. "But you're the one who's good at everything-"
"I'm not good at everything-"
I count on my fingers. "You're better than me at art-"
"We both have a different style-"
"Better than me at sport-"
"Okay, that's true-"
"Better than me at writing-"
"Yeah, only because you don't write-"
"Better than me at music-"
Lucas sighs. "We both play different instruments, you can't even quantitatively measure that-"
"And I don't even know what 'quantitatively' means!"
"Well, come on, Ness." Lucas pats me on the back. "Don't put yourself down. Look - you're funny - I'm not..."
"Really?" I say doubtfully.
"Yes." He gives me a stubborn gaze. "You make me laugh."
I blush. "Lucas-"
But before I can say any more, Rosalina swoops out of her office. "Hey there! Got time for a chat?"
"Well..." I rub my elbow. "We should be going to History-"
"No, no, I insist, come on into my office!"
We obey.
"You've got another letter, Ness," she says matter-of-factly, producing an envelope from her desk. "It's from your sister."
Gladly, I take it, popping the wax seal, reading her scrawled font inside:
.
.
.
Hey, Ness!
I know it's not been long since my last letter, and I know you don't want your embarrassing little sister getting in the way of your crazy life, but I just thought I'd give a small update, 'cause I'm bored, and I gotta make it look like I'm working, because of Father.
So, I failed a maths test. I had to wear the stupid dunce cap for the rest of the day, and Father hit me when I got home, but I don't care. Pissing Father off is almost too funny. And he keeps asking me why I don't have a boyfriend, so I tell him I don't want one. I don't think he gets it. I'm pretty sure I'm not gonna get married, like, ever, at this point.
As for everything else, I've been going through a poetry phase... but also, I've been sneaking outdoors whenever Mother isn't home to climb trees and terrorise the locals. It's great fun.
Miss you (slightly)
~Tracy
.
.
.
As soon as I finish reading, Rosalina holds up a fountain pen and paper, and I hastily set about writing my reply.
.
.
.
Tracy,
You're not that embarrassing, I swear! Now, this is going to be a response to both of your letters, to reduce deforestation. Lucas is doing just fine, and of course he's still a pure bean. A lot has happened here, we found some weird passages, we snuck out into the forest and found a gravestone with my name on, and we're being haunted by a freakish face, the usual!
The dunce cap sucks. We don't have it here. Wish you could come here as well… though we still have the cane. My friend got hit last night for sneaking out of bed.
Father's on my case about not having a girlfriend but, it's complicated. Girls just aren't that attractive, to be honest. You know?
And wow, poetry? I went through that phase once… Lucas and I both tried to start that poetry club, do you remember?
Anyway, I'm late for a lesson, so see you soon!
Your least favourite brother,
~Ness.
.
.
.
"Uh, Professor Rosalina, could you send this," I ask, folding the letter.
"Of course." She nods brightly. "Now, is there anything else you need help with?"
"Nope." I shake my head, repressing all my worries as usual.
"Good to know. See you around, then."
Lucas and I leave the office. I realise that Lucas was probably just sitting there while I wrote, and I feel kind of bad, but writing to Tracy is cool. She's just as much of a disappointment to Father as I am, which somehow ends up meaning she's awesome.
"I wish I got letters from home," Lucas mumbles sadly, and I instantly feel guilty.
"I'm sorry-"
"No! Don't apologise - I didn't mean to sound jealous - sorry..."
"It's okay." I hug him. "And hey, I've still got all the letters you've sent me."
"I've got all yours at home." He smiles softly. "They're sweet."
I blush as we enter the History room, and not because of the class staring at the scar on my cheek. "Sorry we're late, Professor Ryu, we had to see Professor Rosalina..."
"I see," Ryu says briskly. "Starting a streak of lateness, I observe. Please, try and avoid such occurrences in future..."
"We will," Lucas and I say in unison.
Unfortunately, for our lateness, we're tasked with handing out the worksheets. Villager whispers "get me out of here!" as I give him his, and I grin, seeing he's still next to Zelda. Toon Link happily takes his, starting to draw a strange picture of Ryu on it, while most others give a simple 'Thank You'. Finally, I sit down next to Lucas, and I take a look at the sheet myself.
A massive gravestone stands before me.
All the air rushes out of my lungs. I gasp for breath, trying to take it in. But there it is, looming over me, an omen of my sure demise, warning me of the terror, the inevitable end-
"Ness!" Lucas quickly grabs my hand. "Calm down! It's different - look, it says The dinosaurs on it."
I try and control my breathing - dammit, the grave is starting to haunt my every step - Lucas rubs my back as I try to ground myself. I'm not going to die.
"So, class." Ryu takes the front of the room. "Today's lesson is about the death of the dinosaurs. Now, for today's sources, we have an eyewitness account, we have a sketch, and we have an extract from The Great Jurassic Encyclopaedia, all of which are on the other side of that worksheet. But, also… we have the bone of a Tyrannosaurus Rex!
Dramatically, he withdraws a long, yellowed bone from his coat. The class gasps in awe.
"Now, be careful with this," Ryu says, handing the bone to Toon Link, who I can't help but feel is the least likely person to be careful with anything. "The deposit for me to borrow this was very high, and as I'd quite like not to have to sell my house… I'm hoping to return it intact."
"So," he continues, as the bone is passed around. "Your task is to analyse all this evidence, evaluate which pieces of evidence are valid, and then use it all to put together a theory on how the dinosaurs went extinct. Best of luck."
It seems simple enough. I'm quick to turn over the sheet, to avoid looking at… that... any longer. But Lucas already has his hand in the air.
Ryu comes over. Lucas beams.
"I think I know which sources aren't valid."
"Already? Which?" Ryu appears curious.
"The eyewitness account and the sketch. How could anyone have been there to give an eyewitness account of the dinosaurs, or to draw a sketch, millions of years ago? They must be invalid."
"You're a natural, Lucas," Ryu chuckles. "That took, what, a minute? Good work. You've excelled recently."
Lucas smiles, but I glower at Ryu inconspicuously. I don't trust the way he talks to Lucas, what with that figurine.
"So, the other pieces of evidence are good?" Lucas says.
"Ah, that's for me to know, and you to find out! By the way," Ryu drops his voice suddenly. "I should update you both on the disappearances after the lesson, so if you just so happen to take longer to pack up than everyone else…" he gives a subtle wink. But suddenly he turns, and it fast becomes apparent what's caught his attention.
The clocktower begins to rapidly chime. I gulp, as the class gasps.
Smoke is pouring in through the open door.
A/N
Another chapter of slowly moving things forwards...
I promise that the next chapter will be a lot more action-packed. Sorry for the late release as well, I ended up spending the time I would've spent writing on Sunday drawing out floor plans for each floor of the school... like you do. There are some pretty neat locations that we may be visiting soon! Assuming they don't burn down.
I haven't come up with a chapter name as I'm writing this, but I really want to call it 'Ness is slightly less hormonal than usual'...
Sadly, that might be a little out of place.
Notes:
-New Pork City is a canon location in the Earthbound series.
-I have no idea how to do differential calculus! I looked up 'difficult maths' on the internet, and it came up. I used a practice question that I found as well… how I pity you maths students.
-Sebastian Tute is the name of the conductor in Wii Music.
Thank you for reading! Next chapter should be out Friday, but it might be a very long one, so it could be Saturday.
~Readyforteddy
