Chapter 5
Marie ran as fast as her legs could carry her, desperately trying to catch up to her feline friend before a fight could break out. "Grim, get back here now!" But Grim had ignored her, whether he simply didn't hear, or elected to ignore her altogether. Either way, he continued to pursue the ginger-haired teen that had insulted them. Her teeth clenched as she picked up the speed. Just a little more and maybe she could snatch him up. The distance between the two began to close. Now she was within an arm's distance. Feeling victorious, she started to reach out.
"Take this! Fnyahhhhh!"
Marie froze in mid-reach, staring with a gaping mouth at the fireball now headed toward Ace.
Having heard Grim's yell, the boy glanced back just in time to see the incoming attack. He let out a surprised yelp, dodging the attack by lunging out of the way. The fireball ended up hitting the ground behind him, setting some of the grass on fire.
Refusing to allow Grim to set the whole school accidentally ablaze, Marie quickly darted over and stomped out the flame. Fortunately, the flames only covered a minuscule area; enough to put out with a few stomps. Although it did manage to burn her shoes a bit. Sighing in relief, she returned her attention to the cat and the redhead who were now arguing.
"Hey, watch what you're doing! You nearly set me on fire!" Ace yelled.
"Well, that's what you get for making fun of us!" Grim sneered on all fours, the hair on his back standing straight up and the flames in his ears flickering. "Now I'm going to light up that fire-head of yours!"
The ginger narrowed his eyes, twirling his magic pen in his hand a few times.
"Fire-head huh? Heeeeee. You've really got guts picking a fight with me." He flicked out his wrist, the red gem in his pen starting to glow brightly. "I'll turn you into a puffy, little toy poodle!"
"Grim, he's just a moron! Just let it go!" Marie yelled, hoping to still defuse the situation.
But her pleas fell upon deaf ears as Grim fired his flames toward the student. Ace had merely grinned, casting a wind spell and redirecting the fireball to the side. The teenage girl groaned in frustration. No matter how much she shouted, the two simply refused to stop fighting. Now she felt even more stupid for promising that the little monster would cause no more problems. It hasn't even been a day and he was already setting things on fire again. She was going to get in so much trouble if Crowley showed up and found them like this.
The only way the girl could think of stopping the fight was by picking up Grim and forcing him to leave. Sure it would risk her getting scorched, but what other choice did she have? Taking in a deep breath, she started dashing for Grim. In that instant, one of the redirected fireballs had nearly grazed her head. She could smell the singed tips of her hair.
"Ugh, that idiot is causing the flames to go all over the place! He's not even bothering to watch where he's deflecting them!"
As she sped toward Grim, the magical attacks manage to draw a crowd of curious students. They were all of different shapes and sizes. Some look like humans while some have animal features. One thing to note was that they were wearing different colored vests and bands around their arms. The boys cheered and hooted, growing excited at the fight, not really caring which side won. The cheers seemed to egg both Ace and Grim on, causing them to cast their spells more frequently.
Appalled by the crowd's reaction, Marie screeched to a stop and yelled "Stop encouraging them!"
Big mistake. Grim had blasted out a fireball, and while it had been meant for Ace, it was now soaring toward the teenage girl herself. "Fynaah?! Marie, watch out!" The girl managed to spot the danger, but there was no time for her to get out of the way. Surely it would hit her. Holding her breath, Marie squeezed her eyes shut, and raised her arms. She may still get burned, but at least she could try to protect her face. Suddenly, there was a gush of wind. It was so violent that it whipped around her hair and clothes.
"You idiot, are you trying to get yourself hurt?!" the familiar voice of Ace yelled.
Boom! The fireball that nearly hit her had made contact with something else from the sound of it. Yet, the question was what exactly? Lowering her arms, she was greeted with the sight of the now scorched Queen of Hearts statue. Her mouth hung ajar with her eyes wide as saucers. "Crap, crap, crap, crap!"
The crowd that had once surrounded them dispersed, different students yelling out in a panic. Who could blame them after all? Considering the importance of the statue itself.
"Aaaaaah! Crap!" Ace cried out, dashing over toward the monument. "'The Queen of Hearts' statue is charred!"
Grim merely glared at the fiery head, jabbing a paw out at him. "It's because you were blowing the fire around! You should have just let me fry you!"
Hearing this, the boy stared down at the cat and yelled "Why would anyone stand still to get torched?!"
The two continued to bicker, prompting Marie to groan in frustration. She had just about enough of this madness. She opened her mouth, ready to interject.
"Enough! What is going on here?!"
That wasn't her voice. Rather, that was the voice of someone she very much wished wasn't present. Swallowing her fears, she slowly turned around with her gaze tilted toward the ground. First was the royal blue shoes, a little higher was the black pants. Higher, the coat that hung around his shoulders like raven wings. Finally, her eyes made contact with yellow eyes that glowered behind the mask.
"Ack! Headmaster..." Ace stammered nervously, his body awkwardly stiff.
"He's gonna tie us up with the 'lash of love'! Let's get outta here!" Grim yelled.
The two tried to run, but before they could even take off, Crowley brought out his whip, and with a snap, the two were tied together with tears brimming in their eyes. Marie didn't exactly realize it last night due to her hiding, but the headmaster was quite swift with his whip. She hadn't even blinked and he had already ensnared the two troublemakers. Suddenly some of her boldness from earlier left and she dared not to move an inch. He may be a birdbrain, but he was a birdbrain currently holding a weapon.
"Fynahhh! It hurts even more the second time." the little monster cried.
"It'll be another hundred years before you can outrun me and my Lash of Love." the dean sneered. With a harsh yank, Ace and Grim were spun around as the whip was unwound from their bodies. "I thought I specifically told you not to cause any more trouble like yesterday! Yet both you and this troubling student here just go and char a statue of one of the Great Seven! I have half the mind to throw the two of you off the premises!"
"I told you Grim, you should have just ignored the idiot." Marie huffed.
Having heard her voice, Crowley turned toward her and pointed with one of his golden talons. "And as for you, Ms. Anderson, this is not how you supervise someone! Not only that, you managed to ruin the shoes I so graciously lent you. Stranded here or not, you have no excuse to destroy school property!"
The girl could only stammer in disbelief. She shook her head back and forth, trying to comprehend how she managed to get in trouble when she was following orders in the first place. "Why, why does this have to happen to me?" She didn't ask to be stuck in a different world and watching a walking flame hazard. First nearly being scorched alive, then being publicly humiliated by a mirror, then chased by ghosts, and now this. Will this world ever give her a break?
"Headmaster, please don't expel me! Anything but that." Ace pleaded, a few drops of sweat trailing down his brow.
Crowley's gaze narrowed at the student. His gold talons tapping against his crossed arms, doing a very poor job of hiding his anger.
"Young man, what's your name and grade?"
"Ace Trappola, first year." the boy muttered out, his head bowed slightly.
"Very well then, I can understand the habit of young ones getting into trouble. I shall let you all remain, for I am gracious. But I cannot ignore the damage you three caused, so as punishment the three of you are to clean 100 windows around campus."
100 windows?! Is the birdman out of his mind?! And why do she and Grim have to do it? Ace was the one who had burnt the statue. Sure it was Grim's fire, but the jerk was the one that redirected it into the statue. These were the type of thoughts that were racing through Marie's mind. But as much as she wanted to object to this, she knew it was pointless. All she could do was glare at Ace in annoyance. While Grim was part of the problem, she saw the teenage troublemaker as the source of the problem. After all, this whole mess wouldn't have happened if he hadn't been such a huge jerk to them.
"After school, I expect you three to immediately meet up at the cafeteria to start cleaning. Understand?"
The three sighed in unison, agreeing to Crowley's terms. Seeing this, the headmaster smiled, quite thrilled at how he handled the situation. And without another word, he turned on his heel, his cape swishing while doing so before leaving the area.
With the dean now gone, Ace let out a loud breath as he began to leave. He didn't bother to look back or make another remark to the duo.
"It's been nothing but misery since yesterday." Grim whined with his arms slouched.
"And it wouldn't be if you just ignored him like I told you to!"
The sun was at its peak in the sky as Marie and her furry companion made their way to the cafeteria. Both were completely exhausted, having to clean every inch of the main street. It even took some extra elbow grease to reverse the damage that had been done to the Queen of Hearts statue. And now instead of resting, they had to wash 100 windows. Once at their destination, Marie let out an exhausted groan, flopping down on one of the table benches and letting her head loll back. Meanwhile, Grim panted as he lay spread out on the girl's lap. His limbs hung uselessly and the fire in his ears was dim, barely even flickering.
"We've been cleaning all day and we still have to clean all those windows. Fynahh, I'm so beat."
"I know, Grim, but we really don't have a choice in the matter. The last thing we need is making Crowley angrier."
The cat whimpered at the still-fresh memory of the sting from the "Lash of Love".
"Look at it this way, until that jerk Ace gets here, we can get a bit of a breather."
"Nyeh, then I hope he takes his time."
5 minutes pass by.
Marie lifts up her head and looks around. So far she and Grim were still the only ones in the cafeteria. Maybe it was taking the boy a while, the campus was quite a decent size. For now, she's willing to let it slide.
10 minutes pass by.
Grim let out a yawn, stretching his back into a hump, the claws from his little paws flexed. With the shake of his head, he glanced up at Marie who was now tapping her fingers against the table in aggravation. Still no sign of Ace. He narrowed his blues eyes before jumping up on the table, trying to see if maybe he could catch sight of ginger hair. Marie didn't try to tell him that getting onto the table wouldn't make much of a difference. Climbing up a few feet wouldn't help him spot things he couldn't before.
"That Ace guy is sure taking his time." Grim commented, his tail slightly swaying. "Grrr. The thought of it makes me ticked."
"Well, he better be taking his sweet time. I swear if he's trying to skip out on us, I'm going to kill him."
20 minutes pass by.
A loud bang echoed as Marie kicked open the door and started running toward the main building whilst screaming "I'M GOING TO KILL HIM!"
Meanwhile, Grim was trying to keep up with her. Letting out loud pants with his blue eyes wide in panic. "Wait, hench- I mean, Marie! Wait for me! At least leave enough of him for me! Jeez, where was this speed yesterday?!"
Marie searched classroom after classroom. But unfortunately, she would either find empty ones, or the few that contained a small number of students ended up not having Ace. "Gryah! Where is that asshole! I'll wring his neck!" she seethed through her teeth.
Grim, having caught up, was letting out heaving breaths. His legs slid out from underneath him resulting in him plopping to the ground.
"Nyah, Marie, I'm tired. I need food!" he cried.
"Grim, you can eat after we find that prick! As soon as I get him, I am making him wash those windows by himself! And if he complains, I'll give him something to complain about!"
Suddenly a voice spoke up, "Oh, are you looking for someone?"
Like a switch had been flipped, the teenage girl blinked in confusion. Turning to her right, she saw the boy with white hair and red eyes from the entrance ceremony. Only he was no longer dressed in the ceremonial robes. Actually, it seemed he was barely wearing the school uniform. He had the vest and pants, but the rest was completely different. A long white coat hanging loosely around his body, a blue and yellow sash acting as a belt, and golden jewelry adorning his wrists and ankle. Even his purple turban was exchanged for a white one. His attire just seemed to radiate bright innocence.
The boy seemed surprised before exclaiming "Wait, I recognize you! You're the girl from the entrance ceremony!"
Marie's face blushed red in embarrassment. Now she was wishing she still was wearing her robe just so she could try to hide away in the hood. The boy let out laughter, causing her to feel even worse. "Here we go again, he's gonna mock me like Ace did." Suddenly, her hands were taken into the boy's own ones.
"I'm so glad you're still here!"
"H-huh?!"
Wait, he wasn't gonna mock her?
"I was worried they were gonna kick you out for not having magic and being a girl, but I think that's what's exciting about you! We never had anyone like that here before! You must be very special for the Dark Mirror to select you." he grinned.
Marie was baffled. The whole reason Crowley tried to send her home was that she was a magicless girl at an all-boys magical school. Not exactly one that meets the requirements. Yet here this boy, with a smile like sunshine, was excited by that prospect. A part of her felt bad at the thought of explaining that she was still there only because the Dark Mirror couldn't send her home. His smile was just too innocent, too naive.
"Ah, I forgot to introduce myself." He placed his hands on his hips, and continued "My name is Kalim Al-Asim, but you just call me Kalim." He let out a jingling laugh.
Yep, it was official, she couldn't tell him the truth. Doing so would just take away that smile. A smile that was too pristine. Like a stack of cards or fragile glass, it must be treated with care.
"Oh, I'm Marie Anderson, and the fuzzball here is Grim."
"Nyeh, I would argue with you, but I'm too hungry." the cat grumbled.
"Ah, I recognize him. He's the monster that caught my butt on fire." Kalim replied, not showing anger but rather smiling.
"Huh, considering I nearly got scorched, I'm having a hard time how he can say that with a smile."
"So, you said you were hungry? I actually have some snacks Jamil prepared for me."
As if his exhaustion was immediately forgotten, Grim quickly sprung up, his blue eyes brimming in excitement. Ah, as always, when it comes to accepting food, Grim will always take it. Sometimes Marie just has to wonder if his belly is just a giant void with how much he always wants to eat.
Reaching into the satchel at his side, he pulled out a white cloth and unwrapped it to reveal white rice cookies with black seeds in the center. Handing one to Grim, the cat didn't take more than a second to shove it into his mouth.
Upon consuming the cookie, Grim let out a happy "Mmmmm!" with his ears perked straight up.
"That was delicious! I want more!" the feline immediately begged.
Kalim chuckled before giving Grim two cookies this time. Turning toward Marie, he offered her two as well.
"Um thanks, but I feel bad about eating your food." the girl replied, gingerly accepting the gift.
"Don't worry about it. I have plenty of nanbrangi to share. Jamil always makes me so much food."
Marie let out a small giggle. Maybe the boy's kindness was rubbing off on her.
"By the way, you said you were looking for someone?" Kalim asked.
And in a snap, the happy moment is gone. Ace! The windows! The search! All these things came rushing back to the blonde. Instinctively her teeth clenched into a tight grin. The sight of her actually caused Kalim to look a bit worried. Okay, take in a deep breath. There was no sense to take it out on Kalim.
Having calmed down a bit, she answered "Actually, yes. We were looking for a guy with red hair and a heart painted over his left eye. Did you know where he might have gone?"
The boy took a moment in silence, briefly scratching his head. After a few seconds, he let out an "Ah." before flashing a bright grin.
"Right, Ace, I think he was headed for the Hall of Mirrors. It's on the south side of campus. You can get there by turning around and taking the door to your left. Follow the path and it should lead you there."
Marie couldn't help but fist pump in excitement. Now she had that jerk. Oh, he was in a world of so much pain. Quickly giving her thanks, she scooped up Grim in her arms and took off running down the hall. All the while the cat wriggled around in her grip, letting out complaints about still being hungry and wanting more of Kalim's cookies.
"Man, I'm exhausted. There's no way I'm cleaning 100 windows. I'm just gonna head on back to the dorm." he sighed as he entered the Hall of Mirrors.
He started heading for the mirror with stone playing cards surrounding it and a heart at the top. Yet something caused him to stop in his tracks. It was a small sound, making it quite hard to make out. Listening for a longer, the sound grew louder. Actually, it sounded like running along with screaming. Who the heck is the wacko speeding in his direction? Seeing no harm, he turned around. At that very instant, he regretted his decision. There was Marie charging toward him while angrily screaming his name. Crap.
"Get your butt over here so I can kick it!" the girl yelled.
Fearing both the girl's rage and the thought of cleaning, Ace ran toward the entrance. Maybe he can lose them in the main halls of the main building. On his way out, he roughly shoved a student with blue hair who happened to be entering to the side.
Having crossed the distance of a few feet, he heard Marie shout "Hey you there—don't let him get away!"
She must be calling out to the student he just shoved. Well doesn't matter, with his wind magic, he can easily dish out a counter for anything hurled at him. All he had to do was just keep running. He could make out the student mumbling something to himself. Meh, not important. Just gotta focus on getting away. Suddenly, the student finally shouted something. What was that? Something about heavy?
The last thing he heard was the sound of a spell being cast before being sent into a world of pain.
Marie slowed down to a stop and let out a snicker at the scene she had witnessed. She had watched Ace try to flee only to have a giant cauldron dropped on him. Now he was laying down in pain, pinned to the ground by the metal pot.
"Gyahahaha! He's as flat as a pancake underneath there! Pathetic!" Grim howled with laughter.
"A little exaggerated, but I get what you mean."
Setting Grim on the ground, she turned toward the student that helped them up.
"You really saved us a lot of trouble with that quick thinking there."
The boy upon seeing Marie did a double-take. Ah, he must have finally noticed she was the girl from the ceremony. Immediately, he coughed nervously and blushed. Wait, why is he blushing?
"I uh..." he paused to clear his throat, trying to look as stern as possible, "It was no problem." Though some of that stern faded when he muttered under his breath. "Still though, I didn't think I'd get a cauldron. Did I overdo it?"
Interestingly enough, what caught her eye was that he had a spade painted over his right eye. It was like a parallel to Ace's heart symbol. Perhaps it is a symbol of the dorm they're in? Well, no sense in pondering that. Right now, it was payback time. She reached down and pulled up Ace by his collar. The boy stared with wide eyes, muttering in shock at the fact her grip was extremely tight.
"Now, I didn't see it worth it the first time since I was trying to stay out of trouble. But now that you got me into this situation, you think I'm gonna let it slide that you tried to leave me and Grim with all the work? That answer is heck no!"
Without warning, she hooked her leg behind Ace's left leg, resulting in him falling backward with her on top of him. As soon as they hit the ground, she maneuvered her right leg underneath his arm whilst pulling on it, making it stretch into a painful pin. "Now are you gonna clean those windows or am I gonna have to pull harder?"
"Ah, that hurts!" the boy hissed, "You know you could have cleaned those 100 windows in a flash if you just left me alon—" He was cut off with a yelp as Marie pulled his arm even further.
"Wiping 100 windows as punishment... what in the world did you all do?" the other student questioned.
Distracted by the question, the girl released her hold. Now free, Ace wriggled out from underneath her, making sure to make some distance to avoid getting pinned again. He groaned as he rotated his arm in big circles. "I got into a fight with the furball and ended up charring the Queen of Hearts' statue a bit." he stated casually as if it were an everyday occurrence.
The bluenet was taken back with his teal eyes wide. He stammered in disbelief at the behavior the two caused on their first day at school. Great, first Crowley, now this guy. Now Marie understood the statue was very important, the name "The Great Seven" is a pretty huge indicator. Still, she wished that people would just cut her some slack. She hasn't been there for more than a day and already she has to deal with this. Looking over at Ace, he seemed to agree if his angry glare was anything to go by. Huh, how ironic. There was something she could finally agree on with him.
"Sh-shuddup." the fiery boy grumbled as he stood back up, "Who are you anyway?"
The student sighed with his arms crossed. "I'm Duece. Duece Spade. The least you could do is remember your classmate's name." But the exasperation faded as his brows furrowed, with his nose screwed tightly. Clearly, he was intensely trying to recall something. "Umm..."
Ace gave a deadpan look as he said "You don't remember my name either."
"Ugh, that's not important right now." Marie cut in, getting off of the ground, "Now Ace, you're going to help us clean those windows even if I have to drag you there myself."
"She's uh..." Deuce began, but paused, prompting the girl to supply her name, "Thank you. Marie is right. If the headmaster ordered you to do this, then you better take it seriously."
The hotheaded boy let out a groan, partially annoyed and defeated. "Fine, let's get it over with." But suddenly, he looked confused as he scanned the area. "Speaking of which, where did the furball go?"
Marie's body stiffened. Grim, she had completely forgotten about him! She had set him on the ground before pinning Ace in her hold and... A light bulb had instantly gone off. That was her big mistake. She had set Grim down. Slowly looking further down the path, she spotted the cat grinning mischievously whilst waving his paws.
"Heh heh! Better get to cleaning those windows! See ya!"
"GRIM!" the sandy-blonde shrieked.
Oh, she was not thrilled to go on yet another wild goose chase. As soon as she got her hands on him, she intended to turn him into her own personal throw rug. With her anger reignited, she sped off after the feline.
Ace and Deuce simply looked at each other and shrugged before following in quick pursuit.
"Grim, get back here right now!" Marie's yell echoed throughout the cafeteria.
She and the two boys accompanying her managed to chase the cat across the schoolyard, and straight back to the place they were supposed to be in the first place. Grim scampered up onto one of the tables and began leaping from one to the other. This prompted the three to split up, each trying to catch him in their own way. Ace blasted roaring gusts of winds from his magic pen, hoping maybe he could sweep the little monster up the breeze. Unfortunately, Grim easily dodged while snickering. Racing over to the other side of the cafeteria, Grim found Deuce blocking his path.
Having a steady grip on his magic pen, he fired a few waterballs at the mischievous feline. Grim managed to avoid a few, but the last one hit him in the back. "Fynah! That's cold!" he whined, shaking out his fur as he continued scampering from table to table.
"Crap! He's darting around everywhere!" Ace grumbled.
Grim was now running atop the tables on the outer row. With no magic of her own to use, Marie tried to take advantage of this. She swiped her arms at the cat, desperately trying to seize him. Unfortunately, Grim swiftly leaped over her arms and onto a rope tied to a hook on the wall. He climbed up it until he ended up at the top of the large chandelier. The trio of teens was treated with snickers and laughter.
"Grim, so help me, I will make you sleep with the ghosts tonight for this." Marie snarled in annoyance.
"Kuh, getting on the chandelier is such an underhand move. We haven't learned the magic to fly yet..." Deuce frowned. He let out a quiet hum in thought.
Marie bit her lip, trying to think of a way to get Grim down. Maybe she could untie the rope? No, it was much too short for her to be able to lower it to safety. Doing so would just result in it crashing to the ground, and the last thing she needs is more school property destroyed. Maybe she could lure him down with food? That always seemed to work. Then again, she couldn't just take food from the cafeteria without permission and trying to get one of the staff would just give Grim enough time to slip away. She let out a sigh with her shoulders slumped. Hmm, maybe Deuce had an idea? He seemed to be mumbling to himself for quite some time the girl noticed.
"Ah, I got it!" the boy suddenly gasped out.
Without warning, he pointed his magic pen toward Ace who seemed distracted with his own thoughts. Sparkles surrounded the ginger's body, and within an instant, he was lifted up into the air.
"Whhhhhhhaaaaaaa! What the hell are you doing?!" he yelled with his limbs flailing around.
"I'm going to throw you at him. Now you be sure to catch him, ya hear?" Deuce replied.
"Ummm, I'm not sure if this is a good idea." Marie commented, nervously eyeing the two teens and the chandelier. "Maybe we should think of something else."
But the student did not respond, as he seemed too determined to hear her concerns. Taking in a deep breath, he plunged his arm forward and sent Ace flying. The teen screamed, sailing toward the ceiling piece. Grim let out a surprised yelp before getting flattened by the incoming boy seconds later. The chandelier creaked under the weight and swung wildly back and forth. Snap! Within a blink of an eye, the chandelier crashed to the ground and shattered.
"T-the chandelier!" Marie cried out in horror!
Ace coughed as he pulled himself from the wreckage, leaving a dazed Grim on the ground. With his teeth clenched, he grabbed Deuce by the collar.
"ARE YOU AN IDIOT?!" he screamed.
The boy with the spade narrowed his gaze before harshly yanking Ace's hands away by the wrists. "I didn't think you would've landed on the chandelier! I thought you would've gone over it!"
"Will you two stop arguing, we're dead if Crowley finds out about this!" Marie interjected. They had to hurry and clean up before...
"If I find out what?" a familiar voice spoke.
The girl felt her heart stop. Slowly turning around, there was none other than the headmaster of the school glaring at them.
