16
Camelot High: The Knight of Detention
Chapter I: A Villainous Plot
Lightning flashed through the window, illuminating the crowded and lively hallway with an eerie white glow. Arthur was walking with his friends through the hallway, enjoying the time before classes started. By his side were two of his most treasured companions, Kay and his girlfriend Guinevere. They were just idly chatting when suddenly they heard a mischievous voice speak up from behind them.
"Hey nerds, I bet you noticed that some of your friends are missing." It was Meleagant, the school's most vile bully. He was well known for causing a lot of trouble, and he seemed to love to pick on Arthur and his friends especially. Arthur looked around at the group surrounding him and he did notice some of the usual faces weren't there.
"Alright Meleagant, I will hear you out. What did you do with them?" he asked. Meleagant smirked forebodingly.
"As if the answer would come that easy. Tell you what, come to the back of the school tonight with your new girlfriend and I'll tell you what happened to them. You have to be alone though or I won't say anything." Arthur sighed.
"As much as I would like to play your little game, I have a test I need to study for tomorrow so I have no time to spare tonight."
"Well then, looks like you're not getting anything then. But just in case you change your mind, I'll be waiting." He winked, then walked away cackling. Kay was the first person who spoke up.
"Curse that Meleagant! Tell you what Arthur, why don't I take Guinevere and go after him tonight instead." Arthur shook his head.
"Stop Kay, he's obviously trying to rile us up, they're probably perfectly fine."
"Arthur, it's not just about the missing people. We have to stand up for ourselves! It's only because you're so complacent that he keeps on bullying us. Come on Guinevere, if Arthur won't go then we will and put them in their place." Guinevere looked at Arthur apologetically.
"I hate to say it but I think Kay is right this time, we can't keep letting them tread all over us," she said softly. Arthur looked between them and thought carefully.
"Alright, fine. Go if you must but please be careful…" he said, worriedly.
Kay and Guinevere approached the back of the school in the dim evening light. The storm was over by now, but the ground was soaked and the air humid. The large shadow created by the building gave the area an ominous feeling.
"Kay, are you sure we should be going in alone?" Guinevere asked, hopping over a puddle.
"Don't worry, I may not be as strong as Gawain but I can certainly take down somebody as scrawny as Meleagant with no problem. Besides, it wouldn't have the same effect if we brought other people because we agreed for it to be a one on one fight." She didn't say anything, but her worried expression lifted a bit. They passed some dumpsters which were letting off a particularly foul odor.
"Where are they? I hope they didn't chicken out." Kay complained idly. Suddenly a wicked voice responded from behind the corner.
"Actually, it looks like the only chicken here is Arthur for sending a cronie in his stead." Meleagant and five of his other goons popped out behind the corner, all clutching various weapons. Kay glanced between them, realizing that he had made a mistake.
"I'm assuming your friends aren't just here to cheer from the sidelines," he asked sarcastically. Meleagant grinned nefariously.
"Hand over the girl and you will walk away without a scratch." Guinevere slunked behind Kay, who reached over to pick up a stray lead pipe hanging out of the garbage can.
"I may of been stupid for believe you would fight fairly, but I'm not a coward!" he screamed, charging towards them.
Gawain turned the corner of the school building out of breath. It was night time and the perimeter of the school was illuminated only by the dim street lights surrounding it.
"Arthur was a fool for only sending Kay," he said to himself. He heard the news when he and Arthur were texting earlier and rushed to the scene as fast as he could. He knew that a fight would not go well with just Kay, who had a tendency to overestimate his strength.
He took out his phone and turned on the flashlight to investigate. Suddenly he noticed something glistening red up ahead. He rushed up to find several blood stains and a pipe laying on the ground, caked with blood. He bent over and touched the red stains and lifted up his hand to look at his fingers. A deep scarlet now coated the tips.
"This is fresh, and judging by Kay's absence it is probably his," he said gloomily. Suddenly he heard footsteps approaching from the woods. Gawain picked up the pipe, ignoring the warm blood still on it and turned towards the noise, raising his weapon. Ready to strike, he took several slow steps forwards, but paused when a shady figure emerged into the light.
"You…'re Arth..ur's friend ri..ght?" the man asked, panting between words.
"Yes, I am Gawain. Who are you and do you happen to know what happened here?" he replied. The man took a few seconds to better catch his breath.
"I'm Lancelot, and yes I saw what happened. I stayed late to study in the library when I heard a scream from the back. But by the time I made it back here, it was too late. I just barely managed to catch a glimpse of them taking Guieneve and another guy into the woods. I ran after them and searched everywhere for what felt like hours but they seemed to just disappear."
Gawain narrowed his eyes. He recognized Lancelot, as he has had several classes with him in the past. He was always quiet, but got really good grades. It seemed unlikely that such a good student would be working with Meleagant in that regard.
"I will trust what you say Lancelot. Well if you couldn't find them earlier then there's no point in looking for them in the darkness. I will text Arthur and we will come up with a plan tomorrow. But for now let's call it a night." Lancelot nodded, and they parted ways.
Chapter II: Honorable Sacrifice
Next morning Arthur, Gawain and his other friends were all huddled around in the hallway, which was as crowded as always. "Are they really gone? Arthur whispered.
"Yes, I'm sorry I wasn't the one to face them" Gawain responded.
"No, this is my fault. I shouldn't have let Kay go alone in the first place. But what's done is done, we need a plan. First things first, we need to face Melegant himself, but I have yet to see him this morning. He is probably trying to avoid us intentionally."
Gawain pondered. "Maybe we can search for him after school. If we stay at the entrance of the school, surely we will see him leave." Suddenly Lancelot came up behind them.
"It won't work, he surely knows what we're thinking and will find another way out."
Gawain, who saw Arthur taken back by the sudden appearance of a stranger, explained "Ah, this is Lancelot. He was the one who saw them get taken last night but unfortunately wasn't able to pursue them. He's trustworthy. Anyways, do you have a better plan then?" Lancelot nodded.
"Meleagant always spends the last period in detention because of his antics, so what if I simply get in detention on purpose so I can confront him there?" Gawain shook his head.
"Detention is a serious punishment that can affect your school record, there's got to be a better way" Arthur nodded in agreement.
"I am honored that you would go that far to help them, but I can't allow you to do that."
Just then Mr. Merlin, the magic teacher, walked by. Lancelot hesitated a second then turned to him and yelled "Hey gramps, can you give me a lesson on the dinosaurs? You know, since I'm sure you saw them in person." Mr. Merlin turned towards him fuming. Steam was coming out his ears, but Lancelot didn't think it was from one of his spells.
"Lancelot! What has come over you. I hope you enjoyed your little stunt because you're going to spend the last period in detention!" Then he stormed away muttering something about "kids these days." Arthur and Gawain were stunned.
"I can't believe you did that, that was a foolish thing to do. Especially considering how many people witnessed that. You will most likely be the talk of the school for the rest of the day." Gawain said. Lancelot looked at the ground.
"Yes it was dishonorable, but it was worth it for the safety of Guinevere."
Chapter III: Blazing Omen
The morning bell rang and Arthur's group of friends disbanded. Lancelot and Gawain so happened to have the first period, history together. Gawain took a seat on the far side of the class next to the window, and Lancelot went to sit behind him. Suddenly a beautiful maiden backed by two other girls stopped him
"Lancelot, right? I heard about how you insulted that teacher. What a stupid thing to do, especially in front of half the school." Lancelot stared back, unwavered.
"I did what I must. Is that all you wanted?" She shook her head.
"While I would love to tease you all day, I did have something else to tell you. You must not sit at that desk behind Gawain. I know you want to sit there, however you simply cannot." Lancelot was perplexed.
"Why? Were you going to sit there?"
"No, I shall not and you will not either, especially considering how stupid you've acted today. And you will not question why, just know that if you do sit there something bad will happen to you."
Lancelot dismissed her warnings and proceeded to sit down at the desk anyway because he wanted to sit next to Gawain. The teacher gestured for the class to quiet down and began his lesson
"Everyone turn to page 78, today we will be learning about Uther Pendragon…"
Lancelot put his head down on the desk. He was very tired, after he got home from the incident yesterday he had trouble falling asleep. What if Guinevere was in danger? He would never forgive Meleagant if he hurt her. Before he knew it he dozed off. He was having a sweet dream about his beloved when a large thud and blistering heat awoke him.
His head shot up, only to be greeted by a pencil shrouded in fire embedded in the desk, and several blood drops from where it grazed his arm. He jumped out of his chair, ran to the fire extinguisher in the back of the classroom and quickly went back to the desk that was now completely in flames. He sprayed it all over until it was well extinguished. The entire class was in awe, not sure what just happened. Lancelot went to the desk and pulled the pencil out, then sat back in it, ignoring the foam coated it in several places.
"Please continue" Lancelot said, breaking the silence.
The class continued as normal, or at least as normal as it could have considering the situation. Lancelot, now wide awake, opted to stare out the window rather than pay attention to the boring class that he already studied ahead for. He was watching the people walk on the pathway below, when he noticed something strange. One of the people looked familiar, and suddenly he realized it was Guinevere! He sat up and turned towards the window, reaching towards the latches at the top to unlock it and then pulled it up, letting in the chilly air. Gawain, distrubed by the commotion, turned around towards him.
"What do you think you're doing?!" Lancelot was already climbing up in his chair, getting ready to jump.
"Look, Guinevere is outside, this is our chance!" Gawain looked back at him appalled.
"You do know we are on the third story right? How do you plan on even surviving that fall?" Lancelot, now realizing his blunder, sunk back into his chair. The beautiful maiden, who was sitting nearby, laughed.
"You might as well jump, idiot! This is the second time you've done something stupid today, you're on a roll." Lancelot quickly closed the window and realized that his actions had drawn the attention of the entire class once again. Lancelot, now feeling a sense of deja vu, sighed.
"Sorry for my interruption, please continue..."
Chapter IV: The Favor
Lancelot left the class very embarrassed. Gawain comforted him.
"Don't worry man, I'm sure everyone will forget about it before you even know it." Lancelot perked up a bit.
"You're right, it's all for the sake of Guinevere anyways." Gawain patted him on the back then said farewell as he parted ways, going to his next class. Lancelot, now alone, walked through the hallways when suddenly an underclassman girl stopped him.
"Hey Lancelot, I heard about what happened to Guinevere, and happen to know a bit of information about Meleagrance that may help." Lancelot looked at her suspiciously.
"What's in it for you?" The girl smirked.
"Straight to business are we? I don't want anything special, just a favor. If I ever request anything in the future you must do it, promise?" Lancelot sighed and replied reluctantly.
"Fine, I promise." The girl beamed.
"Okay, I'm friends with a lot of people and one of those people has connections with Meleagant, so I've heard my fair share about him. The first thing you need to know is that he is part of a gang named Gorre. They're a fairly secretive bunch that usually aren't too rash, this incident is definitely an exception. The leader is somebody named Bademagu. He's an upperclassman so I doubt you have seen him." Lancelot paused for a second to take in what she said.
"This is becoming quite the issue. Are you saying I will have to face his entire gang to get back Guinevere?" The girl shook her head.
"Not necessarily. While Bademagu is a gang leader, he is surprisingly honorable from what I've heard. It would be unusual for him to kidnap somebody, so it was probably Meleagant's plan to begin with. If you manage to impress him then he might take a liking to you and you might be able to persuade him to make Meleagant let her go." Lancelot considered what she said.
"That's certainly an option." She pulled out her phone to check the time.
"Well I have to get to class, don't forget your promise though" she said with a wink. Lancelot rolled his eyes and continued through the hallway.
He was walking deep in thought while thinking about how beautiful Guinevere was, and suddenly bumped into somebody outside the door for his next class. The tall, broad shouldered person staggered a bit and dropped the books he was holding. Lancelot quickly apologized and squatted down to pick up what he dropped but the man just stood there, peering down angrily.
"You think this is funny, don't you? I've heard about you and your prank from earlier, I'm not going to let you harass me too!" Lancelot took a step back, holding his hands up.
"I'm sorry, I was honestly completely lost in thought and didn't see you." The man laughed.
"Tell you what, we have a test today in this class right? You get a higher grade than me and I'll forget about this incident."
"If that's what it takes for you to accept my apology then, sure I will accept your challenge." The man smiled deviously.
"Okay, but let's make it interesting and raise the stakes a bit. Whoever loses has to pull down their pants and keep them down on the entire way to their next class." Lancelot grinned.
"Sure I will accept your challenge, immature as it is."
Luckily for Lancelot, the next class is math, which is his best class. He sat down and the teacher passed out the test. He stared down at the paper "What is cos(π)?" Easy, -1. "What is d/dx[x^2]..." He wrote all the answers using the pencil that he got earlier. While he has never been one to be superstitious, he felt a connection with the pencil since it almost cost him his life. He glanced over at the man from earlier to see him paused and sweating a bit. The man looked back at Lancelot for a second and then quickly returned to his paper to jot some stuff down. Lancelot could swear that he was just pretending to write. Lancelot looked back down at his test and continued to answer the questions flawlessly. At the end of the class, the teacher rounded the classroom to collect the test. He used his magic grader to quickly return the results.
"Well good job everyone, the average was an 83 this time, 10 points higher than last time. And congratulations to Lancelot for being the only one to get a perfect score!"
"So, are you ready to humiliate yourself?" Lancelot said. He waited outside of the classroom, leaning against the doorway waiting for the man. He wasn't getting away with his arrogance from earlier. The man had a very defeated look on his face. He sagged his hands to his waist and began to unbuckle his belt when suddenly they heard a small voice speak up beside them.
"What are you doing babe?" They both turned to see the underclassman girl Lancelot ran into earlier. Lancelot looked between them confusedly.
"You two know each other?" She laughed.
"He's my boyfriend, of course I know him. So do you want to tell me why you look like you are about to take off your pants?" she asked, turning to him. His cheeks grew red and he explained what had happened. She shook her head, disappointedly.
"Well then, I hope you learned your lesson you fool." She turned to Lancelot. "It looks like I will be using my favor a bit earlier than anticipated. Please excuse him from his punishment."
"Only if he apologizes." The girl stared daggers into her sweetheart, who looked at Lancelot guiltily.
"I'm sorry," he said quietly.
Chapter V: Unrequited Love
Lancelot was making his way to the cafeteria when a damsel stopped him. She was stunningly beautiful, but it was nothing compared to Guinevere's paralyzing beauty.
"Hello, I was wondering if you wanted to eat with me during lunch." Lancelot was suspicious of her.
"I prefer to eat alone," he told her.
"Please Lancelot, I'll be lonely if you don't eat with me." She gave him a very pleading look.
"Fine, let's go then." She smiled and turned around to walk towards the cafeteria. They chose a spot on the far end of the cafeteria that was somewhat secluded. She pulled out a lunch bag out of her backpack.
"I see you made your own lunch." She grinned.
"As if I could eat what they serve here." Lancelot nodded his head in agreement.
"I agree, however I rarely have time to prepare one. So here I am having to suffer." He shook his head in disappointment and left her to get his lunch at the serving area. He got his lunch and while he was walking back with his cardboard pizza he saw a man walking up to the damsel. Lancelot approached slowly so as not to alert the man and eavesdropped on what he said.
"Hey pretty, since you brought you lunch I guess you won't be needing your lunch money." The man said.
"Fool, since I always bring my lunch I don't have any to begin with. Now leave before I get angry." The man grinned.
"Now now, don't get mad. Girls like you don't look pretty when they're angry," and he began to lean towards her with his hands out. "I'm sure you have something else I can take." he said mischievously.
Lancelot couldn't bear to watch anymore, he ran forward and slugged the guy in the cheek. The man was knocked down by the force, and slowly sat up and rubbed his face. A light bruise was already forming where he rubbed.
"MAN that hurt" he complained. The damsel giggled.
"Well it looked like you passed the test, Lancelot."
Lancelot was very confused. "What's going on?" he asked.
"You see, this man here that you so gracefully humbled is actually my close friend. I was looking for a new friend to make and you caught my attention. However, I wanted to make sure that the rumors of you being a dishonorable fool weren't true, so we came up with a little plan to see if you were worthy of being friends with in the first place. Needless to say, you passed the test with flying colors." Lancelot shook his head.
"That was quite the plan just to make a new friend." The damsel looked to the side, embarrassed.
"To be completely honest, I'm really interested in you Lancelot." She took a step towards him, but he backed up.
"I apologize for breaking your heart, however I am already deeply in love with another woman. Nothing good will come from pursuing me," he said tenderly. She sighed.
"I feared as much, so at least I prepared to be disappointed. Please at least be my friend though." Lancelot thought for a second.
"Alright, fine. But don't pull any more stunts like this." He said, looking between her and the man.
Chapter VI: An Arrogant Challenge
They finished their lunch and were about to head to their next class. The damsel asked if she could join him as they walked to the next class since it was nearby and he agreed. On the way there the damsel noticed a notebook laying on the ground ahead. She squinted and saw a name written on the cover. "Guinevere," it said. The damsel spun around towards Lancelot and whispered to him.
"Hey, the way up ahead looks really crowded, let's go a different way" and she grabbed his arm and walked in the opposite direction. Lancelot didn't resist at first, but then he realized that the way ahead was the only way to even get to his next class. He planted his feet firmly, causing them to stop.
"Stop, it's not that bad. Besides, this is the only way we can get to our next classes." She looked at him beggingly.
"There's something I want to show you but it's the other way though!" Lancelot shook his head.
"We've wasted enough time, class is about to begin." He turned around and started walking ahead. She ran up beside him looking for a way to distract him. Suddenly Lancelot saw the notebook. He walked up to it and bent over to pick it up, noticing Guinevere's name. A deep emotion suddenly welled up inside of him, and he clutched his chest. He began to lean forward. The damsel, who thought he was about to fall lunged forward to catch him, but then hesitated for a moment. It was too late, Lancelot already noticed the gesture.
"What are you doing? I'm fine…" he asked suspiciously. She stood back up and held her hands behind her back.
"Oh I just saw the notebook too and wanted to pick it up. Great minds think alike, you know? But anyways, is it true that you love Guinevere?"
"Yes, with all my heart." She sighed.
"Well it looks like I really won't have much of a chance." She said disappointedly. He handed her the notebook, after pulling a golden strand of hair stuck into the metal spiral that bound the book.
"Could you hold on to this for me? I don't have room in my bag for it."
"Alright," she agreed, and they continued on their way.
Right as they were about to part ways for their next class, a man came up behind them.
"Who do you think you are?" he asked, staring menacingly at Lancelot. Lancelot wasn't sure how to answer.
"What do you mean? I am just minding my own business, what do you want with me?"
"Minding your own business?! Do you know who you're walking with? I've had my eyes set on her forever now and you think you can just enjoy her company whenever?" he asked even more furiously than before. The damsel sighed.
"Go away, we both know I've rejected you countless times."
"That doesn't mean you can just go be with some other man while I'm trying to court you!" He turned his attention back towards Lancelot. "I challenge you to a duel." The damsel turned to Lancelot.
"I know this is a lot to ask, but can you fight him for me? If you win, surely he won't harass me in the future." Lancelot looked at the time. He was probably going to be late if he accepted the challenge, but he didn't want to disappoint his new friend.
"Fine, but we can't battle here. It's too crowded," Lancelot said.
"Then let's go to the courtyard, there's plenty of space there," the man replied.
As they walked to the courtyard with the man and the damsel, Lancelot got many mean glares. Several people scoffed at him, calling him a coward and a fool. He was beginning to grow frustrated over the negative publicity he had gained this morning, but he just had to be patient. They walked out into the courtyard, the bright afternoon sun blinding Lancelot momentarily.
"Let's end this quickly." Lancelot said, holding up a hand to shield his eyes. Another person came up to the man.
"What're you doing bro?" he asked. Apparently it was his friend. The challenger laughed.
"Check out this hot babe I've scored, she's way prettier than your girlfriend." The other man laughed in response.
"I don't know about that mate, but don't you still have to deal with this lad before you get her?" he asked curiously.
"He won't even put up a fight," he responded confidently. Suddenly the door slammed open. "Hey you! This is the fourth time in a row you've skipped my class," said a woman that Lancelot recognized as a teacher. She was marching towards the challenger, who was holding up his hands.
"I'm sorry, it won't happen again, miss," he said, his voice stuttering.
"You bet it won't because I'm going to drag you back to class if that's what it takes."
"But-"
"That's it!" she yelled and came up to him, grabbed his ear and started pulling him towards the door.
"OUCH, that hurts miss!"
"Well remember that next time you skip my class to harass someone." She stormed off, with the challenger in tow.
"I guess we should probably get to class then, huh Lancelot?" the damsel asked, breaking Lancelot out of his shock over what just happened.
"Yeah let's go. That was certainly interesting."
Chapter VII: The Sealed Book
After his class, Lancelot decided to go to the library since there was a decent amount of time to kill before his next class. He debated about waiting for the damsel, but decided he wanted some time alone to think. He enjoyed going to the library because it was usually empty of people and quiet. As he walked through the front door, he noticed a new featured section towards the front. He walked up to it and examined it. It was a shelf that had a large amount of books on it, all labeled alphabetically. What was odd is that they all appeared to have the names of students on the spines. He recognized several, particularly Gawain and Kay's. Suddenly he heard a raspy voice speak from behind him.
"I see you've noticed our newest section, Lancelot." It was the librarian. Since Lancelot spent so much time in the library, it was natural that he and the librarian were good friends.
"What is this, old man?" The librarian laughed.
"It's a new thing we're doing where we make a small book for each one of our top graduates. Even though some of these people have a long time before their final year, they take a lot of time to print so we decided to make them in advance."
"Ah I see, but what's the deal with that one?" Lancelot asked, pointing towards a book on the bottom shelf that he noticed earlier. It was significantly bigger than the others, and has a much more elaborate design on the spine. However it was unlabeled, unlike the rest.
"That one was originally going to be for the valedictorian, but the book maker made a mistake when printing it." He leaned down and pulled it from the shelf. He put his hands on each of the covers and pried as hard as he could, but the book showed no sign of opening.
"I don't know what went wrong, but it's simply impossible to open. I figure I'd leave it on the shelf while we wait for a new one at least. There's a joke going around between the teachers and staff that whoever manages to open the book will be the honorary valedictorian." He said, laughing. Lancelot laughed with him.
"Well then, let me have a crack at it," Lancelot said jokingly.
The librarian handed him the thick volume with a smile on his face. Lancelot, wanting to see for himself how stuck together it was first pulled from the cover like anybody would when opening a book. To his complete shock, it opened without any resistance. Even more shocked than Lancelot was the librarian, whose mouth practically hit the floor.
"How did you… What…" he sputtered.
"I… I don't know, I just opened like normal and sure enough it didn't give any trouble." Realization gleamed in the librarian's eyes.
"Well I guess it isn't just a joke then. I really think that you will be the valedictorian!" he exclaimed. Lancelot laughed.
"Now now, I don't think being able to open a book is really a good gauge of one's intelligence." But the librarian looked unconvinced.
"Give me it back," he said. Lancelot handed him back the book, and once again the librarian tried to open it to no avail.
"This is a miracle!" he said. "I have to go tell the other teachers about this!" and he ran off before Lancelot could even respond.
Little did Lancelot know that the damsel saw the entire scene from behind a bookshelf. After her class ended, she went searching for Lancelot and just so happened to see him heading to the library. That wasn't the only person she met though, she also met the challenger from before who got chewed out by the teacher. He looked furious, but luckily it distracted him from his usual passion for the damsel.
"Where is he?" he asked.
"Follow me and you may find out!" she yelled, running after Lancelot. The challenger followed her and they silently walked into the library and hid behind a bookshelf while Lancelot was talking with the librarian.
"What're they talking about?" the challenger whispered.
"Shh! Be quiet and listen!" she whispered back angrily. They heard the old librarian explain the new display and the sealed book. Then they saw Lancelot open it and they were also shocked.
"No way… he's gonna be the valedictorian?" he said solemnly. "I guess there's no way I can beat someone like him after all." Even sadder than him was the damsel.
"He's too good for me. There's no way I could date the valedictorian." She sighed. "I guess someone as perfect as Guinevere is destined to be with him after all." She looked at the man apologetically. "I'm sorry, I turned you down several times but honestly it was because I was so infatuated with Lancelot. I didn't even consider your feelings" The challenger shook his head.
"No it's me who should apologize. I was way too overbearing towards you, and honestly just a jerk in general. The teacher gave me a harsh lecture after class and I realized she's right." She smiled at him sadly, then reached in for an embrace. The challenger accepted it, and they spent the rest of the time between classes in each other's arms.
Chapter VIII: Detention
After a long day of anticipation, it was finally time to go to detention. The rest of Lancelot's classes went smoothly, with the exception of an arrogant student who challenged him during PE. Lancelot defeated him easily in four square, but he still didn't accept defeat. In order to get him to stop, he had a rematch with him where he stood perfectly still as a handicap. Despite the odds against him, Lancelot still has the overwhelming victory and the man finally submitted.
Lancelot was disappointed that he would have to skip his last class, which he enjoyed but it was worth it. As he walked towards the detention room, the remote hallway seemed to get more ominous the further he went, almost as if the building itself was aware of the sins he had committed. Before he knew it he was standing in front of the rickety door, worn over the years but neglected to be replaced. He opened it with a loud creek and was confronted to a cramped and gloomy room. He looked around to see several people huddled around looking back at him, but didn't see a teacher. On the whiteboard against the wall adjacent to the door, he noticed some writing in big letters.
"THE TEACHER WILL BE GONE FOR THE FIRST 15 MINUTES, BE GOOD," it read.
"Well look who we have here," a snarky voice said. It was Meleagant, who had several other people around him. Based on what the girl said earlier, it was most likely the Gorre gang.
"I saw you last night. Too bad you were too much of a fool to find us. I knew you were stupid, but then you went and insulted a teacher? That's eve-" he was cut off suddenly by the man next to him, who held out his hand in front of Meleagant.
"That's enough Meleagant, I think there's more to this kid that meets the eye." He peered intently at him, almost as if he was analyzing Lancelot's soul.
"My name is Bademagu, which I'm sure you know already. I apologize for this one's behavior," he said, staring daggers at Meleagant who was now cowering away. "I know someone like you who is well merited in all of his classes wouldn't be foolish enough to insult a teacher without reason. Is it true that you did it just so you could meet us here?"
Lancelot nodded.
"Well lad, you're definitely a brave one. Tell you what, I'll give the teacher who's in charge of detention a good word for you, and maybe he won't put it on your permanent record. I have a pretty good connection with him so maybe he will be nice." Lancelot dipped his head.
"I appreciate the gesture, however that is not what I came here for. I came for Guinevere, who Meleagant stole away." Bademagu looked down.
"While I didn't approve of Meleagant's actions, my honor is towards my gang first and foremost. So I won't make Meleagant return her. You will have to sort that out with him and him alone." Lancelot turned towards Meleagant.
"So what's it going to take? Because I will beat you up and all your friends here if that's what it takes." Meleagant cackled.
"Please, that would be a very boring battle for both of us, considering how much you're outnumbered. How about we make this more interesting. You know there is a spelling bee tonight, right?"
"Yes…" Lancelot said suspiciously.
"Why don't we duke it out there instead. I might be stupid in a lot of subjects, but English is not one. Now for the terms. If I win, you must personally denounce Arthur and his friends tomorrow in front of as many people as possible. He was the one I was originally wanting to target anyways."
"And if I win?" Lancelot replied unwavered. Meleagant rolled his eyes.
"Well if the stars align and you just so happen to win, I guess I will return Guinevere to you and Arthur." Lancelot smirked.
"So be it, I accept your challenge." Just then there was a loud creak and the teacher walked in.
"What're you guys doing? Don't you know there's a no talking policy here! Everyone, back to their desks and I want complete silence!" he yelled.
Chapter IX: Apotheosis
Lancelot walked up onto the stage nervously. The spelling bee was taking place in the school's auditorium, and the audience was packed. Lancelot saw many people he recognized, such as Arthur and Gawain, who smiled and waved. He looked back towards the stage to see a row of ten chairs set up. He sat down in the one furthest from Meleagant, who was seated on the far right. Meleagant gave him a wicked smirk. As the rest of the seats were finally filled, the principal of the school came up on stage and tapped on the mic a few times.
"Testing, testing. Hello ladies and gentlemen and welcome to Camelot High's 20th annual spelling bee! Today we have ten brilliant young students who will compete by spelling out words to earn a prize," he said, waving his hand towards the people on the stage. The audience gave a deafening round of applause.
"Now let's get this started!" he said once the audience died down. "Let's see here, starting from the right, please spell 'repugnant'." Meleagant stood up, full of swagger.
"R-E-P-U-G-N-A-N-T," he spelled out.
"Correct! Next person…" Lancelot grimaced. This wasn't going to be easy.
The spelling bee continued on for another half an hour until it was only Meleagant and Lancelot left. The words had been getting progressively harder and harder. Now even Lancelot didn't recognize some of them, so he would have to get lucky if he was going to win. It was Meleagant's turn
"Please spell 'rancorous'."
"R-A-N-C-O-R-O-U-S."
"Correct!" He turned towards Lancelot. "Please spell 'philanthropic'."
"P-H-I-L-A-N-T-H-R-O-P-I-C."
"Good! Please spell 'flagitious'." Meleagant hesitated for a moment.
"F-L-A-G-I-T-I-O-U-S."
"Awesome!" The principal took a second to read through his list. "Why don't we kick it up a notch? Please spell 'archaeopteryx'." Uh-oh, Lancelot thought. He was drawing a blank. He looked up towards the crowd. He saw Mr. Merlin stared back at him from the front row.
"Bet you wish I gave you that dinosaur lesson now, huh brat?" He mouthed. Lancelot was now starting to panic when suddenly he heard a girl yell something from the crown.
"Lancelot, Guinevere is here! Look to your far right!" Lancelot snapped his head to the rightmost seats to see her beautiful face way back in the last row, looking at him worriedly. No wonder he never noticed her, he could hardly see her. Now that he knew his beloved was watching him a surge of adrenaline kicked in, supercharging his brain.
"A-R-C-H-A-E-O-P-T-E-R-Y-X." He spelled out with newfound confidence. The principal looked taken aback.
"From the way you hesitated, I thought that would be it for you. Great job! Now back to you…" he said, turning to Meleagant. "Please spell heinous." Meleagant stood up.
"Pshh, easy. H-I-E-N-O-U-S." He said dramatically.
"Wrong! It is actually H-E-I-N-O-U-S!"
"But… but… 'i before e except after c'...?" he lamented.
"Well now, everyone please congratulate Lancelot, the winner of this year's spelling bee!" he shouted. The crowd burst into an applause that made the "deafening" one from before sound like a mere mosquito flying around in one's ear. Lancelot stood up and bowed, and then the principal came to him and put a medal around his neck. He looked around and saw, much to his delight, Maleagance in his chair fuming.
Chaos ensued as the audience all stood up and flooded the exits. Lancelot wanted to get to Guinevere as soon as possible, however he no longer saw her where she was before. Meleagant approached Lancelot from behind.
"Who're you looking for?" he asked evilly, having regained his composure.
"Look, I won our battle fair and square. Now give her back to me." Meleagant grinned.
"That's great and all, but since when have I ever played by the rules. Guinevere will not-" and once again, he was cut off by Bademagu who came up behind him.
"Meleagant. Don't bring dishonor to the Gorre gang. Admit your loss right now." Meleagant looked like he was about to explode.
"I'm through with you Bademagu! Why didn't you stand up for me earlier? We could have beat him up easily but you just had to make us duel fairly." Then he turned towards Lancelot and lunged. Lancelot was about to raise his fist but stopped when the principal cleared his throat beside them.
"Meleagant, once again you have shown violence and attempted to assault another student. This feels like your hundredth infraction, and I'm sick of it. You're expelled!" he said furiously. Meleagant backed away, looking towards Bademagu.
"No you can't do this. Help me Bademagu!" Bademagu looked away.
"School is not the only thing you're expelled from, I never want to see you again." He said firmly. Meleagant fell to the ground, defeated at last.
"Lancelot, once again I want to apologize on behalf of his behavior. Truth be told he is actually a relative of mine so I've always had a soft spot for him but he has gone too far once again. I will be lenient no longer. Now I also have a surprise for you. I had a feeling he would try to pull something like this off, so I made sure to secure her beforehand." He gestured over, and Guinevere emerged from a small crowd of Gorre gang members near them.
"Oh, Guinevere." Lancelot whispered and ran up to her. Guinevere held a hand out, stopping him.
"Is it true that you hesitated when insulting the teacher?" Lancelot stopped dead in his tracks and looked towards the ground, embarrassed.
"Yes, but I regret it. My love for you should not contain any hesitation. If I could go back and correct my mistake I would do it in a heartbeat." Guinevere giggled.
"Relax Lancelot, I was just teasing you. Now come here." Lancelot lunged for her like a hungry wolf, embracing her tightly. He didn't even care that Arthur was silently watching from the side. Suddenly someone who was heavily bruised came up to them.
"Hey guys, you didn't forget about me during all of this, did you?" Kay asked.
The End