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To Live and Learn

CHAPTER 11

"What do you call intelligent and civilized people in Vacuo? Tourists."

-An old joke between former members of the Autumn-Winter Coalition.

To prepare for Dust Studies, I went to my locker to grab my textbook and the essay I spent all night trying to finish. My team and most of the others were already waiting in class so I was the only person in the locker room. At least that was what I thought.

When I was about to close my locker. I felt something sinister approaching behind me, but before I could do anything about it, my hoodie got pulled off before I got pinned to another locker. Opening my eyes, I saw that Cardin was the one grabbing me by the collar of my hoodie while his little band of juvenile hooligans stood behind him. The one with the blue hair—Sky looked particularly nervous about this.

"You thought you were so funny back there, didn't you, Arc?" Cardin fumed at my face.

I knew this would happen, just not this early. It was too cheap for him to ambush me while I was defenseless; I should have expected that he would stoop that low. As someone who's dealt with worse, I thought that could waste his breath yelling at me for all he wanted for all I cared. "Come on, I said I was sorry."

"Yeah, right, like I would believe that easily. Do you really think I'm that stupid?" He angrily retorted. As a matter of fact, I did. Not everyone got to Beacon because they had good grades or were impressive enough, some were able to attend because of their influential connections and just happened to be skilled enough to be accepted. Which explains why there were some mediocre students around here despite claiming that they only accept 'the best of the best'. I figured I wasn't the only person in this academy who was there because of nepotism.

Russel then swiped my essay. "Oh, what's this? Your essay for Professor Peach?" He chuckled. "Thanks, Cardin's been nagging me to make one of these for him. Nothing a simple name change and a reprint can't handle."

That is when I started to lose patience, I tolerated them for being petty morons and now they're doing something extreme enough to get them suspended. So not only was that contemptible, but also very reckless and stupid. Maybe Cardin did deserve to have his legs broken after all. "Give that back, now!" I demanded, trying to struggle out from Cardin's grasp.

"Make me," Russel taunted.

"Guys, I think we're going a little too far," Sky shuddered. I could already guess that this guy is the brains of this group because he was the only one using it so far.

"Oh shut up, Sky! We need to show this little runt that Cardin Winchester is not to be messed with!" Cardin yelled.

"But he—"

"Do you still buy that crap about him being a 'hero' in some stupid backwater hick town no one cares about? If all of that is true. Why does he keep letting himself get pushed around? I mean look at him! He's probably a fraud for all I care." He exclaimed. This wasn't really the best way for me to find out that I wasn't the only person in this academy to be aware of that, I was almost tempted to tell him how correct he was in that assumption.

And he also made a good point, I kept wondering why I hadn't tried intimidating him into leaving me alone, but then again, I already made it clear that I didn't want our then one-sided hostility to escalate. He was easy to ignore and the only thing I wanted was for him to get bored of me and move on to pick on somebody else.

"Not really a face of a hero, is it?" Cardin continued. "He is going to pay for getting that dumb ginger of his to almost break my leg!" Calling Nora a stupid dumb would probably be the dumbest mistake he'd make if she was present. His legs won't be the only thing that would be broken, that I know of. "Let's see how you like it when someone screws you over!"

He then shoved me into my locker and closed it. I figured he was this much of a sore loser doing this over a dumb mistake. It's not like he had anything good to gain in doing this. "You're making a mistake, Cardin! Let me out now!"

"Not in a million years, bunny boy!" Cardin replied before a short pause. "Now… uh, how do you launch the lockers again?"

"Oh, you need to put in a separate code." Another voice answered, which was from Dove, I think.

"Dammit! And I thought it'll be that simple!" Cardin slammed my locker, and I felt slightly vibrate on impact. "Alright Jauney-Boy, just tell your locker's launch code and just get this over with."

He had the gall to ask me that after what he did for me, then again he wasn't exactly that clever. I thought about tricking him into not using it which I thought was a funny idea at the time. "Oh-five-one-four-three-one," I said in a mocking tone, making him think that I was trying to tell him the code that I would open my locker. Little did he know, that was the actual launch code. If I learned anything about hiding the truth was that if you confessed in a way that makes people think you're not being serious, no one will believe it.

"Nice try, Jauney-boy but I'm not gonna open your locker for you," he responded, falling for the bait like a clueless fish in a pond. His loss. If he is not putting that down, then he wasn't going to see anything blasting off in his little space program. "Now tell me your launch codes so we could watch you fly! Or we'll…"

"Or what?" I asked with a smug grin on my face.

"Shut up! We'll…" Cardin paused. "Uh, any idea guys?" There was no answer. I thought I got him good, that was before I realized I missed a crucial part that immediately made me regret my decision and for not thinking this through.

He lost patience and smashed the keypad. "Screw this! I think you're better off staying there for a while, it's good enough for me!"

This all turned out to be a terrible idea in hindsight, I should have realized that he could just leave me here trapped. If I knew that earlier, I would have tricked him into opening this locker somehow. The lockers here don't have a latch from the inside in case someone got locked in. My dumb ass struck again and it was all too late.

"See you later, butthead! Have fun breathing in there and thanks for the essay!" Cardin mocked with laughter from his team followed while his face on the vents disappeared.

I saw Sky on the vents, he quickly looked at the side before whispering "I'm really sorry." He then quickly caught up to his teammates.

To make things worse, the bell rang, indicating that class was starting, making me late for Professor Peach's class without an essay to pass. I tried slamming the walls of the locker door and calling for help but it was no use, there was nobody in the locker room except me as everyone was now taking their class.

Taking out my scroll, I attempted to contact someone on my team to come and help me, only to get a screen that said 'Calling and Messaging are disabled during class hours', which made me bang my head at the door. Beacon systems were being counter-productive as usual, couldn't they at least add an 'Emergency Call' feature in case of situations like this? [1] I can't launch myself out either because the staff didn't like the idea of students playing with the rocket-propelled lockers during class except during circumstances where it would be tested or demonstrated.

I sighed and put the scroll back into the pocket and tried to ram the locker doors open which also failed since I heard that these lockers were made to survive long falls. I gave up and just accepted the fact that I was missing Professor Peach's class—in a claustrophobic locker with little ventilation no less.

If I had known this would happen, I would have let Nora break Cardin's legs. It didn't matter if I would get in trouble anymore, it would have been a lot better than being trapped in there.

=o=

1. The feature actually once existed, but it was removed by Ozpin when he discovered that students were abusing it. He thought that nobody needed it anyway, as nobody calls for help, and that as Huntsmen, students are expected to be capable of handling themselves during an unexpected event.

I spent an entire hour and a half trapped inside a locker when it felt longer than that. To say it was an unpleasant experience was an understatement; there was barely enough room for me to breathe in and I was wearing my armor at the time, which made the whole thing much more uncomfortable. It was also hot in there, I have been sweating since the first ten minutes that the back of my hoodie was drenched. I even passed out a couple of times out of suffocation because of how little air I was getting.

I ended up taking a nap to hopefully speed things up. I slowly woke up after hearing the bell, which sounded very wonderful at the time. I soon heard some familiar voices calling my name which were becoming louder and audible, making it clear that they were in the locker room. I used my remaining strength to bang the door, signaling them to where I was.

"Jaune!" I heard Pyrrha's voice as the footsteps became increasingly more rapid and louder. They stopped after I saw the reassuring faces of my teammates through the vent, albeit barely since the opening only provides a limited view. "Jaune, are you okay?"

"Two…nine…" I cracked my voice, mouthing off the numbers of my locker's code with every breath I still had.

"Jaune, what are you—?"

"Quiet!" Ren interjected, gesturing for everyone to concentrate on my broken speech. If there was a time that I had to appreciate Ren's stoic professionalism then it would be that moment.

"…six…three…oh…one."

"Two-nine-six-three-zero-one! Type it in!" Ren directed. Pyrrha nodded and typed the code I gave them.

The locker doors opened, and I inhaled deeply as I stepped out before collapsing. They turned me around to face the ceiling. I panted heavily as I gazed at my teammates squatting in front of me while I lay on the ground, exhaling as much air as possible. "Are you alright?" Pyrrha asked.

"You look a little red!" Nora remarked.

"Wa...ter…" I breathed out in desperate need of hydration.

"He needs water now!" Ren pointed.

"Okie-Dokie'!" Nora zoomed away and almost immediately returned with a bottle of water. "Done!"

Pyrrha took the bottle from Nora and opened its cap before feeding it to me. "Here."

I grabbed hold of the bottle and chugged all of its contents within mere seconds that some of them ended up spilling out. Spending ninety minutes caged in a tight locker can dehydrate you pretty quickly. "Thanks," I continued panting, still feeling thirsty. "More please."

"Aye!" Nora saluted before zooming out again. Ren and Pyrrha helped me up, I leaned at the nearest locker as I was having trouble trying to balance myself since I was still suffering from the headache I just got. "I'll get you a towel," Ren bolted out.

"What happened? You were missing the last class, we were so worried." Pyrrha questioned. "Let me guess… Cardin."

I nodded, scowling at the thought of his face. Pyrrha's hands gripped and her eyes narrowed. "That Winchester… He went too far, you know I will really break his legs," she stated. At that point, I would have allowed her and gladly watched them fight but I digressed because I believe he deserves more severe punishment.

Nora came back with three water bottles, one of them standing above her head. "Here ya go!"

"Thanks again," I said to Nora before taking the bottles and drinking back my strength and lowering my body temperature. Ren also came back and gave me a white towel.

"What were you doing there anyway?" Nora asked.

"Cardin," I simply answered while wiping the sweat off my forehead.

"Oh, that does it! Just say the word and I'll break his legs!" She fisted her palm, eager to finish what she tried to do back at that cafeteria.

"You'll get your chance, Nora, but right now I need to speak to Professor Goodwitch," I said. As much as I wanted to confront Cardin and have Nora go berserk on him and his team, I needed to snitch on him first and make this whole mess clear to Miss Goodwitch. Damn birdman just stole an essay I spent all night working on for crying out loud. I needed to be realistic and if there was one thing Cardin was scared of, then it was the staff. He was going to get punished one way or the other.

We then went to the combat hall. The four went in while I stayed outside and waited for Miss Goodwitch. She then appeared a few minutes later, holding her tablet as usual. I approached her before she managed to get to the combat hall.

It took some guts approaching someone like her since she's basically that one dreaded teacher every school has, but she's mostly doing her job trying to look over a school full of brats with wacky weapons, and I can't exactly blame her for her disciplinarian attitude. Someone has to remind these kids that embracing Huntsman individuality does not mean you are free to commit reckless tomfoolery at all times after all. "Professor Goodwitch, can you excuse me for a second?"

"Mister Arc! Professor Peach recently reported that you were absent from her lesson," she scolded. "You better explain yourself!"

'I was busy rethinking my whole life in my locker,' I'd answer, but I didn't think she was in a mood for that kind of sass, I needed to get to the point. "I'm sorry ma'am, I would have attended had not Cardin Winchester and his team trapped me in my own locker. I couldn't call for help because scrolls are disabled during class." I explained.

She sighed, albeit with some sympathy for me. "Mister Arc, those are some bold claims to accuse your fellow students of such a heinous act, however, I'm willing to believe you because Mister Winchester has been a nuisance recently."

That was reassuring. All I wanted was to see Cardin pay for making me stay at my locker and steal my essay. That crossed the line enough for me.

"But even if they're true. I cannot do anything at the moment, I am occupied with commencing today's class which is vital as it reintroduces the combat matches from last month. Mister Winchester will be given a trial once this lesson is complete."

That didn't go as well as I hoped but it was still good enough for me. "I understand, professor."

"Which begs the question," she adjusted her glasses. "Haven't you been able to defend yourself against Winchester then? This school assumes that you are capable of standing your ground."

"I was caught off-guard, ma'am. I was unarmed and they had me bound and surrounded. I was not able to fight back." I explained. The whole thing was so sudden that I wasn't able to plan it out properly. In hindsight, I should have seen it coming.

She sighed again. "Honorless ruffians. I guess that's understandable."

"He also stole my essay for Dust Studies and passed it off as his own," I added, making sure she knew how it was the last nail in the coffin. I didn't actually care if it was too late to get those grades as long as Cardin wasn't getting any of them.

Her brow raised. "Is that true?"

"He reprinted it with his name, I still have the original document on my computer, which was marked as written on an earlier date. I can't show it to you now of course."

"I'll look into it then," she made a slight nod in acknowledgment, and as we were about to close this conversation something else came to her mind. "Say, do you want to face Cardin today in a fair match?"

I was almost shocked when she asked me that. "Excuse me, professor?"

"You said you were not given a chance to defend yourself when he tormented you. I thought it would be appropriate that he would discover what he was up against before I give him some proper punishment. That way, he would learn humility while we discipline him," she almost made a slight grin at that suggestion as if to tell me she would be very glad to see him humbled.

The thing that bothered me the most was that she was very confident that I would be victorious in this, but after thinking about it for a brief moment, I decided to settle with it. I was so infuriated at him that I didn't feel like pretending to be peaceful or helpless. Trying to bore and ignore him didn't work before so I might as well get a taste for vengeance for once. It would at least encourage everyone to leave me alone. "I'd be delighted to."

"Good. Your match will be the last one before the end of the class. Students like Winchester need to be reminded that Beacon is no place for bullies. I'm glad Caiaphas Arc's son would do the honors," she said. Mentioning my father's name took a slight hit to my confidence as I still wasn't sure if I could even deliver on his legacy but my mind was too focused on Cardin at that moment.

"Thank you, ma'am," I nodded.

"And don't think I have forgotten about your grades, young man. Your theoretical performances are still mediocre at best." she then bluntly prompted.

Since I expected her to eventually bring that up, I wasn't exactly fazed by her reminder. "Of course, ma'am." I nodded.

"Now, proceed to class. I will follow shortly."

It went easier than anticipated. I thought that it would take more persuading for Miss Goodwitch to take action, but it turned out, that it seemed that we have a mutual infatuation towards Losechester's antics that we were able to settle into an agreement without much trouble.

I went inside and the first thing I saw was Nora and Losechester trying to strike at each other while Ren does his best to restrain them both with Pyrrha and Cardin's goons standing behind their respective teammate. Some students who were watching seemed eager for a fight while others looked concerned that they were distancing themselves away from them.

"You're freaking insane, do you know that?!" Cardin shouted as Nora was aiming to choke his neck.

"Better than being a no-good bully!" She retorted.

Ren did his best pushing back both parties from each other. "Both of you. Get. A. Grip!"

"I agree. As much as I want to see this vermin get what he deserves. We mustn't get ourselves in trouble. We should save it for a match." Pyrrha chimed in before turning her gaze at me. They all suddenly stopped after they saw me approaching them.

"Ah, look who it is," Cardin took the opportunity to grab away Nora's arm from his neck before slowly walking toward me. "So how's your stay at—", he was interrupted by Pyrrha who stood in his way as she scowled at him. I could almost feel him cover up his apprehension of her by taunting me. "What's the matter? Need your girlfriend to fight your battles for you?"

I tried to respond but Pyrrha beat me to it. "You have gotten one step too far with him, Winchester."

"You didn't like how I repaid Jauney-boy for almost breaking my legs? Don't worry there is more where that came from," He's scoffed. Can't wait. Hopefully, you won't get suspended or even expelled so I can see how you pull it off, I sardonically thought.

"If you know what's good for you, you better start leaving us alone!" Pyrrha shouted right before the doors of the entrance opened as Miss Goodwitch entered the room and saw all of us standing.

"All of you, please be seated," Miss Goodwitch said with a stoic face as she went down the stairs of the combat hall.

"But Prof—", Nora tried to explain before Miss Goodwitch raised her hand.

"No excuses. If you're holding a grudge you can save it for a match," she said, not even turning her head toward her. Nora groaned but knew she couldn't do anything at the moment and obeyed her word. Ren sat down with her and patted her back.

"Hmph. I think you'll learn not to mess with me better in actual combat. I'll show you how I could have saved that stupid stinkhole better than you did." Cardin smirked, having brought up that event as if there was something to be proud of given how much he would have died if he wasn't as lucky as I was.

To give an impression of someone nervous, I responded with a gulp. Not that I'm scared of Losechester, I wanted him to underestimate me, so he could act as smug as possible before wiping the floor with it.

"Watch yourself, Jauney-boy," he walked away with his peers, with Sky nervously looking back. Pyrrha continued to scowl at him, but I told her to calm down and walked her to our seats beside Ren and Nora.

"How repulsive." She crossed her arms, still angry over Cardin.

"Don't worry, Pyrrha! Justice will soon be brought to Cardin and our team's dignity will never falter!" Nora said. "Jaune, just say the word and I will break his legs!"

As much as I want to see Losechester in a wheelchair. I'm still going to plan to get back to him through means that were accepted by the school, and I needed to inform them of that. "Oh, you don't need to do anything. I have it all figured out." I turned to my teammates and gave them a smirk.

Nora was confused before her face shifted into an evil grin. "Ohh, I like where this is going. The suspense is killing me!" she said, rubbing both of her hands in a rather dastardly manner.

"You won't be disappointed," I nodded while giving a confident smile.

"So, what are you planning to do?" Pyrrha inquired.

"Just wait and see," I told her.

We all went to our seats, directing our attention to Miss Goodwitch, who was now in the arena, conducting her class. "Good afternoon, students. I'm sure you're all excited to know that today we are resuming combat matches for this course."

"Woo!" Nora cheered along with some other students thirsting for some action.

"But first, since we have plenty of time. You still have to do some warm-up exercises first as usual and spend half of another hour reviewing what you've learned for the past month."

The same people who cheered, including Nora, groaned. Nevertheless, they were still happy to know that combat matches were finally back.

"You already know the drill, so it is best for you to be on with it if you want the matches to start sooner."

We all lined up outside the classroom to start our daily warm-ups for combat class. Cardin looked back and sneered at me, I coldly looked back remembering what he done to me as I planned on how to beat him in the match. I had most of everyone's combat styles and moves noted, Cardin was no exception. He was one of those people who believed themselves to be superior to everyone, which would surely cause him not to fight too seriously with anyone he perceived to be weaker than himself. If I take that to my advantage, then the fight has already been won.