Chapter 9: Like Her? No Fucking Way.

A healing glyph slaps Willow's forehead, instantly relieving her of most of the pain in the back of her head. "Keep this on for an hour." The healer said.

Willow nods. She looks over at Boscha lying on the plain white bed, blood-stained bandage wraps on her arms.. "Is she going to be okay?"

The healer assures Willow that Boscha will be okay, and that she was a bit of a… 'Special case.' Though it is private information. Well that's what Willow understood, she zoned out after 'yes she'll be fine.'

The door creaks open, snapping Willow's head out of the clouds. Principal Bump walks through the door, followed by a woman whom Willow could only assume to be Boscha's mother.

"Ms. Park. Please give the Ferburns some privacy." Bump said.

"Yes, sir." Upon exiting the room, Willow senses a powerful source of magic behind her. She looks back. The radiant glow of magic is emanating from Boscha's bed. A bright. Blinding.

"White...?"

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"'You both get detention for a whole month' He said! Ugh I hate this!" Boscha groans to herself, slamming her fists against the desk.

"Calm down." Willow said. She wasn't fond of the situation herself, but the last thing she wants is for Boscha to get them both into more trouble.

Willow observes Boscha's rash behaviour, unaware that Bump actually informed Boscha that there was actually a faster way for both of them to get out of detention.

"The best we can do is just be patient."

"Fuck you and your patience. I hate you."

Now that's the Boscha that Willow knows. It's funny, it's like Boscha tries to be nice, but she ends up taking 10 steps backwards directly after. Or does Boscha just act like that to get her hopes up?

Willow lays her head down, hoping to skip ahead and wake up during recess. Boscha on the other hand scribbles away at her textbooks, hoping to at least do something productive while she was stuck doing nothing for hours…

And days.

Willow didn't even look forward to lunch or recess with her friends anymore. She only wished for the end of each school day, when she would be able to completely ignore her frustration, and ignore the general academic classes.

That was until the teachers contacted her parents because of her poor performance in class. Willow has only grown gloomier and gloomier over the added stress.

It was routine at this point. Boscha sits down, a chair away from Willow. She pulls out her textbooks and pens, and then glances at Willow.

Daily, studying, next to a sleeping bum. It was oddly relaxing. Really, she feels as though the month would've been a breeze. That was until...

"Boscha Ferburn, please come to my office." Bump's voice echoed throughout the school.

Great! Something to break up the monotony! She leaves her belongings on the desk, and makes her way down to Bump's office.

She takes in the sight of the old books stacked upon a shelf. Light pours in through the tall windows, highlighting the speckles of dust covering Bump's desk. Thinking of it, she's never actually been to his office before.

"Are you aware of why I called you here?" Bump said.

"Nope!" Boscha said, a bit too enthusiastically for Bump's tastes.

"I'm going to assume you haven't made up with Willow yet?"

She sits down. "PSssh! How can you say that?"

"Well." Bump pulls out a folder from his desk. "Her performance has been… Lacking. That was a usual thing to expect from her. However, last year, her academic performance skyrocketed."

Boscha looks over at him, "Your point?"

"Well, from what I gathered from her parents, we could only assume it was because Amity Blight had stopped her frequent bullying."

"..."

"I believe you may be continuously bullying Ms Park during detention hours. How that may have slipped from the teachers observing you is unclear to me, as they always described you being on good behaviour."

"That's because I am! It's not my fault she's lazy-" Boscha stops herself from speaking any further. The last sentence really wasn't helping her case.

"In any case, I'll occasionally stop by there to check on how you two are doing, so please refrain from trying anymore shenanigans."

"But I haven't done anything!"

"Please go back to your classroom."

Half way through the month, Boscha is unsure if Willow has been doing any better in her classes.

She frequently just sleeps in! Boscha can only assume that anyone who sleeps during school hours already finished anything they needed to do… Still, Willow has been looking miserable during the classes they shared.

Boscha hears Willow grumbling, a telltale sign of her waking up.

"Hey." Boscha nudges at her, poking shoulder. "Have you been doing any of your assignments?"

No response. But Boscha notices Willow's fingers clenching.

"I know you're awake! Don't ignore me!"

Willow shoves her face deeper into her arms. Her muffled voice spoke up, "What's it to you?"

"I," Boscha hesitates, how can she speak in a way that would get Willow to be less lazy? "I'm... worried about you?" Willow's ear twitches, prompting Boscha to speak further, "You've been looking like hot garbage. And I don't mean it in a bad way."

Boscha slaps herself mentally. What the fuck is that supposed it mean?!

Still, Willow finally shows her face. She sighs. "I haven't been doing a lot… I've just been too exhausted to do much of anything." Willow wasn't exactly sure why she was telling Boscha this. But she wanted some way to get it off her chest.

"What's making it hard for you then?"

"I haven't been paying much attention in class. I don't actually know what I'm supposed to be doing. And I don't know who or if I should even bother asking."

"...You could've asked me?"

She said nothing.

"Even a teacher? Your friends?"

"HEY!" The teacher hissed. "Be quiet! Unless you want me to tell Principal Bump to extend you two's detention."

Boscha notices Bump outside the room, glancing in through the door. She replies, "No sir." Great. Off to a great start today.

A few minutes later, and the teacher is off snoring on his chair, as he usually is. Boscha moves closer to Willow. "Psst hey," She whispers.

"Yes?" Willow whispers back.

"Why don't you do your assignments now?"

Willow puts her head back down on the desk.

"Are you..." Boscha hesitates, picking her words carefully. "I can help you if you want."

"...I'm fine thanks."

"Really?" She pinches Willow's ear. It may seem playful to Willow, but really Boscha just wanted to yell because of Willow's stubbornness. Nevertheless, she holds her composure, masking her annoyance with confidence. "I'm offering my guidance free of charge~"

"If I let you, will you stop… Teasing me?" Willow swats Boscha's hands away.

"Of course, bestie."