Jim Morales
"...and you two should be ashamed of yourselves! Look at this mess! You live in a dorm room, not a zoo!" He barked. He held a hand up when the students started to protest. "I don't wanna hear any of your excuses, I wanna see this place shine! Now, get to work! I'll be back in an hour, and I better not see hide or hair of you until then, you got that?"
One of them raised their hand. "But, Jim, what about-"
"Put your hand down, Poliakoff. For the last time, you can't have a toaster in the dorms." And with that, Jim turned on his heel out the door and slammed it shut. He stayed there for a moment, listening. He could hear some grumbling from within the dorm, then some shuffling. Finally, the two started to argue, shouting at one another about who was more to blame about the pigsty they called a dorm room.
Jim rolled his eyes. Oh well, that'd be their detention to serve for not doing as they were asked.
He shifted the toaster he was holding under his arm and pulled out a clipboard with a list of names on it. Clicking his pen, he put an 'X' by the names Pichon and Poliakoff. He took a look at the number of names still remaining and groaned. He let his shoulders droop and stared up towards the ceiling, letting his neck pop a few times.
It was dorm inspection time—again. It wasn't that he minded doing them, they were more tedious than hard, but it nobody seemed to have their head on straight this time. About half the rooms he'd already looked at had been complete wrecks, or they'd held items that were forbidden under school dorm policy.
...Or, he noted as he stared at his reflection in the toaster, sometimes both.
He wasn't sure what about this time made everyone crazy, but he hoped the next one's up wouldn't actually have a sense of understanding of what the rules were. He looked back down and back at the clipboard.
"Let's see… let's see…" he muttered. He traced down the list, going past the marked names and down to who was next.
Della Robbia and Stern
Della Robbia...
...Welp. There went his hopes.
Jim took a deep breath and sighed into the clipboard. He looked toward the door in question, laying just a few paces in front of him. With someone like Odd Della Robbia involved this was going to be… interesting.
It certainly wasn't that he disliked the boy—it was quite the opposite. Odd reminded him a lot when he'd been a young boy; an athletic, prankster of a boy with a bit of a rebellious, artistic streak. A kid who could go a little too far sometimes with his jokes, but was ultimately a good person at heart who just needed some time to grow up. He'd deny it if asked, but Odd was probably one of his favorite students, when he wasn't being a complete pain in the neck to deal with.
But all that said, he also could deny there was just something… strange about him. And it wasn't just his fashion sense.
Really, there was something weird about all of them, Della Robbia and his little gang of friends. Him, Stern, Belpois, and Ishiyama were such a strange, mismatched seeming group that formed seemingly out of nowhere. Which fine, strange friend groups formed all the time, he'd certainly seen his fair share of them in all his years at Kadic, but the way they seemed so close with such little prior contact was just bizarre. And then there was how they acted, always speaking in hushed voices around Belpois' computer, or running around campus to who-knew-where doing who-knew-what.
And then came Della Robbia's cousin, and the already stranger group got even stranger. In came who was supposed to be a stranger to all but one, and yet they all acted like they'd known her for months as soon as she'd arrived; he'd even overheard the boys refer to her with an affectionate nickname just a few days after her arrival. She'd fit in as if she were a missing piece in their puzzle almost instantly.
It was all so peculiar… and to him very suspicious.
There were countless rumors about just what was up with their group. He'd heard things from the mundane, such as the idea they'd become friends was because they'd had no one else to turn to and just met at the right time, to the absolutely ridiculous, such as the idea the group was a group of time travelers that had traveled back to when they were children, and were secretly fighting to save the world.
Kids and their comic books these days…
All Jim knew for certain is that whatever they were up to, it had to be no good. They were all at the right age to cause mischief, and he was certain that's what they were up to. For awhile, he'd been doing a pretty good job of keeping track of them, and he was certain he'd even been getting close to a breakthrough! But then Mr. Delmas got onto him about 'respecting student privacy', so he'd been forced to put his investigations on hold until he found a way to walk that fine line more carefully.
...Which, the more he thought about it, a dorm inspection was a perfect way to do just that.
He couldn't stifle the satisfied laugh from bubbling out of his chest for a moment. This was it! This was the moment he'd been waiting for! Finally, he could get a lead on the activities of the most mysterious group at Kadic.
With a confident nod, Jim marched up toward the door.
Della Robbia opened the door before he could even knock. He couldn't hide his surprise at that, jumping and letting out a startled sound. The toaster nearly slid out from his grasp.
If Della Robbia noticed any of it, he didn't show it, instead flashing his trademark grin as he looked up at him. "Ah, right on time, as usual Jim," he said jovially, then eyed the toaster he was still struggling to tuck back under his arm. "Well! It's a little late for a housewarming gift, but if you insist…" He reached for it.
Snapping out of his stupor, he raised it over the boy's head, out of his reach. "Very funny, Della Robbia," he said. He shrugged and stepped out of the way, letting Jim step into the room.
"Oh well, maybe next time," he shrugged. "But hey! Third time I've made that joke and you still think it's funny. Glad to see I've still got my touch."
"What?" He looked back down at him with a confused look. "Just what on Earth are you talking about?" What other opportunities would there have even been for Della Robbia to even make such a joke?
He shrugged again, shoving his hands in his pockets and bouncing on the balls of his feet. "Oh, I'd explain it, but I'm getting kind of sick of explaining things you're just gonna end up forgetting anyway," he said. He almost had a bored expression on his face.
He narrowed his eyes. He was being cryptic as ever it seemed. Well, it wouldn't last for long, not under his keen eye.
He gave a quick cursory glance around the room. On a surface level, it seemed pretty clean. There weren't any clothes just laying out on the floor, or any junk food wrappers just lying around. Even both the beds were made. Maybe a bit sloppily, but it was more effort than he'd seen all day. Overall, it looked perfectly normal.
But he knew better. Things were never as they seemed. And already, there was one important thing off about the room.
"Where's Stern?" He asked. He'd assumed Stern had just been being quiet, but he wasn't anywhere in sight.
"Oh, him? He's returning a book in the library," Della Robbia pointed toward the door with his thumb. "He'll be back in a few minutes, as long as Sissi doesn't attack him this time," He muttered.
Hm… seemed believable enough.
"Ah," he said with a nod, rubbing at his chin. "She is pretty… aggressive, in going after him, isn't she,"
He let out a dry laugh. "More than you know, Jim. More than you know…"
There. That look in his eye; he'd seen that before, in all of them. Usually when they were laughing about one of their 'inside jokes' or the like. He was onto something, he had to be!
He narrowed his eyes at the boy, and before he could stop himself, asked, "Just what are you hiding, Della Robbia?"
He put a hand to his chest with a dramatic gasp. "Me? Hiding something? Why, I would never!" He exclaimed. "You offend me, good sir!"
He set the toaster and clipboard down near the foot of Della Robbia's bed and looked down at him with a smirk. "Oh, do I now? Well, let's just see about that then," he said, eyeing Della Robbia's closet. He reached out for one of the knobs and started to pull.
Strange… it wouldn't budge.
Della Robbia's confident face turned into one of panic. "Wait, Jim, maybe don't-"
"I thought you had 'nothing to hide'?" He taunted. He pulled a little harder on the door, but still it refused to move. He grumbled and started to pull with both hands.
"I don't, it's just-"
"If you…. hrnngh, don't have anything to hide… then there shouldn't be…. a problem!" Jim replied, voice straining. Just what did he do to this thing? "What did you do to this thing? Glue it shut?" Finally, he heard a squeak as he started to make some progress.
"No, it's just that side is-"
"Aha!... Ack!" He let out a triumphant noise as finally he got the door to open… only to then be assaulted by an avalanche of objects tumbling onto him. He fell to the floor and quickly became covered in various boxes, clothes, and other objects in his closet.
"...busted," Della Robbia finished with a cringe.
He pulled one of the hoodies sitting on his face and looked up at him with a glare. "Odd…" he said, voice low and almost threatening.
"Hey! Everything was fine in there until you went all muscle man on the door!" He argued. "I tried to warn you.
"Why is it-" he stopped and rubbed his face with a groan. With Odd, it could be broken for any number of reasons; it wasn't worth trying to wrestle the answer out. "Just… just clean it up," he sighed. He'd have to remember to file a report about the door later to have it looked at.
"Ok, ok, I'm going," he grumbled. He bent to pick up a few of the clothes around Jim and stuffed them back inside. Meanwhile, Jim pulled himself off of the floor, wincing when he felt his back pop in several places, and stood up. He moved a few steps back to better watch Della Robbia.
Something squeaked under his foot. Della Robbia froze, shoulders high and tense. Jim looked down.
It was… a bone? What in the world…?
He reached down and picked it up. Yes, it was a rubber bone. He gave it another experimental squeak, then looked at Della Robbia with narrowed eyes.
"Why do you have a dog toy in your room?"
"Heh heh, w-well I uh…" Della Robbia stammered, rubbing at the back of his neck. "It's a long way from home, y'know? Gotta get what tastes of it I can get!" He let out a nervous laugh, and before he could say anything else, he quickly grabbed the toy out of his hand and tossed it back into the closet. He then busied himself with picking up more items off the floor.
"Hm…" Jim let out. Very suspicious. Was that their big secret? A dog? Better take a closer look to be sure.
He started rifling through the scattered objects. If Della Robbia had any protests (not that he would care) he didn't voice them, simply keeping his head ducked down as he worked as fast as he could. There wasn't much of note. Video game box, comic book, another game box, another hoodie, a board game, a strange white case, a game cartridge-
Wait… what was that one?
He brushed some of the other objects on top of it off of it and pulled the case closer to him. And there it was, an unmistakable symbol plaster on top of it: a red cross.
It was a first aid kit.
Well. That was new. He'd found a lot of strange things during dorm inspections this year alone, but not this.
Jim frowned at it. "Della Robbia," he called, then held it up for the boy to see when he looked over at him, presenting the wordless question to him.
Unlike with the toy, Della Robbia didn't freeze, nor did a panicked expression come over him. Instead, he merely stared at it for a moment in complete silence.
Finally, just when he was about to ask again, he answered: "It's not against the rules to have one," he said. His voice had lost it's signature comical, casual tone, and had been replaced by an uncharacteristic serious one.. He stared up at Jim with an intense stare.
It almost unnerved him. Almost. "Be that as it may…" Jim said. He set the case on the bed and opened it, just to be certain. Inside was the typical kind of supplies one would expect to find. He looked back at him with a frown. "Why do you need one?"
He shrugged, looking everywhere in the room except Jim's face. "It's not a bad thing to have around. Accidents happen sometimes."
Hm… a valid point, but still…
"If an accident happens, you should go to the infirmary and get it treated by an adult, not play doctor yourself," he cautioned him.
"Well, yeah, if it was big, then that'd probably be a little different," Della Robbia conceded. "But Yolanda's not always there, and we're not gonna go bug her over every little bump or scrape, y'know? We can handle that ourselves." He rubbed at one of his shoulders, then made a strange, almost pained expression, and stopped.
"Hm…" he let out, rubbing at his chin again. He didn't like this; there was still something off about it. "How often do uh… 'accidents' happen to make you think you need one?"
"Oh, you know. Every now and again, here or there," he answered vaguely. When his expression didn't change, Della Robbia sighed. "Look, I'm an artist, Jim. Sometimes I make mistakes with scissors. Or sometimes Ulrich'll do something dumb—you know much of a klutz he can be sometimes," he laughed at that one, but then the seriousness returned. "It's not a big deal, Jim. Really. Just drop it, ok?"
His eyes locked with Della Robbia's in an intense staring contest.
This was strange—he was hiding something. This could be a lead, and how long had he been waiting for an opportunity to latch onto one of those? This was up there with his gangs hushed whisperings and careful glances. It was extremely suspicious.
He should look into it more.
He should question it further.
He should press Della Robbia until he confesses to… whatever it is he's doing.
His eyes turned from intense to pleading. "Please," he begged.
He looked away from him and back down at the case. "...You better not have stolen it from the infirmary," he said, and closed the case and slid it over to him.
A relieved expression washed over the boy for a split second, then was replaced by a grin again. "Me? Steal? Never!"
He rolled his eyes. "Hurry up and clean this up," he ordered. Della Robbia simply laughed and did exactly that, humming quietly to himself.
But as Jim watched him slip the first aid kit back into his closet, he still couldn't help but worry. Most students didn't concern themselves with having one of those. Why would they, when the infirmary was right there? In a kids eyes, it'd be pointless to have one otherwise.
...Unless they had a valid reason to have one.
...Was this related to their secret? It could explain why they acted so secretive and hushed about it. Maybe some of the rumors he'd heard weren't so off base.
...No, wait, absolutely not. That was ridiculous! He needed to cut back on the cartoons, it was starting to affect him too much. Having a first aid kit was certainly strange, but it wasn't enough to start grilling into anyone yet. He needed more information. How long it would take him to get said information was another story, but well…
In the meantime though, maybe he should start keeping a closer eye on the group again.
Because whatever was going on with Odd and his friends, maybe it was more serious than he thought.
Debated about whether I should make Jim more comedic like usual, or more like he was in Code Earth and False Start. Went more with the latter given the premise of the oneshots, but hopefully I still got some humor in there.
The man can be observant! Just... not usually.
And if you're like 'where's Kiwi at?" Just remember: Ulrich's not there for a reason :)
