Author's Note: I own nothing in relation to Yu-Gi-Oh GX.

CHAPTER 9 – A DECLARATION OF WAR

The remainder of the first week passed with very few incidents. I was able to enjoy some tournament play after class, and for the most part had relatively light coursework to deal with. I wasn't particularly surprised, seeing how it was the first week of my first year, and grew fond of the peaceful seclusion this island had from the nonstop action that went on over on the mainland.

A portion of my free time was dedicated to a little matter of vengeance I had with Jaden and Alexis. Despite my studious ethics, I am most certainly not a complete bore, and I firmly believe that no evil deed should go unpunished. I succumbed to their clever trickery last night thanks to a lack of sleep, but I was going to make sure they felt the wrath of Alistair Rhein. My notepad slowly made a transition from Duel Monsters strategies to prank ideas, as I scribbled down anything that sounded embarrassing enough to inflict upon them. As luck would have it, fate would decide to intervene on the first day of the second week.

It was early Monday morning. Half of the students in Crowler's class were still trying to wake themselves up, and the lecture being given on spell speeds wasn't exactly invigorating. Thinking I was taking notes, Crowler thankfully opted not to pepper me with random questions to see if I was paying attention. Jaden got most of those, anyway. I was puzzling over my list during class's end, when I attracted the attention of one Atticus Rhodes.

"Alistair, good buddy!" he said, slinging his arm over my shoulder. Before he was able to continue, I quickly tossed his arm off.

"No, Atticus, I'm not dating your sister," I told him flatly. I got a laugh in response as he shook his head.

"No, no, you got me all wrong!" he insisted. "That's not why I'm here. I saw what she and Jaden pulled on you at the tournament last night."

I immediately facepalmed, not wanting to recall that moment. Lack of sleep was a horrible thing, like getting drunk one evening and then knowing the very next day that you did something you would regret. Atticus didn't stop there.

"Also I saw what you were writing there, and figured you're planning to strike back!" he laughed. I stopped in my tracks and faced him.

"Keep it down!" I instructed him harshly. "You'll take away my element of surprise!"

"Dude, relax!" Atticus cut in. "I just wanted to ask you if you wanted my help." I raised a curious eyebrow at this offer. Since I was plotting to wage war against both Jaden and Alexis, it seemed feasible that I shouldn't be outnumbered. After all, two minds are always better than one.

"You'll help me get back at your sister?" I asked him with a hint of skepticism. "I don't know… Are you sure you don't have some ulterior motive behind all this?"

"Trust me," he assured, tugging me by my jacket. "Come on, we're going to the Obelisk Dorm to strategize."

The Obelisk Dorm was, to say the least, remarkable. The main lobby was simply immense, with elegant marble staircases curving up to the upper levels, and a gorgeous chandelier bathing the walls in light. Atticus dragged me up two floors and down a couple of hallways until we reached his dorm. His choice of decorating was… well, painful. My eyes felt like they were being violated, as the calming blue of the lobby and hallways shifted drastically to a dorm decked out with Hawaiian posters, featuring surfing, luaus, and volcanoes. So many colors struck my retinas at once, it was almost dizzying. I quickly found a seat before I wound up falling over from disorientation.

"Now let's see here…" Atticus pondered. "Alexis hates it when I try to set her up with guys, so that'll definitely have to play a part."

I nodded and jotted it down in my notepad when a thought struck me. I flipped a few pages back and began rereading what I had written. Atticus turned his head to look at me and tried to see what I was looking at.

"Jaden," I finally said. "She has a crush on him."

"Say what!" Atticus choked, taken aback. "My Lexi is in love?" His eyes glistened over with happiness and I seriously considered smacking him across the face to return him to reality. I could almost hear the wedding bells chiming in his daydreams.

"First of all, Jaden seems to have the awareness of a rock," I sneered, "so he's obviously oblivious to it. Secondly, how the hell did you NOT know? Just the way Alexis looks at him makes it stupidly obvious."

Atticus shook his head as his mind snapped back from La-La Land and gave me a puzzled look. "I guess I never noticed."

I sighed, resigning myself to the fact that few people on this island possessed much common sense. Making more notes, I prepared a list of materials and requirements that needed to be fulfilled for a plan I had concocted. I smiled at my genius, taking advantage of the moment to stroke my ego. Explaining my idea to Atticus, he appeared intrigued.

"Heh heh, well it sounds like it's got promise," he agreed. "If you can pull it off, you'll get one heck of a reaction!" I nodded, slipping the notepad and pen back into my pocket.

"You get the supplies," I instructed him. "I'll do the dirty work." We grinned connivingly at each other as Atticus set off to collect some necessary items.

"You can count on me, man!" he said, giving me a thumbs up. I flexed my fingers like a mad scientist would while anticipating an especially devious experiment. I exited Atticus's dorm and made my way back to my own to catch up on the current events, the grin on my face never disappearing. The next couple of days were going to be very fascinating indeed.